VJ'o 


NOV  9,n  mi 


s^. 


^A 


THE  PREACHER'S  COMMENTARY 


ON  THB 


BOOKS  or  EXODUS, 


THE 

|rMcIter0   Complete  ^jomilcttcal 

COMMENTARY 

ON  THE 

OLD    TESTAMENT 

(ON  AN  ORIGINAL  PLAN). 

SEitlt  Critical  m\i  (Explanatarg  Jlctcs,  indices,  H.y  $:t. 


BY 


VARIOUS  AUTHOES. 


FUNK   &   WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

London  and  Toronto 

1892 


HOMILETICAL  COMMENTARY 


ON  THE  BOOK  OF 


EXODUS. 


BY 


/ 


HEV.  J.   S.  EXELL. 


FUNK   &   WAGNALLS   COMPANY 

London  and  Toronto 

1892 


CONTENTS. 


Cntboduction  and  Peepace, 


9hM 

f 


CHAPTER  L 

TBB8E 

Critical  Notes, 
I  — 6.  God's  Knowledge  of  Man's  Domestic  Life, 
I — 6.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 
7 — 12.  The  Advantage  of  a  Large  Population, 
7—  1 2.  As  Sliowing  the  Increase  of  the  Church, 
7  -12.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 
13—14.  The  Despotism  of  Sin,    . 
13 — 14.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 
15 — 21.  High   Social   Position   used   for   the  Futherance  of  a  Wicked 

Purpose,    .  . 

15 — 21.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 

22.  The  Last  Edict  of  a  Tyrant  King, 
22.  Suggestive  Comments  on,  . 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  L,         • 


9 

2-3 

4 

4 

5-6 

7 
8 

8 

9 
II 

II 

XI 


CHAPTER  IL 

Critical  Notes,  .  .  • 

1 — 4.  The  Birth  of  Moses,       .  .  • 

I — 4.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
5 — 9.  The  Providence  of  God  in  Relation  to  the  Young 

This  Cradle  on  the  Water  Teaches, 
5 — 9.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

10.  The  Birth  of  Moses  and  its  Lessons, 
10.   Suggestive  Comments  on,  .  . 

1 1 — 12.  The  Oppressor  Slain  ;  or,  a  Wrong  Way  of  Reproving  I 
II — 12.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
13 — 14.  A  Good  Man's  Interference  with  a  Quarrel, 
13 — 14.   Suggestive  Comments  on,  . 

15.  The  Meditations  of  a  Perplexed  Soul,     . 
15.   Suggestive  Comments  on,  .  . 

16 — 22.   The  Reward  of  a  Kindly  Action, 
16 — 22.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
83 — 25.  The  King  Dying,  the  People  Suflfering,  God  Reigning 
23 — 25.  Suggestive  Comments  on,  .  . 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  IL,        • 


jury. 


xa 

13 
14 
15 
17 

17 
19 

^9 
20 
20 
21 
22 

23 

24 

24 

25 
26 

27 
27 — 28 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  lU. 

Critical  Notes,  .  .  .  • 

I — 6.   Mail  in  Relation  to  Mystery,      .  ,  • 

The  Burning  Bush  Unconsumed,  .  . 

Moses  and  the  Burning  Bush ;  a  Picture  of  the  True 

and  the  Bible,        .... 

The  Angel  in  the  Burning  Bush,  .  . 

T — 6.   Suggestive  Couiments  on,  .  .  . 

7 — 10.  The  Calling  of  a  Great  Deliverer,  .  , 

A  Picture  of  Human  Sorrow,       .  .  . 

The  Typical  Character  of    Moses  considered,  as  the 

Mediator,  Lav/giver,  and  Guide  of  Israel,  . 

7 — lo.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

II — 12.   Ministerial  Timidity, 

II — 12.   Suggestive  Coniineiits  on, 

13 — 18.  Ministerial  Difficulties  to  be  Anticipated,  and  how  to 
them, 
A  Question  for  the  Pulpit, 
The  Divine  Name, 

16.  The  Considerateness  of  the  Divine  Being, 

17.  An  Inferior  Motive  for  a  Religious  Life 
Sacrifice  in  the  Wilderness, 

19 — 22.  The  Divine  Knowledge  of   the  Success  or  otherwise 

sterial  Work,  .  . 

19 — 22.  Suggestive  Comments  on,  . 

Illustratioos  to  Chapter  III., 


Student 


Deli 


0 


of   Mini- 


VAai 

29 

30 
31 

32 
3* 
33—35 
36 
37 

38 
38—40 
40 — 41 

4a 

43 
44 
45 
45 
47 
47 

48 

49 
50—52 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Critical  Notes, 
1 — 5.  The  Degradation  of  Useful  Things, 
I — 5.   Suggestive  Comments  on,  . 

A  Trivial  Posse>sion,      .  . 

The  Meaning  of  this  Miracle,     . 
4.   Things  that  Frighten,    .  , 

6 — 7.  Leprosy  as  Emblematical  of  Doubt, 
6 — 7.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

Leprous  as  Snow,  .  . 

Soul  Instruction,  .  . 

8 — 9.   The  Divine  Treatment  of  Human  Doubt 

8 — 9.   Suggestive  Connnents  on, 

10 — 14.   'I'he  Objections  made  to  Keligious  Service, 

10.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

Eh)quence,  .  .  . 

Slowness  of  Speech,        . 
The  Divine  Greatorship,  . 

Natural  Infirmities  in  Relation  to  Moral  Science, 
12 — 13.   Suggestive  Comments  on. 

An  Evasion  of  Spiritual  Work,  . 

14 — 17,   Mutu.al  Aid  in  Religious  Work,. 

14 — 17.   Suggestive  Comments  on,  , 

The  Two  Brothers,  .  . 


53 

53 
55 
56 
57 
58 
58 
60 
60 
61 
61 

63 
64—66 

67 
68 
68 
69 
69 
69 
70 

70— 7  X 

72 

73 


CONTENTS. 


tHv 


TBBSE 

1 8. 

19. 

20. 
21—23. 

21. 

2  2. 
24 26. 


34 26. 

27 28. 

27 28. 

29—31. 

39—31. 


A  True  Recognition  of  Filial  Duty,     . 

The  Divine  Precaution  for  the  Safety  of  Christian  Workers, 

The  Journey  to  Egypt,  .... 

The  Anticipation  of  Christian  Service, 

Suggestive  Comments  on — Moses  before  Pharaoh, 

The  Primogeniture  of  the  Good, 

Neglected  Duty  a  Hindrance  to  the  Performance  of  Religious 

Work,    ...... 

The  Preparatory  Experiences  of  Service,  .  , 

Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  ,  ,  , 

The  Meeting  of  the  Two  Brothers,      .  , 

Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 

The  First  Interview  of  Moses  and  Aaron  with  the  Elders  of 

Israel,  and  the  Welcome  they  Received, 
Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  •  •  < 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  IV.,  •  • 


74—75 
76 

77 
78 

79 
80 

81 

82 
83 
83 
84 

84 

84 

«5— 92 


CHAPTER  V. 

Critical  Notes,       .  .  .  •  • 

I — 9.  The  First  Attempt  at  Religious  Service,         •  • 

I — 9.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 
10 — 14.   The  True  Picture  of  a  Great  Tyrant,  .  ,  , 

10 — 14.  Suggestive  Comments  on,  .... 
15 — 19.  Requiring  the  Impossible,  .... 
15 — 19.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  .  . 

20 — 23.  Christian  Workers ;  their  Difficulties  and  Discouragements, 

The  Apparent  Failure  of  Christian  Service,     . 

The  Complaints  Occasioned  by  Christian  Service, 
20 — 23.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  V.,   .  .  •  • 


93 

93—97 

98 —  I  o  I 

102 — 103 

104 — 106 

107 — 108 

109 

no III 

112 

"3 

113 

1x5 — 120 


CHAPTER  VL 

Ceitical  Notes, 
I — 8.   God's  Keply  to  the  Prayer  of  a  Disappointed  Worker, 
A  True  Pattern  of  Gospel  Redemption, 
Reasons  for  Human  Redemption, 
Discouragement    in  Religion   Productive   of   Unbelief  in   the 
Promises  of  God, 

1—8.   Suggestive  Comments  on — The  Judgments  of  God  on  Wicked 
Men,       .... 
9.   Physical  Destitution  Stifling  Spiritual  Life, 
9,   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
10 — 13.   The  Successive  Services  of  the  Christian  Life, 
10 — 13.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
14 — 30.   The  Genealogy  of  the  Church,  , 

A  Panoramic  Glance  at  History,  . 

14 — 33,   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .  . 

lllustratious  to  Chapter  YL,  .  • 


122- 


126- 


^3Z— 


I2X 

-124 

124 
125 

126 

•128 
128 

129 
129 

131 
131 
132 

132 

138 


OONTBNTa, 


CHAPTER  VIL 

▼BBS!  PAOl 

Critical  Notes,        ......  139 

I — 2.  The  Mural  Position  in  which  some  Men  stand  to  Others,         .  140 

I — 2.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .....  140 

3 — 7.   Moral   Obstinacy;    or,   Pharaoh   the  Type  of  an   Impenitent 

Sinner,   .......  141 

3 — 7.  Suggestive  Comments  on — A  Knowledge  of  God — Obedience 

to  G"d,                ......  142 — 144 

8  — 13.   Man's  Effort  to  Repudiate  the  Message  of  God  by  an  Imitation 

of  its  Miraculous  Credentials,      ....  145 — 148 

8 — 13.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .....  149 

14 — 25.  The  River  Turned  into  Blood ;  or,  Man's  Chief  Pleasure  and 

Pride  made  the  Medium  of  Divine  Retribution,  .             .  150 — 153 

14 — 25.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .              .             ,             ,             .  lec 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  VIL,              .            •            ,            .  155 — 159 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

Critical  Notes,        ......  160 

1—7.  The  Plague  of  Frogs ;  or,  the  Socially  Great  Smitten  with  the 

Supremely  Contemptible, 
I — 7.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .... 

8 — 15,   The  Transient  Repentance  of  a  Wicked  Soul, 

8 — 15.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 

16 — 19.  The  Plague  of  Lice ;  or,  an  Enforced  Recognition  of  a  Supreme 

Power  in  the  Retributions  of  Human  Life, 
16 — 19.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 

30 — 24.  The  Plague  of  Flies;  or,  an  Exceptional  Method  of  the  Divine 

Administration  in  the  Affairs  of  this  Life,  . 

20 — 24.  Suggestive  Comments  on,        .... 

25 — 32.  The  Impossibility  of  Compromise  in  a  Religious  Life, 
25 — 32.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .  .  . 

The  Caution  and  Restriction  of  Sin,   ... 

29 — 32.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .  •  •  • 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  VIIL,  .  •  • 


160 — 161 
162 

162 — 164 
164 

165 
167 


167 
168 
169 
170 
171 
171 
172—174 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Critical  Notes,       ......  175 

I — 7.  Tlie  Murrain  of  Beasts ;  or,  the  Suffering  that  comes  on  the 

Brute  Creation  in  Consequence  of  the  Sin  of  Man,  .  176 

I  —  7.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .  .  .  .  .  177 

8 — 12.  The  Plague  of  Boils;  or,  the  Ph)'sical  Suffering  brought  upon 

Men  by  Sin,        .  .  .  .  .  .  178 

8 —  1 2.   Suggestive  Comments  on — The  Insignificant  Commencement  of 

Great  Calamities,  .  .  .  .  .  179 

The   Helplessness  of    Wicked   Men   in   the   Hour  of    Divine 

Retribution,         .....  180 

13 — 16.   The  Divine  Name  as  Manifested  in  the  History  of  a  Rebellious 

Soul,       .......  181 

13 — 16.   Suggestive  Commenta  on — Heart  Plagues,      ,  ,  ,  183 


CONTENTS. 


VERSE 

17 — 21.  The  Plague  of  Hail  Threatened  :  or,  Attention  to  the  Word  of 

God  the  Condition  of  Safety  in  the  Final  Judgment  of 

Life,       ..... 

17 — 21.   Suggestive  Comments  on — A  Self-exalted  M;in, 

Sulutiiry  Fear, 
22 — 26.   The  Plague  of  Rain,  Hail,  and  Fire ;  or,  God's  Command  over 

the  Elements  of  the  Material  Universe, 
22 — 26.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 
27 — 28.   Repentance  Inspired  by  Fear,  . 

27 — 28.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .  . 

29 — 35.  Wise  Ministerial  Treatment  of  an  Obstinate  Sinner, 
29 — 30.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  . 

34.  Pharaoh's  Conduct  after  the  Storm,    . 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  IX,  . 


"93- 


183 

184 

185 

186 
187 
188 
190 
190 
191 
191 
-197 


CHAPTER  X. 

Critical  Notes,      .... 
I.  The  Hardening  of  Pharaoh's  Heart,    .  , 

1.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 
3.  The  Signs  of  God  to  the  Generations  of  the  Future, 

The  Ministry  of  Sin,  .... 
Transmitting  the  Knowledge  of  the  True  God, 

2.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  .  , 

3.  The  Delay  of  Soul  Humility,  ,  , 
3.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .             ,             , 

4 — 1 1.  The  Plague  of  Locusts  Threatened,     ,  • 

4 — 6.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  ,  , 

7.  A  Remonstrance  against  Sin, .  .  , 

8,  Renewed  Opportunities  of  Moral  Good, 
9 — II.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 

12 — 15.  The  Plague  of  Locusts;  or,  the  Residue  of  Human  Comfort; 

and  Enjoyment  Destroyed  by  the  Retribution  of  God, 
iz — 15.   Sucrgestive  Comments  on,       .... 
16 — 20.  A  False  Repentance,  .... 

15 — 20.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       . 
21 — 23.  The  Plague  of  Darkness ;  or,  a  Type  of  the  Sad  Moral  Condi 

tion  of  Unregenerate  Humanity, 

'21 — 23.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

24 — 26.  The  Reluctance  with  which  Men  yield  a  Complete  Obedience 

to  the  Imperative  Claims  of  God, 

The  Way  in  which  Men  endeavour  to  Compromise  the  Service 

of  God,  . 

24 — 26.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

27 — 29.   The  Intercourse  of  Life, 

27 — 29.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  X., 


a  16 — 


198 
198 
199 
200 
200 
201 
202 
203 
204 
204 
204 
205 
205 
206 

208 
208 
209 
210 

211 
2111 

213 

214 
214 

215 
216 
220 


CHAPTER  XL 


I — 3.  The  Eve  of  Final  Retribution, 

One  More  Plague,      .  . 

I — ^3.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       . 


321 
222 
323 


CONTENTS. 


▼BRSB 

4 — lo.   The  Last  Plague  Threatened, 
4 — lo.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XI.,  , 


FAOI 

223 

224 
225 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Critical  NoTKS,       .            .             .             .            .            .  226 

I— 2.  The  First  Mouth  of  the  Year,               ....  227 

2 — 13.   The  Institution  of  the  Passover,           .              .              .              .  228 

The  Passover  as  Illustrative  of  the  Atoning  Work  of  Christ, 

and  of  its  Reception  by  the  Believing  Soul,         .             .  229 

3 — 13.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .....  231 

14 — 20.   The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,                •              •              .  231 

The  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread,          .             .             •             .  232 

14 — 2a  Suggestive  Comments  on,        .             .             .             •             •  233 

21 — 28.   The  Celebration  of  the  Passover,         ....  234 

21 — 28.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .              .              .              •              •  235 

29 — 32.  The  Death  of  the  First-born  of  Egypt,             ...  236 

29 — 30.  Suggestive  Comments  on,        .              .              .              •              .  238 
31 — 36.  The  Israelites  going  out  of  Egyptian  Bondage  ;  or,  the  Free 

dom  of  the  Church,          .....  238 

31 — ^T^.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .....  239 

27 — 39.  The  Nominal  Followers  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  the  Motives 
by  which  they  are  Actuated,  and  the  Perplexities  by  which 

they  are  Tested,               .              .              .             .             .  239 

37 — 39.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .              .              .              .              .  242 

40 — 42.  The  Pilgrim  Condition  of  Godly  Souls  in  the  Present  Life,      .  242 

40 — 42.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .             .             .             .             .  243 

43 — 51.  Minute  Instructions  in  Reference  to  the  Observance  of  the 

Passover,             .              .              .             .             .             •  243 

43 — 51.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .             ,             •             •             .  244 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  XIL,              .             •             •             •  244 — 249 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

Ceitioal  Notes,        ....••  ^49 

I — 16.   The  Sanctification  of  the  First-born  to  the  Lord,          •             •  250 

5 — 16.   The  Ordinances  of  the  Lord,  .              .              .              .             •  252 

I — 2.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       .....  253 

The  Divine  Right  to  the  Best  Things  of  Man,             .             .  253 

3.   Days  to  be  Remembered,        .              .              .             *             •  253 

17 — 19.  The  Way  of  God  in  Conducting  the  Life  of  the  Good,             .  254 

The  Tender  Consideration  Manifested  by  God  towards  the 

Israelites,  ..... 

17 — 19.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 

20 — 21.  The  Divine  Leadership  of  the  Good,  . 

The  Cloudy  and  Fiery  Pillar  a  Symbol  of  the  Bible,  . 

20 — 21.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .... 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XIIL,  .  .  • 


256 

257 
258 
260 
261 
262 — 264 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Critical  Notks, 
I — 4.  The  Gi)()d  in  the  Trying  Situations  of  Life, 
1 — 4.   Suggestive  Comments  on. 


264 
265 
267 


CONTENTS. 


VERSE 

5 — 14.   The  Good  Pursued  by  Old  Enemies,  . 

The  Foolibh  Way  in  which  many  Peo{)le  Anticipate  Difficulties 
5 — 14.   Suggestive  Comments  on — The  Infatuation  of  Sin, 
Direction  in  Dilemma, 
15 — 18.   Progress  under  Difficulty, 

15.   Suggestive  Comments  on — Soul  Progress, 
19 — 22.   Tlie  Divine  Presence  in  its  Relation  to  the  Life  of  the  Good, 
19 — 22.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  .  , 

23 — 29.   Tlie  Divine  Troubling  of  the  Wicked,  . 

22 — 28.   Suggestive  Comments  on,  ,  , 

29 — 31.   The  Salvation  of  the  Good,    .  ,  , 

29 — 31.   Suggestive  Comments  on,        .  ,  . 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XIV.,  •  • 


PA  OB 

267 
269 
270 
271 
272 

273 

274 

275 
275 
277 
277 
278 
278—284 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Critical  Notes,       ...... 

1 — 22.  The  Song  of  the  Soul  after  a  Timely  Deliverance  from  Danger, 

I — 22.  Suggestive  Comments  —  The   Living  God  —  The  Pathos  of 

Theology,  ...... 

23 — 26.   The  Disappointments  of  Human  Life,  •  •  • 

23 — 27.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  .  ,  «  . 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XV.,  .  •  •  • 


291- 


284 

285 

287 
289 
290 

-293 


CHAPTER  XVL 
Critical  Notbs, 

1 — 3.   Murinurings, .  .  .  , 

I — 3.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  , 
4 — 21.   The  Falling  of  the  Manna,     . 

The  Manna  as  Typical  of  Christ,  . 

4 — 21.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  . 
22 — 30.  The  Sabbath  in  its  Relation  to  Secular  Toil, 
22 — 30.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

32 — 36.   An  Instructive  Memorial,        ,  , 

32 — 36.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  . 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XVL,  . 


293 

293—296 
296 

296 — 302 

302—303 

304 

305 

306 

307—308 

309 
310—315 


1—7. 

1—7- 
8—16. 
8—16. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

Critical  Notes,        ...... 

Horeb ;  or,  the  Needful  Things  of  Life  Providentially  Sup- 


plied, 

Suggestive  Comments  on, 
The  Battle  between  Good  and  Evil, 
Suggestive  Comments  on, 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  XVIL, 


315 

316—318 
318 

319 

321 

322—325 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 


Ckitical  Notes, 
I  — 12.   Family  Gatherings,    . 
I  — 12.   Suggestive  Cuniments  on. 


325 
326 

327 


CONTENTB. 


VERSE 
13  —  27 


13 


Tlie  Folly  of  Solitary  Eulership, 
Tlie  Teaching  of  the  People,  . 
27.   SuLTgestive  Coinnieiits  on, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XVIIL, 


333 


PASK 

329 

330 
331 

-335 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Critical  Notes, 
I — 6.    God's  Promise  to  the  Jews,     .  . 

I — 6.    SiigLcestive  Comments  on, 
7 — 24.    God's  Revelation  of  Himself,. 

8.    A  Commendable  Engagement,  Rashly  Made 
Broken, 
7 — 9.  The  Response  of  the  People  to  God's  Call, 
10 — 14.   The  Preparation  for  the  Meeting  with  God, 
7 — 25.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  . 

Illustratioiis  to  Chapter  XIX.,  • 


and  Repeatedly 


336 
336 

337 
338—340 

340—341 
342 
342 
343 

345—346 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Critical  Notes, 

1 — 17.  The  Ten  Commandments,       , 

I — 3.  The  First  Commandment,       . 

4 — 6.  The  Second  Commandment,  , 

4 — 6.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       , 

7.  The  Tljird  Commandment,      , 

8 — II.  The  Fourtli  Commandment,  . 

8 — 1 1.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       . 

12.  The  Fiftja  Commandment,      . 

12.  Suggestive  Comments  on,       , 

13.  The  Sixtli  Commandment,      . 

14.  Tlie  Seventh  Commandment, 

15.  The  Eighth  Commandment — Varieties  in  Theft, 

16.  The  Ninth  Commandment — The  Power  of  tlie  Tongue 

17.  The  Tenth  Commandment — Inordinate  Desire 
18 — 21.  The  Superficial  and  the  Profound, 
18 — 20.  God's  Revelation  of  Himself, 
22 — 26.  God's  Voice,  but  not  a  Form, 
22 — 26.  Public  Worship,  .  . 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XX, 


for  Evil 


368— 


347 
348 
349 
349 
351 
353 
353 
355 
355 
356 
357 
358 
359 
360 
361 
363 
365 
366 

367 
372 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


Critical  Notes, 
1 — 6.   Slavery  and  Sovereignty,         . 

God's  Care  for  the  Slave, 
I — 6.    Suggestive  Comments  on, 
7 — 1 1.    The  Rights  of  the  Female  Slave, 
7 — II.    Suggestive  Comments  on, 
12  — 14.    Cases  of  Homicide,     .  , 

12 — 14.   Suggestive  Comments  on,       . 


373 

373 
375 
376 
376 
377 
377 
378 


CONTENTS. 


zni 


15 — 17.  God's  Indignation  against  the  Unfilial  Spirit, 
Parent-smiters  and  Meu-stealers,  .  , 

2  2 — 25.   God's  Disapprobation  of  Brute  Force,  , 

God  Disapproves  of  Brute  Force, 

18 — 27.   Scrivers  and  Smiters,  .  .  , 

18 — 27.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 

28 — 36.   God's  Regard  for  the  Safety  of  Man  and  Beast, 
The  Penalties  of  Carelessness,  ,  , 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXL,  •  • 


378 
379—381 
382 
382 
383 
384 
384 
386 

387-389 


CHAPTER   XXIL 

Critical  Notes,       .  .  . 

I — 6.  Actual  and  Virtual  Criminality,  « 

I — 4.  The  Law  of  RoV)bery,  ,  , 

5 — 6.   The  Penalty  of  Carelessness,  .  , 

Things  Entrusted  and  Lost,    ,  , 

7 — 13.   The  Sanctity  of  Human  Trusts,  . 

14 — 15.  Concerning  Borrowing,  .  , 

16 — 19.  Social  Evils, .  ,  ,  , 

Divine  Justice  and  Divine  Compassion, 

18.   Suggestive  Comments  on — Witchcraft, 

20.  God's  Exclusive  Right  to  Man's  Devotion, 

21.  International  Riglits, 

22 — 24.   God's  Care  for  the  Widows  and  Fatherless, 
25 — 31.   The  Divine  Nature  has  Two  Aspects, 
25 — 27.   Concerning  Loans,     . 

28.  The  Divine  Right  of  Magistrates  to  Respect, 
39 — 31.   Consecration,  .  .  , 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXIL,  • 


390 
390—391 
392 
392 
393 
394 
395 
395 
396 
397 
398 
399 
399 
400 
401 
402 

403 
404—409 


CHAPTER   XXm. 

Critical  Notes, 

I — 9.  Rules  for  Judicial  Proceedings, 

I.  Suggestive  Comments  on — Slander, 

I — 3.  The  Duties  of  Witnesses, 

4 — 5.  On  Duties  to  Enemies, 

6 — 9.  The  Duties  of  Judges, 

) — 12.  Sabbatic  Years  and  Days, 

9 — II.  Suggestive  Comments  on — The  Sabbatic  Year, 

12.  „  ,,  — Labour  and  Rest, 

13.  The  Need  of  Circumspection, 

13.  Suggestive  Comments  on — Circumspection,  . 
14 — 19.  Pilgrimage  Feasts,  .... 
14 — 16.   Sugges^tive  Comments  on,       .  .  , 

20 — 25.   Divine  Guidance,       .... 
20 — 23.   Suggestive  Comments  on — Angel  of  the  Covenant, 
27 — 33.   The  Power  of  Moral  Forces,  . 
24,  25,  32,  33.   Suggestive  Comments  on — Worldliness, 
26 — 31.    Prospects  and  Progress,  .  ,  , 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXIII.,         .  . 


409 

410 
411 
412 
412 
412 
413 
415 
415 
416 

417 

418 — 419 

420 

420 — 421 

422 

423 

424 

425 

496—430 


xiv 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

▼BR8R 

Ckitical  Notes,  .... 
I — 8.  Tlie  Ratification  of  the  Divine  Covenant,  . 
3 — 8.   The  Covenant,  .... 

I — 8.   Suggestive  Comineuts  on,       .  . 

9 — II.   A  Glorious  Vision, 
I,  2,  9-11.  Suggestive  Comments  on — Man's  Approach  to  God, 
12 — 18.   Divine  Preparations,  ,  . 

12 — 18.   Suggestive  Comments  on — Communion  with  God, 
Illustratious  to  Chapter  XXIV.,         . 


432 

433 
434 
435 
435 
436 
437—439 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


Critioal  N0TB8, 
I — 10.  The  Laws  of  Sacrifice  and  Service, 
I — 10.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
10 — 17.  The  Law  of  God, 
10—17.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
17 — 23.  The  Mercy-seat, 
17 — 23.  Suggestive  Comments  on, 
23 — 30.  The  Table  of  Show-bread, 
23 — 30.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
31 — 40.  The  Candlestick, 
31 — 4a  Suggestive  Comments  on, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXV., 


440 
440 
441 
44a 

443 
444 
445 
445 
446 
446 
447 
448—451 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

Cbitioal  IT0TB8, 
I — 15.   The  Curtains  in  the  Tabernacle, 
7 — 14.   Suggestive  Comments  on, 
15 — 30.   The  Boards  and  Bars  of  the  Tabernacli^ 
31 — 37.  The  Tabernacle  Vails,  .  , 

Suggestive  Comments  on,       .  , 

IlluBtrations  to  Chapter  XXVL,  • 


45  » 
452 
453 
453 
454 
455 
456—460 


CHAPTER  XXVH 


CRmoAL  Notes, 

)              460 

1 — 8.   Tlie  Altar  of  Burnt-offering,   . 

>             460 

I — 8.    Suggestive  Comments  oh,       ,              , 

461 

9 — 20.   Tiie  Court  of  the  Tabernacle,               , 

>              462 

20 — 22.    The  Oil  for  the  Lamps, 

463 

Tlie  Lamps  of  the  Tabernacle, 

463 

Suggestive  Comments  on, 

464 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXVIL, 

465 — 468 

CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

▼IB8B 

FAOB 

Critical  Notes,       ....,< 

468 

6-15. 

The  Ephod— The  Intercessorship  of  the  High  Priest, . 

469 

15—30- 

The  Breastplate,          .....< 

470 

Suggestive  Coiniuents  on,        ,              •              .              •              < 

470 

31-35- 

The  Priest's  Robe,      ..... 

471 

36—38. 

The  Diadem  of  the  Priest,      .... 

472 

39—43- 

Tlie  Kingdom  of  Priests,         .              .             .             • 

472 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXVIIL,      •             •             • 

•    473—478 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

Critical  Notes,       ......  478 

I — 38.  The  Consecration  of  Aaron  as  Typical  of  the  Priestly  Calling 

of  Christ,           ......  479 

I — 38.   Holiness  and  Service,              .              .             •             .              .  480 

38 — 46.  The  Divine  Presence  in  the  Church,  .             •             •             .  481 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXIX.,         *  •  •  .  48a — 486 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


Critical  Notes, 
I — 10.  Worship,        .  .  . 

H — -16.   Equality  before  God,  , 

17 — 21.   The  True  Washing,    .  . 

22 — 24.   The  Spirit  of  God  in  the  Church, 
34 — 38.  Spiritual  Worship, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXX., 


487 

487 
488 
489 
490 
491 
492—496 


CHAPTER  XXXL 


Critical  Notes, 
I— II.   Grace  and  Genius,      .  . 

12 — 18.  The  Sabbath  and  the  Sanctuary, 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXL, 


496 

496 

497 
,  498—501 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 


1—7- 
7—15. 
15—20. 
21 — 25. 
25—30- 
30—35- 


Critical  Notes,      .            .            , 

5o» 

Idolatry,        .              .             .             « 

502 

Intercession,                 .              .              , 

502 

The  Truth  Given  and  Lost,    .              , 

« 

503 

Siiifting  Responsibility,           . 

» 

504 

Retribution,  .               .               , 

1 

505 

Religious  Patriotism, 

i 

506 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXIL,        i 

i 

.  507—513 

CONTENTS. 


CHAFPER  XXXIIL 


Critical  Notes, 
I — 12.   Tlie  Hidden  Countenance, 
12 — 17.   The  Manifested  Presence, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXIIL, 


PAOB 

.    515—520 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Ckiticai,  Notes, 
I — 4.   The  Renewal  of  the  Two  Tables, 
5 — 7.  The  Proclamation  of  the  Divine  Name, 

8 — 9.   God's  Presence  with  His  People,  , 

10 — 26.    The  Renewal  of  the  Covenant,  . 

27,  28,  32.   Divine  Revelation,  .  , 

39 — 35.  The  Glory  of  Man,     .  .  « 

lilustratious  to  Chapter  XXXIV.,  • 


521 

523 

524 
524 

525 
526 

528—534 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


Critical  Notes, 
I — 3.   The  Time  for  Divine  "Worship, 
4 — 19.   The  House  of  the  Lord, 
20 — 29.  Hints  for  Building  Committees, 
30 — 35.   Genius, 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXV., 


534 
534 
535 
537 
538 
540—544 


CHAPTER  XXXVL 


Critical  Notes, 
Main  Homiletics  of  the  Paragraph, 
The  Preparation  of  the  Dwelling, 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXVL, 


545 

545 

547 

.  549—552 


CHAPTER  XXXVIL 

Critical  Notes,      ..... 
I — 29.   The  Preparation  of  the  Furniture — The  Holy  of  Holies, 
The  Holy  Place,         ..... 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXVIL,     .  ,  • 


553 

553 

.  554—556 

•  557—560 


CHAPTER  XXXVin. 

Critical  Notes, 
I — 20.  Tiie  Court,     .... 
Suniniiition  of  the  Metal  Used,  , 

Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXVIIL,  . 


5^» 
561 

563 

.  564—568 


CONTENTS. 


xtU 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

TIBSB 

Critical  Notes, 
1 — 31.  Preparation  of  the  Priest's  Clothes, 

2—7.  The  Ephod,  . 
8 — 21.  The  Breastplate,         .  , 

22 — 26.  The  Robe,      . 
27 — 31.   The  Mitre,     . 

32 — 43-  The  Delivery  of  the  Work  to  Moses, 
Illustrations  to  Chapter  XXXIX, 


rAoi 

568 
568 

569 
570 
573 
573 
574 
574 


CHAPTER  XL 

Critical  Notes,      .  .  , 

I — 16.  The  Erection  of  the  Tabernacle, 

A.  The  Order  for  Erection,  , 

*7 — ZZ'  B.  The  Erection  of  the  Building,  , 
34 — 3S.  C  The  Consecration  of  the  Building 


580 

580 
580 
582 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Aaronic  action, 

associations,    . 

bells, 

washings, 
Ablutions  and  oblations, 
Acceptable  service, 
Adaptal  lility, 
iEstlieticism,  divine, 
Affliction,  . 
Almsgiving, 
Altar  lire  coals,  . 

hours, 

sacrifices. 
Altars, 

Amalek  association^, 
Animal  worship, 
Anointing  oil,  nigredients, 

eymliolism. 
Anxiety,     . 
Ape's  adoration, 
Appointed  speech, 

symbolism, 

testimony, 

work. 
Ark  disclosure,  . 
Art  aim,     . 

inspiration, 

ol  testimony,  . 

school,     . 

studies,  . 
Artificial  light,  . 
Ashes, 

Assimilation,  spiritual 
Atonement, 

day  incense,    . 

Backblidino,    . 

Badgers, 
Haiiner  beacons, 
Beatific  visi(»n,    . 
Beantitnl  and  good, 


474 


rAOE 

.  509 
.  483 
.  477 
.  482 
.  482 
.  485 
.  157 
.  457 
.  249 
.  542 
.  566 

.  565 
.  565 
.  465 
.  324 

•  193 
.  494 
.  495 
.  134 
.  Sii 

.  449 

449,  557 

.  449 

•  134 

•  557 

•  474 
>  499,  544 

588,  577 

•  499 

•  458 
.  218 

•  194 

•  534 
484,  466 

.  578 

.  310 

•  551 

.  324 
.  529 

.  551 


Beauty's  ministry, 

Bells, 

Bezaleel  and  Aholiab, 

Bible, 

degraded, 

firmament, 

guidance, 

truths,     . 
Biblical  evidences, 
Boils  and  blains. 
Boil  symbolism. 
Bondage  efl'ects, . 
Book  of  life. 
Boundless  mercy. 
Brazen  laver. 
Breastplate  symbolism, 

stones,     . 
Broken  vessels,  . 
Bull  worship. 
Bulls,  sacred,       . 
Burnt  offerings,  . 

Calf,  carved,     , 
Calls,. 
Candlestick,        , 

beam,      .         • 

branches, 

symbolism,     . 
Cattle,        .     _  . 
Character,  divine. 
Chariots,    . 
Cheerful  consecration, 
Chenil)ic  attitude, 

form, 

symbolism, 
Cherubims, 
Christ  and  Exodufl, 

and  the  law,    . 
Christian  convBrse, 

hindrances, 

life, 


484 


rxoM 

459 
576 
498 
156 

85 
586 
264 

515 
158 

194 
194 
136 
517 
530 
566 
476 
575 
50 
508 

193 
,  485,  565 


578, 


451, 


511 
158 

559 
.  451 
.  451 

•  559 
.  195 

•  525 
.  291 

.  40s 
.  558 
.  558 
459.  55^ 
450,  558 
■  53c 
.  588 

•  334 
.   118 

119,275 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

PAGH 

Christian  obedience,  ,        ,        .        .262 

Divine  decision,          ,        •        ,        .  1 34 

Christianity, 

•     85 

delectation,     ,        , 

.  542 

beneficent,       .        , 

•     85 

denial,    . 

.        .  368 

versus  philosophy,   , 

.     85 

dependence, 

•  133 

Church, 

.  138 

design,    . 

466,  372 

building,          .        , 

•  577 

discernment,  . 

.  372 

consecration,   .        , 

.  587 

distributions. 

.  247 

gifts,        . 

.  542 

division. 

•  346 

redemption,     . 

.  137 

dwelling. 

.  589 

Cinnamon,          .        , 

.  494 

enactments,     , 

.  404 

Circumspection,          , 

.  428 

favour,   . 

225,  155 

Cloud  canopy,     .        , 

.  591 

finger,      . 

.    172,  501 

covering. 

.  591 

forces,     . 

•  346 

pillar. 

.  591 

glory,      . 

•  529 

shade. 

.  263 

help, 

.     90 

Colour  symbolism, 

.  460 

indwelling,     . 

.  486 

Commemorations, 

.  246 

interposition, . 

282,  225 

Communion,  divine, 

.  517 

monitions, 

.  346 

Compromise, 

.  174 

motive,   . 

•  345 

Confidence, 

91,281 

omniscience, 

•  509 

Congregation  tent, 

•  517 

order. 

.  466 

Conscience,         .        . 

.  219 

paths, 

.  280 

chimes,   . 

.  477 

power,     . 

.  195 

restitution. 

•  405 

presence. 

•  345 

Consciousness,  sel^ 

.  533 

republics. 

.  345 

Contrast,     . 

197,  283 

rights,     . 

•  495 

Convictions, 

172,  283 

shelter,   . 

.  196 

Costs,  taljemacle. 

.  550 

sovereignty. 

.     92 

Court  entrance,  . 

.  467 

transforming. 

•  159 

order. 

.  466 

Doubt,  paralysis. 

.        .     87 

Covenant  angel, 

.  438 

Dust,  drink,       .         , 

.  5" 

blood. 

.  438 

Duty  done,         .        , 

.  579 

mediator. 

.  439 

of  grace. 

.  135 

East  wind, 

.  217 

Covetousness,      .        , 

.  372 

Egyptian  fabrics. 

.  500 

Crisis  emotions,          , 

.  246 

Elders, 

.  437 

Cruelty, 

.  194 

Elim  symbolism. 

•  293 

Curtain  coupling. 

.        .  458 

Elim  Sinai, 

.  310 

weaving, . 

.       .  557 

Emblems,  God,  . 
Entangled, 

.  520 
•  279 

Darkness  efi^ects, 

.       .  219 

Eternal  prospect. 

.    92 

lessons. 

.  218 

Example  of  rulers. 

.     12 

symbolism. 

.  218 

Excellence,  soul, 

.     •   .  532 

Death, 

.       .  283 

Exodus  christology, 

•  465 

Decalogue  restoration^ 

.  501 

emblems. 

.  588 

Deity,  dazzling,  . 

.  520 

route, 

.        .  278 

Delay, 

•  115,  175 

symbolism. 

.  262 

fatal,      . 

.  173 

Experience, 

.  135 

Deliverance, 

.  284 

Eye  for  eye. 

.        .389 

,  joy. 

.  292 

Decision,     . 

.  116 

Face,  divine. 

.  ';2o 

Definite  result,  . 

.     88 

fire,         .        .        , 

.  520 

Depression, 

.        .    85 

Faith, 

.        .86 

Desert  shadows, 

.  264 

Faithful  friend,  . 

•  335 

Discipline, . 

,        .  120 

Fair  colours. 

•  457 

Dishonesty, 

.  404 

False  witness. 

.  371 

Disinclination,    . 

.        .     89 

Falsehood,  folly. 

.  457 

Divine  authority. 

.  117 

Fame,  immortality. 

•  550 

care, 

.   197 

Family  gatheiing. 

•  333 

control,  . 

.  196 

religion,  . 

•  334 

consultations. 

•  335 

Farewell  considei  ations, 

•  335 

dealings, 

.  247 

Fear,  . 

.     92 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE    , 

Fearless, ii6  | 

Groanings,          , 

Fears,  legal, 

•    532 

Grcnvtli,      .        , 

Fellowship,  fruits. 

•  5.^1 

Guidance,  .        , 

Festival  i unctions. 

.    428 

Fiery  clouds. 

.    346 

Uail  plague, 

Filial  I'aithlulness, 

.    370 

symbols, 

folly,       .        .        . 

.    370 

Hiudeneil  heart. 

memory. 

.       91 

Heart  hardness. 

Fine  linen,          .        . 

•  543 

wicked,  . 

symbolism, 

.  346 

Heii-s, 

Finis, 

.  591 

Help,  help. 

Finished  beauty, 

.  579 

Hesitation, 

Fire  and  water,  . 

.     12 

Hiding  discipline 

> 

pillar. 

.  263 

Hin  measure, 

First-bom, 

.  225 

Holiness  hints. 

First  sign,  .        .        . 

.     88 

Holy  garments,  . 

steps,                .        , 

.  278 

of  holies. 

Forty  days'  food. 

.  440 

water,      .        , 

Forward,     . 

.   2il 

wholly, 

Friend,  communion,   . 

•  333 

Home  longings, . 

Freedom,    . 

291,  249 

Homicide,  .        . 

moral,     .        .        . 

.  116 

Honesty, 

sweets,    .        .        . 

.  116 

Hope, 

Freewill  offerings, 

.  448 

Horn  hints. 

Frogs, 

.  172 

Hornet  harms,    , 

symbols. 

.  172 

Human  folly,      , 

FuU  restitution. 

.  405 

hearts,     . 

Furniture,  tabernacle, 

.  542 

help,       . 

Future  hopes,     . 

.    92 

murmurs,        . 
theories,  . 

Gem  formation,  .        , 

.        .  475 

Humaneness, 

Genealogies, 

.        .  138 

Humanity, 

Generation, 

.        .  138 

and  heathenism. 

Genius  grace, 

500,  544 

Hyssop,      . 

sanctified. 

•  499 

Gifta, 

86,  90 

Idol  inventions, 

and  graces, 

.        .     89 

idiosyncrasy. 

church,   . 

.        .  448 

illustrations. 

generosity. 

.  542 

impotency,      , 

gratitude, 

.  408 

Idolater's  doom, 

Israel's,    . 

.        .  448 

sacrifice, . 

Girdle  story. 

.  474 

Idolatry,     . 

Giving,  cheerful, 

.        .  448 

Illustrations, 

Glory-glimpses,  . 

•  590 

Imitation,    . 

God,  finger  ol^ 

.  173 

Impenitence, 

goodness. 

.  529 

Inconsistency, 

God's  fly,    . 

.  174 

Incense  altar, 

God's  name, 

.        .  136 

and  altar, 

times, 

.  120 

chariot,  . 

visible,    . 

.  509 

fire. 

ways,       . 

.  137 

heavenly, 

Go  forward, 

.  282 

ingredients, 

Golden  altar, 

.        .  578 

intent.     . 

bells,       . 

.  477 

materials. 

girdles,    . 

.  475 

praise, 

wires. 

.  575 

prefigurings, 

Gospel  and  blooc 

'} 

.        .  438 

strange,  . 

Grace  growth, 

.  430 

symbolism. 

memories. 

•  530 

unction,  . 

revelations, 

.  530 

Infidel  tenors, 

Gradation  in  sin, 

.     12 

Influence  of  parents, 

Gratitude,  . 

. 

.    91 

Insensibility, 

. 

FAQB 
134 
137 


226. 


388, 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


zsl 


PAGE 

PAGE 

Inspiration  genius,     ,        .        . 

•    550 

Mercy-seat,          .        .        •        • 

.  55ii 

imi)etus,           .        .        ,        • 

.  499 

]\lethod  order,     .         .         ,         , 

.  551 

Intercession,        .        •        .        • 

•  5'3 

Midianite  mines,         ,        ,        , 

.  541 

influence,         .        .        .        • 

.  325 

Midriti  mystery,          .         ,         . 

.  483 

Mosaic, 

.  512 

Ministerial  dilticulties,        . 

.     86 

Intercessory  prayer,    .        .        • 

•  513 

miracles, 

.     86 

Israel's  initiation,        .         .         . 

.  589 

I'ity, 

.  197 

insunection,    .        .        •        . 

.  507 

Ministers, 

.  136 

lile  i'ood,          .         .        .        , 

.  312 

Mirror  symbolismj     .        .        . 

.  507 

Misgivings,          .        .        .        . 

.  279 

Jew  joumeyings,        .        .        , 

.  591 

Mitre,  material,  .        ,        .        . 

.  57b 

Jethro  and  Moses,       .        . 

.  333 

medallion,       .        ,        .        . 

.  478 

Jewels,        .         .        .        ,        . 

.  248 

moral, 

.  478 

Judges,       .        .        .         ,        . 

.  427 

Modesty's  veil,    .        .        .        . 

.  533 

Judgments,         .        .        .        . 

.  159 

Moral  freedom,  .         ,        ,        . 

.  248 

Judicial  venality,       .        .        . 

.  427 

law, 

387,  540 

restraints,         .         .        .         . 

.  y^ 

Kneading  troughs,    .        •        . 

.  248 

transtigui-ation, 

'  532 

Morals,  Mosaic,  .         .         .         . 

.  426 

Labour,     .        .        .        •        : 

•  557 

Morning  and  evening  watches,    . 

.  425 

benefits,  .         .        •        •        • 

•  551 

communion,     .         .         .         . 

.  528 

lessons, 

•  577 

Mosaic  mines,      .        .        .         . 

.  498 

Lamplight,          .        .        .        . 

.  588 

mystery, 

•  553 

Laver  lessons,     .        ,        .        . 

•  494 

revelation,       .         .         .         . 

.  590 

Law  and  love,     ,        ,        • 

372,  405 

ritual, 

.  4^5 

divine, 

.  368 

sell-forgetfulness,     .        . 

.  5'9 

functions,        .        .        .        . 

.  347 

yearnings 

.  519 

lights,     .... 

.  528 

Moses, 

.  220 

moral, 

.  368 

and  Aaron,      .        .        .        . 

90,  156 

Law's  province,  .         .        . 

.        .  438 

Moses's  burdens,         .        . 

•  335 

Legislation  links,        .        . 

.  409 

Mountain  eagles,        .        . 

.  345 

Leprosy,      .... 

.     86 

of  spices,         .        ,        . 

.  56c 

Liberty,  national. 

.  118 

Multitude, 

.  426 

a  divine  right,         .        , 

.  117 

Murder  memories,       .        . 

.  371 

Lice,           .... 

.  173 

Murmur,  mischief's,    . 

.  3>' 

Life  lessons,        .        .        • 

•  334 

Music  influences,        .        . 

.  292 

Light  and  perfection,          • 
lessons,   .... 

.  476 

Mutual  help. 

.     91 

.  219 

sympathy,       .        .         . 

.  334 

Linen,         .        .        •        • 

.  467 

Mysteries,  .... 

.     92 

Little  things,      ,        .        .194 

\i  A^7,  575 

Locusts,      .... 

.  217 

Name  knowledge,       .        . 

.        .  518 

lessons,  .... 

.  218 

National  migrations,  .         . 

.  248 

symbols. 

.  217 

Nature  teachings. 

.  550 

Looking-glasses, 

.  567 

Nature's  tabernacle,    . 

•  540 

Love's  service,    .        . 

.  541 

Necklaces  and  jewels. 

•  543 

New  year,  .... 

.  244 

Magicians,        .        . 

.  157 

Night  and  day,  . 

.  263 

Manna,  nature,  . 

.  311 

Nil  desperandum. 

.        .    87 

symljolism,     .        .        . 

.312 

NUeGod,    .... 

.        .  159 

Marah  bitterness,        .        , 

.  292 

waters,    .... 

.        .  292 

Oath  of  allegiance 

•        .  345 

Means,        .... 

.  120 

Obedience  and  observance, 

.  429 

Meditation,         .        .        . 

.    28 

Obedient  service. 

.        .  156 

meaning,         .        ,         , 

.  486 

Obduracy,  .... 

.  159 

mosaic,    .... 

.  510 

Obstinate  folly,  .         .         . 

.  22c 

mountain, 

.  324 

unbelief,           .         .         • 

.        .     8s 

Mediator  mirror,         .        . 

•  519 

Old  Testament  truth, . 

•  564 

Memorial  feast,  .        ,         . 

.  245 

Olive  oil,    .... 

.  468 

gratitude. 

.  314 

objects,    .... 

,  468 

mercies,  .... 

.  314 

symbolism,      ,         ,        . 

.  468 

Mercy  mirror,     .        .        . 

.  450 

tree,          .... 

.        .  587 

model,     .... 

.  449 

Omniscience,       .        .        . 

.        .  158 

on 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

PAoa 

Opportunity,      .        .        .        . 
Order,  importance,      .        . 

.     174 

Quail  and  manna,     .       •       , 

.  312 

.    466 

Quail  emblems,  .        , 

.  312 

Ordinances,         .        .        .        . 

.    246 

Qualification,      .        ,        , 

.  IIS 

Orphan  obUgationfl,    . 

.    408 

Quarrels,  two  sides,    .        ,        , 

.    28 

oppression,      .        .        .        . 

.    408 

Ransom,  soul,    .        .        .        , 

•  493 

Raw  rump, 

.484 

Palestine  promised,.        . 

.    516 

Ready,         .... 

.  115 

Pains  endured,  good,  . 

•       52 

Redemption,  soul,       .         . 

•  494 

Palm-tree  pressure,      . 

.       12 

Red  Se;i,      .... 

.  291 

I'areutal  dealing, 

•       91 

fears,        .... 

.  280 

honour,   .... 

.    370 

obedience. 

.  281 

respect, 

•       91 

Reflection's  sunset. 

•  532 

Parri<iile, 

.    388 

Refuge,       .... 

.  282 

Passion  power,    . 

.  37^ 

Religious  sphere. 

.  541 

Passover  relics,  .        .        .        . 

.  244 

tuition,    .... 

.  247 

Jewish, 

.  245 

Remorse,    .... 

.  155 

safety, 

.  244 

Renewed  reflection,    . 

.  533 

Pathway, 

.  291 

Repentance,         .         .        , 

.  217 

Permanent  ofiorings,  . 

•  543 

Rephidim  rebellion,    . 

.  322 

Persecutions  of  the  church. 

•     50 

rest,         .         . 

.  322 

Persistent  effort,          .        •        , 

.  225 

rock,        .... 

.  323 

Pharaoh, 

.  172 

Rescue,       .... 

.  282 

versus  God,      .         .         ,         . 

.  116 

Responsibility,   .         .        , 

.  512 

Pharaoh's  aimy,         • 

.  280 

personal,          .        .        . 

.  512 

tody, 

.  234 

Restraint,  divine. 

.  516 

Penitence, 

172,  17s 

Result  work, 

.  544 

Pilgrim  path,      .        ,        ,        . 

429,  248 

Retraction, 

.  196 

arospect,          .        .        .        . 
Pillar  guidance, .        ,        ,        . 

.  430 

Retribution,         .        .         . 

.  512 

.  263 

righteous, 

.  135 

stability,          .        .        .        . 

.  264 

Retributive  justice,     . 

.        .  158 

Pitfalls, 

.  390 

Revelation,          .        .        . 

.476 

Pollock  on  conscience,        .        t 

.     12 

growth,   .... 

.  567 

Pomegranates,     .        .        ,        , 

.  476 

written,  .... 

.        .  528 

Praise, 

•  493 

Revelry  rights,   . 

.  509 

Praising  and  pleading,        .        , 

.  324 

Revenge,     .... 

.        .    28 

Prayer,        .        .        ,        • 

493,  86 

Reward,      .... 

.    90 

morning,          .         ,        .         . 

.  438 

Righteous  a,nger. 

.  225 

pleadings, 

.518 

Right  way. 

.  262 

power, 

•  323 

Ringing  of  bells. 

.    28 

Precious  stones,  .        .        .        . 

•  476 

Rock  clift,  .... 

.  520 

Precursors, 

.  158 

rifts,        .... 

•  323 

Prejudgments,    .        .        .        . 

•  157 

Romans  use  sacred  weapons, 

.    28 

Presence  power 

.  518 

purpose,  .... 

.  486 

Sabbath,  .        .        .        .54c 

>,  3",  313 

Presumptuous  Christians,    , 

.        .     91 

beneficence. 

.  427 

Pride, 

.  219 

rest,         .... 

•  313 

Priest,  atoning,   .         .        .        , 

.  483 

sanctuary. 

.  540 

pretigurings,    .        .        .        , 

•  474 

self-denial,  sacred,  . 

•  544 

Pnesthood,          .        .        .        . 

.  483 

service,    .... 

•  540 

consecration,   . 

.  4S2 

significance,     .        . 

.  500 

prefigurations, 

.  477 

slauj;  liter,         .         .         . 

•  369 

purposes,          .        .        .         . 

.  484 

steadfiistness,  .         .        . 

•  370 

Procrastination,  . 

.  172 

storm,      .... 

.  500 

Profane  penality,        .        . 

•  369 

symbolism,      .         .         . 

•  369 

Profanity, 

•  369 

Sacred  seasons,    .        ,        . 

.  427 

Promises,    .... 

.   120 

Sacrifices,    .... 
Sacrificial  speech. 

•  564 

Prompt  obedience, 

•  249 

■  492 

Propitiation,       .        .        .        . 

.  566 

Safety,          .... 

•   195 

Providence,          .         .         .         . 

.  281 

Samson's  strength  insufficient. 

•     51 

Prudence  versus  jienitence,  . 

•   173 

Sanctifietl  suiiering,     . 

•  323 

Purposes,  divme. 

.  566 

Sea 

.  291 

ILLUSTRATION'S. 


xxiil 


PAGE 

FAGS 

Sapphire  pavement,    ....  439 

Tabernaclb,     ,       .       .        . 

•  457 

Sapphire  symbolism,           , 

439 

base 

•  458 

Scandal  seed, 

37^ 

hints,       .        .        .        .        , 

.  567 

Sceptic  fears, 

86 

life, 

•  579 

Scripture  scenery, 

579 

material,          .        .        .       , 

.458 

secrets,     . 

473 

significance,    .        .        .        . 

.  560 

sublimities,     . 

517 

teaching,          .        .        . 

•  590 

symbolism, 

.  574 

thoughts,          ...         a 

.  456 

Security  pledges. 

408 

truth, 

•  590 

Seduction  solatium, 

.  405 

typism, 

.  567 

Seeing  purity. 

323 

unity  verms  churches,     . 

.  457,  587 

Serfdom  freewill. 

.  388 

Table  showbread. 

.  450 

Self-corruption,  . 

.  510 

Testimony  tables. 

.  500 

Self-mortification, 

517 

tabernacles,     ,        . 

.  576 

Self-will,     . 

173 

,508 

Theft  tests,         .        .        .       . 

•  371 

Serpents,     . 

156 

trouble, 

.  371 

Serpent's  tail. 

86 

The  divine  touch,       ,        , 

.    87 

Shelter,       . 

245 

The  father  piloting,    .        , 

•    51 

Shittim  wood,     . 

.  449 

The  healer,          .        .        •        • 

.    87 

Shoulder  sardonyx, 

475 

Thoroughness,     .        .        .        , 

.  467 

Sick  infant. 

51 

Throne  of  grace, .        .        •        < 

.  450 

Sin  a  leprosy. 

87 

Timbrels,    .         .         .        .        , 

.  292 

offering,  . 

483 

Trees  reduced  to  ashes,       .        , 

.     II 

Sinful  self-sacrifice,    . 

508 

Tribute,  divine,  .        .        .        , 

•  530 

Sinner's  self-will, 

195 

oflerings,          .        .        .        , 

•  543 

Sin's  deceit. 

508 

trespass,           .        .        .        < 

•  405 

end,         .        , 

.  284 

Trust,          .... 

.  313 

steps. 

510 

restitution,      .        . 

•  405 

syrens,     .         . 

225 

Truth  lights,       .        .        .        , 

.  156 

Slander  scandal. 

426 

Truth's  power,    .        .        . 

•        .  195 

sting,       . 

426 

Try  and  trust,    .        .        .        , 

.    89 

Slavery  bias. 

387 

Tuition,  divine,  . 

.516 

Slave  emancipation,   , 

388 

Tuneful  tongues. 

.       .  136 

sellers,     .        .        , 

389 

Turret  builder  struck  blind. 

•    51 

selling,    . 

389 

Two  tables,         .         .        . 

•  439 

service,    . 

388 

Types  and  shadows,    . 

.  245 

sorrows,  .         . 

389 

Typology,  .... 

•  448 

suffering, 

387 

Mosaic,    .... 

.  568 

taking,    . 

389 

Tyranny,  records  0^   .        .        , 

.  118 

trade, 

387 

Tyrants,      .... 

.  118 

Soul  humility,    . 

216 

sheckinah. 

532 

Unbelief  and  the  Bible,   . 

.       .    88 

Speech  symbolism. 

482 

Union  strength, . 

•  552 

Spindle  and  spinning, 

543 

Urim  and  'J  hummim,        .        , 

.  476 

Spiritual  sustenance, 

•  531 

Uselulness,  mutual,    .        • 

.  552 

Sprinkling  symbolism 

246 

Stinging  bees, 
Stones  and  symbols, 

.     51 

475 

Vain  effort,        .        .        . 
Veil,  .        . 

embroidery,     .        .        . 

symbolism,      .        . 
Vision  media,     .        , 
Visitations,         •        •        . 
Vitality,     .... 

.        .  159 

Stone's  stability, . 
Stopped-up  stream. 
Stranger,    . 
Stranger's  rights. 
Substitution  shadows. 
Success,      ,        . 

541 
.    52 

407 
.  407 
.485 
.    89 
.  314 

•  459 
.  46c 

.        •  533 

.        .  I5€ 
.  137 

Sufficiency, 

Voice  of  God,     .        •        • 

.  117 

Sun  splendour,  . 

.  528 

Superstition, 

.  174 

Well-doing,     .       , 

.       .  577 

Supper  songs. 

.  246 

West  wind,         ... 

.  218 

Supplies,    . 

.  311 

What  God  is?     . 

.    51 

Sure  provision,   . 

.  280 

Wheels  dragging,        .        , 

.   28-! 

Sweet  savour, 

.  484 

Wheels  in  a  clock,      ,        , 

.      2S 

Symbolism,        . 

•  549 

Widow's  woes,    .        •        • 

.  407 

XHT 


TLLUSTRAl  TONS 


PAGE 

Wisdom, 117 

Witchcraft, 406 

and  wizardry, 406 

Wonders, 92 

Wootls  and  forests,      ,        •        .        .458 

Worldliness, 429 

World  snares      .  ...  430 

Working  i'or  Gbd,       •        •       •        •  137 


PAOK 

Work, 90 

church,   .        •        •         .        ,        .119 
design,    .         ,        •        .        .    500,  552 

law  of, 119 

patient,  ,        ,        •        ,        .         .   ' '  9 

Worthlessness, 89 

Wrath  and  mercy,       .         .        ,         .510 
Written  word^    .        •        .        .        .  531 


HOMILEIIC   COMMENTARY 

OH 

EXODUS. 


Exodus  is  a  Greek  word  applied  to  the  Second  Book  of  the  Pentateuch  by  the 
Seventy,  on  account  of  the  chief  event  which  it  records  {Exodus — the  going  ou^ 
or  departure  from  Egypt).  It  continues  the  history  of  Genesis,  and  is  connected 
with  it  by  the  conjunction  and.  In  one  book  we  have  Biography,  in  the  other 
History.  In  one  we  have  the  fortunes  of  a  family,  in  the  other  its  growth  into  a 
nation.  One  is  the  promise,  the  other  the  fulfilment.  This  nation  is  chosen  to 
be  the  depository  of  God's  will,  to  preserve  His  worship  pure  amid  idolatrous 
peoples.  Eternal  truths  lost  to  the  world,  or  buried  beneath  the  customs  of  men, 
were  to  be  revived— illustrated  by  fresh  facts — set  forth  in  a  written  law  and  a 
visible  polity.  These  truths  are  most  important :  belong  not  merely  to  one  nation, 
but  concern  the  welfare  of  mankind.  This  book  asserts  the  supremacy  of  Jehovah 
over  the  gods  of  the  heathen,  demands  the  freedom  of  Israel  from  Egyptian 
tyranny,  and  inaugurates  a  new  era  by  miraculous  signs  and  wonders.  It  asserts  the 
prerogatives  of  God  as  Creator  of  the  universe.  Arbiter  of  nations,  and  Redeemer  of 
His  people.  Deliverance  from  Egypt  is  a  type  of  moral  deliverance  from  sin 
Israel's  exodus  and  wanderings  prefigure  our  life  and  entrance  into  rest.  In  the 
manna  and  the  smitten  rock  we  learn  our  moral  need,  and  are  pointed  to  Christ, 
the  provision  for  that  need.  These  things  were  our  examples  (types)^  happened 
unto  them  for  ensamples  (typically),  and  were  written  for  our  admonition  (1  Cor, 
X,  1-11)  In  this  light  we  seek  to  expound  this  book;  to  refrain  fi'om  unneces- 
sary criticism,  and  to  economise  space  as  much  as  possible.  It  embraces  the  period 
from  the  death  of  Joseph  to  the  rearing  of  the  Tabernacle  ;  chiefly  comprises  two 
parts — the  Historical,  chap.  i.  to  xi.,  and  the  Legislative,  chap.  xii.  to  xxxi. 
We  have  striven  to  make  our  homiletics  as  brief  and  suggestive  as  possible.  In 
their  preparation  we  have  consulted  the  best  writers  on  the  Book  of  Exodus, 
especially  are  we  indebted  for  many  of  our  comments  on  the  verses  to  a  work  of 
considerable  antiquity  by  the  Rev.  George  Hughes.  Our  aim  h.^s  been  to  helj> 
Ihe  reader  in  the  application  of  Eternal  Truth  to  the  moial  life  of  man. 


CHAP.  I.  no  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY  :    EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ISRAEL   OPPRESSED  IN  EGYPT. 

Critical  Notks. — 1.  w'itli  Jacob.]  Tliese  words  are  stronjrly  emphatic  in  the  orisf. 
"With  Jacob  tacii  man  an'd  his  hoiise  camo  in."  Tims  at  a  single  stroke— the  whole 
BUii y  of  tho  at,'i'd  patriaicli's  uouiini,'  down  into  Ej;yjit  is  recalled  :  thus  at  once  does  "  ExoduH  " 
sUike  its  roots  iut.i  "GonesiB."  5-  For  Joseph]  1  his  is  ob-^care.  A  more  exact  rendering 
luakes  all  clear:  ''But  (so  xvaw  freq.  wlien  w.  an  emph.  nominative,  as  here)  JosErii  had 
already  come  into  Egypt."  A  mark  of  exactness:  "Count  him  in  the  seventy;  but  remember 
HJE  had  come  boiore.  11.  Pithoni]  P.="a  narrow  place:"  a  city  of  Lower  Egypt,  situated 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Nile :  Gr.  Patoumos  (Gosenius).  Raamses]  Prob.="  son  of  the 
(run:"  "should  bo  looked  for  at  the  site  of  the  modorn  Belieis,  called  Pelusinm  in  old  time;  a 
day's  journey  N.E.  of  Cairo,  on  the  Syro-E^yptian  road.  As  tho  name  R.  appears  as  a  rjyal 
name,  the  city  and  province  may  have  been  called  from  it"  (Fiirst).  15-  Hebrew  midwives] 
It  is  curious,  thouiih  it  may  not  throw  light  on  the  precise  relation  in  which  these  woiien 
stood  to  the  Hebrew  women,  that  their  names  should  be  of  a  like  sig.  (nccording  to  Fiir.;t) : 
S/itp/itah='^  beauty  ;"  Pitahz='^  gracefulness."  16.  Upon  the  stools  |  Perhaps  a  low  seal 
employed  by  the  mid  wives;  or  the  word  may  be  used  for  a  wiislnw/  vessel  of  stone,  in 
which  thoy  used  to  wash  infants  (Ges.)  But  the  explanation  of  Fiirst  appears  to  be,  oon- 
textually,  more  forcible:   "Look  to  the  two  sexes." 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1—6. 
God's  Knowledge  of  Man's  Domestic  Life. 

I.  He  knows  the  Childi-en  of  the  Family.  "  Reuben,  Simeon."  He  knows  the 
ppciiliurity  of  their  mental  life — of  their  moral  character — of  their  disposition  — oo 
matter  how  large  the  Family.  He  knows  the  friendly  relations,  or  otherwi:*e, 
that  exist  between  the  members  of  the  home,  and  the  intentions  of  each.  This 
thought  ought  to  subdue  all  discord — inspire  fervent  sympathy — and  lead  the 
family  to  purity  of  life.  II.  He  watches  the  joiuneyiiigs  of  the  Family.  "  Which 
came  into  Egypt."  The  Family  may  be  called  to  journey  in  search  of  commercial 
employment — in  search  of  health — ple?i.  nre — or  to  enhance  the  interests  of  divine 
truth  — in  all  such  wandeiings  every  member  is  noted  by  God,  who  recoguLses 
their  place  of  settlement.  We  should  not  journey  into  ''Egypt"  without  an  indi- 
cation of  the  divine  will.  All  family  changes  should  be  under  the  instruction 
of  heaven.  This  insures — safety — i)rotection — development — though  sometimes 
discipline.  Such  was  the  case  with  this  family,  they  were  shielded  while  in  Egypt, 
they  multiplied  under  disadvantageous  circumstances,  they  were  prepared  Ity 
sorrow  for  their  important  future.  III.  He  marks  the  Death  of  the  Family. 
"  And  Joseph  died  and  all  his  brethren."  Not  one  member  passes  from  the 
family  circle  without  the  divine  knowledge.  God  permits  it — and  ordains  it  to 
be  a  means  of  good  to  those  remaining.  This  should  hush  the  voice  of  complaint. 
God  knows  all  about  our  home-life — a  consolation  in  trial. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  Till    VERSES. 

Verse  1.  Family  life  is  at  the  basis  tended   to   one  end.     5.    Completive — 

of  all  history  and  religious  progress.  their  freedom. 

Family    life    has  frequently  to  pass  A  life  can  sometimes  be  compressed 

through  continued  discipline  to  prepare  into  a  name. 

it  to  exercise  a  lifdy  iiitluence  upon  the  Men  gather  permanent  record  from 

nation,  and    to  make  it  a  channel  for  an  incidental  connection  with  the  pro- 

the  divine  purjjose  : — Tliis  discipline  is  gicss  of  the  Church. 
1     Painful — Taskmasters.     2.    Decep-  Kehitionship  to  the  Church,  at  cer- 

tive — the    King.      3.    Accumulative —  tain    crises    of    its    history,   has   given 

Taskmasters — then      the     Midwive.s —  immortality  to  many  names  that  other- 

lustly  the  River.     4.  lIarnu>'Mous — all  wise  would  bave  been  lost  in  obscurity. 

2 


UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   1. 


Some  names  are  omitted  in  this 
history  that  their  silence  may  lend 
emphasis  to  these  spoken. 

The  small  and  feeble  beginnings  of 
the  Church.  An  old  man  on  a  journey, 
changing  his  place  of  residence,  surroun- 
ded by  his  kindred: — 1.  A  pathetic  sight 
• — leaving  old  associations — the  scene 
of  old  and  happy  raemovies — going  into 
a  strange  country.  2.  Unusual — ^it  is 
not  often  that  we  see  old  men  leaving 
a  place  in  which  they  have  spent  a 
life-time — they  like  to  end  their  day?, 
amid  familiar  scenes  and  companions. 

Verse  5.  "  For  Joseph  was  in  Egypt 
already."  This  sentence  contains  a 
volume  of  history.  Why  was  he  in 
Egypt  already  ? — 1.  Because  it  was  the 
refuge  from  the  folly  of  an  over-indul- 
gent parent.  Jacob  would  have  spoiled 
Joseph — would  have  pampered  him — 
weakened  his  moral  energies — therefore 
God  sent  him  into  Egypt — a  better 
school  for  his  moral  education.  2. 
Because  of  the  deception  of  jealous 
brothers.  3.  In  order  that  he  might 
welcome  the  Church  shortly  to  come 
there.  4.  Because  of  the  kindly  provi- 
dence of  God.  The  providence  that 
sent  Joseph  to  Egypt  was  kindly : — 
(i.)  Because  it  elevated  his  social 
position,  (ii.)  It  taught  his  brethren 
the  guilt  of  deception,  (iii.)  It  saved  a 
nation  from  the  hoi'rors  of  famine,  (iv.) 
It  taught  a  king  the  divine  philoso- 
phy of  a  dream.  (v.)  It  placed  a 
godly  life  in  the  midst  of  a  wicked 
court.  (vi.)  It  ultimately  brought 
Jacob's  family  to  unity,  peace,  and 
prosperity. 

Thus  Joseph  in  Egypt  wasthepunish- 
ment  of  parental  indulgence,  the  victim 
of  a  brother's  hatred,  the  child  of  a 
merciful  providence,  the  Ruler  of  a  vast 
Empire. 

There  may  be  wrapped  up  in  the  his- 
tory of  one  absent  member  of  your 
family  circle  the  fortune  of  a  kingdom, 
and  the  sequel  of  your  early  life. 

God  generally  sends  a  Joseph  into 
Egypt  to  mitigate  the  force  of  all  our 
trials. 

Verse  6.  I.  Death  removes  the 
most  useful  men.  "Joseph."  1.  He 
had  instructed  his  brethren.  2.  He  had 
enriched  his  father.     3.  He   had  -saved 


his  nation.  4.  He  had  taught  the  world 
an  eternal  lesson — Yet  he  died.  II. 
Death  removes  the  largest  families. 
''All  his  brethren."  III.  Death  re- 
moves  the  proudest  nations.  "Pha- 
roah."  1.  Pitiable.  2.  Irremediable. 
3.  Admonitory. 

The  Death  op  a  Whole  Family. — I.    It 

was  a  very  large  family.  Tlioi-e  were  twelve 
8008.  Of  the  lart,'est  family  that  gladdens  the 
house,  or  that  mingles  in  social  intercourse, 
each  member  must  go  the  way  of  all  the  earth 
II.  It  was  a  very  diversified  family.  "Joseph 
and  all  his  brethren  "  are  words  few  and  easily 
recorded ;  but  each  one  of  those  twelve  had  a 
history  distinct  from  any  other,  experioncea 
unlike,  and  many  altogether  unknown  to  hia 
brother : — 1.  They  were  diversified  in  their 
sympathies.  2.  They  were  diversified  in  their 
social  position.  III.  It  was  a  very  tried 
family.  Every  family  has  its  own  sorrows. 
Tried  : — 1.  By  bereavement — Rachel  dies.  2. 
By  discord  amongst  the  brothers.  3.  By  S 
grievous  famine.  IV.  A  very  influential 
family.  In  addition  to  the  influence,  benefi- 
cial as  it  was  vast,  which  Joseph  wielded  over 
Egypt,  each  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob  waa 
the  source — the  head — of  one  of  the  twelve 
tribes.  These  tribes  have  been  the  great  reli- 
gious teachers  of  the  race,  the  priests  and  the 
prophets  of  humanity,  the  people  especially 
chosen  by  God  to  reveal  Himself — to  foretell 
the  Messiah — to  be  the  ancestors  of  His  own 
Son.  V.  A  very  religiously  privileged  family. 
The  instructions  of  Jacob.  We  have  here  in 
their  death  : — 1.  A  rebuke  to  family  pride. 
2,  A  warning  against  seeking  satisfaction  in 
family  joys.  3.  A  lesson  as  to  the  right  use 
of  family  relationships.  4.  A  reason  for 
expecting  family  meetings  after  death. 
\Hom{tist.'\ 

Families  pass  away — independent  of 
domestic  love  and  care.  Nations  pass 
away — independent  of  legal  constitu- 
tion or  military  prowess. 

Generations  pass  away — independent 
of  their  number,  wealth,  or  genius. 

This  generation  is  but  the  new 
spring  rising  irom  the  winter  of  the 
past. 

Joseph  died — God  deprives  the 
Church  of  her  comfort  and  stay:  1.  That 
she  may  gain  the  power  of  self-reliance. 
2.  That  she  may  shew  her  ability  to  be 
independent  of  all  human  instrumenta- 
lities. 3.  That  she  may  move  into  the 
exigencies  of  the  future. 

Men  die;  the  Church  progresses; 
God  is  eternal. 

Sometimes  the  new  generation  is  not 
equal  in  moral  character  to  tha  old— 
the  new  king  knew  not  Joseph. 

8 


cn.vp.  I.  IIOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :    EXODUS. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  l—\2. 

I,  That  a  large  population  is  of  gi-ent  advantage  to  a  nation  1.  It  gives  an 
impuhe  to  cicilii<(itioa.  The  larger  tlie  miriil)er  ot  people  in  a  nation  the  greater 
likelihood  of  genius — business  tact — invention — autliorship  — competition — and 
therefore  of  a  complete  civilisation.  2.  It  atupneiits  the  force  of  the  national 
prowess.  A  large  population  will  be  able  to  supply  a  large  array.  It  will  hoM 
in  terror  the  enemy.  3.  It  invests  the  nation  with  importance  in  the  estimation  oj 
surrounding  kingdoms.  II  That  a  large  population  sometimes  excites  the 
suspicion  and  envy  of  neighbom'ing  kings.  (Verses  8,  9.)  1.  He  was  jealous 
of  the  numerical  growth  of  Israel.  2.  He  was  suspicions  of  what  might  befall  his 
countri/  in  future  exigencies.  III.  That  tliis  suspicion  frequently  leads  kings  to 
practise  the  most  abject  slavery.  (Verse  11.)  1.  It  was  cunning.  He  first  got 
the  Israelites  to  promise  heavy  rents — which  they  were  unable  to  pay — thi.s 
brought  them  intc  servitude — had  some  appearance  of  fairness  on  his  part.  2. 
It  was  nnjust.  "What  right  had  this  new  king  to  interfere  with  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  Israelites,  and  still  less  to  make  it  the  occasion  of  their  bondage.  He 
should  have  rejoiced  in  their  joy.  A  tyrant  is  insensible  to  any  proH[)erity 
bat  his  own.  3.  It  was  painful.  They  had  to  pay  heavy  tribute— they 
were  harshly  treated.  Slavery  always  occasions  pain — mental,  if  no  other — 
especially  to  those  who  have  once  enjoyed  the  happiness  of  freedom. 
4.  It  was  apparently  productive  of  gain.  ••'  And  they  built  for  Pharoah  treasure 
cities,  Pithon  and  Raamses."  But  what  the  Egyptians  and  their  king  gained  in 
public  buildings — they  lost  in  sensitiveness  of  conscience — in  force  of  manhood — 
in  worth  of  character.  No  man  can  keep  slaves  without  weakening  the 
sensibilities  of  his  moral  nature — which  are  far  more  valuable  than  any  property 
attained  through  the  serfs.  Slavery  involves  a  loss  of  all  that  is  noble  in  human 
nature— it  leads  to  murder.  (V'srse  22.)  IV.  Tliat  slavery  is  an  incompetent 
method  of  conquest.  (Verse  12  )  1.  Because  it  does  not  gain  the  sympatlnj  of  the 
people  it  conqueis.  2.  Because  it  arouses  the  indignation  of  those  who  are  subject  to 
its  cruelties.  What  would  be  the  feelings  of  the  Israelites  as  day  by  day  they 
were  made  to  build  the  treasure  cities  of  Pharoah  ? — they  would  curse  his  very 
reign.  Such  treatment  would  offend  their  reason  —  affront  their  humanity  — 
excite  their  passion — such  people  would  be  dangerous  subjects  to  any  ruler. 
It  would  have  been  a  wiser  polii^y  to  have  ma<le  them  his  friends.  3.  //  does 
not  sam  a  Ruler  from  the  calamity  he  seeks  to  avert.  The  slavery  of  the  Israelites 
did  not  h.uJer  their  numerical  increase — it  alienated  the  sympathies  of  the 
increasing  nati.-n — and  prepared  the  way  for  all  the  conflicts  of  the  future 
history. 

We  may  take  this  passage  in  a  symbolical  sense 

As    SllicWING    THE    InCKEASE    OF   THE    ChURCH. 

I.  Notwithstanding  the  removal  of  its  chief  officer.  (Verse  6  )  Joseph  was 
dead — his  example  would  be  gone — his  authority  in  the  nation  would  be  no  longer 
on  the  side  of  Im  ael.  Many  will  go  to  church  when  the  chief  Ruler  of  the  nation 
does,  who  would  never  go  otherwise;  religion  is  fashionable  then.  His  influence 
would  be  gone.  His  counsel  would  be  inaccessible.  To-day  the  church  loses 
its  chief  otiicers,  l)ut  it  still  grows.  II.  NotwithstantUng  the  decade  of  the  gene- 
ration. (Verse  6.)  The  generation  contemporary  with  Jose[)h  was  dead.  A  vast 
army  of  human  beings  had  marched  into  the  grave,  yet  Isi'ael  grew.  So  to-day  men 
die,  but  the  Church,  by  making  new  converts,  multiplies  her  progeny  to  an  almost 
incredible  extent.  III.  Notwithstanduig  the  persecution  to  wliich  it  was  sub- 
jected. (Verse  11.)  Israel  was  severely  persecuted — was  reduced  to  slavery.  Kings 
have  tried  to  reduce  the  Church — the  truth — the  Bible — the  pulpit — the  religious 
press  to  bondage — but  the  fiercer  their  despotism,  the  more  savage  their  atrocities 
• — the  firmer  and  stronger  has  the  Church  become.  The  Church  can  never  be  put 
down  by  force.     The  Infinite  Power  is  on  her  side.     This  is  more  than  all  that 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS 


CHAP    1. 


can  be  against  her.  IV.  NotwithstandJQ^  the  artifices  by  which  it  was  songht  to 
be  betrayed.  (Verses  15,  22.)  The  king  tried  to  get  the  mid  wives  to  kill,  at  the 
birth,  all  the  male  children  of  the  Israelites.  Ultimately,  an  edict  was  passed  that 
they  were  to  be  cast  into  the  river.  Both  failed.  So  the  Church  has  been  in 
danger  of  losing  many  of  its  members  through  the  treachery  of  the  outside  world, 
and  through  the  dax'ing  cruelty  of  meddlesome  men.  Still  it  grows.  May  it  soon 
fill  the  world,  as  the  Israelites  did  Egypt.  ...  All  Church  increase  is  from  God 
— notfi-om  men — not  from  means.    ...    God  has  promised  to  multiply  the  Church. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  7.  That  under  favourable  con- 
ditions of  climate  and  health,  nations 
have,  within  themselves,  a  great  power  of 
numerical  increase.  That  the  blessing  of 
God  is  thegreat  secret  of  true  prosperity. 

That  there  are  times  v^'hen  the  Divine 
promise  appears  to  reach  more  rapid 
fulfilment. 


The  larger  the  population  of  a  nation, 
the  greater  are  its  capabilities  of  sym- 
pathy, mntual  dependency  and  help,  and 
oftentimes  the  greater  difficulty  in  its 
riglit  government. 

The  Divine  goodness  is  seen  in  the 
prosperity  of  nations. 


A  Nkw  King. 


Verse  8.  I.  He  was  out  ot  sjonpathy 
with  the  purpose  and  providence  of  God. 
He  endeavoured  to  diminish  a  people 
whom  God  wished  to  multiply,  to  oppress 
a  people  whom  God  had  led  under  his 
authority.  Many  kings,  by  their  con- 
duct— their  enactments — their  selection 
of  counsellors — shew  themselves  to  be 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  Divine  King. 
II.  He  was  out  of  sympathy  with  the 
conduct  of  Ms  predecessors.  (Verse  8.) 
He  knew  not  Joseph — and  had  no  de- 
sire tc  aid  or  succour  the  people  whose 
history  was  associated  with  that  revered 
name  Kings  are  not  often  harmonious 
in  their  method  of  government — under 
one  reign  the  Church  is  safe  and  peace- 
ful— under  the  next  it  is  probably  per- 
secuted. One  king  unbinds  the  legis- 
lation —  discards  the  friendship,  and 
religious  toleration  of  another.  III.  He 
was  envious  in  his  disposition.  (Verse 
9.)  He  envied  and  feared — the  number 
— the  strength — the  military  prowess 
of  the  Israelites — fears  unfounded.  But, 
by  the  force  of  his  own  envious  disposi- 
tion, and  its  consequent  despotism,  he 
made  an  otherwise  peaceable  people  his 
enemies.  Envious  men  generally  bring 
on  themselves  the  evils  of  which  they 
Buspect  the  innocent  to  be  guilty.  An 
eiwii^us  spirit  is  sure  to  bring  a  king 
into  difficulty.  IV,  He  was  cunning 
in  his  arrangements.  (Verse  10.)  He 
involved  the  Israelites  in  heavy  debt — ■ 


tried  to  depress  their  spirit — to  ener- 
vate their  morsil  nature — to  degracie 
their  humanity — and  so  to  deprive  ttiem 
of  the  time — opportunity — means — or 
disposition  of  joining,  in  case  of  war, 
another  nation  against  himself.  A  cun- 
ning king  is  sure  to  outwit  himself. 
Policy  15  a  weak  basi?  for  a  throne — it 
invites  suspicion — alienates  respect — 
leads  to  ruin.  V.  He  was  cruel  in  his 
requirements.  (Verses  11,  12.)  The 
Israelites  were  to  pay  tribute — Task- 
masters were  set  over  them — they  had 
to  build  treasure  cities  without  remu- 
neration. They  were  deprived  of  the 
riglit  and  value  of  their  own  labou* — 
this  not  to  serve  any  philanthropic,  or 
heroic  pin  pose — but  to  satisfy  the  ei> 
vious  passion  of  a  cruel  monarch 
VI.  He  was  thwarted  in  his  project. 
(Verse  17.)  The  midwives  spared  the 
male  children,  contrary  to  the  wish  of 
the  king.  Mei-e  power  cannot  always 
command  obedience.  It  is  sometimes 
defeated  by  weakness.  Cunning  is 
sometimes  overcome  by  the  Godly  sim- 
plicity of  a  few  women.  D»^potism  is 
subdued  by  womanly  tenderness.  Hea- 
ven is  on  tlie  side  of  the  oppressed. 

The  difference  in  chra^acter,  inten- 
tion, and  di-sposition,  between  the  suc- 
cessive occupants  of  official  position. 

Changes  in  the  official  positions  of  a 
country  often  affect  ihe  Church.  God 
can  nirtke  u«c  cULning  envy  of  a  cruel 


CHAP.  I. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


king  subserve  His  purpose,  and  aid  His 
Church.  ...  Good  men,  when  dead,  are 
frequently  lost  si*rbt  of.  and  their  deeds 
are  forfrolten. 

Nothing  sooner  perisheth  than  the  re- 
membrance of  a  good  turn  [Trapp']. 

Tlie  vicissitudes  of  powev : — 1.  Are 
independent  of  past  sei-cices.  2.  Are 
independent  of  moral  character.  '6.  Are 
frequently  dependent  upon  the  arbitrary 
caprice  of  a  despotic  king. 

When  forsaken  by  the  king,  a  good 
man  still  has  God  to  fall  back  upon. 
It  is  often  at  sucli  times  that  he  finds 
religion  the  most  helpful  —  then  tlie 
Divine  consolations  more  than  make  up 
for  the  loss  of  the  human. 

Verse  9.  A  bad  king  will  make  a 
wicked  people: — 1.  He  will  influence 
the  weak  by  his  splendour.  2.  Terrify 
the  timid  by  his  power.  3.  Gain  the 
servile  by  his  flattery.  4.  Gain  the 
simple  by  his  cunning.  5.  Sometimes 
gain  the  good  by  his  deception. 

An  envious  spirit  magnifies  its  diffi- 
culties. 

Moral  goodness  is  the  only  thing 
worth  envying  in  the  life  of  a  nation 
— power  and  numbers  generally  excite 
the  ambition  of  monarchs. 

Many  wicked  rulers  cannot  bear  to 
witness  the  prosperity  of  the  Church. 

The  prosperity  of  the  Church  is 
apparent  to  her  enemies. 

Verse  10.  Kings  ought  to  know 
better  than  to  convene  councils  to  op- 
pose the  intentions  of  God.  Such  con- 
duct is: — 1.  Daring.  2.  Reprehensible. 
3.  Ruinous.     4.  Ineffectual. 

The  end  and  design  of  the  council 
was  : — i.  To  prevent  the  numerical  in- 
crease of  Israel.  ii.  To  enfeeble  the 
military  power  of  Israel,  iii  To  detain 
the  Israelites  in  permanent  bondage. 

Wicked  rulers  encourage  all  under 
them  to  set  against  the  Church. 

Policy  and  strength  are  combined  in 
the  world  to  vex  God's  people. 

The  design  of  worldly  wickedness  is 
to  keep  God's  Church  from  growing. 

It  is  usual  with  worldly  powers  to 
euspect  God's  people  of  treachery. 

Sinful  rulers  project  wars,  and  then 
blame  the  innocent  for  them. 

Worldly  powers    ai'e  solicitous  that 


God's  Church  may  not  get  out  of  their 
hands.  ...  Earth  and  Heaven  are  fre- 
quently in  conflict  '^ver  the  Cluirch. 

It  has  been  the  [»oMcy  of  tyrants  t*» 
represent  the  Cliurch  as  dangerous. 

Cunning  the  worst,  the  most  degrad- 
ing, and  unsuccessful  policy  of  kings 

Kindness  is  the  most  effective  argu- 
ment. Had  the  new  king  shewn  sym- 
pathy with  tlie  Israelites,  they  would 
have  become  his  willing  allies  in  war, 
his  obedient  citizens  in  peace ;  whereas 
now  they  are  his  most  inveterate  ene- 
mies.   A  cunning  policy  is  a  losing  one. 

Verse  11.  The  taskmasters  of  the 
world: — 1.  Sin  is  a  taskmaster.  2.  The 
rich  are  often  taskmasters.  3.  The  am- 
bitious are  often  taskmasters.  These 
taskmasters  are  :  —  i.  Authoritative  ; 
"  They  did  set  oter  thee."  ii.  Painful; 
"To  afflict  thee."  iii.  Inconsiderate; 
"  Burdens." 

That  God  allowed  his  people  thus  to 
be  enslaved  and  afllicted: — 1.  A  mys- 
tery. 2.  A  problem.  3.  A  punish- 
ment.    4.  A  discipline. 

God  can  make  a  nursery  for  His 
Church  anywhere. 

God  knows  where  to  put  His  Church 
to  school.  ...  God  knows  the  best  pre- 
paration for  the  future  of  the  Church. 

The  Church  must  not  measure  the 
love  of  God  towards  her  by  the  afflic- 
tion she  endures,  but  by  His  purpose 
therein. 

Subtle  counsels  against  the  Church 
soon  bring  forth  cruel  practices. 

Verse  12.  Moral  growth  proportion- 
ate to  affliction.  1.  This  is  true  of  in- 
dividual moral  character.  2.  This  is 
especially  true  in  the  developement  of 
the  Church. 

Why  does  persecution  and  trial  oper- 
ate thus  : — 1.  To  manifest  the  love  of 
God  towards  His  Church.  2.  To  mani- 
fest the  power  of  God  over  His  enemies. 
3.  To  fulfil  the  promise  of  God  made 
to  the  good.  4.  To  manifest  His  pro- 
vidence towards  the  Church.  5.  To 
strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  tyrants. 
6.  To  manifest  the  divinity  of  truth, 
and  pure    moral  character. 

God  can  soon  find  taskmasters  to 
afflict  an  idolatrous  church- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  i. 


Tyrants     find     grief    where     they  Welcome,   bondage !    if    it    is   only 

expected  joy.  accompanied  by  increased  moral  energy. 

God  is  with  the  Church,  even  in  her  As  the  ground  is  most  fruitful  that 

bondage.  is   most    harrowed.     The    walnut-tree 

The    land    of     shelter   becomes  the  bears  best   when    most  beaten.      Fish 

house  of  slavery.  thrive  best  in  cold  and  salt  water  than 

The    place    of  our  satisfaction  may  in    warm    and    fresh    [Trapp].      The 

soon  become  the  scene  of  our  affliction.  Egyptians  were  grieved  : — 1.   Because 

The  divine  chastisements  tend  more  their  plots  were  a  failure.     2.  Because 

to  growth  than  to  destruction.    ...   All  tlieir  cruelty  was  unavailing.  3.  Because 

true  growth  and  progress  are  character-  they   had  exasperated  an   enemy   they 

rsed  by  pain.    ...   Comfort  and  sorrow,  could  not  subdue.    ...    Half  the  grief  of 

growth  and  slavery,  are  made  to  unite  the  world  is  occasioned  by  the  failure 

in  the  discipline  of  the  Church.  of  wicked  and  cruel  purposes. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  13,  14. 

The  Despotism  of  Sin. 

I.  That  it  commences  by  suggesting  a  small  tribute  to  the  sinner.  The  Egyptian 
King,  no  doubt,  suggested  to  the  Israelites  that  great  advantage  might  arise  to 
them  if  they  would  enter  into  certain  engagements  or  investments  under  his 
authority.  This  they  did — paying  heavy  tribute — which  they  were  unable  to 
meet — and  so  placed  themselves  in  his  power.  1.  Sin  generally  commences  its 
tyranny  by  suggesting  the  probability  of  gain  under  its  rule.  It  wins  us  by  the  hope 
of  a  good  investment — whereby  we  may  secure  wealth — prosperity — fame.  But 
when  we  commence  to  work  out  the  contract  we  find  that  we  have  been  lured  by 
a  false  hope — a  deceptive  promise.  We  find  ourselves  involved  in  difficulties — 
numerous — complicated — depressing — ever  increasing — until  we  are  reduced  from 
the  position  of  tenant  to  that  of  slave.  Never  enter  into  any  bargains  with  sin. 
They  are  sure  to  end  in  woe.  They  promise  liberty — they  give  chains.  The 
world  is  a  great  prison-house  full  of  the  dupes  of  sin.  (1.)  Sin  is  cunning.  (2.)  Sin 
has  many  counsellors.     (3.)  Sin  has  many  agencies.     You  are   not  a  match  for  it. 

II.  Til  at  it  succeeds  in  getting  the  sinner  completely  witliin  its  power.  The 
Egyptians  succeeded  in  getting  the  Israelites  completely   under  their  authority 

1.  Sin  gets  the  sinner  under  its  rule.  It  makes  him  obey  the  laws  of  hell.  It  makes 
him  work  tiie  purposes  of  Satan.  He  must  violate  every  holy  instinct  of  his  nature. 
He  must  reject  the  counsel  of  the  Infinite.  He  becomes  a  subject  of  the  infernal 
realm  of  being.  2.  Sin  makes  the  sinner  subject  to  its  counsel.  The  Israelites  were 
enslaved  as  the  result  of  a  national  consultation  between  the  Egyptian  king  and 
his  near  advisers.  Satan  holds  a  council  in  reference  to  the  moral  servitude  of 
human  souls — the  sinner  yields  to  the  unjust  and  unholy  requirements  of  his 
fiendish  companions.  3.  Sin  makes  the  sinner  responsible  to  its  authority.  The 
Israelites  were  responsible  to  the  king  of  Egypt  for  the  kind  and  amount  of  ser- 
vice they  rendered.  He  made  them  feel  obligated  to  build  the  house,  and  to  serve 
in  the  field.  So  the  devil  tries  to  bring  men  to  do  his  work  as  though  they  were 
obligated  to  follow  his  bidding,  so  completely  is  the  soul  brought  under  Satanic 
power.     It  is  conscious  of  its  burden.     It   has  not    the   energy   to  cast  it  away. 

III.  That  itultimatelyimposes  upon  the  sinner  anintolerable servitude.  1.  The 
servitude  of  a  bitter  life.  How  sad  the  lives  of  these  abject  Isi-aelites.  Every  day 
spent  in  unrequited  toil — subject  to  heavy  tribute — savage  taskmasters — a  fierce 
king — an  envious  nation — without  hope  of  deliverance.  Without  free  socip.l 
intercourse — without  happy  domestic  life.  Sin  renders  life  bitter — destroys 
friendly    companionships — breaks    up    family    comfort.       Fills    life    with    grief. 

2.  The  servitude  of  hard  work.  The  Egyptians  made  the  Israelites  build  cities, 
and  attend  in  the  fields.  The  devil  gives  sinners  hard  work  to  do.  Sinners  often 
work  harder  than  saints.     Their  toil  is  far  more  exhausting  and  fatiguing.     Nor 

7 


CHAP.  L  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY;  EXODUH. 


are  siuners  recompensed  for  their  toil ;  Satan  makes  them  build  houses  for  other 
people  I  The  unprofitableness — the  folly  of  sin.  3.  The  servitude  .'s  degrading. 
The  Israelites  came  into  Egypt  as  a  godly  family,  brought  there  by  Joseph,  who  wjia 
distinguished  as  a  God-fearing  man.  They  were  honoured  by  the  king.  They  were 
respected  by  the  people — Yet  a  few  years  afterwards  they  aie  employed  as  field-ser- 
vants. What  a  transition  in  their  position,  and  all  because  they  yielded  to  the 
cunning  allurements  of  a  wicked  king  !  So  sin  brings  men  from  respect  to  derision 
— from  plenty  to  beggary — from  moral  rulership  to  servitude.  Repulse  the  first 
attempt  of  Satan  to  bind  even  a  golden  chain  around  your  wrist,  for,  when  fastened, 
you  will  find  the  gold  to  wear  off,  and  disclose  a  steel  manacle  that  will  bruiM 
your  flesh.     Sin  degrades  individuals — and  nations. 

The  Spiritual  Bondage  of  Men. 

I.  It  was  an  entire  and  universal  bondage.  The  dominion  of  the  oppressor 
had  no  merciful  limit,  nor  mitigation.  Every  Israelite  in  Goshen  was  the  bond- 
servant of  the  Egyptians.  The  bondage  of  Satan  knows  no  limit — no  mercy  :  — 
1.  The  understanding  is  depraved.  2.  The  will  is  perverted.  3.  The  affections  are 
depraved.  II.  The  Israelites  under  a  severe  and  cruel  bondage.  III.  The 
Israelites  were  in  a  helpless  bondage.  Every  refinement  of  policy,  every  effort 
of  power,  every  device  of  craft,  was  practised  agaiiict  them  by  the  might  and 
subtilty  of  a  nation  unrivalled  in  arts  and  arms.  They  coidd  not  escape  of 
themselves.  Satan  has  a  close  alliance  with  every  appetite  aud  affection  of  our 
nature.     Difficult  to  get  from  under  his  tyranny  [BuddicovTi  s  Chi-istian  Exodtis\. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  13,  14,  The  sufferings  of  pious  as  it  is  in  evident  opposition  to 
Israel  were  rendered  more  intense: —      the  Divine  providence,     iii.  It  discards 

1.  As  a  punishment  for  their  idolatry.      all   the    claims    of  humanity.      iv.   It 

2.  To  inspire  within  them  a  deep  ends  in  its  own  defeat  and  overthrow, 
hatred  toward  Pigypt,  so  that  through  It  is  the  cruel  design  of  persecutors 
their  perils  in  the  wilderness  they  might  to  make  God's  freemen  their  slaves, 
not  wish  to  return  thither.  3.  That  the  Wicked  persecutors  are  the  more 
prospect  of  Canaan  might  animate  and  rigorous  to  those  whom  God  favoureth. 
refresh  their  souls.  4.  That  after  such  Some  men  take  a  delight  in  making 
excessive  and  unpaid  labour  they  might  the  lives  of  God's  people  miserable, 
fairly  spoil  the  Egyptians  on  their  de-  Men  are  slow  to  be  taught  that,  by 
parture.  5.  That  they  might  be  arous-  their  mad  schemes,  they  are  fighting 
ed    to  earnest  prayer  for  deliverance.  against  God. 

6,  That  the  power  and  mercy  of  God  By  the  work  of  this  bondage  the  Is- 

might   be    more    forcibly  displayed    in  raelites,  getting  instructed  in  civilized 

their  freedom.     Here  is  a  true  picture  life,  were  being  prepared  for  their  future 

of   tyranny  :  —  i.  Its  rigour  increases  home, 
with  failure,     ii.  It  becomes  more  im- 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  15—21. 

High  Social  Position  used  for  the  Fuutherance  of  a  Wicked  Purpose. 

I.  That  sometimes  high  social  position  exerts  its  authority  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  wicked  and  cruel  purpose.  (Verse  15.)  1.  The  king  commands  the  mur- 
der of  the  male  children  of  the  Israelites.  What  could  be  more  diabolical  than 
this?  They  were  to  be  murdered  in  tlie  birth.  They  were  innocent  of  any  plot 
against  the  Egyptian  government.  They  had  in  no  way  injured  the  country — 
yet  they  are  to  be  put  to  death — almost  before  their  first  experience  of  life.  None 
but  the  king  dared  to  have  uttered  such  a  cruel  mandate.  Kings  seem  to  have 
an  idea  that  they  can  do  what  they  like.  What  an  abuse  and  degradation  of  regal 
power.     It  is  this  kind  of  thing  that  brings  them  into  contempt. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  CHAr   i. 


2.  He  seeks  to  accomplish  this  hy  hrnnging  the  innocent  into  a  participation  of  his 
murderous  deed.  These  Hebrew  midwives  were  of  godly  moral  character.  They 
feared  Jehovah  ;  they  sympathised  with  the  enslaved  Israelites  ;  they  had  no 
thought  of  doing  their  comrades  any  harm  ;  as  for  murdering  the  offspring  of 
those  whom  they  attended  in  childbirth,  the  very  suggestion  was  most  revolting 
to  them.  Thus,  the  king  tries  to  enkindle  within  the  hearts  and  mind.s  of 
these  midwives  the  same  envy,  and  unholy  thought  that  occupied  his  own.  It  ia 
almost  unpardonable  to  suggest  sin  to  those  that  have  no  previous  occasion  for,  or 
idea  of  committing  it,  and  especially  wiien  the  suggestion  is  rendered  authorita- 
tive by  power  and  national  supremacy.  This  suggestion  was  not  only  cruel  and 
murderous.,  but  it  was  subtle.  In  this  way  the  king  would  be  concealed  as  the 
murderer.  It  would  be  done  by  the  midwives,  and  they  even  would  not  be  de- 
tected in  the  act.  Thus  many  simple  lives  would  have  been  plunged  into  awful 
crime — and  innocent  victims  would  have  suffered  for  the  guilty.  Tyrants  are 
generally  cowards,  and  seek  such  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  designs 
as  are  more  likely  to  involve  others  than  themselves. 

II.  When  high  social  authority  is  used  to  further  a  wicked  design  we  are 
justified  in  opposing  its  effort.  (Verse  17.)  1.  We  are  not  to  do  wrong  be- 
cause a  king  commands  it.  Many  weak-minded  people  will  do  anything  a  king 
tells  them.  They  think  what  he  says  must  be  right ;  they  are  flattered  by 
his  personal  attention  to  them  ;  they  are  awed  by  his  pomp  and  splendour ;  they 
are  bribed  by  his  offer  of  reward  (the  king  would  no  doubt  promise  these  mid- 
wives  ample  recompense).  When  the  highest  personage  in  the  realm  needs  an 
accomplice  to  aid  in  an  evil  deed,  never  help  him,  however  humble  or  poor  your 
station  in  life  may  be.  It  will  be  your  ruin  if  you  do ;  he  will  soon  want  to  dis- 
patch you,  to  shield  himself  from  the  possibility  of  detection.  Right  is  the  supreme 
monarch  of  the  soul,  and  claims  obedience  before  any  temporal  power.  To  oppose 
murder,  when  advocated  by  a  king,  and  when  it  could  be  accomplished  unknown 
•^and  when,  if  known,  would  win  the  applause  of  a  hostile  nation,  is  heroic — 
benevolent — divinely  reivardable^  and  is  the  duty  of  all  who  fear  God.  2,  Stich 
opvosition  must  embody  the  true  principle  of  piety.  The  midwives  feared  God — 
more  than  they  did  the  king.  This  opposition  to  the  cruel  intent  of  the  monarch 
was  not  obstinate,  but  it  was  the  outcome  of  a  conscience  influenced  by  the 
Divine  Spirit.  We  must  always  reject  the  idea  of  sin  in  a  pious  spirit — from 
Christian  motive.  3.  Such  opposition  will  secure  for  us  the  Divine  protection.  The 
king  summoned  the  midwives  to  himself  again.  He  asked  why  they  had  neglected 
his  command.  They  replied  fearlessly.  No  harm  came  to  them.  God  will 
protect  brave  souls  that  dare  to  defy  a  wicked  king. 

III.  That  for  such  opposition  we  shall  be  Divinely  Bewarded.  1.  God  dealt 
well  with  the  midwives.  2.  God  made  the  midwives  houses.  3.  Moi  lose  nothing  by 
serving  God  in  preference  to  a  cruel  king. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  15.    Sin  often  brings  men  in-  humble  women   may  be  more  than  a 

to  companionships  that  otherwise  they  match  for  the  great  king  of  Egypt.    No 

would  despise.  influence,  how  obscure  soever,  is  to  be 

It  is  a  mercy  that  tyrants  are  often  treated  with  contempt  \^City  Temple.} 

dependent  upon  others,  of  more  tender  Verse   16.     When    burdens   do  not 

sympathies,  for  the  accomplishment  of  effect  the  will  of  tyrants  on  the  Chui'ch, 

their  designs.  murder  shall. 

The  plan  of  murder  is  not  so  easy  Cruelty  on  the  first  onset  seeks  to 

after  all ;    there  are  persons  to  be  con-  shed  blood  by  subtilty. 

suited  who  may  turn  round  upon   us.  Tyrants  will   make  helps  for  life  to 

and,    on    some   ground,   deny  our  au-  be    instruments    of     death — midwives 

thority.       What   if    the   midwives   set  to  be  murderers. 

themselves     against  Pharaoh  ?      Two  Bloody  powers  suborn  either  such  as 

9 


CDAP.  L 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


be  of  the  Church,  or  strangers  to  de- 
stroy them. 

Subtle  tyrants  order  the  best  oppor- 
tunity   at   first,  to   liide  their  cruelty. 

It  is  devilish  to  set  a  tender  soul 
upon  such  bloody  designs  \_Hnghes~\. 

Satan,  in  all  his  instruments,  hath 
always  aimed  at  the  death  of  Israel's 
males  [Hughes]. 

No  greater  argument  of  an  ill  cause 
than  a  bloody  persecution  \Trapp\ 

Why  were  the  males  to  be  put  to 
death? — 1.  Because  they  were  the  most 
capable     of     insurrection     and     war. 

2.  Because  the  Israelitish  women  were 
fairer  than  the  Egyptian,  and  so  might 
be     kept    for     the   purposes    of     lust. 

3.  Because  the  Israelitish  women  were 
industrious  in  spinning  and  needle- 
work, and  so  were  kept  for  service. 

Verse  17.  The  tyrant-projects  of  a 
wicked  king  may  be  thwarted  by  the 
piety  of  his  subjects. 

God  has  instruments  in  the  world  to 
aid  His  Church,  as  well  as  to  perse- 
cute it. 

Religion  will  deter  men  from  the 
most  terrible  sins. 

God  gives  courage  to  timid  souls,  to 
enable  them  to  resist  kingly  wrong. 

God  makes  them  save  life  whom  men 
appoint  to  destroy  it. 

The  good  hand  of  God  doth  keep  the 
males,  or  best  helps  of  the  Church's 
peace,    when    persecutors    would    kill. 

Still  the  conflict  rages  between  God 
and  the  tyrant  king.  On  which  side 
are  we  found  ? 

Those  who  fear  God  are  superior  to 
all  other  fear.  When  our  notion  of 
authority  terminates  upon  the  visible 
and  temporary,  we  become  the  victims 
of  tickle  circumstances ;  when  that  no- 
tion rises  to  the  unseen  and  eternal,  we 
enjoy  rest  amid  the  tumult  of  all  that 
is  merely  outward,  and  therefore  perish- 
ing. The  men  who  fear  God  the 
most  save  their  country.  Tiiey  make 
little  noise,  they  hold  no  open-air  de- 
monstrations. All  great  workers  in  so- 
ciety are  not  in  the  front  \CHij  I'emple]. 

Verse   18.    That  tyrants   are  some- 
times disappointed  in  those  whom  they 
expected  to  f  ullil  their  designs. 
10 


That  tyrants  can  call  those  who  dis- 
appoint them  to  account  : — 1.  In  anger 
— the  king  was  in  a  rage  that  his  pur- 
pose had  failed.  2.  In  disquietude — 
the  king  was  perplexed  as  to  the  issue 
of  Israel's  growth.  3.  In  astonish- 
ment— that  two  women  should  have 
set  at  naught  his  royal  commands. 
He  did  not  know  the  great  force  of 
true  womanhood. 

Verse  19.  Faith  in  God  enables  men 
to  give  a  reason  for  not  doing  wrong. 

Tyrants  are  foiled  by  little  instru- 
mentalities in  their  efforts  to  destroy  or 
injure  the  Church. 

God  can  make  His  persecuted  crea- 
tures more  lively  and  strong  to  bear 
than  others. ...  Religion  fires  a  timid  soul 
with  heroism. 

Verse  20.  Persons  who  are  instru- 
mental in  the  saving  of  human  life  are 
pleasing  to  God. 

Persons  who  render  ineffective  the 
designs  of  a  tyrant,  and  preserve  the 
Church  from  harm,  are  Divinely 
blessed. 

All  who  fear  God  will  be  favourably 
dealt  with — now  and  hereafter. 

They  who  serve  God  serve  a  good 
master.  Was  God  indifferent  to  the 
character  and  claims  of  the  midwives 
who  bore  practical  testimony  for  Him 
in  the  time  of  a  nation's  trial  ?  His 
eye  was  upon  them  for  good,  and  His 
hand  was  stretched  out  day  and  night 
for  their  defence.  They  learned  still 
more  deeply  that  there  was  another 
King  beside  Pharoah ;  and  in  the 
realization  of  His  presence  Pharoah 
dwindled  into  a  secondary  power, 
whose  breath  was  in  his  nostrils,  and 
whose  commands  were  the  ebullitions 
of  moral  insanity.  No  honest  man  or 
woman  can  do  a  work  for  God  with- 
out receiving  a  great  rewai'd  [City 
Temple], 

There  are  times  when  nations  are 
called  upon  to  say  "  No,"  to  their 
Sovereigns.  Such  times  are  not  to  be 
sought  for  with  pertinacious  self-asser- 
tion, whose  object  is  to  make  itself 
very  conspicuous  and  important ;  but 
where  they  do  occur,  conscience  is 
to   assert    itself    with    a   dignity    too 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP  L 


calm  to  be  impatient,  and  too  righteous 
to  be  deceived  \_City  Temple]. 

The  Church  must  grow,  even  though 
the  king  seeks  its  death. 

Verse   21.    God  makes  sure  houses 


for  the  sons  of  His  Church  w^hen  per- 
secutors destroy  them  [Hughes]. 

Our  reward  is  proportionate  to  our 
fear  of  God. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  22. 
The  Last  Edict  of  a  Tyrant  King, 

I.  It  was  public  in  its  proclamation.  1.  Eow  men  advance  from  one  degree  oj 
sin  to  another.  The  last  murderous  intention  was  only  made  known  to  two  mid- 
wives ;  it  was  private — it  was  subtle.  This  is  public;  this  is  unconcealed  ;  he 
fearlessly  and  untremblingly  announces  himself  as  the  murderer  of  all  the  males 
of  Israel, 

II.  It  was  cruel  in  its  requirements.  1.  It  ivas  an  edict  requiring  the  death  of 
the  young.  Why  should  a  tyrant  king  fear  the  infant  sons  of  Israel  ? — He  knew 
that  they  would  be  his  enemies  of  the  future  if  spared.  There  is  a  power  m 
young  life — it  is  the  hope  of  the  Church — the  terz-or  of  despots.  If  the  world 
only  gets  hold  of  the  young,  the  Church  will  soon  cease  its  growth. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSE. 


"Verse  22.  A  very  easy  plan,  was  it 
not  ?  Whom  you  fear,  destroy  ;  that 
is  a  brief  and  easy  creed,  surely.  This 
was  turning  the  river  to  good  account ; 
it  was  a  ready-made  grave.  Pharaoh 
did  not  charge  the  people  to  cut  the 
sod,  and  lay  the  murdered  children  in 
the  ground  ;  the  sight  would  have  been 
unpleasant,  the  reminders  would  have 
been  too  numerous;  he  said,  "Throw 
the  intruders  into  the  river  :  there  will 
be  but  a  splash,  and  the  whole  thing 
will  be  over.  The  river  will  carry  no 
marks — will  tell  no  stories — will  sustain 
no  loadstone — it  will  roll  on  as  if  its 
waters  had  never  been  divided  by  the 
hand  of  the  murderer  ! "  All  bad  kings 


have  feared  the  rise  of  manhood.  No- 
thing better  than  murder  occurred  to 
the  mind  of  this  short-sighted  king. 
He  never  thought  of  culture,  of  kind- 
ness, of  social  and  political  develop- 
ment ;  his  one  idea  of  power  was  the 
shallow  and  vulgar  idea  of  oppression 
\_City  Temple^. 

An  unkingly  argument  used  for  an 
unkingly  purpose. 

Bloody  powers  desire  to  make  execu- 
tioners  enough  to  destroy  the  Church. 

Persecuting  kings  do  not  entreat,  but 
command  their  people  to  be  instruments 
of  cruelty. 

God  suffers  persecutors  to  go  to  the 
utmost  of  then-  appointed  bounds. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  FOR  CHAPTER  L 


Verses  1 — 6,  As  trees  growing  in  the  wood 
are  known — some  by  difference  of  their  trunks, 
and  some  by  the  prt)perties  of  their  branches, 
leaves,  flowers,  and  fruits  ;  but  this  knowledge 
is  had  of  them  only  whilst  they  stand,  grow, 
and  are  not  consumed  ;  for  if  they  be  com- 
mitted to  the  lire,  and  are  turned  into  ashes, 
they  cannot  be  known.  It  is  impossible  that, 
tv'hen  the  ashes  of  divers  kmds  of  trees  are 
3i)ingled  together,  the  tall  pine  tree  should  be 
discerned  from  the  great  oak,  or  the  mighty 
poplar  from  a  low  shrub,  or  any  one  tree  from 


another  :  even  so  men,  whilst  they  live  in  the 
wood  of  this  world,  are  known — some  by  the 
stock  of  their  ancestors,  some  by  the  flourish- 
ing leaves  of  their  words  and  eloquence,  some 
in  the  flowers  of  beauty,  and  some  in  the  shrub 
of  honesty,  many  by  their  savage  ignorance, 
and  some  by  their  kindness  ;  but  when  death 
doth  bring  them  into  dust,  and  hath  mixed  all 
together,  then  their  ashes  c.innot  be  known — 
then  there  is  no  differeni'e  between  the  miuhry 
princes  of  the  wmld  and  the  poor  souls  that 
are  not  accounted  of  \_Candray\. 

11 


CHAP.  n. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Verses  8 — 11.  If  the  mountains  overflow  with 
waters,  the  valleys  are  the  better  ;  and  if  the 
head  be  full  of  ill-hnmours,  the  wh>>le  body 
fares  the  worse.  The  actions  of  rulers  «re 
most  commonly  rules  for  the  people's  actioi  s, 
and  their  example  passcth  as  current  as  their 
coin.  The  common  ])eo|Je  are  like  tcinpere;! 
wax,  easily  receiving  impressions  from  the 
seals  of  great  men's  vices ;  they  care  not  to 
sin  by  prescription  and  damn  themselves  with 
authority.  And  it  is  the  unhappy  privilege  of 
greatness  to  warrant,  by  example,  others',  aa 
well  as  its  own  sins,  whilst  the  unadvised  take 
up  crimes  on  trust  and  perish  by  credit  [Hard- 
ing's  Sermons]. 

Verse  11.  As  we  say  of  fire  and  water,  and 
as  the  Romans  said  of  Caligula, "  Nemo  melior 
Bcrvus,  nemo  pefor  domjiiu^,"  we  may  say  of 
the  Ch'irch's  enemies — "They  are  very  bad 
masters,  executing  their  own  lusts  and  cruelty 
against  God's  people,  yet  very  good  servants, 
if  the  Di\'ine  hand  makes  use  of  them  for  the 
Church's  service;"  just  like  the  good  hus- 
bandman, who  makes  use  of  briars  and  thorns 
which,  though  they  be  fruits  of  the  curse,  and 
cumber  the  ground,  yet  be  vnl\  suffer  them  to 
grow  in  hedges,  that  he  may  make  them  a 
fence  unto  his  fruitful  ground  [Stricklanif]. 


Verse  12.  Even  as  the  palm-tree,  the  more  it 
is  laden  and  pressed  dovra,  the  more  it  grow- 
eth  and  strctcheth  out,  or  spreadeth  its  boughs 
in  length  and  bre.adth :  so,  likewise,  the 
Church,  the  more  she  is  persecuted  and  nfflict- 
ed,  the  more  force,  courage,  and  liveliness  she 
tiikerli  to  herself.  Like  as  roses  and  lilies  are 
rcciisiomed  to  fi  lurish  and  to  increase  among 
ihonis :  60  is  ilii^  a  common  thing  for  the 
Church  to  flourish  in  tlie  midst  of  persecutions. 

Verso  17. — 
The  cDTis-rifnce,  that  sole  monarchy  in  man, 
Owinjr  allegiance  to  no  earthly  prince  ; 
Made  by  the  edict  of  creation  free  ; 
Made  hacred,  made  above  all  human  laws, 
Holding  of  heaven  alone  ;  of  most  divine 
And  indefeasible  authority  iPollock}. 

Verse  22.  There  is  a  woful  gradation  in 
sin.  Ab  mariners,  Dotting  sail,  lose  sight  of 
the  shore,  then  of  the  houses,  then  of  the 
steeples,  and  thon  of  the  mountains  and  land  ; 
and  as  those  that  are  waylaid  by  a  consump- 
tion Srr-t  lose  vigour,  then  uppotite,  and  then 
colour;  thus  it  is  that  sin  hath  its  woful  gra- 
dations. None  decliDB  to  the  worst  at  first, 
but  go  from  one  degree  of  turpitude  to  an- 
other, until  the  very  climax  is  reached. 


CHAPTER  II. 


/RmcAL  Notes. — 3.  Bulrushes]  The  well-known  Eg.  papyrus  or  paper-reed.  4.  Stood]  "Sta- 
tioned herself."  6.  She  saw  the  child]  This  verse  is  surpassingly  delightful  for  simple  vivid- 
upss,  when  rendered  in  oriental  fashion :  •'  And  she  opens,  and  beholds  him — even  the  child , 
and  lo  !  a  boy,  wocping  I  "  9.  Take]  More  exactly:  "Take  away."  Prob.  not  said  with  aver- 
sion, but  prompted  by  the  child's  danger  and  her  own  prudence.  The  time  was  not  yot  come 
for  M.  to  be  called  "the  son  of  P.'s  daughter."  10.  Moses]  Heb.  Mosheh  (pV^TD):  if  of  Hob. 
origin,  undoubtedly  an  active — not  a  passive — participle=" drawing  out,"  not  "drawn  out." 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  this.  The  starting  point  of  the  naming  is  from  the  net  of  "  drawing  :'" 
the  passive  "being  drawn "  wd.  necessarily  be  implied.  But  the  ac^<■l•e  touches  God's  provi- 
dence  at  two  points  instead  of  one,— the  "drawing"  of  the  individual  son  "out"  of  the  Nile, 
and  the  "drawing  "  of  the  national  son  {Hos.  xi.  1)  «  out"  of  Egypt:  Johovah  "  drew  out"  M.* 
by  Pli.'s  daughter,  and  Is.  by  M.  While  preferring  the  derivation  just  named,  we  need  not  de- 
cisively reject  that  adopted  by  some  scholars,  after  Josophu.s,  from  the  Coptic="  Water-saved." 
It  is  certainly  striking,  that  whereas  "  Mo  "  in  Copt.  sigs.  "  water,"  Ph.'s  d.,  according  to  this 
ver.,  laid  stress  on  the  water: — lit.  "Out  of  the  waters  did  I  draw  him."  Thus'^rich  in 
resources,  we  can  assure  Fiirst  that  we  see  no  reason  why  the  etymol.  given  in  Ex.  ii.  10  shd 
"  not  be  taken  seriously  "  :  certainly  we  need  not  give  it  up  for  his  conjecture,  that  M.  is="8on 
of  Osiris  !  "  18.  Eeuel]  It  is  common  to  say  that  R.  is="  God's  friend  "  (Ges.  Dav.)  ;  but  the 
theory  of  Fiiist  that  the  giving  of  these  "  EI-"  names  (and  others)  was  a  sort  of  worshipful 
recognition  of  Divine  Providence,  leads  him  to  modify  the  rendering  of  the  combined  roots  to 
I'  El  is  friendship."  We  have  jjaid  some  little  attention  to  this  theory  in  its  results  on  the  mean- 
ing of  Bible  names,  and  deem  it  well  worthy  of  further  consideration.  21.  Zipporah]  Here  we 
come   iipon  a  pleasant  touch  of  human  nature.     This  name  sigs    "little  bird  "  fcf.  Scottish 


rouna  It,  .^ee  C.  A.  ch.  iv.  24.26.     Between  the  "well  "  and  the  "mountain  "  we  have  years  of 
domt'.^ti?  history  spanned  over  with  two  or  three  hints.     At  least,  let  us  make  the  best  of  these. 
12 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  n. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-i. 

The  Birth  of  Moses. 

I.  As  occurring  of  noble  parentage.     1.  They  were  of  moderate  social  position. 
Amram.  the  father  of  Moses,  was  the  son  of  Kohath,  who  was  the  son  of  Levi. 
He  espoused  Jocliebed,  who  was  also  of  tlie  tribe  of  Levi.      Tlicy  had    three 
children,  Aaron,  Miriam,  and  Moses.     Josephiis  says  that  Amram  was  of  noble 
family.     Not  much  is  known  about  him.     The  social  position  of  a  child  has  a 
great  influence  upon  its  life — education — habits — and  associates.    Many  sons  rise 
higher  in  social  grade  than  those  who  gave  them  birth — either  through  fortune 
— Providence — or  industry.     Moses  was  taken  to  be  the  son  of  a   monaich'a 
daughter.     lie  was  to  become  the  supreme  Lawgiver  and  Ruler,  not  merely  of  a 
vast  nation,  but  of  tlie  moral  life  of  the  world.     2    They  loei-e  of  strong  parental 
affection.     They  took  great  notice  of  their  children,  especially  of  Moses.      The 
mother  thought  him  a  goodly  child.     This  was  mother-like.     She  was  anxious 
for  the  safety  of  her  infant.    Hence  she  tried  to  evade  the  cruel  edict  of  the  king. 
She  concealed  him  in  the  house.     Then  she  hid  him  on  the  waters  of  the   Nile. 
She  may  have  had  a  strange  presentiment  that  her  young  child  was  destined  to 
be  connected  with  the  fortunes  of  Israel.     This  oiade  her  solicitous  for  his  pre- 
servation.    Few  mothers  but  would  have  acted  likewise.     Would   that  mothers 
were  as  anxious  for  the  moral  preservation  of  their  offspring  as  for  the  physical. 
Many  mothers  will  hide  their  children  from  a  tyrant  king,  who  would  not  con- 
ceal them  from  a  wicked  companionship.     There  are  many  edicts  for  the  moral 
shmghter  of  the  young — the  edict  of  a  wicked  press.     Parents  should  hide  their 
children  therefrom.     3.   They  were    of    good    religious  character.        "  By   faith 
Moses,  when  he  was  born,  was  hid  three  months  of  his   parents."  (Heb.  xL,  23./ 
Thus  the  parents  of  Moses  were  truly  pious.     They  had  faith  in   the   unseen 
Jehovah — not  weak — lifeless — inoperative — but  powerful — so  tliat  it  influenced 
their  life — in  its  most  tender  sphere — in  its  most  sacred  relations — in  its  briglitest 
hopes — in   its   truest   joys — it   made   them  willing  to    give   up    their   child    to 
the   guardianship   of   the   Nile  —  nay  —  to  the    guardianship  of   God.     Here 
is   a    pattern   for   parents.       Have    such    faith   in    God    that    you    can  trust 
— even   your   children  —  in   the   most   perilous   circumstances    of   life —to  His 
care.      Such  trust  on  your  part  may  enhance   their  temporal  good  —  it  may 
put  them  in  the  way  of  a  monarch's  daughter.     Many  a  child   has    obtained 
social    position    through    the     piety    of    his    mother.        Happy     the     infancy 
that  is  linked  to  the  providence  of  God  by  a  mother's  faith.     We  cannot  tell  how 
much  the  faith  of  the  parents  had  to  do  with  the  future  of  their  child.     Faith  in 
God  is  the   preserving   influence    of    a   threatened    life — physically — morally — • 
eternally.     II.  As  happening  in  perilous  times.     1.    When  his  nation  was  in  a 
condition  of  servitude.      That    this  servitude  was  severe— exacting — grievous- 
disastrous — murderous — is  evident  from  the  last  chapter.     Thus  Moses  was   not 
born  to  freedom — to  comfort — but  to  unrewarded  toil — and  unmitigated  sorrow. 
His  earliest  experiences  would  be  of  cruelty  and  degradation.     It  seems  a  pity, 
and  an  injustice,  that  young  children  should  be  born  to  slavery.     2.  When  a  cruel 
edict  ivas  in  force  against  the  young.     How  were  the  parents  of   Moses  enabled  to 
conceal  him  from  the  oflicers  of  Pharoah  ?     Given  a  loving  mother — a  kimlly 
providence — we  cannot  wonder  at  the  result.      III.    As  involving   momentous 
issues.     1.  Issues  relating  to  the  lives  of  individuals.     Ihe   birth  of  Moses  made 
Miriam  a  watcher — gave  her  an  introduction  to  a    king's  daughter — and  has 
given  immortality  to  her  name.     It  brought  Aaron  into  historical  prominence  in 
relation  to  the  Exodus  of  Israel,  inasmuch  as  Moses  lacked  the  eloquent  tongue 
possessed  by  his  brother.      TJie  lite  of  Mosea  touclied  thec^e  names  into  fame, 

13 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY.  EXODUS. 


gave  them  an  impulse,  invested  them  with  a  greater  meaning  than  otherwise  they 
would  have  had — they  derive  lustre  from  his  work.  2.  Issues  involving  the  freedom 
of  an  enslaved  people.  That  ark  upon  the  Nile  waters  contains  a  power  that  shall 
break  the  fetters  of  Israel — and  lead  tlie  nation  to  a  land  of  promise.  Infant 
lives  are  linked  much  more  to  the  interests  of  freedom  than  of  serfdom.  People  are 
little  conscious  of  the  instrumentalities  that  are  to  give  them  liberty.  Tlie  free- 
dom of  a  kingdom  may  be  involved  in  the  birth  of  a  child.  We  know  not  the 
influence  one  infant  life  may  have  upon  a  nation.  3.  Tsmes  relating  to  the 
destiny  of  a  proud  nation.  Tliat  child — the  object  of  a  mother's  care — of  a 
sister's  vio-ilance — will  one  day  be  the  occasion  of  a  monarch's  fear — torment — 
overtiirow.  Now  the  Nile  carries  on  its  tranquil  waters  a  power  that  shall 
defeat  tlie  Pharaohs.  The  erlict  is  vain.  The  slaughter  of  the  young  is  useless 
—  One  has  escaped  the  horrid  massacre;  that  is  enough!  Egypt  is  in  peril. 
Israel  may  strike  her  first  note  of  freedom.  In  the  life  of  one  child  there  may 
be  wrapped  up  the  destinies  of  an  Empire.  The  potentiality  of  infant  life! 
IV.  As  exliibiting  the  inventiveness  of  maternal  love.  1.  In  that  she  devised 
a  scheme  for  the  safetj/  of  her  child.  The  mother  was  more  clever  than  the  tyrant 
king  and  his  accomplices.  Tyranny  is  too  calculating  to  be  clever.  Maternal 
love  is  quick,  and  spontaneous  in  its  thought,  and  sees  a  refuge  where  tyrants 
never  suspect.  The  refuge  chosen  was  unlikely — carefully  selected— vigilantly 
guarded — evidently  sufficient.  She  was  amply  repaid.  Only  a  mother  would 
have  thought  of  it.  V.  As  eluding  the  edict  of  a  cruel  king.  The  mother  of 
Moses  was  justified  in  eluding  this  edict— because  it  was  unjust-  -murderous — it 
did  violence  to  family  affection — to  the  laws  of  citizenship — and  to  the  joyful 
anticipations  of  men. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  1.  Providence  is  preparing 
good,  while  wickedness  is  working  evil 
to  the  Church — Times,  tribes,  and  per- 
sons are  appointed  by  God,  by  whom 
He  will  work  good  to  His  people. 

In  the  desolations  of  the  Church's 
seed,  God  will  have  His  to  marry  and 
continue  it. 

Tribes  cursed  for  their  desert,  may 
be  made  instrumental  of  good  by  grace. 

Marriages  are  always  to  be  accounteil 
lawful  by  God's  will  revealed  about 
them. 

The  greatest  instruments  of  the 
Cluu'ch's  good,  God  ordereth  to  bring 
in  the  common  way  of  man. 

The  Divine  Being  orders  instruments 
of  salvation  to  be  born  in  times  of 
affliction. 

Verse  2.  No  policies,  or  cruelties  of 
man,  can  hinder  God  from  sending 
saviours  to  the  Church. 

God  uses  instrumentalities  in  accom- 
plishing the  freedom  of  the  slave,  and 
the  welfare  of  the  Church. 

God     makelh    sight    serviceable     to 
faitli  for  preserving   Hie  own.     "  She 
6a  vv." 
14 


That  infant  life  sometimes  contains 
the  prophecy  of  its  future.  Faith  hides 
the  child  it  wishes  to  save — 

1.  As  evidence  of  a  holy  courage. 

2.  As  using  means  to  secure  its  end. 

3.  As  manifestirig  a  sacred  skill. 

4.  As  embodying  the  germ  of  a  brilliant 
hope.. ..Discretion  is  not  cowardice. 

Pharaoh's  laws  were  against  all  the 
laws  of  nature,  or,  more  properly  speak- 
ing, against  the  laws  of  God;  and  nature 
was  slowly  working  against  Pharaoh  ; 
he  had  made  God  his  enemy.  Against 
these  laws  of  Pharaoh  a  mother's  heart 
revolted  [F.  W.  Robertson.'] 

In  many  cases  in  the  scriptures  you 
find  the  enemy  seeking  by  death  to 
interrupt  the  current  of  divine  action. 
But,  blessed  be  God,  there  is  something 
beyond  death.  The  entire  sphere  of 
divine  action,  as  connected  with  redemp- 
tion, lies  beyond  the  limits  of  death's 
domain.  "When  Satan  has  exhausted 
his  power,  then  God  begins  to  show 
Himself.  Tlie  grave  is  the  limit  of 
Satan's  activity ;  but  there  it  is  that 
divine  activity  begins.  This  is  a 
glorious  truth.  Satan  has  the  power 
of  death ;  but  God  is  the  God  of  the 


HOMILETIC  nOMUF.NTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  n. 


living ;  and  He  gives  life  beyond  the 
reiich  and  power  of  death — a  life  which 
Satan  cannot  touch  [C.H .M.'] 

Death  is  often  the  edict  of  man, 
when  life  is  the  promise  and  ordination 
of  God. 

Verse  3.  That  the  loving  ingenuity 
of  a  mother  has  its  limit ;  *'  She  could 
no  longer  hide  him." 

The  divine  Providence  is  the  refuge 
of  a  good,  but  perplexed  parent. 

In  times  of  extreme  difficulty  it  is 
well  to  venture  upon  the  providence  of 
God  [^IJem-y  and  Scoti\. 

God  teaches  the  good  the  best  way 
of  saving  those  by  whom  He  intends  to 
deliver  His  Church. 

Tyrants  use  the  river  for  a  grave; 
God  uses  it  as  a  cradle  for  infant  life. 

Reed  and  slime,  and  pitch  and  flags, 
shall  preserve  God's  darlings  at  His 
pleasure. 

The  mother  of  Moses  laid  the  ark  in 
the  flags  by  the  river's  brink.  Ay,  but 
before  doing  so  she  laid  it  on  the  heart 
of  God !  She  could  not  have  laid  it  so 
courageously  upon  the  Nile,  if  she  had 
not  first  devoutly  laid  it  upon  the  care 
and  love  of  God.  We  are  often  sur- 
prised at  the  outward  calmness  of  men 
who  are  called  upon  to  do  unpleasant 
and  most  trying  deeds ;  but  had  we 
seen  them  in  secret  we  should  have 
known  the  moral  preparation  which 
they  underwent  before  coming  out  to 
be  seen  of  men  \City  Temple] . 


Verse  4.  An  entire  familj'  moving 
within  the  circle  of  an  infant's  life. 

Faith  always  waits  to  see  the  issue 
of  events. 

Society  needs  watchers  as  well  as 
workers.  Had  we  been  passing  the 
spot  at  which  the  sister  of  Moses  took 
up  her  position  of  observation  we  might 
have  condemned  her  as  an  idler  stand- 
ing there  and  doing  nothing.  We 
should  be  careful  of  our  condemnation, 
seeing  how  little  we  know  of  the  reality 
of  the  case.  In  doing  nothing^  the  girl 
was,  in  reality,  doing  everything.  Mark 
the  cunning  of  love.  The  watcher 
stood  afar  off.  Had  she  stood  quite 
close  at  hand,  she  would  have  defeated 
the  very  object  of  her  watching.  She 
was  to  do  her  work  without  the  slightest 
appearance  of  doing  it.  (City  Temple.) 

The  beautiful  ministry  of  a  youthful 
life —  1.  Loving.  2.  Cautious.  3. 
Obedient.  4.  Reflective.  5.  Cour- 
teous.    6.  Successful. 

The  mother  remained  at  home, 
shewing — 1.  The  dignity  of  her  faith 
— she  could  wait  away  from  the  scene  of 
trial.  2.  Her  supreme  hope  in  God — 
the  issue  was  to  be  divine.  3.  Her 
happy  confidence  in  her  little  daughter 
— children  do  their  work  better  when 
they  feel  that  they  ai'e  trusted  with  it 
entirely. 

How  many  brothers  would  be  kept 
from  moral  injury  and  peril  if  they 
were  thus  guarded  by  a  loving  sister. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  5-9. 

The  Providence  of  God  in  Relation  to  the  Youno. 
It  is  a  great  mercy  that  there  is  a  kindly,  and  special  Providence  resting  upon 
the  lives  of  young  children.  They  are  so  helpless — thoughtless — so  constantly 
exposed  to  danger — in  the  home — in  the  street — in  the  school — that,  but  for  the 
divine  care  they  would  come  to  woe.  God  is  very  near  to  infancy  and  childhood 
— much  nearer  than  many  imagine.  I.  As  rescuing  them  from  the  peril  of 
unhappy  circumstances.  2.  Moses  was  rescued  from  murder — in  the  Egyptian 
palace  he  was  safe.  2.  Moses  ivas  rescued  from  slavery — in  the  Egyptian  palace 
he  was  free.  It  sometimes  happens  that  young  children,  from  the  circumstances 
of  their  birth,  are  placed  in  peril — by  orphanage,  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  race  of 
life — these  are  especially  under  divine  protection.  II.  As  ensuring  an  education 
necessary  to  fit  them  for  their  future  engagements.  1.  As  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  Moses  had  the  opportunity  of  a  good  scholastic  education.  Had  Moses  re- 
mained at  home,  had  his  nation  been  free,  he  might  have  had  a  moderate  education 
— but  certainly  not  so  liberal  and  advanced  as  he  got  in  Egypt,  the  very  seat  of 
learning.  Thus,  Providence  placed  him  in  the  best  school  of  the  day.  So  it  very 
often  happens  that  God,  in  some  remarkable  manner,  places  a  good  education  at  the 
disposal  of  children  of  unfortunate  circumstances,  who  otherwise  would  grow  up 

15 


CHAP.  n.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


ignorant,  and  nntit  for  tlie  duty  of  life.  Providence  attends  to  the  education  of 
young  children  much  more  than  many  of  us  imagine.  2.  As  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter  he  would  be  prepared  to  undertake  the  freedom  of  his  nation.  Mere  book 
knowledge  is  the  poorest — and  least  useful  Men  require  another  education 
than  that  of  the  academy.  They  need  to  be  trained  in  the  meaning  of  life. 
Especially  was  this  needful  to  Moses.  Hence  the  discipline  of  the  court  was  as 
necessary  to  his  future  usefulness  as  that  of  the  school.  In  the  palace  he  saw, 
in  all  its  force,  the  tyranny  of  the  king — the  degradation  of  Israel — and  the 
prowess  of  the  nation  lie  would  have  to  combat.  This,  pre-eminently,  was  the 
school  of  his  life,  and  he  was  made  its  scholar  by  Providence.  So,  many  desti- 
tute young  men  are  educated  by  Heaven — not  merely  in  the  facts  of  history  and 
science — but  in  the  duties  that  pertain  to  their  distinct  avocation,  whatever  it 
may  be.  IIL  As  employing  the  most  unlikely  agency.  The  tyrant's  daughter 
was  the  means  of  rescuing  Moses  from  peril,  and  of  educating  him  for  his  future 
calling.  Unlikely  means  : — 1.  Because  her  father  had  issued  an  edict  for  the  death  of 
all  Israelitish  children.  All  the  newly-born  children  of  Israel  were  to  be  thrown  into 
the  river.  So  Pharaoh  had  decreed.  Yet  his  daughter  saves,  and  educates  the  very 
child  that  is  to  prove  his  overthrow.  The  tyraut  is  defeated  by  his  own  daughter. 
How  thoroughly  wicked  men  are  in  the  hand  of  God.  So,  young  children  of 
unfavourable  early  circumstances  are  often  educated  by  the  most  unlikely  instru- 
mentalities. 2.  Because  it  appeared  unlikely  that  a  royal  daughter  should  wish  to  adopt 
the  son  of  an  Israelite.  All  hearts  aie  in  the  divine  hand.  God  can  direct  our 
sympathies  to  the  most  unlikely  persons,  and  objects.  He  can  put  those  who 
need  our  help  into  such  an  attitude  that  our  pity  must  be  awakened.  Tlie  babe 
■wept.  These  tears  overcame  all  the  improbabilities  of  the  case.  Providence 
uses  instrumentality  in  the  accomplishment  of  its  purpose.  IV.  As  employing 
the  most  efficient  instrumentality.  1.  The  mother  of  the  boy — who  could  better 
teach  him  the  wrongs  of  his  country  than  she — that  hundreds  had  suffered  the  fate 
he  had  managed  to  escape — the  slavery  of  his  people — the  tyranny  of  the  king — 
and  that  during  the  most  sensitive  time  of  his  life.  His  mother  instructed  him 
during  the  earliest  days  of  his  youth — her  instruction  would,  therefore,  be  enduring 
— hence  he  would  go  to  the  Egyptian  court  with  a  knowledge  of  his  country's 
woe — and  of  his  father's  God.  His  murder  of  the  Eg}^tian  was  the  outcome  of 
the  former.  His  choosing  to  leave  the  royal  court  was  the  result  of  the  latter. 
"  By  faith,  Moses,  when  he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of 
Pharaoh's  daughter."  2.  The  daughter  of  the  king.  Under  no  other  tuition  could  he 
have  gained  a  better  preparation  for  his  work  of  the  future.  Here  he  would 
learn  sympathy  with  the  oppressed — hatred  of  the  oppressor.  When  Heaven 
undertakes  the  education  of  a  life — it  does  so  thoroughly  and  completely.  V.  Aa 
requiring  the  utmost  human  effort  possible.  1.  His  mother  did  the  best  for  Moses 
that  she  could.  She  did  not  put  him  on  the  Nile  directly  he  was  born.  She  had  tlie 
power  to  conceal  him  under  her  own  care  then.  But  when  all  her  means  of  self- 
help  were  exhausted,  then  she  gave  him  into  the  Divine  care.  So,  as  a  rule,  God 
does  not  educate  the  childi-en  of  indolent  parents.  He  moves  in  the  line  of  the 
motlier's  best  effort.  When  she  has  done  her  best — put  him  on  the  rivor — not 
forgotten  him — prays  for  him — then  God  will  send  Pharaoh's  daughter  to  save, 
and  educate  tlie  boy.  2.  His  mother  was  judicious  in  her  conduct  totoards  Moses. 
She  did  not  let  maternal  affection  endanger  his  safety — her  motlier's  heart  no 
doubt  wished  to  keep  him  at  home  longer — had  she  done  so,  the  officers  of  the 
king  might  have  found  him.  Many  parents  ruin  their  children  by  excess  of  love. 
Moses  was  placed  on  the  Nile  at  the  right  time — she  was  a  wise  mother — regarded 
his  welfare — sacrificed  her  own  feeling — at  tliis  point  the  safety  of  JNIoses  com- 
menced. Let  parents  do  their  best  for  the  safety  of  their  children — physically — 
morally — in  wisdom — and  Providence  will  find  the  means  for  their  temporal— and 
eternal  rescue — education — destiny.  VL  As  peifectly  consistent  with  the  free 
agency  of  individuals.  The  daughter  of  the  king  undertook  the  training  of  Moses 
16 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS  chap   n. 


at  the  suggestion  of  her  own  sympathy — under  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  case — 
there  was  no  coercion  brought  to  bear  upon  her.  The  providence  of  God  uses 
willing  instrumentalities. 

This  Cra.dle  on  the  Waters  teaches  :— 
I.  The  power  of  young  life  to  endure  hardship.  (Verse  3.)  The  mother  of 
Moses  made  an  ark,  in  which  to  put  her  boy,  and  then  placed  him  on  the  waters 
of  the  Nile,  There  are  few  mothers  in  these  days  who  would  put  their  babes  in 
such  a  cradle,  much  less  on  the  waters  of  a  river.  Tliey  wrap  them  up — they 
give  them  medicine — they  treat  them  as  thougli  they  had  only  got  a  spark  of  life 
in  them  ;  such  codling  treatment  is  foolish — unhealthy — the  bov  will  be  far 
more  healthy  out  on  the  Nile.  Young  children  are  stronger  than  we  imagine — 
the  vital  principle  in  them  is  not  so  easily  put  out.  There  are  few,  in  these  days, 
who  begin  life  under  the  same  condition  as  Moses — it  would  be  better  if  there 
were  more.  II.  The  use  that  one  member  of  a  family  may  be  to  another. 
(Verse  7.)  The  sister  of  Moses  was  equal  to  the  occasion  ;  her  love  for  her  in- 
fant brother  carried  her  through  the  difficulties  of  her  duty.  She  was  not  timid 
at  approaching  a  king's — a  tyrant's  daughter.  She  knew  when  to  make  her  sug- 
gestion— God  told  her  anxious  heart — the  babe  had  wept — the  womanly  instincts 
of  Pharaoh's  daughter"  were  touched,  "  she  had  compassion  on  him" — at  this 
moment  Miriam  stepped  up,  and  suggested  the  need  of  a  nurse — she  was  wise 
beyond  her  years  ;  the  idea  was  accepted — the  boy's  mother  was  fetched,  and 
received  the  commission  of  nurse,  with  the  unnecessary  promise  of  wages. 
IVIiriam  must  have  had  a  good  home  training ;  she  appears  in  the  scene  as  a 
bright — happy — ingenious — loving  girl.  Thus  we  see  how  the  younger  ones  of 
a  family  can  help  each  other  in  their  perils — necessities  of  life.  And  very 
extensive  this  help  may  be  in  its  influence.  Miriam,  in  helpiug  Moses,  ren- 
dered possible  the  freedom  of  her  nation.  The  little  kindness  shewn  by  a 
sister  to  a  bi'other  may  have  an  unexpected  effect  upon  thousamls.  Thus  we  see 
the  loving  dexterity  of  a  little  girl.  III.  The  pathetic  mfluence  of  a  babe's 
tears.  (Verse  6.)  There  is  a  great  power  in  tears ;  they  are  tokens  of  sorrow 
—  weakness  —  helplessness ;  but  they  are  potent  —  they  invite  help  —  they 
especially  touch  a  woman's  heart — they  defeat  a  monarch's  cruelty — they  aid  the 
intentions  of  Heaven — they  prophesy  the  sorrows  of  the  future — they  render 
welcome  the  tearless  home.  The  tears  of  Moses  won  the  compassion  of  the 
Monarch's  daughter  ;  they  were  a  fit  emblem  of  his  nation's  grief.  She  was  per- 
haps unmoved  by  the  story  of  Israel's  bondage — it  was  old — as  she  might  think 
deserved;  but  the  tears  of  Moses  were  new — pathetic — were  concentrated  upon  the 
tender  sympathies  of  her  nature.  They  conquered.  Many  are  moved  by  the  sight,  or 
record  of  personal  grief,  who  can  look  unmoved  upon  a  national  calamity.  So 
inconsistent  ai"e  we  in  the  bestowal  of  our  sympathy.  III.  The  sensitive  co- 
science  of  a  tyrant's  daughter.  ''  This  is  one  of  the  Hebrew's  children." 
(Verse  6.)  She  needed  no  voice  to  tell  her  to  whom  the  child  belonged,  the  silent 
monitor  within  was  sufficient.  Tyranny  does  not  necessarily  run  from  father  to 
daughter;  many  a  cruel  parent  has  a  tender-hearted  child.  The  command  of 
conscience  is  more  authoritative  than  that  of  a  king — a  father.  She  saved  the 
chUd — all  honour  to  her  memory. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  5.     Divine  Providence  some-  braced  by  the  wide  scheme  of  Divine 

times  unites  the  utmost  peril  with  the  Providence, 

best  means  of  safety.  Tender-hearted  women  are  generally 

Divine  Provideuce   sometimes   uses  honoured  by,  and  entrusted    with,  the 

the  most  unlikely  agency  for  the  work-  finding   of   those    who  are  to  be  the 

ing  of  its  holy  purpose.  world's  patz'iots. 

The  pleasures  of  individuals  are  em-  Divine  providence  generally  uses  an 

0  17 


CHAP,  a 


UOMtLETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


instrumentality  that  is  completive: — 
1.  Saw  the  ark — many  see  objects  of 
pity,  but  do  nothing  more.  2.  Took 
the  ark — practical  side  of  pity.  3.  Or- 
dered a  nurse.  4.  Welcomed  the  child 
to  her  own  home. 

The  renewed  mind  enjoys  one  of  its 
sweetest  exercises  while  tracing  the 
Divine  footsteps  in  circumstances  and 
events,  in  which  a  thoughtless  spirit 
sees  only  blind  chance  or  rigid  fate 
[C.  H.  M.] 

Verse  6. — I.  The  claims  of  the  orphan. 
1.  The  first  claim  on  her  compasxion  was  the 
claim  of  infancy.  ''She  saw  the  child."  That 
BcntoDce  contains  an  argument.  It  was  an 
appeal  to  the  woman's  heart.  Rank,  caste, 
nationality,  all  melted  before  the  great  fact 
of  womanhood.  This  feeling  was  spontane- 
ous. She  did  not  feel  compassion  because  it 
was  her  duty,  but  because  it  was  her  nature. 
God  has  provided  for  humanity  by  a  plan 
more  infallible  than  system,  by  implanting 
feeling  in  our  nature.  2.  Consider  the  rfe- 
gradation  of  the  child's  origin.  "  Hehiews' 
children."  The  exclusivenoss  of  the  Egyp- 
tian social  system  was  as  strong  as  thut  of  the 
Hindoo — slave — enemy — to  bo  slain.  Princess 
brought  up  with  these  ideas.  She  was  ani- 
mated by  His  Spirit  who  came  to  raise  tha 
abji'ct,  to  break  the  bond  of  the  oppressor. 
8.  The  last  reason  we  find  for  this  claim  icas 
its  unprotected  state.  It  wept ;  those  tears 
told  of  a  conscious  want— the  felt  want  of  a 
mother's  arms. 

II.  The  Orphan's  education.  1.  It  was  a 
ntggestion  from  another.  This  woman  brought 
up  in  luxury — had  wann  feelings — not  know- 
ing how  to  do  good — was  to'd  by  another. 
Results  of  this  training: — 1.  Intellectualhj.  He 
learned  to  ask  '•  Why  "  "  the  bush  is  not  con- 
sumed." 2.  In  the  moral  part  of  his  charac- 
ter we  notice  his  hatred  of  injustice  [_F.  W. 
Holer  tson\. 

Even  a  king's  daughter  is  the  richer 
and  gladder  for  this  stoop  of  love. 
Some  of  us  have  been  trying  to  reach 
too  high  for  our  enjoyments;  the 
blooming  fruit  has  been  biyond  our 
stature;  we  have  therefore  turned 
away  with  pining  and  discontent,  not 
knowing  that  if  we  had  bent  ourselves 
to  the  ground  we  should  have  found 
the  happiness  in  the  dust,  which  we 
attempted  in  vain  to  pluck  from  inac- 
cessible heights  \_Citii  Temple], 

The  Church's  children,  though  des- 
troyed by  some,  yet  are  pitied  by 
others. 

The  compassion  of  the  daughter  con- 
deu;:iS  liie  cruelty  of  the  muuarch- 
13 


father.  ...  The  child: — 1.  The  moment 
of  its  degradation.  2.  The  moment  of 
its  sadness.  3.  The  moment  of  its 
hope.  4.  The  moment  of  its  unknown 
future.  5.  Thf»  moment  of  a  mother's 
recompense. 

Verse  7.  A  good  suggestion :— » 
1.  INIade  at  a  proper  time.  2.  Made 
in  a  proper  spirit.  3.  Made  for  a 
proper  purpose. 

Society  would  be  enriched  by  many 
more  good  deeds  if  only  Christian  peo- 
ple would  watch  their  opportunity,  and 
suggest  conduct  to  well-meaning  but 
ignorant  people. 

Are  there  not  sorrows  that  enable  us 
to  overcome  the  petty  difficulties  of 
etiquette?  \_City  Temple]. 

If  we  really  cared  for  lost  children 
we  could  find  ways  of  speaking  for 
them  in  high  quarters  [City  Temple]. 

Hebrew  nurses  are  most  desirable  for 
Hebrew  children. 

Where  God  moves  the  question  for 
saving  his  little  ones,  he  prepares  an 
answer  of  peace. 

A  mother  the  best  guardian  of  in- 
fancy. 

"Verse  8.  The  Princess  gave  a  prompt 
reply  to  the  inqiury  of  the  little  maid. 
She  did  not  promise  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject. If  she  had,  the  probabilities  are 
that  Moses  would  not  have  been  res- 
cued from  the  waters  of  the  Nile. 

God's  Providence  excludeth  not 
man's  prudence  [Trapp]. 

Providence  can  bring  a  mother  to 
nurse  the  child  she  had  concealed,  be- 
cause, through  the  edict  of  a  cruel  king, 
she  could  not  longer  keep  it  undetected 
in  the  liouse.  ...  When  we  save  the  lives 
of  children  we  should  see  to  their  edu- 
cation afterwards. 

Verse  9.  The  king's  daughter  is 
made  a  mother,  while  the  mother  is 
made  a  nurse. 

"  And  the  woman  took  the  child  and 
nur.sed  it,"  What  her  self-control,  in 
that  hour  of  maddening  excitement, 
cost,  no  tongue  can  tell.  She  took  tlie 
cliilil  as  a  stranger  might  have  taken 
it,  and  yet  her  lieart  was  bursting  with 
the  very  passion  of  delight.     Had  she 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  n. 


given  way  for  one  instant,  her  excite- 
ment might  have  revealed  the  plot. 
Every  th  ng  depended  on  her  calm- 
ness. But  love  can  do  anything  !  The 
great  question  underlying  all  service  is 
a  question  not  so  much  of  the  intellect 
as  of  the  heart.  We  should  spoil  fewer 
things  if  our  love  was  deeper  \City 
Temple]. 
The   power   of   a   mother's   love: — 

1.  To  control  its  impulse.  2.  To 
school  its  utterance.  3,  To  make 
self-denial  for  the  good  of  her  child. 
4.  To  enter  into  the  method  of  Provi- 
dence concerning  the  future  of  her 
boy. 

A    beautiful    pattern    of    self-con- 
trol : — 1 .  Not  arising  from  indifference. 

2.  Not  arising  from  hard-heartedness. 


3.  But  arising  from  the  calm  indwell- 
ing of  faith. 

This  mother  a  model  nurse  : — 1.  Be- 
cause she  taught  her  son  to  have  sym- 
pathy with  the  slave.  2.  Because  she 
taught  him  to  despise  injustice  (verso 
12).  3.  Because  she  taught  him  the 
folly  of  anger  (verse  13).  4.  Because 
sl.e  taught  him  to  defend  the  weak 
(verse  17). 

A  mother  the  best  nurse: — 1.  Be- 
cause she  has  truest  sympathy  with  the 
circumstances  of  the  child's  life.  2.  Be- 
cause she  is  more  truly  concerned  for 
the  right  developement  of  its  moral 
character.  3.  Because  then  she  will 
have  gladdening  memories  of  its  in- 
fancy and  childhood. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  10. 
The  BiRxn  of  Moses  and  its  Lessons. 

More  wisdom  and  blessing  may  be  got  from  the  contemplation  of  the  birth  of  a  truly  great 
man  into  the  world  than  from  the  tracing  of  the  mightiest  river  to  its  source.  In  following  up 
this,  you  may  have  to  ascend  among  "the  everlasting  hills;"  in  tracking  a  great  soul,  you  must 
rise  to  God.  All  souls  come  from  God.  Some  souls  are  broader  mirrors,  are  greater  lights 
tlian  others,  they  disclose  more  fully  the  way  from  one  eternity  to  another.  Consider  the  man 
Moses,  specially  as  illustrating  God's  method  of  raising  up  souls  on  earth  for  Divine  use  and 
service.  I.  God  gives  and  sends  them  as  they  are  needed,  they  have  their  appointment  according 
to  the  times.  Tlie  reader  of  history  cannot  but  see  that  the  great  parent  Spirit  creates  and  sends 
forth  souls — of  Teachers,  lawgivers,  deliverers, prophets,  poets,  kings — at  the  right  time.  There 
was  need  of  Moses.  See  previous  chapter.  The  greatest  revelations  come  in  the  times  of  greatest 
need,  that  wo  may  be  well  assured  whoso  they  are.  The  world  owes  much  to  little  children,  little 
children  coming  into  it  by  God.  II.  That  they  may  be  fully  trained  and  prepared  for  their  work, 
they  "  are  made  like  unto  their  brethren."  Moses  is  bom  a  child  of  the  people  that  he  may  be 
a  true  brother  and  saviour  of  his  people.  III.  The  very  family  and  people  that  sought  to 
destroy  Israel  are  made  instrumental  in  nourishiiig  and  rearing  the  deliverer  of  Israel  and  the 
avenger  of  his  brethren's  wrongs.  God  makes  evil  powers,  evil  men,  evil  counsels,  and  deeds 
servo  Him,  contrary  to  their  own  nature  and  intent,  and  when  they  have  come  to  their  highest 
pitch,  work  their  own  just  retribution  and  overthrow.  So  Huss.Wickliffe,  Luther,  Melancthon, 
Calvin,  Knox  were  trained  in  tlie  monasteries  and  colleges  of  the  Romish  Church,  to  be  the 
leaders  in  another  Exodus  out  of  Egyptian  darkness  and  bondage.  Injustice  and  cruelty  are 
made  to  avenge  themselves  in  the  end.  IV.  In  the  raising  up  of  the  man  Moses  we  have  a 
most  instructive  exemplification  of  the  doctrine  and  working  of  the  Divine  providence.  God'a 
providence  does  its  mightiest  works  through  human  hearts.  V.  In  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and 
the  part  she  takes,  we  have  the  proof  that  human  nature,  the  human  heart,  is  one ;  and 
that  all  classes  of  mankind,  all  nations,  are  destined  to  become  ouo  in  God's  great  saving 
plan.    \_Pulpit  Analyst.'^ 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSE. 


Verse  10.  Child-growth — physically 
—  mentally  —  morally.  1 .  Im  portant 
to  families  —  leaving  home.  2.  Inte- 
resting to  strangers — Princess.  3.  Im- 
portant to  nations —  Egypt. 

Cliild-nomenclature.  1.  Perpetuating 
the  memory  of  a  cruel  edict.  2.  Perpetu- 
ating the  memory  of  a  loving  mother. 
S.  Perpetuating  the  memory  of  a  kindly 


Providence.  4.  Perpetuating  the 
memory  of  a  compassionate  stranger. 
Home  life  exchanged  for  palace  life. — 
1.  It  would  be  at  first  unwelcome — ■ 
stranger.  2.  It  would  gradually  be- 
come a  temptation — its  gaiety.  3.  It 
■would  forcefully  become  a  discipline. 
Providence  is  pleased  sometimes  to 
raise  the  poor  out  of  the  dust,  to  set 

19 


CiiAF.  IL  nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


them  among  princes  fPs.  cxiii.  7,  8.)  the  Church's  chiklren,  may  give  them 

Under    Providence,  parents   of    tlie  liberty  of  naming  them. 
Church  may  be  forced  to  give  up  their  We  have  now  the  Church  under  state 
chikh-en  to  strangers.  patronage— the  patronage  of  a  tender- 
Acts  of  pity  from  earthly  powers  to  hearted  prmeess. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  11,  12. 

The  Oppressor  Slain  ;  or,  a  Wrong  Way  op  Reproving  Injury, 

I.  There  are  many  instances  of  cruel  oppression  in  the  world.  Slavery  is 
almost  obsolete.  We  have  not  now  to  build  treasure  cities  for  a  tyrant  king.  Our 
lives  are  not  made  bitter  by  unrequited  labour.  Yet  the  spirit  of  tyranny  and 
injustice  is  not  yet  gone.  1  There  is  oppression  in  the  commercial  life  of  men.  The 
rich  smite  the  poor — the  fortunate  the  unfortunate — the  defrauder  the  honest 
tradesman.  There  are  many  scenes  enacted  daily  in  the  commercial  life  of  men 
in  which  we  see  "an  Egyptian  smiting  an  Hebrew."  2.  There  is  oppression 
in  the  social  life  of  men.  Tlie  haughty  frown  upon  the  humble — the  lordly 
render  servile  the  poor.  3.  There  is  oppression  in  the  political  life  of  men.  There 
is  the  oppression  of  an  unjust  king  — of  a  politic  statesman — of  an  unruly  crowd 
— of  an  unrighteous  edict.  4.  There  is  oppression  in  the  Church  life  of  men.  The  man 
of  little  religion  wishcsto  dictate — to  perplex — those  who  are  more  devout  than  him- 
self. In  the  sanctuary  we  find  "  an  Egyptian  smiting  an  Hebrew."  IL  It  is  the 
duty  of  a  good  and  patriotic  man  to  oppose  these  manifestations  of  oppression, 
1.  Because  he  should  have  sympathy  with  tlie  burdens  of  the  oppressed.  "And  looked 
on  their  burden."  We  little  dream  of  the  burdens  occasioned  by  the  cruel  oppres- 
sioTis  of  this  land.  How  many  homes  are  rendered  sad  by  the  despotism  of  a  cruel 
husband.  How  many  tradesmen  are  kept  in  want  through  the  demands  of 
an  unthinking  landlord.  The  good  man  should  have  sympathy  with  these  in  their 
grief — and  strive  to  relieve  it — by  the  press — by  the  power  of  birth — by  the 
influence  of  a  kindly  example.  2.  Because  he  should  recognise  the  hrotherJiood  of 
•men.  "  One  of  his  brethren."  This  argument  of  humanity  should  enlist  all 
godly  souls  against  every  kind  of  oppression.  3.  Because  he  should  recognise 
the  claim  of  nationality  "  Smiting  an  Hebrew."  While  the  claims  of  brotherhood 
are  co-extensive  with  the  universe — those  arising  from  nationality  render  then; 
mure  emphatic.  A  Hebrew  should  defend  a  Hebrew — under  the  relation  of  citizen- 
ship, as  well  as  that  of  brother.  Piety  intensifies  the  national  relationships  of 
life.  III.  That  a  good  man  must  be  careful  as  to  the  spiiit  and  manner  in 
which  he  resents  oppression,  or  he  maybe  as  cruel  as  those  whom  he  reproves.  "  Ha 
slew  the  Egyptian."  Moses  was  light  in  sympathising  with  the  burden  of  the 
Hebrew,  in  resenting  an  injury  done  to  one  of  his  own  nationality,  but  he  did 
wron"-  in  murdering  the  offender.  In  defending  the  oppressed,  he  became  an 
oppressor  himself.  He  meant  right — the  impulse  was  heroic — but  it  was  not 
under  sufficient  control.  A  good  man  ought  to  be  indignant  at  the  sight  of 
oppression — but  not  passionate — not  revengeful.  1.  His  conscience  told  him  that 
he  was  doing  wrong.  "  And  he  looked  this  Avay  and  that  way,  and  when  he  saw 
that  there  was  no  man,"  &c.  If  we  cannot  rebuke  oppression  in  the  presence 
of  others,  our  method  of  rebuke  must  be  imprudent  or  sinful.  Do  not  be  afraid 
to  let  the  world  see  you  reprove  a  social  tyrant.  The  sympathies  of  all  good 
citizens  will  be  with  you.  Embody  your  conscience  in  your  rebuke.  2.  The 
spirit  and  manner  in  which  the  oppressor  should  he  reproved.  (1)  Boldly.  (2)  Fii'mly. 
(3)  Sometimes  kindly.     (4)  Make  him  feel  the  wrong  of  his  conduct, 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE   VERSES. 
Verse  11.     Though  Moses  was  ele-      ren.    He  was  not  so  charmed  with  the 
vated   to  a  princely  position,  he    was      luxury  and  gaiety  of  his  own  surround- 
not  unmindful  of  his  enslaved  breth-      iugs    as    to   forget    theirs.     He  waa 
20 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  n. 


not  so  selfish  as  to  be  merely  content          Hidden   Sin. — "  He  slew  the  Egj/p- 

with  his  own  happiness.     The  mother's  tian,  and  hid  him  in  the  sand.'*     I.  Hid- 

traiuing  had  naturally  linked  his  soul  den  by  fallacy.     "  The  Egyptian."    He 

to  the  history  of  his  nation.  was  cruel — unjust ;    had  I  not  a  right 

Some  people  will  never  look  on  the  to  kill  him?     Moses  might  reason  thus 

burdens  of    their  brethren  : — 1.  Tuey  to    convince    himself.      A   man    must 

pretend  not  to  see  them.     2.  Tliey  have  bury  sin  out  of  the  sight  of  his  own 

no  sympathy  with  them.     3.  They  fear  conscience,  before  he  can  be  happy — ■ 

lest    their   purse,  or  energy  should  be  by  false  argument  or  true.     II.  Hidden 

taxed.      4.   They  miss  the   luxury  of  by  folly.      "  In  the  sand  :  " — 1.  Would 

relieving  them.  leave  traces  of  his  deed.     2.  The  dead 

The   servants   of   God   must    have  body  would  be  easily  discovered.     So 

the  experience  of  growth.  all  our  efforts  to   bury  sin  are  equally 

When  the  Church  is  oppressed,  the  futile.     God  sees  it.     He  can  lead  men 

heroic  good  must  run  to  her  aid.  to  its  grave.     Sin  leaves  traces.     It  is 

Verse    12.     The   inquiring  look   of  ^^^ter  not  to  be  under  the  necessity  of 

conscience:— 1.  It  was  anxious.     2.  It  ^^^^^g  ^he  soul  mto  a  grave   or  any 

was  suspicious.      3.  It  was  troubled.  ^P^t  of     ife   mto  a  tomb.     If  we  do, 

4.  It  was  perplexed.  5.  It  was  mis-  t^^r^  ^i^l  -^^'^«  *«.  ^^me  a  resurrection, 
taken  ^^^"^  "^^^°  ^®  gomg  to  commit  sin,  re  - 

The  inquiring  look  of  conscience:—  ^l^^'^^    to    have    all    his   wits   about 

1.  Gives    a    moment    for    reflection.  ^^"^^ 

2.  Indicates  the  moral  evil  of  the  deed.  The  absence  of  human  observation  is 

3.  Suspects  an  unhappy  issue  from  the  «-  Voov  argument  for,  and  a  wretched 
jjgg^j                                '  consolation  in  sin. 

MAIN  HOMILETIC S  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH— Verse  13,  14. 

A  Good  Man's  Interference  with    i  Quarrel. 

I.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  Good  Men  to  tiy  to  subcue  any  quarrels  they  may 
be  called  to  witness.  1.  Because  they  recognise  the  common  grief  of  Men.  This 
quarrel  was  between  two  Hebrews.  They  were  both  the  slaves  of  a  tyrant  king. 
Both  felt  the  misery  of  their  condition.  See,  then,  the  folly  of  their  quarrel.  It 
would  augment  their  woe.  Their  own  unity  ought  to  have  been  the  relief  of 
their  serfdom.  So  there  are  many  people  to-day  who  increase  their  trials  by  a 
factious  spirit.  The  most  abject  slave  may,  and  ought  to,  enjoy  the  luxury  of 
peace — ouglit  to  live  on  friendly  terms  with  his  comrades  in  suffering.  Moses 
felt  this.  Good  men  should  recognise  the  suflPering  of  humanity  as  an  argument 
for  friendliness.  2.  Because  they  recognise  the  claim  arising  from  the  brotherhood  of 
men.  3.  Because  they  ought  to  be  superior  to  the  passion  of  strife.  A  good  man 
should  be  brave — and  true  bravery  is  always  calm.  He  is  above  entering  into  the 
paltry  and  foolish  quarrels  of  men.  He  may  therefore  endeavour  to  stay  them, 
without  personal  injury.  By  so  doing  he  will  put  an  end  to  quarrels  that  might 
have  resulted  m  a  sad  and  murderous  consequence.  He  may  thus  beneht  tn« 
factious  individual  by  freeing  him  from  the  life-long  memory  of  injustice  ;  and 
society  id  large,  by  preventing  a  public  spectacle  of  immorality.  II.  That  in 
this  endeavour  good  men  should  make  moral  considerations  the  basis  of  their 
appeal  to  the  quaiTelsome.  "  Aud  he  said  to  him  that  did  the  wrong."  Perhaps, 
in  some  quarrels  it  is  difficult  to  determine  which  party  is  in  the  wrong.  Very 
often  both  are  blameworthy.  Moral  considerations  should  be  made  the  basis  of 
appeal.  1.  Not  favouritism.  It  is  just  possible  that  Moses  may  have  seen  these 
two  men  before.  He  would  do  doubt  caltivf.,*e  the  acquaintance  of  his  enslaved 
countrymen.  And  if  ^«  had  not  he  was  open  to  the  impressions  of  the  moment. 
When  we  see  a  quarreJ  wt,  ahnost  inttinctiyely  take  sides.  The  cue  man  appears 
more  calm — he  is  more  open  in  physique — the  other  appears  more  fierce  and 
brutal— Our  sympathies  go  with  the  former.    This  is  not  just.     Nor  can  a  good 

21 


CHAP.  II.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


man  base  his  appeal  on  any  such  preililection.  "Wliich  is  in  the  right  ? — this 
question  contains  the  secret,  and  points  to  the  method  of  settlement.  2.  Not 
greater  physical  strength.  In  our  effort  to  subdue  a  quarrel  we  must  not  neces- 
Bftrily  side  with  the  stronger — true,  he  may  be  more  likely  to  come  away  conqueror. 
But  if  the  weaker  is  right,  our  question  must  be  directed  against  him  that  did  the 
wrong,  even  though  he  be  the  stronger.  In  this  ease  great  Christian  fortitude 
will  be  needed.  Worldly  men  will  often  aid  the  strong  in  their  conflict.  The 
world  likes  to  be  on  the  winning  side.  Christianity  must  aid  weakness  when 
associated  with  rectitude.  She  must  wait  for  her  victory.  It  will  come. 
3.  Not  hope  Pj  reward.  Many,  in  the  event  of  conflict  aid  the  side  on  which 
there  is  the  greatest  likelihood  of  plunder  or  spoil.  The  influential  and  the  ncii 
seh'om  lack  comrades  in  their  quarrels.  The  Ciiristian  man,  in  trying  to  stay  the 
quarrels  of  men,  must  put  aside  all  thought  of  vested  interest,  of  temporal 
emolument,  or  transient  applause  — he  must  join  himself  to  the  right,  unmoved 
by  the  promise,  or  hope  of  reward.  His  reward  is  from  God — is  brighter  than 
gold — is  more  enduring — the  reward  of  a  satisfied  conscience.  III.  That  good 
men,  in  trying  to  subdue  the  quarrels  of  others  often  get  nttle  thanks,  and  may 
involve  themselves  in  trouble.  "  W\»o  made  thee  a  prince  and  a  judge  over  u^.'' 
1.  They  imagined  that  Moses  assumed  unrightful  authority.  True,  Moses  had 
rightful  authority  over  these  slaves.  As  the  Son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter  this 
would  be  permitted  to  him.  But  the  right  of  the  good  to  interrupt  a  quarrel 
does  not  depend  upon  social  or  national  supremacy,  but  upon  moral.  A  king 
miffht  not  be  a  proper  person  to  rebuke  a  quarrel.  Sainthood  is  the  true  qualifi- 
cation for  such  a  work.  A  man  who  lives  much  in  communion  with  the  unseen, 
«<nd  who  has  power  with  God,  will  have  influence  to  hush  the  passion  of  his 
fellows.  2.  They  reminded  Moses  o/,  and  taunted  him  ivith,  past  sin.  "  In- 
tendest  thou  to  kill  me,  as  thou  killest  the  Egyptian  ?"  Moses  thought  that  no 
one  had  seen  his  act  of  murder.  The  sin  of  a  good  man's  past  life  often  weakens 
his  present  ability  for  doing  good.  When  men  are  in  the  passion  of  strife,  they 
are  not  choice  as  to  their  invectives.  Hence,  it  requires  a  blameless  life  to  rebuke 
evil.  3.  The  heroic  interference  of  Moses  lacked  moral  continuity.  "  And  Moses 
feared,"  &c.  His  own  sin  made  him  a  coward.  4.  Moses  incurred  the  hatred  of 
Pharoah.  The  two  Hebrews  would  no  doubt  spread  the  story  of  Moses'  wrong- 
doing— it  was  corroborated  by  his  flight  from  the  palace — the  king  was  amazed 
— his  hospitality  had  been  abused — the  commencement  of  a  life  struggle  between 
Egypt  and  Tsrael.  The  flight  of  Moses  was  the  signal  for  the  defeat  of  Pharoah. 
Thus,  though  endeavouring  to  stay  this  quarrel,  Moses  lost  position,  comfort,  but 
it  was  the  means  of  putting  him  npon  the  track  of  duty — divinely  inposed — that 
would  win  him  worM-uide  renown.  Thus  he  did  not  lose  much,  according  to  a 
true  computation,  by  the  exchange.  To  stop  a  quarrel  is  a  good  man's  daty, 
regardless  of  consequences. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  13.    *'  Wherefore  smitest  thou  members,    are   sad    thui^s    to  record. 

thy    fellow.^'      -A^PP^y    t^^s     question,  They  are  reprovable. 

1.  To  the  domestic  circle.     2.  To  so-  Moses  did  not  say,  "You  are  both 

ciety  at  large.     3.  To  the  Church.  Hebrevys,  and  therefore  you   may  fight 

Some  find  reason  for  their  conduct —  out  your  own  quarrel ;  "  nor  did  he  say, 

1.  In  revenge.     2.  In  impulse.     3.  Ne-  "The   controversies  of  other  men   are 

cessity.   ...    God's  faithful  instruments  nothing  to   me;  they   who  began    the 

leave  courtly  pleasure^?  to  visit   God's  quairel  must  end  it :"  Moses  saw  that 

afilicted  ones    ...   In  visiting  for  good  the  comlltions  of  life  had  a  moral  basis  ; 

tlie  oppressed  Church,  t<aJ  contentions  in  every  quarrel,  as  between   right  and 

may  appear  among  the  members.  wrons:.  he  had  a  share,  because   everv 

Duels  in  the  Church,  and  among  its  honourable-minded  man  is  a  trustee  of 
22 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


CHAP.   II. 


iocial  justice  and  common  fair  play 
\City  Temple]. 

The  reproof  Moses  gave  on  this  occa" 
fiion  may  still  be  of  use,  wherefore 
smitest  thou  thy  fellow  ?  Smiting  our 
fellows  is  bad  in  any,  especially  in  He- 
brews ;  smiting  with  tongue  or  hand, 
either  in  a  way  of  persecution,  or  in  a 
way  of  contention.  Consider  the  per- 
son thou  smitest,  it  is  thy  fellow,  thy 
fellow  creature,  thy  fellow  Christian ; 
it  is  thy  fellow  servant,  thy  fellow 
sufferer  [Henry  and  Scott]. 

Verse  14.  Offending  parties  are  often 
insolent  to  those  who  rebuke  them. 

Wicked  men  are  always  impatient 
of  authority. 

Quarrelsome  men  are  glad  to  involve 
others,  that  they  may  escape  themselves. 

Good  men  are  sometimes  frightened 
at  the  threats  of  the  Avicked. 

Factious  men  are  slow  to  acknow- 
ledge those  who  would  do  them  moral 
good. 

Wicked  men  are  more  willing  to 
plead  the  cause  of  oppressors,  than 
acknowledge  just  deliverers. 

What  authority  did  Moses  assume  in 
thus  gently  reproving  a  manifest  out- 


rage ''  Does  one  need  a  commission  tc 
perform  an  act  of  real  kindness,  and  to 
endeavour  to  make  friends  of  apparent 
enemies.  It  is  rare  virture  ingenuously 
to  confess  our  faults,  and  to  receive 
correction  with  meekness  [jBksA]. 

Men  know  not  what  they  do,  nor 
what  enemies  they  are  to  their  own 
interest,  when  they  resist,  and  despise 
faithful  reproofs  and  reprovers.  When 
the  Hebrews  strove  with  Moses,  God 
sent  him  away  into  Midian,  and  they 
never  heard  of  him  for  forty  years 
[Henry  and  Scott]. 

The  best  friends  of  the  Church  often 
meet  with  the  most  discouragement. 
1.  Their  authority  is  rejected.  2.  They 
are  not  understood.  3.  Their  safety  is 
endangered.  4.  The  welfare  of  the 
Church  is  imperilled. 

The  good  man  must  not  be  turned 
aside  from  duty  by  circumstances. 
1.  Moses  was  not  offended  by  this 
treatment.  2.  He  did  not  give  up  in  des- 
pair. 3.  He  worked  out  the  training 
of  his  boyhood.  4.  He  worked  out  the 
providence  of  God.  5.  He  worked  out 
the  dictates  of  his  conscience 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  16. 

The  Meditations  of  a  Perplexed  Soul- 

"  And  he  sat  down  by  a  well."  This  calls  to  our  mind  a  New  Testament  scene. 
These  meditations — I.  They  occurred  at  an  important  crisis  in  the  life  of  Moses. 
'  But  Moses  fled  from  the  face  of  I'haraoh."  1.  Moses  had  vacated  a  good  home. 
He  had  left  the  wealth — luxury  of  an  Egyptian  palace — the  kindness  of  a  royal 
mother  who  was  deeply  interested  in  him.  He  knew  not  where  he  was  going — 
what  he  was  to  do  for  a  daily  livelihood — how  his  future  was  to  be  spent.  All 
before  him  was  mystery — he  might  well  be  perplexed.  2.  Moses  had  incurred  the 
anger  of  Pharaoh.  This  might  well  fill  him  with  terror — he  knew  the  influence 
and  cruelty  of  that  monarch — his  hatred  was  to  be  feared.  Had  Moses  been 
permitted  a  faint  insight  into  his  future  relations  with  the  Egyptian  court,  pro- 
bably his  meditations,  near  this  well,  would  have  been  more  prolonged  than  they 
were.  There  are  times  when  all  young  men  have  to  spend  an  hour  in  contempla- 
tion, especially  when  they  are  going,  alone  and  unbefriended,  into  an  unknown 
future  of  grave  importance,  not  merely  to  themselves,  but  also  to  others.  The 
past  sweeps  before  them  like  a  dream.  The  future  is  all  mist.  They  must  think 
for  themselves — they  must  obtain  the  Divine  guidance.  The  temporary  rest  by 
the  well  marks  a  ciisis  in  their  history.  II,  They  afford  an  opportunity  for 
determining  on  a  new  course  of  life.  Moses  is  thinking  about  the  future.  He 
would  naturally  ask  himself,  "  What  am  I  to  do  ?"  Return  to  Egypt  is  impossible. 
— Heaven  would,  no  doubt,  influence  his  thought  on  this  occasion.  But  a 
thoughtful  spirit  will  not  belong  without  employment — will  not  be  long  without  a 
home.  God  will  send  the  daughteis  of  the  priest  of  Midian  to  its  aid.  Provi- 
dence has  unnumbered  agencies  for  the  guidance  and  help  of  perplexed  souls. 

23 


CHAP.  II.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


ni.  They  are  soon  interrupted  by  a  call  to  new  activities.  (Verse  17.)  The 
dautrhters  of  the  priest  of  Midian  were  attacked  by  hostile  shepherds.  Moses 
sees^this.  "Will  he  interpose  ?  Has  he  not  had  enough  of  meddling  with  the 
feuds  of  others  ?  Is  he  not  now  a  wanderer  for  so  doing  ?  But  he  cannot  remain 
the  quiet  spectator  of  injury.  The  same  spirit  and  impulse  that  made  him  kill 
the  Egyptian  shows  itself  again  in  liis  defence  of  these  women.  He  could  not 
but  defend  the  weak.  He  is  not  to  be  daunted  by  failure.  He  is  successful  now. 
Good  men  may  be  dispirited  sometimes.  They  may  need  times  of  thought.  But 
it  is  not  their  destiny  to  rest  long  by  the  wells  of  life :  theirs  is  the  conflict  with 
oppression  and  evil.  There  is  work  in  Midian  as  well  as  in  Egypt,  for  them. 
IV.  They  were  indulged  in  a  very  favourable  place.  The  well  in  olden  time,  a 
fine  scene  for  rest  and  contemplation.  Christ,  when  he  was  tired,  sat  on  a  well. 
His  rest  was  broken  by  the  advent  of  a  woman  whom  he  ultimately  led  to  himself 
in  contrition  of  heart. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSE. 

Verse  15.  Criminations  of  God's  ser-  God   is   in   the   solicitude  of   those 

vants  are  soon  carried  to  the  ears  of  whom  he  intends  for  great  service, 

persecutors.   ...  An    evil    report   often  God  provides  a  Midian  to  save  what 

awakens  the  anger  of  men.  Egypt  would  destroy. 

It  is  well  sometimes  to  exchange  the  Never  take  the  responsibility  of  com- 

excitement  of  a  royal  court  for  quiet  muuicating  evil  news  to  a  tyrant, 
thought  by  the  well. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH— Verses  16  to  22. 

The  Reward  of  a  Kindly  Action. 

Moses  had  defended  the  daughters  of  the  Priest  of  Midian  from  the  attack  of 
hostile  shepherds.  In  these  verses  we  see  the  reward  of  a  kindly  action.  I.  The 
hospitality  of  a  Mad  family.  (Verse  20.)  1.  This  hospitality  was  much  needed 
by  Moses.  He  was  an  outcast.  He  had  excited  the  anger  of  a  tyrant  king. 
Therefore,  the  provision  and  protection  of  a  quiet  home,  the  syropathy  of  tender 
hearts  would  be  most  welcome  to  him.  Nor  was  this  generosity  unmerited  on 
his  part.  He  had  protected  a  family  in  a  time  of  peril — he  had  therefore  shown 
himself  worthy  of  help — that  he  was  of  good  character — of  sympathetic  and 
heroic  nature — by  defending  the  weak.  Such  men  have  a  right  to  the  best  hos- 
pitality of  society — they  should  be  welcomed  to  our  homes.     See  what  a  refuge 

of  peace what  resources  of  joy — one  little  act  of  kindness  may  open  up  to  a  man. 

2.  I'his  hospitality  loas  prompted  by  Parental  inquiry.  (Verse  20.)  Parents  should 
always  teach  their  children  hospitality,  especially  in  return  for  any  kindness 
shown  them.  We  should  never  leave  any  man  who  has  benefitted  us,  in  the 
enterprises  of  life,  sitting  by  a  well.  This  is  often  the  way  of  the  world — it  is 
ungrateful — unthoughtful — reprehensible.  A  good  and  considerate  father  often 
turns  his  home  into  a  sanctuary  for  the  servants  of  God.  By  welcoming  a  heroic 
6tran<Ter  to  it,  he  may  bring  himself  into  harmony  with  great  histories,  and  sub- 
lime 'providences.  II.  Employment  for  every  day  Ufe.  It  would  seem  that 
Moses  entered  into  the  occupation  of  the  family  whose  hospitality  he  had  been 
called  to  receive  (chapter  iii.  1 ).  When  a  young  man  is  thus  welcomed  by  a 
kind  family  he  must  expect  to  share  their  work,  as  also  their  food — their  perils, 
as  also  their  repose — their  anxieties,  as  also  their  hopes.  The  study  of  Moses  in 
Egypt  had  not  raised  him  above  hard  work.  III.  A  wife.  (Verse  21.)  A 
man  who  will  defend  a  woman  is  worthy  of  a  wife.  The  greatest  and  most 
important  events  of  our  lives  depend  upon  little  deeds  of  kindness.  IV,  Another 
advance  in  the  intention  of  Divine  Providence.  Moses  has  finished  his  education 
in  the  Palace.  He  now  commences  that  of  the  desert.  Providence  has  changed 
24 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  n. 


his  acarlemy.     And  men,  by  shewing  a  kindness  to  their  fellows,  advance  t^sm- 
selves  in  the  great  destiny  of  their  lives. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  16.  A  large  family — 1.  Of 
sacred  station.  2.  Of  womanly  in- 
fluence. 3.  Of  industrious  activity. 
It  is  often  the  joy  of  priests  to  receive 
those  whom  tyrant  kings  reject  and 
seek  to  slay. 

Providence  employs  varied  agencies. 
1.  Princess.     2.  Priest. 

Providence  orders  the  coming  of  help 
to  the  place  where  the  good  are  waiting 
for  it — 1.  The  king's  daughter  to  the 
river.  2.  The  priest's  daughter  to  the 
well. 

Domestic  toil. — 1.  The  employment 
of  true  womanhood.  2.  The  test  of 
true  womanhood.  3.  The  glory  of  true 
womanhood. 

What  a  contrast  between  the  young 
ladies  of  to-day,  and  the  industrious 
daughters  of  this  primitive  family. 

Verse  17.  Wherever  the  providence 
of  God  casts  us,  we  should  endeavour  to 
be  useful.  ...  Even  honest  and  indus- 
trious labourers  sometimes  meet  with 
opposition. 

There  is  a  great  tendency  in  society 
for  the  strong  to  oppress  the  weak. 

Two  classes  of  men  are  typified  by  the 
conduct  of  these  shepherds,  and  Moses. 
The  former — 1.  Oppose  the  honest.  2. 
Persecute  the  industrious.  3.  Hinder 
the  diligent.  The  latter  —  1.  Co- 
operate with  the  weak.  2.  Sympathise 
with  the  persecuted.  3.  Defend  the 
imperilled.  4.  Win  the  Victory.  5. 
Receive  hospitality. 

Verse  18.  Fathers'  houses  are  just 
habitations  for  children  doing  their 
commauds. 

Honest,  labouring  creatures,  are  car- 
ried out,  and  returned  home  safely, 
under  Providence. 

God's  providence  may  make  speedier 
returns  in  mercy  to  his  children  than  they 
expect. 

Unexpected  returns  of  common  mer- 
cies may  justly  raise  wonder  in  the 
hearts  of  men. 

The  providence  of  God  orders  means 


to  speed  mercies  unto  creatures  at  Hia 
will. 

The  hand  of  strangers  is  made  some- 
times a  deliverer  from  the  ha'jds  of 
oppressing  neighbours.  ...God  takes  tha 
weak  sometimes  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
strong. 

Verse  20.  Men  of  kindly  soul,  and 
heroic  deed  are  sure  to  be  inquired 
after. 

Good  men  would  not  have  the  man 
who  has  done  them  a  kindness  forgotten. 

"  Why  is  it  that  ye  have  left  the  man." 
This  question  may  be  asked  in 
reference  to  the  world's  philanthropists, 
preachers,  who  are  striving  to  defend  the 
weak.  1.  Is  it  because  you  do  not 
understand  him  ?  2.  Is  it  because  you 
do  not  believe  in  him  ?  3.  Is  it  be- 
cause you  are  selfish.  4.  Is  it  because 
you  have  not  been  taught  better.  5. 
Fetch  him  to  your  home  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Verse  21.  A  contented  resident. — 1. 
A  wondrous  sight — accustomed  to  a 
palace.  2.  A  happy  sight — pastoral 
toil.  3.  A  scarce  sight — men  are  restless. 

He  was  content — 1.  With  liis  daily 
companionships.  2.  With  his  daily 
occupation.  3.  With  the  scene  of  his 
residence,  4.  With  his  matrimonial 
alliance. 

A  good  man  can  be  content  any- 
where the  providence  of  God  may  place 
him. 

Honest  work  is  perfectly  consistent 
with  the  dignity  of  those  who  are  to  be 
pioneers  of  the  Church. 

Providence  may  change  a  servant  to 
a  son,  and  a  master  to  a  father. 

It  is  the  father's  right  to  bestow  his 
children  in  marriage. 

Verse  22.  Sons  born  in  the  time  of 
affliction,  are  often  memorials  of  help 
and  mercy. 

It  is  the  father's  right  to  name  hia 
child. 


25 


CiiAP.  a  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


The  best  and   grandest  men  reckon  their    moral   training.      3.    Good   for 

themselves  but  strangers  in  this  world.  their  moral  usefuhiess.      4.  Good  for 

A  pilgrim  life  the  best  for  preachers.  the  enlargement  of  their  social  friend- 

I.  Good  for  their  health.     2.  Good  for  ships. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  2^,  25. 

The   King   Dying,    the   People   Suffering,    God  Reigning, 

Wliether  this  king  was  the  same  as  the  one  mentioned  in  chapter  i.  8  is  uncertain. 
Probably  he  was  the  Pharaoh  from  whom  Moses  fled.  This  new  king  was  the 
Pharoah  of  the  Exodus.  On  his  accession  the  Children  of  Israel  had  reason  to 
hope  for  a  change  in  their  oppressed  condition,  in  Avhich  hope,  however,  they  were 
bitterly  disappointed.  They  renewed  +heir  earnest  prayers  for  deliverance,  and 
God  heard  them.  I.  The  King  dying.  Review  the  moral  character  of  this  monarch: 
— 1.  He  was  despotic  in  his  rule.  He  encouraged  a  wholesale  system  of  slavery. 
He  employed  every  passible  agency  for  the  entire  subjection  of  Israel  He  was 
unmoved  by  human  suffering.  2.  He  xvas  vindictive  in  his  temper.  He  sought  to  slay 
Moses — Moses  was  the  adopted  son  of  his  royal  daughter — he  was  an  inmate  of  the 
palace.  Pharaoh  would  thereforebe  interested  in  him — would  regard  him  with  more 
than  ordinary  affection.  Yet,  because  he  killed  an  Egyptian,  he  seeks  his  death — not 
that  he  cared  so  much  about  the  deaih  of  one  of  his  subjects — He  was  animated 
by  the  passion  of  revenge.  3.  He  was  altogether  out  of  sympathy  loich  the  Provi- 
dential arrangements  of  God.  Did  he  enslave  the  Israelites  ? — They  were  the 
chosen  people  of  Jehovah.  Did  he  seek  the  death  of  Moses  ? — He  was  the 
representative  of  an  oppressed  nation,  and  an  instrument  appointed  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  purposes  of  Heaven.  The  rule  of  Pharaoh  was  thus  altogether 
out  of  harmony  with  the  moral  history  of  the  persons  and  events  with  which  it 
had  to  do,  and  was  counter  to  the  authority  of  God.  Yet  this  man  dies.  The 
despot  meets  with  his  conqueror.  The  revengeful  is  met  by  one  who  is  heedless 
of  the  threat  of  passionate  temper.  The  man  who  has  contended  with  the  Divine 
providence  must  leave  the  scene  of  his  hopeless  conflict,  and  intricate  confusion, 
to  appear  before  the  God  whose  authority  he  has  sought  to  dethrone.  What  an 
awful  thing  to  die  under  such  circumstances.  How  completely  wicked  men — no 
matter  what  their  station  in  life — are  in  the  hand  of  God.  The  folly — the  woe — 
the  eternal  ruin  of  sin.     A  king  in  this  world  may  be  a  lost  spirit  in  the   next. 

II.  The  People  Suffering.  (Verse  23.)  1.  Their  suffering  was  tyrannic.  "By 
reason  of  the  bondage."  They  had  lost  their  freedom.  They  were  made  to  work 
beyond  their  strength.  The  heroic  tendencies  of  their  nature  were  subdued — 
They  were  broken-spirited  by  the  injustice — the  pain  of  slavery.  2.  Their  si ffer- 
ing  was  intense.  "  And  the  Children  of  Israel  sighed."  3.  llieir  suffering  was 
long  continued.  4..  Their  suffering  appealed  to  the  Infinite.  "And  their  cry  came 
up  unto  God,"  The  suffering  of  the  universe  in  all  its  speciality  and  collective 
woe  is  known — and  appeals  to  God — it  pleads  for  the  mitigation  of  its  pain — the 
removal  of  its  grief.  Suffering  should  link  our  souls  to  God — it  should  be  an 
inspiration  to  prayer — then  it  will  ultimately  merge  into  the  highest  freedom. 
It  is  the  delight  of  heaven  to  work  the  freedom  of  human  souls.  III.  God 
reigning.  (Verse  24.)  1.  God  reigns  though  kings  die.  Pharaoh  died — God  is 
eternal — the  folly  of  trusting  iii  kings — the  wisdom  of  trusting  in  the  Infinite. 
Pharoah  thought  more  about  his  own  reign  than  of  God's.  That  kingdom  is  the 
strongest — the  purest — the  happiest,  which  makes  the  Divine  reign  the  basis  of 
its  legislation.  The  Israelites  thought  more  of  the  kingship  of  Pharoah,  than  of 
Jehovah — the  grandeur  of  the  former  was  seen — its  power  was  felt — the  Divme 
King  was  invisible — God  had  to  educate  the  heart  of  the  people  to  Himself.  Now 
the  nation  is  crying  to  heaven  for  release.  2.  God  reigns  though  men  suffer. 
The  Israelites  were   in  bondage — in    grief — yet  God    reigned.     It  is  sometimea 

26 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    11. 


difficult  when  we  are  in  sorrow — perplexed — oppressed,  to  realise  the  Divine 
Rulership.  It  must  be  realised  by  faith,  God  rules  above  to  stay  the  fury  of 
impious  monarchs — to  protect  the  injured — to  sustain  His  Church — to  soothe 
the  pain  of  the  world.  He  will  ultimately  remove  the  Pharoah— the  trouble 
of  a  pious  soul.  3.  God  reigns  in  harmony  with  His  covenant  made  with  the 
good.  "  And  God  remembered  His  covenant  with  Abraham,  with  Isaac,  and 
with  Jacob."  He  had  entered  into  a  covenant  with  the  Father  of  the  Faithful, 
to  give  his  posterity  an  inheritance  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  In  his  seed  all  nations 
were  to  be  blessed.  Four  hundred  years  had  passed.  God  had  not  forgotten. 
The  time  of  deliverance  is  near.  The  benefit  of  a  pious  ancestry — their  piety  has 
a  tendency  to  work  our  freedom.  The  Divine  will  is  not  capricious ;  it  is  in 
harmony  with  settled  principles;  it  has  respect  to  moi'al  character — to  past  distin- 
guished service  ;  it  is  benevolent  in  its  design — continuous  in  its  operation.  Let 
every  nation— every  family — have  a  covenant  with  God.  Learn — 1.  Do  not 
despond  in  times  of  affliction.  2.  Afflictions  are  designed  to  bring  us  into  harmony 
with  the  requirements  of  God'' s  covenant  for  our  good.  3.  //  is  the  purpose  of  God 
to  work  the  freedom  and  welfare  of  men. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  23.  God  makes  succession  of 
times — of  rulers—  to  serve  the  welfare 
of  His  Church. 

Time  appears  long  to  the  sorrowful 
when  deliverance  is  delayed. 

Oppressors  may  die,  and  yet  persecu- 
tion not  die  with  them.  ...  Cries  to 
heaven  are  often  extorted  from  God's 
persecuted  children.  ...  If  men  want  free- 
dom they  cannot  do  better  than  direct 
their  attention  to  God. 

Verse  24.  There  is  a  pitch  of  op- 
pression which  will  not  fail  to  awaken 
the  wrath  of  heaven. 

This  last  is  a  precious  scripture.  My 
soul,  put  a  note  upon  it.  No  sigh,  no 
groan,  no  tear  of  God's  people  can  pass 
unobserved.  He  putteth  the  tears  of 
His  peo])le  in  His  bottle.  Surely,  then, 
He  can  never  overlook  what  gives  vent 
to  these  tears,  the  sorrows  of  the  soul. 
Our  spiritual  afflictions  Jesus  knows, 
and  numbers  all.  How  sweet  the 
thought !  The  spirit  maketh  inter- 
cession for  the  saints,  with  groanings 
which  they  cannot  utter.  And  do,  my 
soul,  observe  the  cause  of  deliverance. 


Not  our  sighs,  nor  our  groanings,  nor 
our  brokenness  of  heart ;  not  these,  for 
what  benefit  can  these  render  to  a  holy 
God  ?  But  God  hath  respect  in  all  to 
His  own  everlasting  covenant.  Yes, 
Jesus  is  the  all  in  all  of  the  covenant. 
God  the  Father  hath  respect  to  Him 
For  His  sake,  for  His  righteousness, 
for  His  atoning  blood,  the  groanings  of 
His  people  find  audience  at  the  mercy 
seat,  and  also  obtain  redress.  [Dr. 
Haiifker^ 

God's  ear  is  close  to  the  strong 
cries  of  His  oppressed  people. 

Secret  groans  are  as  audible  with 
God  as  loud  cries. 

God  hears  when  creatures  think  Him 
deaf. 

Covenant  remembrance  with  God  is 
covenant  performance. 

Verse  25.  God  hath  ears,  and 
memory,  and  eyes,  and  knowledge  to 
help  His  people. 

The  sons  of  Israel  ai"e  looked  on,  and 
regarded  when  they  pray  to  God. 

God's  inspection  of  His  oppressed  is 
a  comfortable  visitation. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  FOR    CHAPTER   11. 


Verses  1-10  Stronger  far  than  education — 
going  on  before  education  can  commence, 
possibly  from  the  very  first  moments  of  con- 
eeiousness,  parents  he.Ljin  to  impress  themsolvos 
on  their  children.  Our  character,  voice,  fea- 
tures,   qualities —modiiiod,  no   doubt,  by  en- 


tering into  a  new  being,  and  ruling  a  di{  ^rent 
organization — are  impressed  upon  our  children. 
Not  the  inculcation  of  opinions,  but  much 
rather  the  formation  of  principles,  and  of  the 
tone  of  character,  the  derivation  of  qualities, 
Physiologists  tell  us  of  the  derivatiou  of  th« 

JJ7 


CHAP.  n. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


npntal  qualities  from  the  fathor.  and  of  the 
aioral  from  the  mother.  But,  he  this  as  it  may, 
;)ioie  is  scarcely  one  hero  wlio  ciinnot  trace 
bask  his  present  religious  character  to  some 
impression  in  early  life,  from  one  or  other  of 
his  parents — a  tone,  a  look,  a  wor.i,  a  habit,  or 
even,  it  may  be,  a  bitter  exclamation  of  re- 
morse \^F,  W.  Robert son\. 

What  if  God  should  place  in  your  hand  a 
diamond, and  toll  you  to  inscribe  on  it  a  sentence 
■which  should  be  read  at  the  last  day,  and  be 
shown  then  as  an  index  of  your  own  thoufrhts 
and  feelings?  What  care  —  what  caution 
would  you  exorcise  in  the  selection.  Now, 
this  is  what  God  has  done.  He  has  placed 
before  you  the  immortal  mindsof  your  children, 
more  imperishable  than  the  diamond,  on  which 
you  are  about  to  inscribe  every  day  and  every 
hour,  by  your  instructions,  by  your  spirit,  or 
by  your  example,  something  which  will  re- 
main, and  be  exhibited  for  or  against  you  at 
the  judgment  day  [2)r.  Paysori]. 

Even  as  a  plant  will  sooner  take  nourishment 
and  thrive  better  in  the  soil  where  it  first  grew 
and  sprung  up  than  in  any  other  ground, 
because  it  liketh  its  own  soil  best :  so,  likewise, 
children  will  sooner  take  instruction  and  good 
nurture  from  their  parents,  whom  they  best 
like,  and  from  whom  they  had  their  being, 
than  from  any  other  [^Cawdraif^, 

Verses  5-9.  The  wheels  in  a  clock  or  a 
watch  move  contrary  one  to  another,  some  one 
Tray,  some  another,  yet  all  serve  the  intent  of 
the  workman,  to  show  the  time,  or  to  make 
the  clock  to  strike.  So  in  the  world,  the 
providence  of  God  may  seem  to  run  cross  to 
His  promises :  One  man  takes  this  way, 
another  runs  that  way  ;  good  men  go  one  way, 
wicked  men  another;  yet  all  in  conclusion 
accomplish  the  will  and  centre  in  t)ie  purpose 
of  God,  the  great  Creator  of  all  things  [^SibWa 
Serviori], 

Verses  11-14.  In  the  ringing  of  bells,  whilst 
every  one  keeps  his  due  time  and  order,  what 
a  sweet  and  harmonious  sound  they  make ! 
All  the  neighbouring  villages  are  cheered  with 
the  sound  of  them;  but  when  once  they  jar 
and  chock  each  other,  either  jangling  together 
or  striking  preposterously,  how  harsh  and  un- 
pleasing  is  that  noise.  So  that  as  we  testify 
our  public  rejoicings  by  an  orderly  and  well- 
timed  peal,  when  we  would  signify  the  town 
is  on  fire,  we  ring  the  bolls  backward  in  a 
confused  manner.  It  is  just  thus  in  the  church: 
When  every  one  knows  his  station,  autliority, 
and  keeps  liis  due  rank,  there  is  melodious 
concert  of  comfort  and  contentment ;  but  when 
either  states  or  persons  vrill  be  clashing  with 


each  other,  the  discord  is  grievous  and  preju- 
dicial \_HalCs  Occasional  Meditations.*^. 

Verse  13.  In  most  quarrels  there  is  fault 
on  both  sides.  A  quarrel  may  bo  compared  to 
a  spark,  which  cannot  be  produced  without  a 
flint  as  well  as  a  steel,  eitlier  of  them  may 
hammer  on  wood  for  ever,  no  fire  will  follow 
\_Cotton.'] 

Verse  15.  Revenge  commonly  hurts  both 
the  offerer  and  the  sufferer ;  as  we  see  in  a 
foolish  bee,  which  in  her  anger  envenometh 
the  flesh  and  loseth  her  sting,  and  so  lives  a 
drone  ever  after  [^Bishnp  /A;//]. 

Wax,  when  it  is  laid  in  cold  places,  becomes 
so  hard  and  stiff  that  it  will  break  rather  than 
bow ;  but  being  laid  in  the  sun,  becomes  soft 
and  pliable,  fit  for  any  impression.  So,  when 
we  neglect  the  duty  of  meditation  on  good 
things,  our  hearts,  being  changed  from  God, 
wax  hard  and  obdurate  ;  but  when,  by  medi- 
tation, we  draw  nigh  unto  Him,  the  beams  of 
His  favour,  shining  upon  our  hearts  do  make 
them  soft  and  flexible  and  fit  for  any  holy 
impression  that  He  may  please  to  stamp  upon 
them  \_Downham^s  Guide  to  Godliness']. 

Moses  gave  up  the  palace  to  share  the  for- 
tunes of  Israel : — "  Mrs.  Hannah  More,"  says 
her  biographer,  "after  pointing  out  to  us 
some  of  the  many  beautiful  objects  to  be  seen 
from  the  room  in  which  we  were  sitting,  con- 
ducted us  into  an  adjoining  spartment.  whjch 
was  her  sleeping  room  ;  and  pointing  to  an 
arm-chair,  '  That  cliair,'  said  she,  'I  call  coy 
home.'  'Here,'  looking  out  of  window, '  is  what 
I  call  my  moral  prospect.  You  see  yonder 
distant  hill  which  limits  the  prospect  in  that 
direction.  You  see  this  tree  before  my 
window  directly  in  range  of  the  hill.  The 
tree,  you  observe,  from  being  near,  appears 
higher  than  the  hill  which  is  distant,  tliough 
the  hill  actually  is  much  higher  than  the  tree. 
Now  this  tree  represents  to  my  mind  the  ob- 
jects'of  time  ;  that  hill,  the  objects  of  eternity. 
The  former,  like  the  tree,  from  being  reviewed 
Tiear  at  hand,  appears  great.  The  latter,  like 
the  distant  hill,  appears  small'  "  [7VenrA]. 

Verse  23.  The  Romans,  in  a  gi'eat  distress, 
were  put  so  hard  to  it,  that  they  were  fain  to 
take  the  weapons  out  of  the  temples  of  their 
gods  to  fight  with  them ;  and  so  they  over- 
came. And  this  ought  to  be  the  course  of 
every  true  Christian,  in  times  of  public  distress, 
to  fly  to  the  weapons  of  the  Church,  prayers 
and  tears.  The  Spartan's  walls  were  their 
spears,  the  Christian's  walls  are  his  prayers. 
His  help  standcth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
wlio  b.'th  made  both  heaven  and  earth  ^Cal- 
lamp's  Sermon]. 


flS 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  hi. 


CHAPTER  m. 


Cbitioal  Notes. — 1.  Kept]  Not  merely  once  upon  a  time ;  but  statedly,  as  his  usual  occupa- 
tion :  ^«Y.,  "he  had  come  to  be  ahopherdisg,"  the  pai-ticiplo  denoting  coiitinuanco.  Backside] 
That  ia,  "to  the  west:"  the  east  beina^  the  quarter  towards  wh.  one  is  supposed  to  look  (Go^o- 
oius,  Fiirst,  Daries).  2.  A  bush.]  Lit.,  "the  thorn- bu.".h."  According  to  Brugsch,  the  thorny 
acacia.  The  deliniteness  may  be  accounted  for  on  the  ground  of  oither  (a)  local  notoriety — "  the 
well-known  thorn-buah  of  the  neighbourhood  ;  "  or  (6")  historicaj  familiarity — "  the  particular 
thorn-bush  of  wh.  M.  had  so  often  spoken."  Prob.  the  humble  thorn-bu.ih  represented  Israel  in  the 
fire  of  affliction.  Burned]  Render,  more  vividly  :  "  was  burning  "  Note  also  the  repetition  of 
the  noun  ;  who  both  for  this  reason,  and  because  of  its  position  in  the  Hob.,  is  emphatic,  as  if  a.sk- 
ing  to  be  reiterated  with  the  tone  of  surprise:  "  Behold  the  thokn-uusii  was  burning  with  fire, 
and  yet  the  thorn-bdsh  was  not  consumed  !  "  3.  Is  not  biirnt]  Better:  "  does  not  burn  up :  " 
the  imperfect  tense.  5.  Shoes]  That  is,  "sandals."  This  command  -'may  be  accounted  from 
the  custom,  in  the  East,  of  wearing  shoes  or  sandals  merely  as  protection  from  dirt.  No  Brah- 
min  enters  a  pagoda,  no  Moslem  a  mosque,  without  first  taking  off  at  least  his  overshoes;  and 
even  in  Grecian  temples,  the  priests  and  priestesses  performed  the  service  barefooted.  Whon 
entering  other  holy  places  also,  the  Arabs  and  Samaritans,  and  even  the  Yozidis  of  Mesopo- 
tamia take  off  their  shoes,  that  the  place  may  not  be  defiled  by  the  dirt  or  dust  upon  them." 
fKeil).  14.  I  am]  That  this  Divine  declaration  is  an  exposition  of  the  meaning  of  the  great 
and  gracious  name,  Jehovah,  must  bo  obvious  at  a  glance  over  tho  context.  From  this  follows 
the  need  of  all  possible  care  to  understand  the  exposition  itself  as  it  falls  from  tho  month  of 
God,  and  is  here  recorded  for  our  instruction.  Let  us  briefly  state  the  esseotial  points — with 
all  reverence,  while  yet,  as  far  as  possible,  with  due  freedom  from  the  yoke  of  timid  tradition. 
(1,)  What  is  the  radical  meaning  of  the  root  ha-yah — tho  great  verb  of  the  sentence  ?  Usage 
decides  that,  in  the  language  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Donaldson  (Hob.  Gram.  p.  -59),  ha-y,ih  is  essentially  a 
"  verb  of  becoming : "  not  merely  of  coming  into  being,  but  coming  into  relationship,  i.e.  becoming 
this  or  that  to  some  one.  We  may  say,  in  brief,  that  it  primarily  means  (a)  of  persona — to 
become;  (6)  of  events — TO  come  to  pass:  the  concordance  will  prove  this.  Then  (2.)  What  is 
the  force  of  the  tense  in  wh.  ha-yah  here  twice  appears?  Eh-yeh  is  the  " imperfect "  tense  of 
ha-yah\  i.e.,  as  that  tense  is  understood  by  the  best  Heb.  scholars  (Ewald.  Roodiger,  Driver, 
Prof.  A.  B.  Davidson),  "  imperfect  "  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  incomplete,  the  incoming  tense — the 
"  incipient"  (Murphy)  Applied  to  the  verb  under  consideration,  this  tense  yields  the  following 
rendering:  "lam  becoming,"  or,  "I  will  become."  As  our  future  suits  well  here,  let  us  say, 
simply,  "  1  will  become."  Then  the  declaration  will  run  :  "I  will  become  what  I  will  become." 
(3.)  Nothing,  surely,  cd.  exceed  the  sweetness,  the  fitness,  and  the  simple  grandeur  of  the 
clause  when  thus  rendered,  (a)  It  is  full  of  promise:  "'I  will  become  " — to  Israel,  disheartened, 
timid — "what  I  will  become"— all  that  it  is  in  my  heart  to  become  to  them,  all  that  they 
need.  Their  redemption  is  in  me ;  and,  therefore,  out  of  the  fulness  of  my  nature,  shall  it  be  un- 
folded act  by  act,  step  by  step,  stage  by  stage.  Not  apart  from  me  can  they  enjoy  it.  I  must 
work  it  out  for  them — in  them  — through  them:  drawing  them  ever  nearer  to  myself,  coming 
over  nearer  to  them — becoming  more  and  more  to  them.  The  promise  is  unlimited.  And,  fur- 
ther, though  we  can  scarcely  realise  its  richness  without  some  attempt  at  paraphrase,  yet  (/>)  it 
is  very  general,  to  the  verge  of  vagueness — a  vagueness,  however,  adapted  to  elicit  faith. 
It  seems  to  say :  Trust  me  ;  leave  the  future  in  my  hands:  I  will  become  to  you  more  than  you 
can  yet  know:  "I  will  become  what  I  will  become."  (4.)  How  does  this  exposition  of 
the  Name  prepare  us  for  the  Name  itself?  For  we  assume  the  now  generally  admitted 
derivation  of  Jehovah  (more  exactly,  Yahweh)  as  the  third  person  singular  imperfect  of 
ha-wah,  an  old  form  =  to  hah-yah ;  and  thus  conclude  tiiat  the  Name  literally  gathers 
into  itself  the  force  of  the  previous  Divine  announcement.  In  other  words,  we  take  Yahweh  to 
mean:  "He  who  is  becoming — purposes  to  become — will  become"  ="  Tlie  Becoming  Oae." 
In  this  way  we  ha.ve  first  the  verb  repeated  in  a  clause ;  then  the  verb  once  by  itself;  lastly  the 
noun,  cognate  with  the  verb :  "  God  said  unto  Moses,  Ehyeh  asher  ehyeh,  '  I  will  become  what  I 
will  become.'  "  "  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  Ehyeh,  '  I  will  become,'  hath 
sent  me  unto  you."  "  And  God  said  moreover  unto  Moses,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children 
of  Israel,  Yahweh,  •  'Ihc  Becoming  One,'  God  ot  your  fathers,  &o.,  hath  seat  me  unto  you."  Well 

29 


CUAP.  III.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARk .   EyoDUS. 


might  the  gracious  Promiser  add:  "  This  is  my  name  for  eTer,  and  this  is  my  memorial  unto 
all  generations."  Must  not  that  Name  relate  to  us  through  which  God  will  bo  remembered 
by  us  ? 

Possibly  the  evangelical  German  expositors  have  not  expressed  themselves  in  precisely  the 
above  manner  in  their  exegesis  of  tliis  great  matter;  but  how  fully  they  have  led  the  way  to  our 
main  conclusions  may  be  seen  in  the  following  extracts  from  Kurtz:  "Jehovah  is  the  God  of 
development,  who  Himself  enters  into  the  development,  condescends  into  it,  embodies  Himself 
and  co-operates  in  it,  in  order  to  conduct  it  safely  to  its  destined  goal."  "  Iht-yah  is  equivalent 
to  (pvvai,  ytveaOai,  dvai  ;  it  indicates  concrete,  not  abstract  being — such  being  as  makes  its 
appearance,  manifests  itself  in  history,  and,  so  to  speak,  becomes  historical.  This  meaning 
comes  out  more  fully  and  prominently  in  the  imperfect  form  of  the  name  derived  from  it. 
Hence  mn*  is  God  outwardly  manifesting  Himself,  revealing  jHimself,  living,  working,  and 
reigning  in  history,  eve?'  unfolding  there,  more  and  more,  His  character  and  beinq.''  ("Hist.  0.  Gov. 
I.  i.  sec,  13.) 

It  remains  only  to  say  that  even  if  Ynh-weh  be  considered  as  formed  in  the  conjugation 
Hiphil  (as,  with  this  pronunciation.  Dr.  B.  Davios  seems  to  think  it  must)  the  substance  of  the 
above  account  will  remain  untouched.  The  fullest  possible  justice  would  be  done  to  that 
causative  conjuj;ation  by  rendering  the  name,  "He  who  brings  to  pass"  =  "The  Fulfiller." 
In  point  of  fact,  He  brings  to  pass  His  purposes  by  Himself  becoming  all  that  He  designs  to 
BECOME.  However,  Dr.  Kalisch  considers  the  name,  pronounced  Yaii-weh,  as  formed  in  Kal  ; 
thus,  in  this  matter,  fully  sustaining  our  primary  explanation. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.—Verses  1—6. 

Man  in  relation  to  Mystery. 

I.  That  sometimes  men  meet  with  mystery  in  the  pursuit  of  their  daily  call- 
ing. "  Now  Moses  kept  the  flock  of  Jethro."  Very  often,  in  the  pursuit  of 
daily  work  are  good  and  heroic  men — who  are  in  the  path  of  Providence — called 
upon  to  witness  great  sights,  such  as  are  not  permitted  to  weak,  restless,  and  un- 
thinking souls.  The  daily  avocation  of  a  good  man  may  lead  into  mystery — or 
break  into  heavenly  vision  at  any  point — Avhich  shall  conduct  him  into  a  higher 
ephere  of  toil.  The  calling  may  be  humble,  it  may  not  be  that  of  preacher — 
student — philanthropist,  but  simply  that  of  shepherd;  yet,  if  prosecuted  in  quietude 
— in  prayerful  spirit- — with  an  outlook  toward  God — it  is  not  far  from  the  mystery 
of  the  burning  bush.  God  always  rewards  diligent  and  faithful  men — gives  them 
great  sights — of  truth — of  hope — calls  them  to  a  higher  service — renders  tiiem 
conscious  of  a  Divine  companionship — holds  converse  with  them.  1.  This  vision 
was  unexpected.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate  its  advent — the  desert  was  silent 
— unbroken  by  the  sound  of  heavenly  messenger — the  bush  casually  attracted  the 
attention  of  Moses.  As  a  rule,  the  Divine  Being  does  not  warn  men  of  vision 
and  mystery — else  they  would  make  unusual  preparation  to  welcome  it.  The 
design  of  mystery  is  to  test — appeal — to  the  normal  condition  of  our  muii- 
liood,  hence  the  need  of  always  having  our  moral  nature  in  the  calm,  quiet 
exercise  of  its  power,  ever  ready  for  communion  with  the  spirit-world. 
2.  This  vision  ivas  educational.  It  tauglit  INIoses  the  solemnity  of  life — the  crisi.s 
of  his  nation's  suffering  —  the  solution  of  his  own  past  history — the  destiny 
of  his  prior  training — in  the  palace  and  in  the  desert — it  gave  him  a  glimp.v« 
into  his  great  future — it  showed  him  that  his  life  was  deeply  allied  to  that 
of  his  brethren — to  the  divine  administration  of  Heaven.  The  symbolism  of 
the  vision  was  most  impressive —it  would  awe  his  soul — he  was  in  personal 
contact  with  God  -which  is  always  educational  to  man.  He  is  made  conscious 
of  a  Divine  commission  to  Ins  future  work — this  a  source  of  strength—  comfort 
—inspiration  to  kirn.  This  commuuion  with  the  mystery  of  tne  buruiug 
80 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTAnr:  EXODVS.  Obaf.  ill. 


bush  was  most  important  —  gave  a  new  impetus  to  his  being  —  awakened 
new  thoughts — emotions — prayers — which  never  died  away  from  the  great  temple 
of  his  souL  The  vision  was  educational  to  him  in  the  very  truest  sense  of  the 
word.  II.  That  sometimes  mystery  is  associated  with  things  of  a  veiy  ordinary 
character.  "  Out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush."  Here  it  is  associated  with  a  bush  of 
the  desert.  The  flame  did  not  descend  and  rush  along  the  great  mountains,  near 
the  lonely  shepherd,  lighting  up  the  desert  with  a  grandeur  altogether  magnifi- 
cent :  this  might  have  been  more  tragic — more  wild — imposing — but  it  would 
not  have  been  so  divinely  educational  as  this  unconsumed  bush — Moses  would 
have  been  startled — would  have  fled — the  turbulent  energies  of  his  soul  would  have 
been  awakened.  Whereas  this  vision  was  calm—  it  made  him  peaceful — it  was  full 
of  the  heavenly — it  elevated  his  spirit  to  sublimity — it  was  progressive — the 
bush  burning — then  the  voice  dii'ecting  him  how  to  approach — and  lastly  the 
revelation  of  its  indwelling  Divinity.  Thus,  the  instruction  in  this  case  would 
be  more  gradual — effective.  God  knows  the  best  methods  of  communication  with 
human  souls.  And  so  it  is  now.  The  smallest — the  most  trivial — the  apparently- 
unmeaning — things — events  of  life — are  full  of  mystery — contain  a  heavenly 
presence— a  divine  voice — will  teach  a  reflective  spirit — will  become  an  impulse 
to  a  higher  life — avocation.  The  bushes  of  life  are  full  of  mystery.  The  world 
is  a  great  secret — is  vocal  with  messages  of  freedom  to  listening  souls.  Ill,  That 
mystery  should  be  investigated  with  the  utmost  devotion  of  soul.  "  Put  off 
thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet."     1.  There  must  he  devotion  in  opposition  to  levity. 

2.  There  must  he  devotion  in  opposition  to  curiosity.  Why  this  devotion  : — (1)  Be- 
cause  mystery  is  holy.  It  is  holy  ground — the  Divine  indwelling  in  the  bush 
consecrates  it — it  leads  to  moral  elevation — must  therefore  command  reverence. 
(2.)  Because  mystery  is  authoritative.  It  commands  us  to  take  off  our  shoes.  Its 
authority  is  Divine — will  be  recognised  by  true  manhood.  IV.  That  sometimes 
good  men  are  favoured  with  a  giand  mifolding  of  mystery.  "  I  am  the  God." 
•fee.  1.  God  observes  the  conduct  of  men  in  relation  to  mystery.  "And  the  Lord 
saw  that  he  turned  aside  to  see."  What  a  subduing — inspiring  thought — that 
God  knowsall  the  efforts  of  our  souls  in  their  investigation  of  mystery.  2.  God  speaks 
to7nen  who  are  anxious  to  investigate  mystery.  "  God  called  to  him  out  of  the  midst 
of  the  bush."  God  speaks — allows  us  to  investigate.  It  would  have  been  a 
poor  modesty  on  the  part  of  Moses  had  he  not  tried  to  undei-stand  the  meaning 
of  the  sight  before  him — so  we  may  look  into  mystery — and  the  longer  we  gaze 
— the  more  we  shall  see  and  hear  of  it — Heaven  will  direct  our  thinkings  and 
inquiries.      Mystery  has   a   definite   bearing  upon  individual  life.       "  Moses." 

3.  God  reveals  Himself  as  the  great  solution  of  all  mystery.  "  I  am  the  God  of 
thy  fathers."  God  is  the  explanation  of  all  mystery.  He  teaches  listening — 
humble — devout  souls  the  secrets  of  life's  burninsr  bushes. 


The  Burning  Bush  Unconsumed. 

I.  Make  some  remarks  on  the  Burning  Bush,  by  way  of  Illustration.  A  shepherd's  life 
friendly  to  contemplation.  Why  this  appearance  ? — To  give  Moses  the  most  sublime  conception 
of  the  glory  and  majesty  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  to  fit  him  for  his  future  mission.  Nothing 
could  be  more  conducive  to  this,  than  the  fire  in  the  bush.  Among  the  Hebrews,  and  ancient 
nations,  fire  was  considered  a  very  significant  emblem  of  Deity — in  this  instance  it  would  repre- 
sent the  majesty — purity  — power  of  God — it  would  show  that  He  was  going  to  bring  terror — 
destruction  upon  His  enemies,  and  light — comfort  —salvation  to  His  people.  The  burning  bush 
an  emblem: — 1.  Of  the  state  of  the  Israelites  in  their  distress.  Consider  their  trials — persecu- 
tions— severe — likely  to  consume  them — yet  Israel  was  not  diminished — the  burning  bush  a  fit 
emblem  of  them.  2.  Of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  the  wilderness  of  the  world — by  the  Church  we 
moan  all  true  Christians,  independent  of  sect.  This  world  a  wilderness — nothing  in  it  to  suit  the 
taste  of  a  spiritual  mind— the  Church  must  pass  through  the  wilderness  to  reach  Canaan — has 
many  enemies.  It  has  passed  through  the  fires  of  persecution — has  never  been  consumed  in 
numbers — or  piety.  3.  Of  the  state  of  every  true  Christian.  What  is  true  of  the  Church  is  true 
of  the  individual — trials  not  so  general — tempted  by  the  powers  of  darkness — fire  of  a£&ictioa 

31 


CHAP.  m.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


— yet  is  unconsumed.  II.  Consider  why  the  hush  was  not  consumed  ?  The  reason  obvioxj.i, 
JelioTah  was  in  the  midst  of  it.  Tliia  truo  in  the  emblematical  signification  of  the  bush  :  — 
1.  Jehovah  was  present  with  Israel  2.  With  the  Church  in  all  ages.  3.  With  Christian  life  in 
all  its  grief.  Learn : — 1.  Religion  does  not  exempt  from  suffering.  2.  The  certainty  of  Divine 
protection  in  trial  \Lay  Preacher']. 


Moses  ajtd  thb  Burning  Bush;  a  Picture  op  a  True  Student 
AND  THE  Bible. 

The  circumstance?  connected  with  this  incident  suggest  four  general  facts.     1.  That  God's 
purposes  are  punctual:  in  their  accomplishment.     God  declared  to  Abraham  that  his  seed   should 
go  into  a  strange  laui — that  thoy  should  be  slaves  there — and  come  out   with  great  substance. 
The  clock  of   time   had  now  struck   the   400  years,  and  God  began  to  rodeom  His  pledge. 
2.  That  GocTs  purposes,  in  relation  to  our  world,  are  generally  accomplished  by  the  agency  of  man. 
The  Almighty  could  have  emancipated  the  Jews  by  His  own  immediate  volition,  or  he  might 
have  selected  other iastrumentality  than  human;  but  He  elected  man  for  the  work.      This  is 
God's  plan  of  raisin:?  humanity — wise — loving.     3.  That  the  men  whom    God  employs  for  the 
canying  out  of  His  purposes,  He  qualifies  by  a  special  revelation.     The  work  to  which  Moses  was 
now  called  required  dauntless  h^-oism — self-sacrifice — power — he  was  to  confront  Egypt's  proud 
king.    Whence  was  lie  to  derive  the  power?     This  power  of  the  human  mind  depends  upon  the 
thoughts  and  ideas  it  receives  from  the  Divine,  as  the  vitality  and  power  of  the  branch  depends 
upon  its  connection  iirith  the  root:  all  moral  mind  is  powerless  without  ideas  from  God.    Hence 
this  special  revelation.    4.   That  this  special  revelation,  which  he  vouchsafes,  is  frequently  symbolical 
in  its  character.     Frequently  made  thus  to  the  Jews.     All  nature  is  a  sy)iiboi.    Truth  in  symbol 
is  palpable — attractive — impressive.      It  symbolised  God's  presence.      Observe  the  Student : — 
I.  Directing  His  earnest  attention  to  the  Divine  Revelation.     "  And  Moses  said  I  will  turn 
aside,"  &c.    1.  Moses  dit-ects  his  attention  to  it,  under  an  impression  of  its  greatness.    A  marvellous 
tbject — a  bush  burning,  away  from  the  habitation  of  men— bursting  into  flame  at  once — ignited 
by  no  visible  hand — unconsumed.     This  is  but  a  faint  shadow  of  the  marvellousness  of  the  Bible 
—the  fact  of  its  exis'lence — its  contents.     2.  Moses  directs  his  attention  to  it  in  order  to  ascertain 
its  import.     "  Why  the  bush  is  not  burnt."     So  the  student  of  the   Bible  must  not  be  satisfied 
with  a  mere  acquain'iance  with  the  forms  and  circumstances  of  the  Bible,  he  will  enquire  into 
their  import.    II.  Holding  intercourse  vrith  God  through  the  Divine  Revelation.     "  God  called 
to  him."  &c.      1.  Gcd's  communications  depended  upon  his  attention.     Tne   Bible  is  the  great 
organ  of  Divine  intercourse ;  but  it  is  the  devout  student  only  who  looks  and  inquires — that  hears 
in  it  the  voice  of  God.     Gods  communications  were  consciously  peisonal  to  him.     "Moses."    There 
are  few  in  these  dayn  who  hear  the  voice  of  God  to  them  in  the  Bible,     3.  God  s  communications 
were  directive  and  elevating.     "Draw  not  nigh."     III.  Realising  the  profoundest  impressions 
through  the  Divine  I'.evelation.     "And  Moses  hid  his  face.''     1.  These  impressions  are  peculiarly 
becoming  in  sinful  inttlligencies.     2.  These  impressions  are  necessary  to  qualify  men  for  God's  work. 
8.  These  impressiona  are  consonant  with  the  highest  dignity  and  enjoyment  [^Homilist'[. 


The  Angel  in  the  Burning  Bush. 

Here  we  see:  — i.  &.n  old  man  called  to  go  out  on  the  great  errand  of  his  life.  The  education 
of  Moses  lasted  80  y>ars.  Egypt — Midian.  When  the  brightness  of  his  life  was  gone,  and  the 
hopes  of  his  ycmth  were  dead  ;  when  his  fiery  spirit  was  tamed  into  patience,  and  his  turbulont 
passion  stii  cd  into  r;pose,  at  last  he  came  out  of  scliool.  Man  in  hasto — God  never  ;  the  former 
looks  to  results— the  latter  to  preparations.  II.  The  Burning  Bush  from  which  that  call  was 
sounded.  1.  It  was  a  sign  to  indicate  the  peadiar  presence  of  God  2.  God's  people.  III.  The 
angel  who  uttered  tl  is  call.  IV.  The  covenant  under  whicli  the  angel  gave  him  his  commission. 
V.  The  angel's  name,  "I  am  that  I  am."  He  asserts  His  i-eal  existence— His  underived  exist- 
ence— His  independet  t  exi stence — I  lis  eternity — unclnnuienbleness—ineffabilily.  VI.  The  efifect  to 
be  wrought  by  the  rdmemhrance  of  His  name.  1.  Profoundest  reverence.  2.  It  reveals  the  in- 
finite srtfficiency  of  <i  Christian's  portio/L  3.  It  gives  encouragement  to  evangelical  enteiprise 
[^Symbols  of  Christ], 

I.  The  employment  in  which  Moses  was  engaged.  "  Kept  tho  flock."  II,  The  sight  which 
he  witnessed.  "And  the  Angel  of  the  Lord."  III.  The  resolution  he  made.  "I  will  now 
turn  aside."  IV.  Tie  prohibition  he  received.  "Draw  not  nigh,"  <fec.  V.  The  announcement 
he  heard.     "  I  am  the  God  of  thy  father  "   \_Expository  Outlines], 

I.  The  Learned  Shepherd.  1.  Humility.  2.  Patience.  3.  Fidelity.  II.  The  Great  Sight. 
1.  Where.  2.  Wher'.  3.  Wherefore  it  appeared.  III.  The  Present  God : — 1.  With  thetn,  im 
trouble.     2.  Hustauta  them  in  trouble.    8.  A  source  of  Instruction  IClass  and  the  Desk], 

w2 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP,  m 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  1.  Moses  : — A  faithful  son. 
2.  A  diligent  worker.  3.  A  true  wor- 
shipper. 

Solitude  :  —  1.    Needful     for    toil. 

2.  Useful     for     moral     preparation. 

3.  Favourable   for   heavenly   visions. 
The  desert : — 1 .  The  sheepf old  of  a 

Priest.  2.  The  School  of  Providence. 
3.  The  Temple  of  the  Eternal. 

It  is  not  a  subsidence  into  common- 
place that  we  find  in  this  verse  ;  it  is 
going  into  the  severest  and  most  useful 
of  schools — the  school  of  lowliness, 
meditation,  self-measurement,  and  fel- 
lowship with  God.  Fiery  natures 
must  be  attempered  by  exile  and  deser- 
tion  We  must  exchange  rough 

and  romantic  chivalry  for  the  deep, 
calm,  vital  revelation  which  emanci- 
pates and  purges  the  spiritual  nature 
of  mankind  [City  Temple], 

God's  determination  to  deliver  His 
Church  and  people  is  soon  followed  by 
the  execution  thereof, 

God's  instruments  of  deliverance  are 
not  altogether  laid  aside,  although  they 
are  long  in  preparation. 

It  is  God's  use  to  take  shepherds  of 
flocks  to  make  them  shepherds  of  men. 

God's  great  instruments  may  be 
servant-shepherds,  not  masters  of  their 
own  flock. 

Church  deliverers,  God  orders  to  be 
nurtured,  sometimes  under  priests, 
amongst  strangers. 

The  Divine  Being  leads  good  men  to 
places  the  most  favourable  to  heavenly 
visions. 

Shepherds  seeking  pasture  for  their 
flock,  may  find  better  for  themselves. 

Places  are  rightly  called  by  God's 
name,  wheresoever  He  appears. 

Deserts  are  sometimes  ordered  for 
saints  to  meet  God  in. 

Those  who  descend  from  riches  to 
poverty,  from  the  palace  to  the  desert, 
should  be  patient  in  their  temper  and 
toil. 

"  Came  to  the  mountain  of  God."  It  was 
here  : — 1.  That  God  appeared  to  Moses 
in  the  bush.  2.  That  He  manifested 
His  glory  at  the  delivery  of  the  Law. 
:  •  That  Moses  brought  water  out  of 
the  rock.     4.  That,  by  lifting  up  his 


hands,  he  made  Joshua  to  prevail 
against  Amelek.  5.  That  he  fasted 
twice  forty  days  and  forty  nights. 
6.  That  from  thence  he  brought  the 
tables  of  the  Law.  7.  That  Elijah 
was  vouchsafed  a  glorious  vision. 

"Even  to  Horeb"     We  know  not  the 
precise    place.       Tradition,    reaching 
back   to    the    sixth    century    of    the 
Christian   era,    fixes   it  in   the   same 
deep  seclusion  as  that  to  which,  in  all 
probability,  he  (Moses)  afterwards  led 
the  Israelites.     The  convent  of   Jus- 
tinian is  built  over  what  was  supposed 
to  be  the  exact  spot  where  the  shepherd 
was  bid  to  draw  his  sandals  from  off 
his  feet.      The   valley   in  which   the 
convent  stands  is  called  by  the  Ara- 
bian name  of  Jethro.     But,  whether 
this  or  the  other  great  centre  of  the 
peninsula,  Mount  Serbal,  be  regarded 
as  the  scene  of  the  event,  the  appro- 
priateness would  be  almost  equal.    Each 
has  at  different  times  been  regarded  as 
the   sanctuary    of  the    desert.      Each 
presents  that  singular  majesty  which, 
as  Josepbus  tells  us,  and  as  the  sacred 
narrative  implies,  had  already  invested 
"the  Mountain  of  God"  with  an  awful 
reverence  in  the  eyes  of  the  Arabian 
tribes,  as  though   a  Divine   Presence 
rested  on  its  solemn  heights.     Around 
each,    on    the    rocky   ledges    of    the 
hill-side,  or  in  the  retired  basins,  with- 
drawn within  the  deep  recesses  of  the 
adjoining    mountains,   or    beside    the 
springs  which  water  the  adjacent  val- 
leys, would  be  found  pasture  or  herb- 
age,  or   of   aromatic   shrubs   for   the 
flocks   of   Jethro.      On  each,  in  that 
early  age,  though  now  found  only  on 
Mount  Serbal,  must  have  grown  the 
wild  acacia,  the  shaggy  thornbush  of 
the  Seneh,  the  most  characteristic  tree 
of  the  whole  range.     So  natural,  so 
thoroughly    in    accordance    with    the 
scene,  were  the  signs  in  which  the  call 
of  Moses  made  itself  heard  and  seen  ; 
not  in  any  outward  form,  human  or 
celestial,  such  as  the  priests  of  Helio- 
polis  were  wont  to  figure  to  themselves 
as  the  representatives  of   Deity;  but 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  spreading  thorn, 
the  outgrowth  of  the  desert  wastes,  did 

33 


c:.'Ai'.  ill. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


"  the  Lonl  appear  unto  Moses  "  [The 
Jewish  Church,  by  Dean  Stanley]. 

Verse  2.  The  burning  bush: — 1.  As 
an  emblem  it  instructs.  2.  As  a 
miracle  it  astonishes.  3.  As  a  magnet 
it  attracts.  4.  As  a  monitor  it  warns. 
When  a  workman  is  busily  engiiged 
in  his  work,  we  say  he  is  in  the  mid.st 
of  it.  For  the  Sinie  reasons,  God, 
whose  workmanship  the  Church  is,  is 
said  to  be  in  the  77iidst  of  the  Church. 

A  beautiful  conjunction  of  the  natu- 
ral and  the  supernatural.  A  bush 
turned  into  a  sanctuary.  Tliough  the 
heavens  cannot  contain  the  Great  One, 
yet  he  hides  Himself  under  every  dower, 
and  makes  the  bi'oken  heart  of  man  his 
chosen  dwelling-place.  Wherever  we 
are,  there  are  gates  through  nature  into 
the  divine.  Every  bush  will  teach  the 
reverent  student  something  of  God. 
The  lilies  are  teachers,  so  are  the  stars, 
so  are  all  things  great  and  little  in  this 
wondrous  museum,  the  universe  [_City 
Temple]. 

The  burning  bush  gave  light  in  the 
wilderness,  and  so  ought  the  Church  to 
do  in  the  world. 

This  ^^Angel  of  the  LordC^  is  after- 
wards called  Jehovah  and  God  (ch. 
iv.  6).  The  shekinah,  or  luminous  glory, 
was  not  only  Jehovah  Himself,  but  was 
the  Angel-Jehovah.  The  very  word 
"Angel,"  signifies  messenger,  or  one 
sent ;  and  though  it  generally  de- 
signates a  personal  being,  yet  as  a  term 
of  office  it  maybe  applied  toany  medium 
by  which  God  makes  communications 
to  man.  This  Angel  was — 1.  Eternal. 
2.  Omnipotent.  3.  Self-existent. 
4.  Commanded  the  moral  activities  of 
men. 

This  Angel  in  the  bush  a  prophecy 
of  the  Saviour's  incarnation. 

After  long-expected  deliverances, 
God  appears  at  length  to  help. 

God  sometimes  mercifully  appears  to 
men,  and  comes  to  their  deliverance,  as 
in  a  flame  of  fire. 

God's  sweet  appearances  are  usually 
in  desert  conditions.  ...  God's  visions  of 
old  have  had  re  il  demonstrations  by 
eye-witnesses. 

God's  bush  habitation  is  in  order  to 
shovv  good  will  unto  His  Church. 
84 


God  can  interdict  the  power  of  fire 
to  consume  (Dan.  iii.) 

God  works  miracles  upon  lower 
creatures,  in  order  to  show  the  Church 
His  power. 

The  preserving  and  sustaining  inflif 
ence  of  true  religion. 

Verse  3.  Many  a  man  has  been  led 
through  the  pale  of  curiosity  into  the 
sanctuary  of  reverence.  Moses  pur- 
posed but  to  see  a  wonderful  sight  in 
nature,  little  dreaming  that  he  was 
standing,  as  it  were,  face  to  face  with 
God.  Blessed  are  they  who  have  an 
eye  for  the  startling,  the  sublime,  and 
the  beautiful  in  nature,  for  they  shall 
see  many  sights  which  shall  fill  them 
with  glad  amazement.  Every  sight  of 
God  is  a  "  great  sight ;"  the  sights  be- 
come little  to  us  because  we  view  them 
without  feeling,  or  holy  expectation 
\City  TempW]. 

St.  Austin,  who  came  to  Ambrose  to 
have  his  ears  tickled,  had  his  heart 
touched.  It  is  good  to  hear,  howso- 
ever. Come,  said  Latimer,  to  the  pub- 
lic meeting,  though  thou  comest  to 
sleep ;  it  may  be,  God  will  take  thee 
napping.  Absence  is  without  hope. 
What  a  deal  lost  Thomas  by  being  but 
once  absent  \Trapp]. 

A  great  sight : — 1.  Occasioned  by  a 
Divine  agency.  2.  Illumined  by  a 
Divine  Presence.  3.  Given  for  a 
Divine  purpose. 

Great  sights : — 1.  Desired  by  the 
world.  2.  Sought  by  the  pleasure- 
seeker.  3.  Found  only  by  the  Chris- 
tian. 4.  The  inspiration  of  a  good 
life. 

The  moral  preparation,  and  condition 
necessary  for  the  beholding  of  heavenly 
visions — 1.  We  must  turn  aside  from 
the  gaiety  of  the  world.  2.  From  the 
futility  of  merely  human  reasonings. 
3.  From  the  commission  of  moral  evil 
in  daily  life.  4.  From  following  the 
instruction  of  incompetent  teachers. 
5.  They  are  largely  dependent  upon 
our  personal  willingness  of  soul. ...  God 
speaks  to  all  m<^r  who  reverently  turn 
aside  to  hear  Him. 

Unusual  apparitions  of  God  may 
well  put  the  best  men  upon  self-vea 
soning. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  in. 


Observing  hearts  are  inclined  more 
to  turn  into  the  inquiry  of  God's  dis- 
coveries than  from  them. 

All  revelations  from  God  should  be 
carefully  looked  into. 

Verse  4,  God  sees  our  first  desire  to 
investigate  the  truth,  and  our  earliest 
effort  towards  a  religious  life. 

God  calls  truth-seekers  by  name — 
"Moses," — Nathaniel.  1,  To  indicate 
His  delight  in  them.  2.  His  favour 
toward  them.  3.  His  hope  of  them. 
4.  To  prepare  them  for  further  revela- 
tions. 

The  name  of  a  good  man  vocal  on 
the  lips  of  God — 1.  An  honour.  2.  A 
destiny.  3.  A  prophecy.  4.  A  voca- 
tion. 

The  truth-seeker's  response  : — 1.  His 
personality.  2.  His  place.  3.  His  wil- 
lingness. We  should  always  respond  to 
the  calls  of  heaven. 

The  soul's  turning  aside  to  see  often 
leads  to  visions  of  God.  1.  In  His 
Book.  2.  In  His  works.  3.  In  His 
Providences.  4.  in  His  Church  and 
fcanctuary. 

Such  visions :  —  1.  Obtained  by 
prayer.  2.  Refreshing  to  the  soul. 
3.  Strengthening  to  manhood.  4.  Re- 
lated to  human  suffering. 

God  looks  to  them  who  turn  into  His 
discoveries,  with  a  purpose  to  show  them 
more. 

God  gives  to  His  servants  not  only  a 
vision,  but  a  voice  for  them  to  know 
His  mind. 

God  doubly  calleth  where  he  doubly 
loveth,  and  stirreth  into  double  duty. 

Those  who  are  truly  called  by  God, 
ought  to  be  willing  to  offer  themselves 
either  to  do,  or  suffer  His  pleasure. 

Verse  5.  All  places  are  holy,  but 
some  are  especially  so: — 1.  Because 
they  are  hallowed  by  the  supreme  resi- 
dence of  God.  2.  By  happy  memories. 
3.  By  holy  friendships.  4.  By  moral 
conquest. 

There  must  be  an  occasion  vl  pause 
in  the  investigalion  of  truth,  and  in 
the  devotion  of  our  religious  life. 

Curiosity  must  not  merge  into  fa- 
miliarity. 


Put  off  thy  shoes  of  sensuality,  and 
other  sins.  Affections  are  the  feet  of 
the  soul ;  keep  them  unclogged  [Tvaj>p\. 

The  putting  off  the  sandals  is  a  very 
ancient  practice  in  worship ;  Pytha- 
goras enjoins  it.  The  rabbis  say  that 
the  priests  perform  their  service  with 
bare  feet,  in  token  of  purity  and 
reverence.  Among  the  Greeks,  no 
person  was  admitted  to  the  Temple  of 
Diana,  in  Crete,  with  shoes  on.  All 
Mohammedans,  Brahmins,  and  Par- 
sees  worship  barefooted  to  the  present 
day  [Dr.  Nevin]. 

May  we  all  learn  to  tread  Jehovah's 
court 'with  unshod  feet. 

"We  must  come  to  God;  we  must 
not  come  too  near  Him.  When  we 
meditate  on  the  great  mysteries  of  His 
word,  we  come  to  Him ;  we  come  too 
near  Him  when  we  search  into  His 
counsels.  The  sun  and  the  fire  say  of 
themselves,  "  Come  not  too  near ;"  how 
much  more  the  light  which  none  can 
attain  to.  We  have  all  our  limits  set 
us.  The  Gentiles  might  come  into 
some  outer  courts,  not  into  the  inner- 
most ;  the  Jews  might  come  into  the 
inner  court,  not  into  the  temple ;  the 
priests  and  Levites  into  the  temple,  not 
into  tile  holy  of  holies ;  Moses  to 
the  hill,  not  to  the  bush.  The  waves 
of  the  sea  had  not  more  need  of  bounds 
than  man's  presumption.  Moses  must 
not  come  close  to  the  bush  at  all ;  ana 
where  he  may  stand,  he  may  not  stand 
with  his  shoes  on  [Bishop  Hall]. 

The  access  of  honest  hearts  to  the 
place  of  God's  appearance  may  be 
rash. 

Such  hasty  and  unadvised  access 
God  forbids  unto  His  servants. 

Due  preparation  must  be  made  by 
those  who  wish  access  to  God. 

Verse  6.  The  Divine  Being  here 
reveals  Himself  as: — 1.  The  God  of 
individual  men.  2.  The  God  of  Fami- 
lies. 3.  The  God  of  the  immortal 
good. 

There  is  something  inexpressibly 
beautiful  in  the  idea  that  God  is  the 
God  of  tlie  father,  and  of  the  son,  and 
of  all  their  descendents ;  thus  the  one 
God  makes  humanity  into  one  family 
[City  Temple]. 

3S 


CHAP   III.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


God  does  not  s.ay,  "  I  was  the  God  of  terrible  to  those  who  are  not  acquainted 

Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,"   but  "I  with  them. 

am."       The    Patriarchs   still   live  so  Consciousness  of  self-guilt  is  enough 

many  years  after  their  dissolution.    No  to   make   creatures   hide    from    God. 

length  of  time  can  separate  the  souls  of  Like   instances: — 1    Kings    xix.    13, 

the  just  from  their  Maker  \_Ilenry  and  Isaiah  vi.  2, 
Scoti\.  Men  fear  to  look  upon  God  : — 1.  Be- 

Let  a  man  but  see   God,   and   his  cause  of  the  greatness  of  His  Majesty, 

plumes  will  soon  fall  \Trapp\.  2.  Because  of   the   awfulness  of   His 

God's  gracious  dicoveries  may  prove  revelations.      3.     Because   He   is   the 

Arbiter  of  their  destinies. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  7—10. 

The  Calling  op  a  Great  Deliverer. 

I.  His  call  was  rendered  necessary  by  intense  national  suffering.  (Verse  7). 
1.  The  sujferings  to  ivhich  the  Israelites  were  exposed.  "  I  have  seen  the  affliction 
of  my  people."  They  were  afflicted  by  a  tyrant  king — a  hostile  nation — oppres- 
sive taskmasters — unremunerative  work.  Surrounded  as  we  are  by  all  the 
advantages  of  freedom,  and  Christian  influence,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  us  to 
realize  their  sorrow.  Oppression  occasions  the  worst — most  degrading — most 
painful  suffering  to  men.  These  ancient  people  had  happy  memories  still  linger- 
ing in  their  minds — memories  of  a  godly  ancestry, — which  would  intensify  the  grief 
and  degradation  of  their  present  condition,  (i.)  Politically  they  were  prisoners. 
(ii.)  Socially  they  ivere  bondmen,  (iii.)  Commercially  they  luere  ruined,  (iv.)  Religiously 
they  were  degenerate — hence  their  suffering.  The  grief  of  legal  shn^cry  is  now  almost 
banished  from  the  world.  2.  The  Divine  attention  to  the  sufferings  of  the  Israelites. 
God  has  deep  sympathy  with  the  sorrowful,  (i.)  God  sees  the  pain  of  the  oppressed. 
"  I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction  of  my  people."  He  knows  the  occasion  of  it — 
the  men  w^ho  augment  it.  He  is  cognisant  not  only  of  the  secondary  agencies  of 
grief,  but  also  of  the  primary — not  only  the  cruel  taskmasters — but  also  of  the  tyrant 
king  who  has  commissioned  them,  (ii.)  God  hears  the  cry  of  the  oppressed.  "And 
have  heard  their  cry."  The  Divine  Being  is  not  deaf  to  the  voice  of  human  sorrow, 
especially  when  it  comes  from  a  penitent  heart.  This  is  testified  by  the  moral 
experiences  of  the  universe.  The  cries  and  prayers  of  the  suffering  not  merely 
gain  help — relief — but  also  expose  those  by  whom  they  are  occasioned  to  the 
Divine  displeasure.  God  saw  the  oppression  of  the  Egyptians,  and  we  cannot 
but  connect  this  with  their  final  overthrow  in  the  Red  Sea.  We  cannot  occasion 
sorrow  to  others,  without  rendering  ourselves  liable  to  severe  retribution — especi- 
ally if  we  afflict  the  people  of  God.  (iii.)  God  relieves  the  pain  of  the  oppressed. 
He  does  not  merely  look  in  pity — hear  with  compassion — speak  in  accents  of 
tenderness — but  He  devises  means  for  the  destruction  of  the  oppressor — for  the 
freedom  of  the  slave.  He  raises  up  a  deliverer,  whose  life  and  heroism  He  joins 
to  the  sorrow-stricken  people  for  the  removal  of  their  woe.  II.  He  was  called  to 
his  mission  by  the  immediate  agency  of  God.  (Verse  10.)  1.  His  free  agency 
was  consulted.  God  does  not  force  men  into  Christian  service — into  heroic  and 
philanthropic  effort.  He  dues  not  employ  unwilling  agents.  He  merely  calls 
— sometimes  by  loud  voices — by  the  urgency  of  the  case — by  a  providential 
opening.  Man  has  the  ability  to  object —refuse.  Thus  the  Divine  Being  comes 
into  intimate  contact  with  the  lives  of  destined  deliverers — to  refine  their  sym- 
pathies— awaken  their  enthusiasm — to  urge  them  to  their  gieat  avocation.  Such 
a  call  is  honourable ;  it  links  men  to  the  mercy  and  power  of  God — it  is  responsible 
• — it  links  men  to  the  sufferings  of  humanity.  By  willingly — cheerfully  respond- 
ing to  it  we  become,  in  a  very  high  sense,  co-workers  with  God,  for  the  truest 
benefit  of  the  race.  Such  calls  to  pious  souls  are  varied  and  numerous — may  tliey 
always  find  us  obedient  thereto.  2.  His  adaptability  was  considered.  The  divine  calls 

86 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  IIL 


to  service  are  dependent  upon  moral  character — intellectual  power.  God  does  nol 
call  wicked  men  to  achieve  the  freedom  of  the  suffering.  He  would  not  give 
them  the  vision— nor  would  they  have  the  faith  to  believe  it — necessary  to  awaken 
them  to  the  conviction  of  such  great  service.  God  does  not  call  AVeak-niinded 
men  to  this  work  of  liberation — but  those  well  learned  in  the  literature — science 
—  history  of  their  country — whose  moral  nature  has  been  well  disciplined  by 
solitude — through  long  years — and  who  have  been  previously  lifted  up  to  the 
elevation  of  the  call  He  gives,  and  the  service  He  requires.  There  was  not  another 
man  in  the  whole  nation  more  thoroughly  qualified  for  this  work  than  Moses. 
All  his  life  had  been  one  constant  preparation,  and  an  unconscious  waiting  for 
this  hour.  So  that  when  the  call  of  God  sounded  in  his  soul,  all  the  discipline 
of  his  life  became  intelligible  to  him.  And  so,  to-day,  in  calling  men  to  the  varied 
offit^es  of  Christian  service,  the  Divine  Being  strictly  contemplates  their  moral  and 
intellectual  qualifications  Social  considerations  are  subordinated.  A  shepherd 
may  be  called  to  accomplish  the  freedom  of  Israel.  Hence  the  Divine  call  to 
human  souls  is— (1)  Emphatic.  (2)  Jndicious.  (3)  Hopeful.  III.  He  was  defi- 
nitely made  acquainted  with  the  mission  he  had  to  undertake.     (Verse   10.) 

1.  He  was  to  pay  a  visit  to  royalty.  He  was  commanded  to  go  unto  Pharaoh. 
There  seems  an  apparent  incongruity  for  a  shepherd  of  the  desert  to  demand 
an  interview^  with  the  monarch  of  Egypt — there  was  a  great  disparity  in  their 
social  position.  But  what  Moses  lacked  in  the  social  accidents  of  life,  he  more 
than  made  up  in  the  moral.  God  had  given  him  a  vision — had  held  audience 
with  him.  Hence  he  was  well  qualified  to  meet  Pharaoh.  Any  man  who  holds 
intimate  communion  with  God,  is  fit  companionship  for  the  grandest  king  of  the 
universe.  The  vision  of  the  bush  would  awaken  Moses  to  a  strong  sense  of  his 
manhood — to  a  consciousness  of  Divine  aid — hence  he  will  go  bravely  to  Pharaoh 
with  the  requirement  of  freedom.  The  visit  was  not  to  be  one  of  mere  courtesy — 
but  to  demand  the  citizen  rights  of  an  enslaved  nation.  Christian  men,  in  these 
days,  are  reluctant  to  visit  kings  on  the  errands  of  God — they  are  timorous — 
they  have  not  vision  enough  to  inspire  them  with  fortitude  —  at  such  times 
they  should   gather  strength  from   their  Divine    communion  and    commission. 

2.  He  was  to  ac/iisve  the  freedom  of  Israel.  "  That  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my 
people,  the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  Egypt."  What  a  commission  for  one  man 
to  fulfil — with  no  armies  but  the  unseen  legions  of  heaven.  Apparently  unaided, 
he  goes  to  the  task.  God  sometimes  calls  men  to  arduous  duties — in  which  there 
appears  but  little  likelihood  of  success.  He  clearly  defines  the  duty  of  Cln-istian 
service.  He  forewarns  of  its  difficulties — that  they  may  not  surprise  or  overwhelm. 
Thisarrangementis — (1)  Merciful.  (2)  Considerate.  {'d)Accommodatedtoovr  weakness. 
IV.  In  the  performance  of  his  mission  he  was  animated  by  the  highest  hopes. 
(Verse  8.)  1.  He  anticipated  the  freedom  of  Israel.  2.  He  anticipated  conquest 
in  the  event  of  war  3.  He  anticipated  residence  in  a  land  of  beauty  and  fertility. 
God  always  animates  those  engaged  in  great  service  by  great  hopes.  Lessons. — 
1.  T]iat  God  knows  how  to  prepare  men  to  become  the  deliverers  of  the  good  2.  That 
a  divine  call  is  requisite  for  the  mission  of  life.  3.  That  human  sorrow  is  pathetic 
and  powerful  in  its  appeal  to  God. 

A  Picture  of  Human  Sorrow. 

I.  That  God  knows  the  sorrows  to  which  His  people  are  exposed  (Verse  7.) 
1.  Because  of  the  relationship  He  sustains  to  them.  "  My  people."  Ancient  Israel 
was  a  Divinely  chosen  nation — peculiarly  favoured  by  heaven.  This  is  but  a 
faint  type  of  the  Divine  regard  for  all  devout  souls.  "  My  people  : " — (1.)  It 
indicates  ownership.  (2.)  It  indicates  endearment.  (3.)  It  indicates  astonishment. 
We  should  imagine  as  the  people  of  God,  so  truly  loved,  that  Israel  would 
have  been  shielded  from  sorrow  altogether.  We  should  have  thought  that  their 
lives  would  have  been  pre-eminently  jubilant.  Are  we  not  frequently  surprised 
to  find  the  choicest  of  God's  saints  in  circumstances  of  great  trial  ?     This  is  a 

37 


CHAP   III.  UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


problem  the  next  worlci  will  better  solve.  2.  Because  His  omniscient  eye  is  vpon 
them.  He  sees  tlieir  triais.  3.  Becmise  they  are  in  the  habit  of  making  known  their 
non-oivs  to  Hiin  by  prayer.  II.  That  at  the  proper  time  God  will  deliver  His 
people  from  SOITOW.  (Verse  8).  1.  Sometimes  after  it  has  been  long  continued. 
2.  Sometimes  when  least  expected.  3.  Sometimes  by  agencies  once  despised.  Moses 
had  previously  tried  to  awaken  within  the  Israelites  feelings  of  brotherhood — but 
he  had  been  repulsed — his  authority  had  been  denied— yet  this  is  the  man 
Divinely  sent  to  achieve  the  freedom  of  the  nation.  So,  instrumentalities  that 
have  been  rejected  by  us  may  one  day  be  instrumental  for  our  good.  Let  us 
despise  no  effort  for  our  welfare,  we  may  have  to  meet  it  again  in  the  future. 
III.  That  God  uses  human  instrmnentaUties  iii  the  deliverance  of  His  people 
from  sorrow.  God  sends  man  to  comfort  his  fellow-man.  1.  Prepared  by  lifers  disci- 
pline. It  requires  great  preparation  to  fit  man  for  the  work  of  sympathy.  2.  En- 
couraged  by  Heaven's  vision.  Any  man  who  is  destined  to  aid,  or  mitigate  the 
suffering  of  his  fellows  must  have  visions  of  the  other  world — of  tlie  painless  life 
— of  God — to  prepare  his  soul  for  contact  with  woe,  that  he  may  not  be  de- 
pressed thereby.  Heaven  only  can  teach  a  human  soul  how  to  console  troubled 
hearts.  3.  Called  by  God's  voice.  God  knows  where  to  find  men  who  are  the 
moat  fitted  to  undertake  errands  of  mercy  and  consolation — appeals  to  their  sym- 
pathies— at  the  same  time  authoritatively  commissions  them  to  the  work. 

The  Typical  Character  of  Moses  considered,  as   the  Deliverer, 
Mediator,  Lawgiver,  and    Guide   of  Israel. 

It  will  be  our  aim,  in  the  present  discourse,  to  exhibit  Moses  as  the  representative  of  onr 
gracious  Lord ;  and  to  shew,  in  a  connected  view,  that  the  benefits  conferred  by  the  one  upon 
Israel,  are  emblems  and  shadows  of  these  spiritual  mercies,  which  the  other  was  manifested  to 
bestow  upon  mankind. 

I.  Moses  claims  our  first  regard  as  a  Deliverer.  While  Israel  was  groaning  in  Egypt,  God 
was  preparing  the  moans  of  their  deliverance.  When  we  were  dead  in  sin  His  compassion  pro- 
vided for  our  redemption.  When  the  Israelites  were  arrayed  to  leave  their  captivity  they  num- 
bered 600,000  on  foot,  besides  women  and  children.  Yet,  in  this  vast  multitude  there  was  no 
deliverer,  Moses  only  excepted.  Nor  could  one  be  found,  to  redeem  the  world,  from  amongst  its 
numbers.  Moses  was  a  man  like  unto  his  brethren,  experienced  the  wants,  and  sympathized 
with  the  sorrows  of  Israel.  He  was  well  learned  in  the  wisdom  of  Egypt.  The  rod  of  the  1  ord 
was  put  into  his  hand.  Christ  partook  of  our  nature — possessed  unsearcliable  wisdom — wrought 
miracles.  Moses  made  sacrifice  to  fvilfil  the  duty  with  which  God  had  cliarged  him.  Having 
"  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward."  Christ  made  "  himself  of  no  reputation,''  &c. 
II.  He  is  a  type  of  Christ  when  we  regard  Mm  as  the  appointed  mediator  between  God  and 
Israel.  So  overpowering  in  greatness  did  the  Most  High  appear  upon  Mount  Sinai,  that 
the  people  placed  Moses  between  themselves  and  the  majesty  of  Heaven.  Moses  was  qualified 
for  this  office — by  cordial  love — meekness — long  suffering — disinterestedness— ever  watcliful 
zeal  ;  so  God  could  have  no  interest  with  men  except  through  Christ,  who  is  far  more  qualified 
for  the  office  of  mediator  than  Moses.  III.  When  we  regard  liim  in  his  office  of  Lawgiver  to 
Israel.  Israel  had  forgotten  the  sanctions  and  demands  of  the  Divine  covenant  with  Abraham 
amidst  tlie  rigours  of  tiioir  servitude.  During  the  first  part  of  their  wilderness  journey  they  were 
rather  a  band  of  fugitives,  without  order  and  regulations,  than  a  people  restrained  by  the  infiueuce 
of  judicious  legislation.  It  was  necessary  that  some  mode  of  government  should  be  given  to  them. 
This  was  given  by  the  Most  High — through  Moses.  So,  in  thn  mournful  captivity  of  the  soul, 
the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  pride  of  life,  oppose  the  will  of  God;  and  the  fallen  creature  becomes 
a  fatal  law  unto  himself.  Even  when  the  condemnation  of  impiety  is  removed,  and  the  fetters 
with  which  it  bound  all  the  passions,  and  faculties,  and  principles  of  the  mind  are  broken,  the 
liberated  bond-servant  needs  a  revelation  of  the  Word  of  God,  by  which  his  conduct  may  bo 
governed.  Christ  a  law-giver — assisted  at  the  formation  of  the  law — can  best  explain  it — best 
enforce  it.  The  temporal  deliverer  could  only  give  the  law;  he  could  not  infuse  a  principle  of 
holy  obedience  into  its  injunctions.  He  could  not  subdue  the  enmity  of  carnal  affections.  The 
Son  of  God  alone  can  form  us,  by  His  grace,  to  ths  holiness  of  his  own  demand.  IV.  When  we 
regard  him  as  the  Leader  and  Guide  of  Israel.  Israel  did  not  at  once  reach  the  promised  land 
— toilsome  journey.  Jloses  was  their  guide.  So,  the  Christian,  who  is  journeying  from  the  house 
of  moral  bondage  toward  heaven,  has  Jesus  for  his  guide  \_Buddicom's  Christian  Exodus]. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMME^TS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
Verse  7. "My people."  1,  Therefore  we     serve  Him.      3.    Therefore   we   must 
must  love  Him.     2.  Therefore  we  must      aid  His  Church. 
38 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  111. 


"  /  kn(m  their  sorrows.*'  I.  The 
Person.  1.  Ee  can  help.  This  is  de- 
monstrated by  all  history — experience 
— from  the  greatness  of  his  power — the 
fdlness  of  His  resources — from  the 
sympathetic  ministries  He  has  at  com- 
mand. 2.  He  will  help — Hagar — David 
— Peter — prove  this.  He  has  promised 
to  succour  the  tired — has  told  men  to 
cast  their  heart-burdi.^us  on  Himself. 
The  whole  scheme  of  salvation  is  based 
on  this  fact.  His  arm  brought  salva- 
tion. He  will  therefore  freely  give  us 
all  things.  What  a  mercy  that  troubled 
souls  are  not  left  to  follow  blind  im- 
pulse— reason  —  we  have  a  Divine 
Helper  3.  He  delights  to  help.  Sym- 
pathy is  the  natural — happy  out-come 
of  the  heart  of  God.  He  heals  the 
withered  flower  by  the  new  life  of  spring 
tide.  He  heals  troubled  souls  by  im- 
parting new  spiritual  energy.  It  is  His 
joy  to  do  so. 

II.  The  knowledge.  1.  It  is  certain. 
God  knows  the  trials  of  humanity — 
from  whatever  cause  they  may  arise 
— unerringly.  He  cannot  be  deceived, 
or  mistaken.  What  a  consolation  for 
the  afflicted.  2.  It  is  unlimited. 
God  knows  all  the  sorrows  of  the  heart 
— those  unwhispered  to  our  nearest 
friend — no  matter  to  what  sphere  of 
life  they  relate — no  matter  how  trivial 
or  how  great.  3.  It  is  compassionate. 
He  does  not  investigate  our  sorrow — 
to  satisfy  curiosity — to  become  otfici- 
ously  acquainted  with  our  circum- 
stances—  but  to  soothe  —  to  relieve. 
Religion  does  not  present  to  the  troubled 
soul  a  stoical — merely  philosophical 
deity — but  One  who  is  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmity. 

III.  The  Sorrow.  1.  It  may  he  long 
continued.  Israel  had  been  in  bondage 
foiu:  hundred  years.  Our  trials  may 
be  continuous  —  like  a  long  winter 
night  —  like  a  long  polar  winter  — 
without  a  ray  of  sunlight  —but  God 
has  not  forgotten  to  be  gracious.  His 
delay  is  partof  the  discipline — thedawn 
of  morning  will  come.  2.  It  maij  he 
deeply  oppressive.  As  the  poorest  are 
not  below  God's  cognizance,  neither  are 
the  greatest  beyond  His  check.  3.  It 
may  he  widely  experienced.  '*  /  know 
their  sorrows."      1.  Therefore  do  not 


complain.  2.  Therefore  wait  His  time 
for  deliverance.  3.  Therefore  seek  His 
grace. 

Israel's  bondage  and  freedom.,  a  typeoj 
the  ivorM's  sorrow  and  Christ's  redemp- 
tion : — 1  .Because  Christ  came  down  from 
heaven.  2  Christ  came  at  the  call  of 
the  world's  sorrow.  3.  Christ  came  to 
achieve  the  world's  moral  freedom. 
4.  Christ  came  to  destroy  the  kingship 
of  sin.  5.  Christ  came  to  lead  men  into 
happiness.  6.  Christ  came  to  awaken 
holy  agencies  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  the  race.  ...  God  usually  speaks 
kindly  to  his  servants  to  remove  their 
fear  at  His  appearing. 

Jehovah  resents  the  oppression  of  the 
Church.  1.  Surely.  2.  Speedily. 
3.  Continually.     4    Retributively. 

Egypt  is  seen  by  God  in  all  its  op- 
pression of  His  people. 

Cruel  exactors  make  God's  people 
cry  aloud  to  Him  in  complaint  and 
prayer. 

Verse  8.  ^'  And  I  am  come  down  to 
deliver  them,"  God  is  said  to  descend 
— 1.  In  accommodation  to  a  human 
form  of  speech.  2.  To  show  judgments 
on  the  wicked  (Gen.  18.)  3.  Perhaps 
to  indicate  the  situation  of  Egypt, 
which  was  a  low  country.  4.  To  in- 
dicate some  notable  event  about  to 
follow.     Babel. 

"  To  hring  them  up  out  of  that  land.^' 
1.  Of  bad  rulership.  2.  Of  wicked 
companionships.  3.  Of  hostile  religious 
influences.  4.  Of  servile  bondage. 
5.  There  are  many  countries  in  the 
world  where  it  is  dangerous  for  God's 
people  to  reside. 

"  Unto  a  good  land,  and  a  large." 
1.  Canaan  was  large  compared  with 
Goshen.  2,  God  exchanges  the  situa- 
tiaus  of  His  people  for  their  good.  3. 
God  does  not  intend  His  people  to 
remain  long  the  slaves  of  any  earthly 
power.  4.  The  spiritual  Israel  will 
in  eternity  enter  into  the  fulness  of  these 
words. 

Unto  the  place  of  the  Canaanites." 
The  Canaanites  were  the  same  whom 
the  Grecians  called  Phoenicians.  1.  The 
Septuagint  in  the  flf(h  of  Joshua,  for 
Canaanites  reads  Phoenicians.  2.  The 
woman  whom  oar  Saviour  dispossessed 

39 


CHAP.  m. 


HOMILETIC  COMMEyTARY :  EXODUS. 


of  a  devil,  by  Matthew  is  called 
Canaanitish,  by  Mark  a  Syro-Phocui- 
cian.  3.  These  Canaanites  are  said  to 
dwell  near  the  sea  (Numbers  xiii.  30J, 
as  did  the  Phoenicians.  4.  The  Phoe- 
nicians were  noted  for  their  deceit  in 
buying ;  so  the  Canaanites  are  noted 
in  scripture  for  their  craft  (IIos.  xii.  1). 

"  The  Canaanites  and  the  Hittites," 
&c.  A  disinherited  people  : — 1.  Dis- 
inherited by  God,  as  the  Supreme  Dis- 
poser of  all  territory.  2.  As  under  a 
special  curse.  3.  As  guilty  of  unre- 
pented  sin.  4.  A  warning  for  nations 
to-day. 

Flowings  of  milk  and  honey  are  in 
the  inheritance  of  the  Church. 

The  place  of  wicked  nations  God  can 
make  the  inheritance  of  His  people. 

God  will  make  good  his  promise  to 
the  uttermost  to  give  the  Church  its  in- 
heritance. 

Verse  9.  God  demonstrates  that  He 
hears  the  cry,  and  sees  the  oppression 
of  His  people  and  Church. 

In  times  of  hearing  the  cry  of  His 
Church,  God  watches  the  conduct  of 
enemies  toward  it. 

Verse  10.  "  Co7ne  now  therefore." 
The  Divine  call  to  service  : — 1.  It  is 
persuasive,  "  come."  2.  It  is  immedi- 
ate, "  now."  3.  It  is  logical,  "  there- 
fore." 

"  /  ivill  send  thee  wito  Pharaoh  :" — 
I.  A  vocation.  2.  A  preparation.  3.  A 
eommission. 

"  That  thou  mai/est  bring  forth  My 
people."  &c.  A  God-given  task  :  — 
1.  Ai'duous  in  its  requirement.  2.  Re- 
sponsible in  its  exercise.  3.  Glorious 
in  its  issue.     4.  Unique  in  its  character. 

In  the  eighth  verse  God  says,  "  I  am 
come  down  to  deliver  them  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Egyptians ; "  and  in  the 
tenth  verse  He  says,  "  I  will  send  thee 
unto  Pliaraoh."  Is  there  not  a  dis- 
crepancy here?  If  God  Himself  came 
down  to  do  a  work,  why  did  He  not  go 
and  do  it  personally  ?     One  word  from 


Himself  would  surely  have  done  more 
for  the  cause  which  He  had  espoused 
than  all  the  words  which  the  most 
gifted  of  His  creatures  could  have 
used.  Looking  at  this  incident  as 
standing  alone,  it  does  undoubtedly 
appear  most  remarkable  that  God  did 
not  per.<onally  execute  what  He  had 
personally  conceived.  The  thinking 
was  His,  so  was  the  love ;  all  the 
spiritual  side  of  the  case  belonged  ex- 
clusively to  God  ;  yet  He  calls  a  shep- 
herd, a  lonely  and  unfriended  man,  to 
work  out  —  with  painful  elaboration, 
and  through  a  long  series  of  be- 
wildering disappointments  —  the  pur- 
pose which  it  seems  He  Himself  might 
have  accomplished  with  a  word.  We 
find,  however,  that  the  instance  is  by 
no  means  an  isolated  one.  Throughout 
the  whole  scheme  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment of  the  human  family,  we  find  the 
principle  of  mediation.  God  speaks  to 
man  through  man.  Undoubtedly,  this 
is  mysterious.  To  our  imperfect  under- 
standing, it  would  seem  that  the  direct 
personal  revelation  of  His  presence  and 
glory  would  instantly  secure  the  re- 
sults which  are  so  desirable,  and  yet  so 
doubtful.  It  is  here  that  Faith  mu>t 
lead  us.  Moreover,  this  principle  of 
individual  selection  in  the  matter  of  all 
great  ministries,  is  in  keeping  with  the 
principle  which  embodies  in  a  single 
germ  the  greatest  forests.  It  is  enough 
that  God  gives  the  one  acorn,  man 
must  plant  it  and  develope  its  produc- 
tiveness. God  works  from  the  one  to 
the  many  [City  Temple\ 

God's  call — is  instant,  and  suffers  no 
delay. 

Though  God  needs  no  man,  He  calls 
some  for  the  help  of  His  people. 

Such  as  God  calls,  He  sends  to  bring 
about  deliverance. 

The  mission  of  God  may  be  of  the 
poorest  man  to  the  greatest  potentate. 

God's  command  is  enough  to  era- 
power  the  weakest  man  for  the  strong- 
est work. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  11-12. 

Ministerial  Timidity. 

I.  It  is  sometimes  occasioned  by  tmdue  and  depreciating  thoughts  of  self. 


(Verse  11.) 
40 


By  undue  thought  of  our  social  position.      "  Who  am  1,  that  I  should 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  cii.u'.  iii. 


go  unto  Pharaoh?"  Moses  might  imagine  the  need  of  social  position,  in  order 
to  obtain  an  interview  with  the  King.  Some  of  the  best  ministers  of  the  gospel 
have  come  from  the  most  humble  scenes  of  social  life.  There  are  times  in 
ministerial  labour  when  good  social  position  may  aid  the  mission  of  truth  and 
freedom — but  it  is  not  an  absolute  necessity.  Men  from  the  lower  i-anks  of 
humanity  may  do  as  much  to  subdue  the  tyranny  of  a  king,  as  the  most  refined 
aristocrat  of  the  realm.  A  man  of  great  soul,  indepandent  of  social  standing, 
may  successfully  accomplish  a  campaign  against  moral  evil.  2.  B^/  undue 
thought  of  our  intellectual  iveakuess.  "Who  am  I?"  True,  Moses  was  well 
educated — still  his  mental  discipline  would  hardly  appear  to  him  as  equal  to  the 
present  crisis  and  undertaking.  He  would  have  to  fall  back  upon  his  knowledge 
of  the  Egyptian  court,  and  upon  other  matters,  of  important  bearing  on  hia 
mission.  So,  may  ministers  of  to-day  feel  their  inability  to  combat  the  error — 
scepticism — and  refined  sin  of  the  age — through  their  lack  of  brain  power.  They 
have  not  had  the  advantages  in  their  early  days  that  even  Moses  had.  Of  what 
little  information  they  possess,  they  make  the  best  possible  use.  It  re- 
quires a  well  disciplined  mind  to  go  to  the  Pharaohs  of  the  world,  and  to  demand 
efficiently  the  moral  freedom  of  their  slaves.  3.  By  undue  thought  of  our  moral 
inability.  A  man  requires  not  only  a  strong  mind — but  much  more,  a  strong 
soul — of  devout  impulse — large  sympathy — and  strong  determination,  to  perform 
such  a  commission  as  that  now  given  to  Moses.  Equally  so,  with  the  minister 
of  Christ.  And,  when  the  true  preacher  looks  into  his  heart  in  moments  of 
depression,  he  feels  his  lack  of  great  moral  qualities — and  cries,  "  Who  am  f ,"  &c. 

II.  That  it  is  sometunes  occasioned  by  an  undue  estimation  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  work.  1.  This  may  arise  from  the  depressing  exjnriences  of  youth.  When 
young — living  in  the  palaces  of  Pharaoh — Moses  had  striven  to  interrupt  a  quarrel 
between  two  Hebrews  by  referring  them  to  the  fact  of  their  common  brotherhood 
and  suffering — he  had  been  repulsed.  No  doubt  a  remembrance  of  this  fact  now 
lingered  within  his  mind — as  there  are  certain  experiences  that  never  leave  us — 
they  become  the  constant,  and  great  educational  influences  of  our  souls.  This 
reminiscence  would  give  Moses  to  feel  the  difficulty  of  the  task  now  imposed  upon 
him.  So,  with  ministers  of  the  Gospel — it  may  be  that  the  experiences  of  boy- 
hood and  younger  manhood,  have  introduced  an  element  of  difficulty,  per- 
plexity, into  their  toil,  that  they  almost  shrink  from  the  call.  2.  This  may 
arise  f-om  the  removal  of  friendly  aids.  Moses  once  had  friends  in  the  court  of 
Pharaoh — he  was  the  adopted  son  of  the  King's  daughter — had  he  retained  her 
friendship — it  might  have  been  of  use  to  him  now  ;  but  he  had  lost  it  by  flight. 
So,  it  sometimes  happens  that  ministers  often  lose  earthly,  accidental  friendships, 
aids  to  the  achievement  of  their  mission,  and  hence  their  timidity  as  to  its  issue. 

III.  That  it  is  sometimes  occasioned  by  our  not  appreciating^  as  we  ought,  the 
Divine  Presence  and  help.  1.  The  Divine  Presence  is  our  Guide.  God  would 
teach — guide  Moses  as  to  the  best  methods  of  approach  to  Pharaoh.  So,  the 
same  Jehovah  will  equally  guide  all  true  ministers  who  are  seeking  the  moral 
freedom  of  men.  This  guidance  makes  up  for  any  scholastic  deficiency — is  our 
truest  help.  2.  The  Divine  Presence  is  our  sustaining  iufluence.  It  would  sustain 
Moses  under  his  memory  of  youthful  failure  to  subdue  the  quarrel  of  the  two 
Israelites.  It  would  sustain  him  in  the  performance  of  all  arduous  toils — in  the 
event  of  suffering — rebuff,  either  from  Pharaoh — his  courtiers^or  his  bondmen. 
So,  the  Divine  Presence  sustains  the  minister  of  Christ — under  the  bitter  me- 
mories of  past  failure — misdirected  effort — wanderings — loneliness — and  opposi- 
tion, from  whatever  source.  But  for  this  he  would  be  unequal  to  the  task  for  an 
hour.  3.  The  Divine  Pi-esence  is  our  victory.  It  gave  Moses  an  insight  into  the 
future  history  of  Pharaoh — it  enabled  him  to  work  miracles — it  empowered  his 
moral  nature — i-endered  it  superior  to  the  conflict.  So,  with  the  minister  of 
truth — though  he  cannot  work  miracles — the  Divine  Presence  is  the  pledge  of 
moral  conviction  in  the  minds  of  others — and  of  final  victory.     IV.  It  should 

41 


CIIAl'.  III. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


be  removea  by  the  hopes  with  wliich  it  is  animated.  1.  TJ//  the  hope  of  achieving 
the  freedom  of  a  vm^t  nation.  Mose.s  was  to  bring  the  children  of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt.  So.  it  is  the  hope  of  the  go.si)el  ministry  to  bring  the  universe  from  under 
the  reign  of  sin — to  freedom — happiness  -hope — what  a  sublime  anticipation  ! 
2.  Bij  the  hope  of  leading  a  vast  nation  into  the  land  of  promise.  Moses  was  to  lead 
the  Israelites  into  Canaan  :  (i.)  Fertile.  (\i.)  Abundance.  (i\\.)  Beauty.  So,  the 
minister  of  Christ  has  to  lead  men  to  heaven — this  is  the  hope  by  which  he  is  ani- 
mated— and  ought  to  subdue  all  timidity — and  inspire  him  with  holy  joy. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  11.  The  man  who  in  y  uih 
slew  the  Egyptian,  and  was  willing  to 
undertake  the  emancipation  of  his 
nation,  now  modestly  shrinks  from  the 
task. 

The  power  of  increasing  age — 1.  To 
change  the  views.  2.  To  calm  the 
temper.      3.  To  humble  the  soul. 

Mo  wonder  that  he  so  inquired.  The 
message  seemed  to  be  much  greater 
than  the  messenger.  He  works  best 
who  magnities  his  office.  Preachers, 
and  all  ministers  of  good,  should  see 
their  work  to  be  greater  than  them- 
selves if  they  would  work  at  the  highest 
point  of  energy.  Let  a  man  suppose 
his  work  to  be  easy,  to  be  unworthy  of 
his  talents,  and  he  will  not  achieve 
much  success  [CV(y  Teinpik']. 

It  is  far  better  to  partake  of  the  spirit 
of  Moses  as  manifested  in  this  verse, 
than  to  too  rashly  seek  the  dignity  and 
position  of  ministerial  work. 

Worth  is  modest :  the  proud  man 
asketh,  who  am  I  not?  [Trapii]. 

God  may  sometimes  be  denied  by  the 
best  of  men  in  their  infirmity. 

The  best  souls  are  apt  to  have  the 
lowest  thoughts  of  themselves  for  God's 
work. 

Visible  difficulties  in  the  Church 
may  disliearteu  men  to  work. 

The  power  of  Egyptian  oppressors 
may  startle  weak  instruments  of  de- 
liverance. 

The  redemption  of  men  from  the 
house  of  bondage  is  a  startling  fact. 

Verse  12.  "  Certainli/  I  ivill  he 
with  thee."  The  Divine  companionship 
realised  by  the  good  in  the  service  of 
the  Christian  iife : — 

I.It  was  considerate.  Neverdid  Moses 
nuv.v  need  the  Divine  companionship 
than  in  this  exigency  of  toil.  The 
work  is  great — he  feels  his  inability  for 


it — it  is  at  the  time  of  his  weakness 
that  the  Divine  companionship  is  pro- 
mised. This  promise  will  st.and  true 
for  Christian  Avorkers  during  all  time. 

II.  It  was  emphatic.  "  Certainly." 
The  promise — in  tone — manner — could 
leave  no  doubt  on  the  mind  of  Mcsesas 
to  the  likelihood  of  its  fulfilment.  Its  em- 
phasis satisfied  his  utmost  requirement 
— left  no  room  for  doubt.  So,  now  the 
promise  of  the  Divine  companionship  is 
emphatic — becoming  even  more  so  by 
the  accumulating  experiences  of  the 
good. 

III.  It  was  sympathetic.  "  With 
thee."  Not  I  will  follow  thee — not  I 
Avill  go  before  thee — not  I  will  be  near 
thee — but  ivith  thee —  as  a  companion  to 
cheer  thy  soul;  as  a  friend — to  give  thee 
counsel ;  as  a  God — to  make  thee  vic- 
torious. How  can  a  mission  fail  when 
God  is  with  the  worker.  How  refresh- 
ing to  a  timid  soul  is  the  sympathy  of 
Heaven.     Our  sufficiency  is  of  God. 

The  Guarantee  of  Success. 

I.  "  Certainly  I  will  be  with  thee."  Then 
man  is  servant,  not  master.  He  should  know 
his  place,  or  he  can  never  keep  it.  As  ser- 
vant—  1.  Ho  should  consult  his  master.  2. 
Speak  in  the  name  of  his  master.  3.  Be  jealous 
of  the  honour  of  his  master. 

n.  '•  Certainly  I  will  be  with  theo."  Then 
the  work  must  succeed.  The  guarantee  o( 
success  : — 1.  Not  human  cleverness.  2.  Not 
skilful  on/auisation.  3.  But  the  word  of  the 
Lord.  "My  word  shall  not  return  unto  Me 
void." 

III.  Certainly  I  -will  be  with  thoe.  Then 
the  servant  is  to  be  received  for  the  master's 
sake.  '•  Ho  that  receivoth  you,  rocei  vctli  me." 
The  Romans  were  to  receive  Phebo  in  the  Lord. 

IV.  "Coitainly  I  will  be  with  theo."  Then 
there  need  he  no  lack  of  grace  or  power.  "  If 
any  nian  lack  wisdom,"  &c.  '•  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  ahvay."  God  is  with  His  servants  for,  1. 
Tlieir  comj^rt.  2.  Justice.  '6.  Safety  [Citif 
Tempk\ 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  otap.  hi. 


"  This  shall  he  a  token  unto  thee  that  1  God  is  not  moved  from  His  purpose 

have  sent  thee."     Tokens  that  a  minister  by  the  objections  of  men. 

is  Divinely  commissioned  : — 1.  Tliat  he  To  all  human  appearance  Moses  is  to 

reflects   the   light  of   heavenly  vision.  undertake    the    responsibility   of    this 

2.  That  he  is  conscious,  and   his  life  mission,  Avliereas  he  is  only  a  secondary 
gives  evidence,  of  Divine  companionship.  agent.     God  is  invisible.  ...  God's  good- 

3.  That    he    seeks    to   proclaim    the  ness  satisfieth  the  plea  of  His  unwilling 
name  of  God,  as  connected  with   the  instruments  for  His  work. 

moral  freedom  of  men.    4.  That  some  God's  presenne  is  always  with  those 

amoimt  of  spiritual  success  attends  his  who   are    engaged   in    His  redemptive 

labours.      5.    Sometimes    special     evi-  work. 

deuces    of  favour  given   in  answer  to  God  will  answer  the   objection,  and 

prayer.  solve  the  dilHculties  of  His  workers. 

We  render   the    highest    honour  to  Redemption    promised   by   God    will 

God  when,  relying  on  His  proffered  aid,  surely  be  performed, 

we  seek  no  ground  of  confidence  out  of  The  worship  and  service  of   God   is 

Himself,    when    in    the     deep     sense  the  great  end  of  His  people's  freedom. 

of   our   own   impotence    we    count    it  TJie    true    worship    of    God    in    the 

enough  that  He  is  with  us  and  for  us  place    appointed    by  Him  is  the  best 

[£msA].  return  for  deliverance. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  13-18 
Ministerial  Difficdlties  to  be  anticipated — and  how  to  Overcome  them. 

I.  That  ministers  must  anticipate  diflBculties  in  the  performance  of  their 
life  mission.  (Verse  13.)  1,  Arising  from  prejudice  in  reference  to  the  man. 
Moses  feltthat  he  would  be  liable  to  the  prejudice  of  Israel — through  his  residence 
in  the  palace  of  Pharaoh,  and  his  supposed  connection  with  a  despotic  govern- 
ment. He  had  not  shared  their  bondage— they  would  prefer  one  as  the  leader  of 
their  destinies,  who  had  been  more  thoroughly  identified  with  their  condition  of 
woe.  Moses  anticipates  these  difficulties,  and  asks  the  Lord  how.  he  should  reply 
to  them.  So  ministers  of  the  gospel  have  to  combat  innumerable  prejudices — 
of  truth — education — capricious — weak — hence  the  difficulty  of  their  work. 
They  must  be  divinely  commissioned  to  overcome  them.  2.  Arising  from 
scepticism  in  reference  to  the  truth.  Moses  feared  that  the  Israelites  would  not 
credit  the  doctrine  of  freedom  he  had  to  proclaim  to  them.  They  would 
rather  remind  him  of  Pharaoh's  army,  and  the  impossibility  of  their  escape. 
Moses  would  find  great  dithculty  in  getting  them  to  believe  in  the  promise  and 
power  of  God.  So,  ministers  to-day  have  a  large  amount  of  scepticism  to  over- 
come, in  relation  to  the  apparent  difficulties  of  the  truth  they  preach.  They 
must  exhibit  their  Divine  credentials.  3.  Arising  from  lethargy  in  reference  to  the 
mission.  Moses  found  the  Israelites  in  a  state  of  utter  destitution — morally  weak 
— incapable  of  great  effort — almost  willing  to  die,  rather  than  live.  He  would 
have  great  difficulty  in  awakening  them  to  action,  equal  to  the  requirements 
of  the  case — and  to  secure  their  co-operation.  So,  it  is  with  ministers  of  the 
gospel.  They  come — preach  to  men,  who  are  inervated  by  sin — to  arouse  them 
to  a  sense  of  their  manhood — to  seek  their  co-operation  in  the  mission  of  freedom 
they  announce.  The  moral  weakness — indolence  of  men  is  the  greatest  difficulty 
the  true  minister  has  to  contend  with.  II.  That  to  overcome  these  difficulties, 
ministers  must  seek  direction  from  God  (Verse  13).  That  God  will  give  this 
direction  is  seen  from  : — 1.  27ie  Divine  recognition  of  ministerial  difficulty.  The 
Divine  Being  admitted  all  that  Moses  had  said  about  the  difficulty  of  his  mission 
to  Israel.  No  word  of  reproach  was  uttered — no  rebuke  expressed — but  direc- 
tions were  given  in  response  thereto.  Equally  does  God  recognize  the  perplexity 
of  ministerial  life — hence  He  will  not  reject  any  v/ho  seek  His  aid.  2.  The 
Divine  Sympathy  with  ministerial  difficulty,     (i.)  Manifested  by  the  gift  of  heavenly 

43 


CHAP.   IIL 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


viftion  (Verse  2.)  (ii).  Manifested  hy  the  gift  of  needful  insti-uction  (Verse  15-17). 
(iii).  Manifested  h]i  tlie  (jift  of  hohj  companionships  (Verse  12).  Such  amatiifesui* 
tion  of  divine  sympathy  ought  to  inspire  every  initiister  with  spirit  and  fortitude 
for  his  v?ork.     They  that  are  for  him,  are  more  than  all  that  cau  be  against  him. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  13.  But  Moses  puts  another 
question;  for  the  human  heart  is  full 
of  questions  [^C.II.M.'] 

It  is  clear  that  Moses  anticipated 
the  greatest  diificulties  from  the  degene- 
rate condition  of  his  countrymen. 

Why  did  Moses  ask  the  name  of 
God  ? — 1.  Not  to  instruct  his  ignor- 
ance, lie  had  not  forgotten  God  in 
Egypt.  2.  Not  to  gratify  his  curiosity. 
3.  But  to  satisfy  Israel.  Error  has 
many    Gods,    he   therefore   wanted   to 


know  how  he  might  prove  to  the  en- 
slaved nation  that  he  came  in  the  name 
of  the  true  One. 

It  is  good  for  a  minister  to  know  on 
whose  business  he  is  going. 

God's  answer  to  one  objection  often- 
times begets  another  in  His  servants. 

Dissatisfaction  of  men  about  God's 
instruments  is  very  probable. 

God's  servants  very  reasonably  ex- 
pect that  He  will  clear  up  all  doubt  as 
to  His  name,  and  their  duty. 


A  Question  for  the  Pulpit. 


L  *'  What  shall  I  say  unto  them  ?" 
Shall  I  say  unto  them  truths  that  are 
in  harmony  with  their  depraved  condi- 
tion? Moses  might  have  told  the  Is- 
raelites to  remain  peaceful  in  their 
bondage — to  make  the  best  of  their 
circumstances  —  that  they  were  not 
responsible  for  their  situation — it  being 
the  fault  of  their  ancestors  for  coming 
to  Egypt.  He  might  have  told  them 
not  to  trouble  about  any  effort  for  free- 
dom— as  it  would  require  time — means 
■ — armies  —  beyond  their  command. 
And  perhaps  many  of  the  Israelites — 
although  they  would  feel  the  sorrow  of 
of  bondage — might  think  his  advice 
wise.  But  no;  he  went  to  them  with 
the  tidings  of  freedom.  The  pul})it 
may  take  a  pattern  here,  not  to  preach 
doctrines  in  hannony  with  the  depraved 
tastes  of  men — but  to  awaken  them 
from  their  sin,  by  the  proclamation  of 
the  Divine  Name  and  freedom. 

II.  "  What  shall  I  say  unto  them?" 
ShaU  I  give  them  an  argumentative 
discom'se?  It  would  be  necessary  for 
Moses  to  convince  the  Israelites  that  he 
was  divinely  commissioned  — and  the 
chief  use  that  a  minister  can  make 
of  logic,  is  to  j)rove  the  divinity  of  his 
call  to  the  ministry.  Tliis  once  proved 
to  Israel — they  will  be  ready  to  follow 
him.  So,  congregations  will  hold  but 
little  aigument  with  a  num  whom  tliey 
feel  to  be  called  to  free  them  from  the 
44 


power   of   sin — they   will   follow   him. 
Plis  heart  speaks  to  them. 

III.  "What  shall  I  say  unto  them?" 
Shall  I  give  them  a  sensational  dis- 
course ?  Had  Moses  gone  to  the 
Israelites  in  this  Avay,  I  would  not  have 
given  much  for  his  real  success.  He 
might  have  "got  his  name  up."  He 
would  have  attracted  a  few  wearied 
slaves  to  himself.  He  might  have 
aroused  a  wave  of  feeling,  but  it  would 
soon  have  subsided  into  calm.  The 
freedom  of  the  nation  would  not  have 
been  achieved  in  this  way.  The  sensa 
tional  preachers  of  the  world,  are  not 
doing  the  most  towards  the  moral  free- 
dom of  the  race. 

IV.  "What  shall  I  say  unto  them?  " 
ShaU  I  say  mito  them  how  clever  I 
am?  Moses  might  have  told  the  Is- 
raelites that  he  had  spent  so  many 
years  in  the  Egyptian  colleges — that  he 
had  been  brought  up  in  a  palace.  But 
he  did  not.  He  would  never  have 
achieved  the  freedom  of  Israel  if  he 
had  adopted  this  course.  He  had  hum- 
bled himself  before  God.  And  men 
humble  before  God,  are  generally 
so  before  their  fellows.  Ministers 
should  not  make  a  display  of  their 
learning — such  conduct  will  never 
accomplisli  the  freedom  of  souls. 

V.  ''What  shall  I  say  unto  them?" 
ShaU  I  teU  them  about  the  Cross  of 
Jesus  ?    "  Yes;"  replies  the  penitent  sin- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    III. 


ner,  "that  is  what  I  want"  "Yes," 
replies  the  aged  believer,  "that  is  the 
charm   of   my    SouL"       Let    ministers 


preach  the  Cross  as  the  emancipation 
of  the  world.  For  we  preach  not  our- 
selves, but  Christ  Jesus,  the  Lord. 


The  Divine  Name. 


Verse  14.  I.  As  only  revealed  by 
the  Divine  Being  Himself.  Only  God 
can  give  a  revelation  of  His  name — 
cliaracter — attributes  —  will,  H  uman 
reason  cannot,  by  searching,  find  out 
G(jd.  The  human  heai't  may  search 
for  God — but  unaided,  will  never  find 
liim.  He  that  dwtlleth  in  the  bush 
— that  calleth  His  servant  to  arduous 
toil— must  speak — must  make  himself 
known — or  the  world  will  be  eternally 
ignorant  of  His  name. 

II.  As  only  partially  understood  by 
the  gi-andest  intellec s.  Although  we 
have  such  an  abundant  revelation  of 
the  name  of  God — how  little  of  it  is 
comprehended  by  man.  It  appears  to 
us  as  the  faint  glimmering  of  a  light 
placed  in  the  cottage  window  on 
a  dark  night,  God  is  mystery,  Man's 
intellect  can  read  the  histories  of  the 
stars,  can  trace  the  wonders  of  the 
globe — but,  at  the  threshold  of  Heaven's 
temple,  it  must  bow  in  reverent  acknow- 
ledgment of  its  inability  to  understand 
the  things  presented  to  its  vision. 

III.  As  sufficiently  comprehended 
for  the  practical  sei-vice  of  the  Chris- 
tian hie.  Moses  did  not  fully  under- 
Btand  the  meaning  of  the  revelation 
given  to  him  of  God — yet  he  recognised 
sulficient  for  his  mission  to  Israel.  He 
could  speak  the  name  of  God — and 
that  name,  vocal  on  a  human  lip,  has 
a  power  to  inspire  and  free  the  slave. 
All  ministerial  power  lay  in  the  utter- 
ance and  hope  of  the  Divine  Is'ame  : 
it  touches  human  hearts — awakens 
solemn  thoughts — and  makes  men 
think  of  destinies.  We  know  enough 
of  God  to  give  strength — responsibility 
— hope — to  our  Christian  work  and 
life. 

God  announces  Himself: — 1.  As 
personal,  2.  As  independent.  3.  As 
self-existent.  4.  Immutable.  5.  What 
an  element  of  subliuiity  this  imparts 
to  the  mission  of  Chi'istian  service. 
6.  What  an  inspiration  it  furnishes  for 


the  toils  of  life,  7,  How  superior  to 
any  gods  of  the  Egyptians, 

The  true  knowledge  of  God  is  the 
power  of  deliverance  to  the  enslaved. 
The  revelation  that  a  greater  than 
Pharaoh  cared  for  them  was  to  be  tlie 
stimulus  to  snap  their  fetters  and  be 
free.  Nothing  but  a  true  knowledge 
of  God  will  ever  move  men  to  light 
against  corrupt  principles,  vicious  prac- 
tices, evil  habits.  We  are  creatures  of 
love  and  faith,  and  need  something  to 
move  our  faith  into  vigorous  exercise  ; 
we  need  an  unchanging  object  worthy 
of  our  love.  "  This  is  life  eternal,  to 
know  Thee— the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Clirist,  whom  Thou  hast  sent" 
\_Homilist\. 

God's  reply  is  at  hand  to  show  His 
name  unto  those  tluxt  seek  to  know  it. 

Perfect  Being — the  cause  of  all  otlier 
being — is  the  name  of  God, 

Gods  Being,  well-known  and  con- 
sidered, is  enough  to  answer  all  ob- 
jections. 

It  is  good  for  God's  servants  to  go 
out  to  duty  under  the  protection  of  His 
name. 

Verse  15,  God's  will  is  that  He 
makes  revelation  to  His  instruments 
that  they  may  make  them  known  to  the 
Church. 

The  first  general  cognizance  of  cove- 
nant relation  to  a  Church  was  to  the 
Fathers  of  Israel, 

The  relation  of  God  to  Fathers  is 
declared  for  the  comfort  of  children. 

That  we  are  comuiissioned  by  God  is 
enough  for  men  to  know  about  our 
mission, 

I,  An  eternal  name, 

II.  An  eternal  memorial. 

Verse  16.  The  wisdom  of  gathering 
the  few ;  or  the  considerateness  of  the 
Divine  Being  in  refennce  to  the  mission 
of  His  servants : — 

45 


CHAP.  in. 


UUMrLETIC  COMMENTARY :•  EXODUS. 


I.  This  would  be  the  most  effective 
method  of  enlightening  the  mmd  of  the 
nation  in  reference  to  the  Divine  inten- 
tion. INIoses  was  to  gather  the  elders  of 
Israel  together — not  the  elders  as  re- 
gards age — but  the  officers  and  influ- 
ential men.  The  nation  was  not  without 
these  while  in  Egypt,  as  would  appear 
from  (chap.  v.  14.)  1.  This  afforded 
Mof^es  a  good  opportuniti/  for  personal 
ex/ildnations.  IMoses  would  have  greater 
influence  with  these  few  elders  than 
with  the  nation  at  large.  Tlie  respect 
he  had  paid  in  thus  calling  them  to  be 
the  first  recipients  of  his  message — their 
intuitive  feeling  that  what  he  said 
was  true — their  superior  intelligence — 
candour — attenti(»n — would  give  him  a 
splendid  ojportunity  for  impressing 
them  with  tiie  need — reality — success 
of  his  mission.  Thus  a  gathering  of 
this  kind  would  admit  of  explanations 
so  helpful  at  the  commencement  of  all 
great  enterprises,  to  remove  suspicion 
and  avert  peril.  2.  It  was  a  good 
precaution  against  tlie  ignorance  and 
fanaticism  of  the  common  j^eople.  The 
elders  would  be  amongst  the  most 
judicious  men  of  the  nation  —  would 
therefore  not  only  be  able  to  enter 
into  the  important  matter  requiring 
their  atteutiun,  but  would  have  in- 
fluence with  their  comrades  ;  and 
hence,  if  they  accepted  the  proposal  of 
JVloses,  the  nation  at  large  would  be 
more  likely  to  do  so.  Had  he  carried 
the  Divine  message  immediately  to  the 
enshived  j)eople  —  apparently  alone  — 
without  army — without  sceptre  —  it 
would  liave  aroused  their  indignation, 
their  rejection  ;  they  would  havederided 
his  pretensions — his  dream  of  freedom; 
they  would  have  regarded  him  as  a 
fanatic — an  impostor.  But  all  this  op- 
position was  averted  by  calling  the 
elders — and  making  them  the  medium 
of  ai)i)eal  to  the  nation — and  his  com- 
panions in  the  effort  of  liberation.  The 
more  agencies  a  man  can  bring  into 
bis  life  work  the  bettei*. 

II.  It  would  be  the  most  efiFective 
method  of  gaining  the  sympathy  of  the 
nation.  IMoses  was  a  comparative  stran- 
ger to  the  Israelites.  The  elders  were 
well  known  to  them  —  were  associated 
vrith  the  traditions  of  their  religious  life 

46 


— had  shared  their  persecution — were 
one  with  them  in  all  tlie  phases  of  life. 
They  would,  therefore,  be  far  more 
likely  to  win  the  sympathy  and  help  of 
the  Israelites  than  Moses.  He  would 
have  to  influence  them  from  without, 
they  from  within.  They  can  previously 
educate  their  thought  to  the  idea  of 
freedom,  then  the  nation  will  be  ready 
to  welcome  any  Moses  who  will  work  it 
out  into  history.  All  great  workers 
should  be  judicious  in  their  movement. 

III.  It  would  thus  be  the  most  effec- 
tive method  of  working  out  the  Divine 
project  in   reference    to  the   nation. 

1.  How  considerate  (f  the  Divine  Being 
to  give  Moses  this  idea  of  ivorking.  Moses 
would  have  spent  hours  in  devising  the 
best  method  of  approaching  the  Israelites 
— and  after  all  might  have  been  most 
injudicious  in  his  arrangements.  But 
there  are  times  when  God  tells  a  good 
man  hoiv  to  do  his  work — compassionate 
— helpful — the  secret  of  success.  Many 
men  will  not  listen  to  the  Divine  in- 
structions. This  is  the  occasion  of  the 
great  failure  of  so  much  religious  energy. 

2.  How  numerous  are  the  agencies  jnit 
in  motion  for  the  performance  of  Divine 
projects.  God  is  the  source  of  all  com- 
missions for  the  moral  good  of  man. 
He  calls  Moses — tells  Moses  to  call  the 
eldei'S.  God  empowers  His  ministers  to 
awaken  new  instrumentaUties  for  the 
good  of  the  enslaved  world.  3.  All 
great  workeis  may  fud  a  pattern  hei-e. 
Not  to  trust  their  new  and  divine 
enterprises  to  the  tide  of  popular 
opinion — storms  may  gather — may  be 
wrecked.  Launch  them  first  on  the 
more  tranquil  wateis  of  the  few — after- 
wards they  will  be  more  likely  to 
weather  the  national  gale.  Let  men  in 
authority,  knowing  the  influence  they 
possess,  take  care  to  welcome  all  men 
of  heavenly  commission,  and  themselves 
to  set  a  good  example  to  the  public. 

This  was  a  greater  honour  done  to 
the  Patriarchs  than  if  God  had  written 
their  names  in  the  visible  heavens,  to 
be  lead  of  all  men  \l'rajyp^. 

The  Divine  commands  require  the 
obedience  of  all  who  know  the  Divine 
name. 

The  Divine  errands  require  despatch. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


cnAf-.  III. 


God's  will  is  that  all  His  servants 
should  declare  His  name  as  their  Divine 
warrant. 

Jehovah,  the  God  of  Abraham  alone 
can  warrant  good  men  in  their  work. 

When  God  appears  it  is  generally  to 
make  known  some  deliverance  for  His 
people.     Divine  visitations  : — 1.  Penal. 

2.  Judicial.     3.  Merciful. 

An  inferior  motive  for  a  Religious  Life. 

Verse  17.  I.  Some  people  are 
religious  because  they  hope  thereby  to 
be  saved  from  affliction.  "  I  will  bring 
you  out  of  the  affliction  of  Egypt." 
1.  They  hope  to  escape  the  affliction  of  a 
bad  name.  2.  They  hope  to  escape  the 
affliction  of  a    retributive    providence. 

3.  They  hope  to  escape  the  affiiction  of 
moral  banishment  from  God. 

II.  Other  people  are  religious 
because  they  hope  thereby  to  better 
their  condition,  and  gain  greater  enjoy- 
ment. "  Unto  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey  :" — 1.  Because  they 
imagine  religion  will  free  them  from 
slavery.  2.  Because  they  imagine  religion 
will  give  them  an  advantage  over  their 
enemies.  3.  Because  they  imagine  religion 
will  give  them  rich  possession. 

III.  That  while  the  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey  may  be  one 
motive  for  a  religious  life,  the  superior 
is  love  to  God  and  moral  freedom. 

At  God's  own  will,  He  changeth 
His  church  from  bondage  and  misery 
to  enlargement  and  plenty.  The  reso- 
lution of  Divine  mercy  : — 1.  Awakens 
instruments  to  convey  its  message. 
2.  Prepares  Churches  to  welcome  its 
tidings.  3.  The  giving  of  a  new  im- 
pulse to  history. 


The  encouragement  God  gives  to 
Christian  workers  : —  1.  Divine  aid  in 
the  work.  2.  Bright  hope  in  their 
future.     3.  Glad  .'uccess  in  their  toil. 

A  happy  residence: — 

1.  A  land  of  plenty.  2.  A  land  of 
beauty.  3.  A  land  of  promise.  4.  A 
land  of  freedom.  5.  A  land  of  rest. 
6.  A  land  typal  of  heaven. 

Verse  18.  ^^  Now  let  us  go,  we 
beseech  thee."  "We  see  here  the  oppor- 
tunity God  gives  men  to  be  virtuous. 
Phax'aoh  was  asked  to  let  Israel  go  : — 
1.  That  he  might  have  the  credit  of  a 
good  action.  2.  That  he  might  take 
the  responsibility  of  a  bad  action.  3. 
That  he  might  render  just  any  calamity 
that  came  upon  him.  4.  That  he  might 
shew  the  real  nature  of  his  character. 
5.  The  Divine  Being  coidd  have 
wrought  the  freedom  of  Israel  without 
the  consent  of  Pharaoh,  but  He  did 
not,  for  the  foregoing  reasons. 

"  The  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath 
met  with  us."  The  Divine  wish  was  the 
only  reason  assigned  to  Pharaoh  for 
the  outgohig  of  Israel.  1.  Not  the 
wish  of  the  enslaved  nation.  2.  Not 
that  his  predecessors  had  murdered 
their  children.  3.  Not  that  he  had  no 
right  to  detain  them.  4.  The  Divine 
claim  must  take  precedence  of  any 
human.  "  A7id  now  let  us  go,  ive  beseech 
thee,three  days' journey  into  the  wilderness." 
Why  are  only  three  days  named  ? — 1. 
That,  if  they  went  further  Pharaoh  had 
no  right  to  complain,  they  not  being 
his  subjects.  2.  This  was  all  that  God 
revealed  unto  Pharaoh,  reserving  His 
-good  pleasure  till  afterwards.  3.  That 
in  refusing  so  small  a  request,  his  obsti- 
nacy might  appear  the  greater,  especially 
after  the  service  Israel  had  rendered  him. 


Sacrifice  m  the  Wilderness. 


I.  It  would  have  shewn  the  willing- 
ness of  a  freed  man  to  worsliip  God 
anywhere. 

In  the  wilderness — with  poor  supply 
of  animals  for  sacrificial  purposes. 
After  tired  by  a  three  days'  journey, 
just  out  from  bondaj^e — yet  they  were  to 
worship  God,  Cannot  we  sacrifice  to 
God  in  tiie  variea  scenes  of  life  aft««r 


the  hard  toils   of   the  day,    especially 
after  freedom  from  sin  ? 

II.  It  would  have  shewn  the  need 
of  rendering  gratitude  to  God  for  wliat 
would  have  been  a  merciful  interposi- 
tion. They  would  have  been  away  from 
Pharaoh — slavery  behind  them  ;  they 
would  have  been  free — greeted  by  the 

47 


CHAT.  iiL  UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


joyful  appearances  of  nature.     To  sacri-  The    Lord   owns    His  people    under 

fico  would  have  been  their  duty;  itisours.  their  most  despised  name,  "  Hebrews." 

God  will  have  His  people  use  huuibla 

III.    It    would    have    evinced    the  address,  even  to  their  persecutors, 

return  of  a  better  manhood.  No  longc^r  Liberty  is  to  be  sought  by  the  good 

idolaters— they   would    have  sacrilii-ed  — 1.  It  is  commanded  by  God.     2.  He 

to  the  true  God.     It  is  God's  work  to  raiseth  in.struiueuts  for  its  accomplish- 

make  men    hear  and  obey  the  message  ment.     3.  No  man  has  a  riglit  to  enslave 

of  salvation  He  sends  to  them.  them.     4.  It  is  necessary  to  the  duties 

Upon  God's  encouragement  the   in-  of  our  religious  life, 

strumeuts  and  subjects  of  redemption  God,    who    can    command    all  from 

must  move  thereunto.  tyrants,  is  pleased  to  order  His  people 

Hearts   wrought   upon  by  God  not  to  beg  small  things, 

merely  hearken,  but  use  means  for  de-  Wilderness  service  is  desired  by  God 

liverance.  rather  than  mixtures  with  Egypt. 

Under  God'scommission  His  oppressed  The   end  of   all   deliverance  to  the 

ones  shall  face  their  oppressor.  Chui-ch  is  God's  worship. 

God's  message  must  never  be  with-  Man  can  largely  Iiinder  his  neighbour 

held  from  oppressors.  from  a  convenient  worship  of  God. 

MAIN  UOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  19—22. 

The  DiviNii  Knowledge  of  the  Success  or  otherwise  of  Ministerial  Work. 

I.  That  God  is  thorouglily  acquainted  with  the  moral  obstinacy  of  men. 
"  And  I  am  sure  that  the  King  of  Egypt  will  not  let  you  go."  1.  There  are  many 
people  who  act  like  Pharaoh  in  relation  to  the  coniinaiuls  of  God.  As  Phaj"aoli 
treated  Moses  and  the  Israelites  with  contempt— manifesting  pride—  obstinacy — 
so  there  are  men  and  women  to-day  as  proud  and  obstinate  in  reference  to  the 
requirements  of  Christ  and  His  Gospel ;  ministers  address  Divine  messages  to 
tliem — urge  the  Divine  claims — all  in  vain.  God  knows  such  people.  Their 
names  are  vocal  on  His  lips.  He  tells  His  servants  about  them.  He  indicates 
judgments  in  reference  to  them.  Such  people  are  almost  beyond  the  reach  of 
ministerial  influence.  The  minister  is  not  altogether  responsible  for  the  success 
of  his  mission.  He  cannot  force  men  to  be  good.  2.  In  all  the  commissions  of 
human  life  God  recognises  the  free  agency  of  the  wicked.  God  could  Avith  ease 
have  set  the  Israelites  at  liberty,  as  He  did  Paul  and  Silas.  Such  was  not  tlie 
Divine  will.  He  desired  to  use  moral  instrumentalities,  in  harmony  with  the 
volition  of  man.  Is  it  not  a  mystery  that  man  has  the  ability  to  oppose  the  will 
of  God  ?  3.  We  may  inquire  into  the  utility  of  employing  Christian  agency 
tvhere  the  result  ivill  be  ineffectual.  What  utility  could  there  be  in  the  mission  of 
Moses  to  Pharaoh,  when  God  knew  right  well  that  it  would  be  unavailing,  and 
informed  Moses  of  the  fact?  Why,  then,  was  Moses  sent;  and  would  not  this 
knowledge  discourage  and  introduce  an  element  of  weakness  into  his  effort?  He 
went  at  the  sovereign  command  of  God  to  teach  Pharaoh  the  Divine  will,  that  he 
might  be  without  excuse,  that  he  might  be  acquainted  with  the  designed  freedom 
of  Israel — for  the  sending  of  Moses  had  i-eference  to  Israel  as  well  as  to  the  king. 
It  also  commenced  a  series  of  events  that  ultimately  issued  in  the  overthrow  of 
Pharaoh,  and  the  victory  of  the  Supreme  Being  on  behalf  of  His  people.  So 
ministers  are  sent  to  nations — people — to-day  who  will  remain  finally  impenitent. 
Such  is  tlie  method  of  the  Divine  arrangement  — such  the  attention  of  Divine 
mercy  to  the  worst  of  characters — such  the  power  of  right  that  it  will  conquei-, 
if  in  judgment.  II,  That  God  is  thorouglily  acquainted  with  the  method  He  wUl 
pm-sue  in  reference  to  the  morally  obstinate.  1.  God  deals  icith  the  morally 
obstinate  after  the  method  of  a  consccutice  plan.  First,  He  j)repares  the  messenger 
to  visit  and  teach  them;  then  gives  him  the  message;  then  tells  him  how  to 
make  it  known;  then  smites  in  judgments,  successive,  severe-  Thus  God  does 
48 


UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  IIL 


not  deal  with  the  morally  obstinate  according  to  the  impulse  of  the  moment — 
fitfully,  incidentally,  but  according  to  a  harmonious,  merciful,  self-consistent  plan 
— a  plan  that  will  admit  of  the  repentance  and  faith  of  the  sinner.  2.  God 
sometimes  meets  the  morally  obstinate  ivith  demonstrations  of  His  power.  "  I  will 
stretch  out  my  hand,  and  smite  Egypt  with  all  my  wonders,"  etc.  Here,  then, 
we  have  human  power  in  conflict  with  the  Divine — the  King  of  Egypt  against  the 
King  of  Heaven.  Wliich  will  conquer  ?  The  sequel.  So  sometimes  God  meets  the 
o'hstinate  sinner  with  tokens  of  power,  ( 1 )  afflictive,  {2) convincing,  (3)  subduing.  III. 
That  God  can  thwart  the  intention  of  the  morally  obstinate  by  their  own  wick- 
edness, and  by  the  conduct  of  their  comrades.  (Verse  22.)  1.  Pharaoh's  obstinacy 
was  thwarted  by  his  own  wickedness.  The  Egyptians  aided  the  escape  of  Israel — gave 
them  articles  to  facilitate  their  journey.  So  the  purposes  of  obstinate  men  are 
often  thwarted  by  those  who  share  their  sin  and  determination.  The  work  of 
defeating  and  subduing  obstinate  sin  is  not  left  wholly  to  ministers.  Often  the 
Egyptians  help  them.  3.  How  thoroughly  all  agencies  are  at  the  disposal  of  God. 
His  ministers  are  not  the  only  instrumentalities  at  his  call.  All  events,  all 
persons  cluster  round  them  as  a  centre,  and,  under  Divine  direction,  accomplish 
the  moral  freedom  of  the  good. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  19.  God  declares  the  worst  as 
well  as  the  best  that  meet  His  servants 
in  the  way  of  salvation. 

God  knows  what  the  powers  of  the 
world  will  do  against  the  Church,  and 
yet  He  tries  them. 

It  is  incident  to  worldly  powers  to 
deny  the  humblest  request  from  God. 

God  in  His  wisdom  suffers  worldly 
powers  to  wrestle  with  His  mighty 
hand. 

Their  sin  is  aggravated  who  ever 
contend  with  the  mighty  hand  of  God. 

The  madness  of  sinners  is  so  great, 
that  they  will  put  God's  power  to  the 
test. 

Verse  20.  God  is  at  hand  to  deal 
with  them  that  contend  with  His 
power. 

God's  hand  put  forth  will  startle  the 
arm  of  flesh. 

Upon  Gcd's  putting  forth  His  hand 
to  vengeance,  great  smitiugs  are  on  His 
enemies. 

Wonderful  vengeance  God's  hand 
giveth  forth  sometimes  to  quell  the 
resistance  of  adversaries. 

God  will  certainly  work  wonderful 
plagues  where  He  threatens  them. 

The  very  midst  of  God's  enemies 
shall  have  experience  of  His  wonderful 
plagues. 

Where  grace  will  not  prevail  with 
wicked  men,  force  shall. 


E 


Sin  endures  its  plagues  to  no  pur- 
pose, as  it  is  obliged  to  yield. 

Verse  21,  22.  There  is  a  grace  of 
favour  which  the  world  may  show  unto 
God's  Church. 

It  is  Gods  only  work  to  incline  the 
hearts  of  enemies  to  favour  His  people. 

Fulness,  as  well  as  freedom,  yield  to 
God's  people  at  His  Word. 

God's  Church  is  neighbour  with  a 
wicked  world  till  His  time.  Even  the 
world  has  some  valuable  things  that  it 
can  give  to  the  Church. 

Sometimes  God  makes  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Cliurch  carry  away 
the  treasures  of  enemies. 

At  God's  command,  the  Church 
shall  spoil  the  enemies  that  spoiled 
her. 

A  great  part  of  the  gold  and  silver 
now  obtained  was  afterward  used  in 
building  and  furnishing  the  tabernacle. 

The  relation  of  God  : — 1.  To  human 
outgoings.  2.  To  human  hearts .  3. 
to  human  treasures. 

God  is  the  proper  owner  of  all  trea- 
sures, and  can  dispose  of  them  as  He 
will. 

The  word  rendered  ''  borrow  "  means 
simply  to  ask  (Psalm,  2 — 8,  ask)^  and 
should  be  so  translated.  Israel  had, 
after  their  toil  for  the  Egyptians,  o, 
right  to  ask  their  help  on  their  de- 
par  tui'e. 

49 


CHAP.  Ill, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


That  "  ppoiled "  does  not  imply 
robbery  or  injustice  is  evident  from 
its  use  by  Laban's  daughters  (Gen. 
xxxi.  16. 

The  Ejiyptians  would  be  so  overcome 
by  abject  distress  as  to  be  ready  to  part 
with  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
wealth,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  a  people 


whose    presence   menaced    thera    with 
utter  extermination. 

God  has  many  ways  of  balancing 
accounts  between  the  injured  and  the 
injurious — of  righting  the  oppressed, 
and  compelh'ng  those  that  have  done 
wrong,  to  make  restitution  ;  for  he 
sits  upon  tlie  throne,  judging  right 
[^Matthew  Henry]. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO   CHAPTER  III 


Verse  1.  No  vessels  that  God  delights  so 
much  to  fill  as  broken  vessels,  contrite  spirits. 
'"  He  resistoth  tho  proud,  and  giveth  grace  to 
the  humble."  Jam.  xiv.  6.  The  silver  dew» 
flow  down  from  the  mountains  to  the  lowest 
valleys.  A  humble  soul  that  lies  l«w,  oh, 
■what  sights  of  God  has  ho  !  what  glories  does 
he  behold,  when  the  proud  soul  sees  nothing. 
He  that  is  in  the  low  pits  and  caves  of  the 
earth  sees  the  stars  of  the  firmament,  when 
they  who  are  upon  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
discern  them  not  [Z".  Brooks], 

Verse  2.  The  Church  has  been  subject  to 
much  persecution.  The  first  was  under  the 
Emperor  Nero,  thirty-one  years  after  our 
Lord's  ascension.  Multitudes  were  appre- 
hended ;  they  were  covered  by  the  skins  of 
wild  beasts,  torn  to  pieces  by  devouring  dogs  ; 
fastened  to  crosses,  wrapt  up  in  combustible 
garments,  that,  when  tho  daylight  failed,  they 
might,  like  torches,  serve  to  dispel  the  gloom 
of  night.  For  this  tragical  scone  Nero  lent 
his  own  gardens;  and  thus  the  shrieks  of 
women  burning  to  ashes  supplied  music  and 
diversion  for  their  circus.  The  second  was 
under  Domitian,  in  the  year  95,  and  forty 
thousand  are  supposed  to  havo  perished.  'I  he 
third  began  in  the  third  year  of  Trajan 
in  the  year  100.  The  fourth  under  An- 
tonius.  The  fifth  began  in  tho  year  r27, 
under  Severus,  when  great  cruelties  were 
committed.  The  sixth  began  in  the  reign  of 
Maximus,  in  235-7.  The  seventh,  which  was 
tho  most  dreadful  over  known,  began  in  250, 
under  the  Emperor  Decius.  Tho  eighth  began 
in  257,  under  Valerian.  The  ninth  was  under 
Aurelian  in  274.  The  tenth  began  in  the 
nineteenth  year  of  Diocletian,  in  'SOS.  In  this 
dreadful  persecution,  which  lasted  ten  years, 
houses  filled  with  Christians  were  set  on  fire, 
and  whole  droves  wore  twisted  together  with 
ropes  and  cast  into  tho  sea.  It  is  related  that 
seventeen  thousand  were  slain  in  one  month. 
In  this  fiery  persecution  it  is  believed  that 
not  fewer  than  ono  hundred  and  forty-lour 
thousand  Christians  di<^d  by  violence,  besides 
seven  hundred  thousand  that  died  through 
the  banishuicnts,  or  tho  public  works  to 
■which  thoy  wore  condemned  [^lieduiiiout]. 

Persecutions  are  byuelicial  to  tho  righteous. 
''ziey  are  a  hail  of  precious  stones,  which,  it 
10  true  rob  the  vine  of  her  leaves,  but  give 
aer  possessor  a  more  precious  treasure  instead 
[Ai»on]. 

50 


The  Church  has  sometimes  bof^n  brought  ta 
so  low  and  obscure  a  point  that,  if  you  will 
follow  her  in  history,  it  is  by  the  track  of  her 
blood ;  and,  if  you  would  see  her,  it  is  by  the 
light  of  those  fires  in  ■which  her  martyrs  have 
been  burnt.  Yet  hath  she  still  come  through, 
and  survived  all  that  wrath,  and  still  shall 
till  she  be  made  perfectly  triumphant 
[Ze(f//(<on]. 

A  Roman  Catholic  king,  who  was  bitter  in 
his  opposition  to  the  Protestant  cause,  had 
been  speaking  of  its  downfall,  and  how  it 
would  be  brought  about.  A  celebrated  Pro- 
testant replied,  "Sire,  it  assuredly  behoves 
the  Church  of  God,  in  whose  name  I  speak,  to 
endure  blows  and  not  to  strike  them  ;  but 
may  it  please  you  also  to  remember  that  it  is 
an  anvil  that  has  worn  out  many  hammers." 

As  the  flowers  of  water  betony,  with  the 
leaves  and  sprigs,  though  tbey  die  often,  and 
yearly  ;  yet  tho  root  is  aye-lasting  from  which 
they  come  and  to  which  they  belong:  so 
though  discipline  and  the  outward  beauty  of 
the  Church  change  and  often  die,  yet  the 
Churcli  is  aye-lasting  and  of  all  continuunce. 

Like  as  when  trees  are  hewn  down,  much 
more  imps  (offshoots)  do  spring  up  than  the 
boughs  wore  that  were  cut  off;  so  now,  alter 
the  slaughter  of  many  godly  men,  more  did 
run  into  the  Gospel,  and  that  day  by  day, 
than  ever  did ;  yea,  and  the  blood  of  the 
slain  bodies  was  a  certain  watering  of  the  now 
plants  springing  up  in  the  Church  ;  so  that 
a  martyr  in  suffering  doth  not  suffer  for  him- 
self alone,  but  also  for  every  man.  For  him- 
self, he  suft'ereth  to  be  crowned ;  for  all  men 
he  suffereth,  to  give  them  an  example ;  for 
himself  to  his  rest ;  for  every  man  to  his 
■welfare. 

As  the  fiery  bush  that  Moses  saw  in  the 
Mount  Iloreb,  which  bush,  for  all  that  it  was 
on  a  fiaming  fire,  yet  did  it  not  consume  ;  or 
as  the  shining  worm,  that  being  cast  into  the 
fire,  doth  not  perish  nor  consume,  but  contra- 
riwise, is  thereby  purged  of  filth  and  more 
beautiful  than  if  it  were  washed  with  all  the 
waters  of  the  world  ;  even  so  such  Christiana 
as  are  cast  into  the  fire  of  afilietion  are  not 
consumed,  but  purged,  tried,  and  purified. 

"  Far  seen  across  tho  sandy  wild. 
Where,  like  a  solitary  child. 
He  thoughtless  roam'd  and  free. 
One  towering  thorn  was  wrapt  in  flame— 
Briglit  without  blaze  it  went  and  came, 
Who  would  not  turn  and  see  ?"  [A'etZe]. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   III. 


Verses  3-5.  It  is  recorded  of  one  Sir  William 
Champney,  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  III., 
that,  living  in  Tower-stri  et,  London,  he  was 
the  first  man  that  ever  buildod  a  turret  on  the 
top  of  his  house,  that  he  miglit  the  better 
overlook  all  his  neighbours:  but  it  so  happened 
that  not  long  after,  he  was  struck  blind,  so 
that  he  who  would  see  more  than  others,  saw 
just  nothing  at  all.  A  sad  judgment !  And 
thus  it  is  just  with  God,  when  men  of  towering, 
high  thoughts  must  needs  bo  prying  into  those 
arcana  Dei  (the  hidden  secrets  of  God),  that 
they  should  be  struck  blind  on  the  place,  and 
come  tumbling  down  in  the  midst  of  their  so 
serious  inquiry.  At  the  ascension  of  Christ, 
it  is  said  that  he  was  taken  up  in  a  cloud : 
being  entered  into  His  presence  chamber,  a 
curtain,  as  it  were,  was  drawn  to  hinder  His 
disciples  gazing  and  our  further  peeping;  yet, 
for  all  that,  a  man  may  be  pins  pulsator,  though 
not  temerarins  scrutntor — he  may  modestly 
knock  at  the  door  of  God's  secrets,  but,  if  he 
enter  further,  he  may  assure  himself  to  be 
more  bold  than  welcome. 


Verses  7  and  8.  As  the  bees,  althoiigh 
they  sometimes  sting  the  hands  and  face  of 
the  owner  and  master  of  them,  yet  they  be 
profitable  in  providing  for  him  the  sweet 
honey  and  wax  :  even  so  an  enemy,  although 
he  persecute,  injure,  and  wrong  a  good  Chris- 
tian, yet  is  he  very  profitable  unto  him,  in 
furthering  him  to  heavenward,  if  so  be  that 
by  patience  he  possess  his  soul,  and  do  pray 
for  him,  as  our  Saviour  Christ  and  Stephen 
did. 

The  fish  distressed,  slides  into  the  water, 
and  is  relieved ;  the  bird  flies  to  the  dam,  and 
is  shrouded  under  her  wings ;  the  child  runs 
to  its  parents ;  strike  the  dog,  and  he  runs  to 
his  master;  wound  the  soldier  and  he  flies  to 
the  army;  and  by  way  of  antiperistasis  (the 
opposition  of  a  contrary  quality,  by  which  the 
quality  opposed  acquires  strength),  cold 
makes  the  heat  retire  into  the  fire,  and  the 
force  thereof  is  greater.  Thus,  if  more  natural 
causes,  whose  goodness  is  finite,  do  cherish 
their  effects,  how  much  more  shall  God,  whose 
goodness  is  infinite!  It  is  Ho,  and  He  only, 
that  is  the  object  of  His  people's  trust  in  the 
midst  of  their  distress, — He  is  the  first  cause 
of  all  things,  and  all  things  have  recourse 
unto  Him. 


Verse  9.  Like  as  a  father,  having  a  young 
infant  sick  of  some  sore  disease,  though  the 
child  can  speak  never  a  word,  is  ready  to 
help  it ;  and  if  it  can  speak,  yet,  being  full  of 
pain,  cannot  call  for  things  as  it  ought,  yet, 
if  the  mother  can  by  any  signs  guess  at  tl:« 
meaning  of  it,  she  will  accept  as  much  of  it 
as  if  it  had  spoken  very  plentifully — yea, 
though  it  should  say  one  thing  and  mean 
another,  she  would  give  it  according  to  the 
moaning  of  it:  even  so  the  Lord,  who  is  filled 
with  the  bowels  of  compassion  towards  us  in 
Christ,  far  above  any  father  or  mother,  though 
he  delightoth  to  hear  us  pray  unto  Him,  yot, 


when,  as  by  the  extremity  of  our  miseries,  we 
are  oppressed  or  distracted,  so  that  we  cannot 
in  any  orderly  manner  pray  unto  him  as  we 
ought,  he  alloweth  of  the  sighs  and  sobs  that 
we  offer  up  unto  Him,  and  granteih  not  so 
much  our  words  (which  are  none  or  few)  as 
the  meaning  of  His  Spirit,  which  is  plentiful 
in  us   [^Cawdray^. 

Verse  10.  As  Samson,  though  he  had 
strength  given  him  that  he  was  able  to  have 
defended  the  Israelites,  and  revenged  them  of 
their  enemies,  yet  he  could  not  take  upon  him 
the  government  of  the  people  until  such  time 
that  the  Lord  had  called  him  unto  it :  so, 
likewise  the  ministers  of  the  Word,  albeit  they 
have  never  so  notable  gifts  of  knowledge, 
utterance,  etc.,  yet  they  are  not  in  any  case 
to  intrude  themselves  into  the  ministry,  unless 
they  have  a  particular  calling  from  the  Lord 
\_Cawdray']. 

Verse  12  There  is  an  excellent  story  of 
a  young  man  that  was  at  sea  in  a  mighty, 
raging  tempest,  and  when  all  the  passengers 
were  at  their  wits'  end  for  fear,  he  only  was 
merry  ;  and  when  he  was  asked  the  reason  of 
his  mirth,  he  answered  that  the  pilot  of  the 
ship  was  his  father,  and  he  knew  that  his 
father  would  have  a  care  of  him.  The  groat 
and  wise  God,  who  is  our  Father,  hath  from 
all  eternity  decreed  what  shall  be  the  issues 
of  all  wars,  what  the  event  of  all  troubles.  He 
is  our  pilot,  He  sits  at  the  stern ;  and  though 
the  ship  of  the  Church  or  State  be  in  a  sinking 
condition,  yet  be  of  good  comfort,  our  pilot 
will  have  a  care  of  us.  There  is  nothing  done 
in  the  lower  House  of  Parliament  on  earth  but 
what  is  first  decreed  in  the  higher  house  in 
heaven.  All  the  lesser  wheels  are  ordered 
and  overruled  by  the  upper.  "  Are  not  five 
sparrows,"  saith  Christ  "  sold  for  a  farthing?'' 
One  sparrow  is  not  worth  half  a  farthing,  and 
there  is  no  man  shall  have  half  a  farthing's 
worth  of  harm  more  than  God  hath  decreed 
from  all  eternity  [^Ccdamy's  Sermon]. 

Verse  14.  Tully  relateth  how  Simonides, 
being  asked  by  Hiero,  the  king  of  Sicily,  what 
God  was,  desired  one  day  to  consider  of  it ; 
and  after  one  day  being  past,  having  not  yet 
found  it  out,  desired  two  days  more  to  consider 
of  it ;  and,  after  two  days,  he  desired  three ; 
and  to  conclude,  he  had  at  length  no  other 
answer  to  return  unto  the  king  but  th's,  that 
the  more  he  thought  upon  it,  tha  more  he 
might;  for  the  further  he  waded  in  the  search 
thereof,  the  further  he  was  from  the  finding 
of  it.  And  thus  Plato:  "What  God  is,"  saith 
ho,  "that  I  know  not;  what  He  is  not,  that  I 
know,"  Most  certain  it  is  that  God  only,  in 
regard  of  Himself,  knows  Himself  as  dwelling 
in  the  light  inaccessible,  whom  never  man  saw 
neither  can  see.  Here,  now,  the  well  is  not  only 
deep,  but  we  want  a  bucket  to  draw  withal.  God 
is  infinite  and  never  to  be  comprehended  essen- 
tially. Oh,  then,  that  we  could  so  much  the 
more  long  to  enjoy  Him,  by  how  much  lesB 
we  are  able  to  apprehend  Him   \_Spencer]. 

51 


CIlAl".     III. 


llUMILETiC   COMMENTAltY:    EXODUS. 


Thougli  tlio  Sim  is  tlio  source  and  fountain 
of  ligbt,  thoro  is  littlo  j^ood  in  f,'aziQg  at  the 
8un,  except  to  got  blinded.  No  nno  over  saw 
the  bettor  for  looking  tbo  sun  directly  in  the 
face.  It  is  a  cliild'a  trick,  grown  up  people 
know  better.  Wo  use  the  light  which  the  sun 
gives,  to  see  by,  and  to  search  into  all  things 
— tbo  sun  excepted,  llim  we  cannot  explore, 
beyond  what  he  reveals  of  himself  in  the 
light  and  heat  which  he  sliods  upon  us,  and  in 
the  colours  by  which  he  is  roUoctod  from  the 
earth.  There  is  no  searching  of  the  sun,  our 
eyes  are  too  weak.  How  much  loss  can  we 
search  the  sun's  Creator,  before  whom  the 
myriads  of  suns  are  but  as  so  many  cloud 
bodies !  His  revelation  of  Himself  in  His 
works  and  in  His  word,  in  His  Son  and  in  our 
souls,  is  luiire  than  enough  for  us.  Persons  who 
dare  to  go  as  they  say  in  a  director  way  to 
Himself,  are  like  children  looking  at  the  sun, 
who,  instead  of  getting  more  light  and  better 
eyes,  get  less  light  and  an  infatuated  eye 
[J.  Pulsford]. 

Hilary,  an  ancient  Christian  writer,  says 
these  words  charmed  him,  and  gave  him  a 
high  opinion  of  Moses,  before  he  became  a 
Christian,  there  being  nothing  so  proper  to 
describe  God  by  as  this  name     \^Orton]. 

Many  heathens,  copying  from  this  expres- 
Bion,  have  inscribed  it,  or  something  like  it, 
on  their  temples.  On  the  Delphic  temple  was 
inscribed,  according  to  Plutarch,  the  Greek 
word  El,  which  signifies  "  Thou  dost  exist." 
\_IIowe\. 

Who  ever  conceived  a  more  beautiful  illus- 
tration of  this  sublime  text  than  the  following 
by  Bishop  Beveridge, — "  'I  am.'  He  doth  not 
say,  I  am  their  light,  their  guide,  their  strength, 
or  tower,  but  only  '  I  am.'  He  sets  His  hand,aa 
it  were  to  a  blank,  that  His  people  may  write 
under  it  what  they  please  that  is  good  for 
them.  As  if  He  should  say,  'Are  they  weak  ? 
I  am  strength.  Are  they  poor?  I  am  all 
riches.  Are  they  in  trouble  ?  1  am  comfort. 
Are  they  sick  ?  I  am  health.  Are  they  dying  ? 
I  am  life.  Have  thoy  nothing  ?  I  am  all 
things.  1  am  wisdom  and  power.  I  am  justice 
and  mercy.  I  am  grace  and  goodness.  I  am 
glory,  boauty,  holiness,  eminency,  supremacy, 
perfection,  all  sufScioncy,  eternity  !  Jehovah, 
lam  !  Whatever  is  amiable  in  itself,  or  desirable 
unto  them,  that  I  am.  Whatever  is  pure  and 
holy,  whatsoever  is  great  and  pleasant,  what- 
Boever  is  good  or  needful  to  make  men  happy, 
•—that  I  am.' 
52 


"When  God  would  teach  mankind  Hisnamej 
He  calls  Himself  the  great,  'I  am,' 
And  leaves  a  blank  ;  believers  may 
Supply  those  things  for  which  they  pray." 

Verse  17.  Like  as,  if  a  man  were  assured 
there  were  made  for  him  a  groat  purchase  in 
Spain  or  Turkey,  so,  as  if  he  would  but  com  > 
tliitlior,  he  mi;,'ht  enjoy  it,  ho  would  not  for- 
bear to  adventure  tho  dangers  of  the  sea,  anil 
of  his  enemies  also,  if  need  were,  that  so  ho 
might  come  to  his  own;  even  so,  Kocing  that 
Christ  Jesus  hath  made  a  purchase  for  us  in 
heaven,  and  there  is  nothing  required  of  us, 
but  that  wo  will  come  and  enjoy  it,  wo  ouijht 
to  refuse  no  pains  or  fear  in  the  way,  but  care- 
fully strive  to  get  in     \_Cawdray'\. 

Verses  19-20.  Like  as,  if  a  man's  foot,  log, 
or  arm  be  broken,  with  how  great  pain  the 
same  is  restored  to  its  former  estate  all  men 
know  ;  but  if  any  member  of  our  body  should 
be  broken  twice  or  thrice,  or  more  often,  in 
one  and  the  self-same  place,  every  man  can 
then  judge  how  hard  a  thing  it  were  for  that 
part  to  recover  its  perfect  strength  and  health 
again :  even  so  fareth  it  in  the  ruptures  aiid 
wouuds  of  our  soul.  If  a  man  do  commit  siu 
once  or  twice,  and  do  unfeignedly,  without 
dissimulation,  make  his  refuge  to  themediciuo 
of  repentance,  he  doth  out  of  hand  obtain 
health  again,  and  that  sometimes  without  any 
scar  or  blemish  of  the  disease  past ;  but  if  he 
begin  to  add  sins  upon  sins  in  such  sort  that 
the  wounds  of  tlie  soul  do  rather  putrefy 
within  him,  by  covering  and  defending  them, 
than  heal,  by  repentance  and  confession,  it  is 
to  bo  feared  such  a  one  shall  not  find  ro- 
p«ntance  at  commandment  when  he  wishoth 
for  it     \_Cawdray'\. 

Verse  20.  As  the  course  of  a  stream,  being 
stopped,  it  gathereth  a  groat  dam,  and  being 
let  suddenly  go,  it  ovorfloweth  all  in  its  way  ; 
even  so  God's  anger,  being  stayed  a  time,  the 
windows  of  heaven  being  opened,  it  will 
(shortly,  it  is  to  be  foai'od)  pour  down  on  our 
heads  plentifully  for  the  m  luifold  sins  that 
reign  in  every  estate  throughout  the  whole 
land. 

As  wet  wood,  although  it  be  long  burning, 
yet  will  burn  fa^ter  at  last ;  so  the  anger  of 
God,  although  it  bo  long  coming,  yet  it  wiU 
oomo  (he  fiercer  at  the  l«st. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  iv. 


CHAPTER  rV. 


Critical  Notes. — 25.  A  tloody  hnsTjand.]  An  uDfoTtunate  rendoring,  bearing  an  opprobri- 
ous tono  foreign  to  the  Hebrew  which  is  more  exactly  (with  Benisch,  Keil,  Young,  und  others), 
"  A  bridegroom  of  blood,"  or  "  blood-bridegroom,"  "art  thou  to  me."  Coupling  the  expressive 
Hebrew  piural  "bloods'"  with  the  f>iruumstances  of  the  case,  we  might  perhaps  render  the  origi- 
nal, "A  spouse  by  bloody  rites  art  thou  to  me."  As  Kurtz  well  puts  it:  '-Moses  had  been  as 
good  as  taken  from  her  by  the  deadly  attack  which  had  been  made  upon  him.  She  purchased 
his  life  by  the  blood  of  her  son  ;  f  he  received  him  back,  as  it  were,  from  the  dead,  and  married 
him  anew  ;  he  was,  in  fact,  a  bridegroom  of  blood  to  her."  And  thus  the  expression,  while  very 
naturally  showing  a  mother's  instinctive  repugnance  to  a  painful  rite,  is  mainly  charged  with 
the  warm  and  tender  emotion  of  revived  nuptial  love.  Moses  himself  ought  to  have  performed 
Ihe  ceremony  before.  He  had  failed — very  possibly  out  of  undue  regard  to  the  Midianitish 
aversion  of  his  beloved  Zipporab.  No  longer  can  such  Gentile  laxity  be  allowed  :  Israel's  leader 
must  die  to  all  negKct  ol  the  holy  Abrahamic  covenant.  Hence  this  arrest  on  the  way — this 
fiery  ordeal.  How  natural  it  all  seems,  and  how  well  it  all  ends.  Moses  is  purified,  and  in  a 
manner  new  born  for  his  mission.  His  son  is  consecrat'^d  to  Jehovah.  His  Gentile  wife  is  taught 
a  valuable  lesson,  becomes  more  fitted  for  her  noble  husband  than  before,  is  drawn  to  him  with  a 
deeper  and  purer  love,  and  yet  is  reconciled  to  a  most  prudent  retuni  for  a  time  to  her  father's 
house.  She  shall  have  her  reward  :  a  little  while  and  she  shall  be  honourahly  brought  back  to 
find,  in  the  lone  fugitive  of  her  first  love,  the  acknowleged  leader  of  a  ransomed  nation  (chap, 
xviii).  It  is  not  the  child  that  is  the  "bridegroom."  It  may  be  true,  as  Aben  Ezra  says, 
that  "It  is  customary  for  women  to  call  a  son  when  he  is  circumcised,  bridegroom  " — the  cus- 
tom itself  may  have  sprung  from  a  misunderstanding  of  this  very  passage  ;  but  surely  it  is 
very  forced  to  attribute  such  an  application  of  these  words  to  Zipporah.  That  would  involve 
too  sudden  a  rebound  on  her  part  from  the  feeling  of  repugnance  to  that  of  an  almost  mystical 
admiration.  Besides,  the  words  "to  ine  "  are  fatal  to  such  an  exposition  :  they  decisively  de- 
termine the  exclamation  to  the  winning  back  of  Moses  to  herself,  rather  than  to  the  giving  up  of 
the  child  to  Jehovah., 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1—5. 
The   Degradation  of  Useful  Things. 

Moses  held  a  rod  in  his  hand — useful  for  support — for  help — for  advancement 
• — for  protection — as  a  token  of  oflice — wliich,  being  cast  upon  the  ground,  lost 
all  capability  for  usefulness,  became  offensive,  injurious,  poisonous;  but  the 
Divine  command  restored  it  to  its  original  condition  of  utility  and  worth.  This 
incident  is  typical  of  much  that  is  going  on  around  us  in  every-day  life,  where 
useful  things,  intended  for  the  political,  social,  and  moral  good  of  men,  are 
60  cast  upon  the  ground  and  degraded,  that  they  become  positively  inimicable  to 
the  welfare  of  the  race.  Also,  there  is  in  the  world  a  Divine  power  whereby  all 
this  degradation  is  divested  of  moral  injury,  and  restored  to  its  original  condition 
of  utility.  We  wish  to  regard  this  incident  in  a  parabolic  light : — I.  That 
man  has,  to  an  alarming  extent,  the  abihty  to  degrade  useful  things.  "  And  he 
cast  it  on  the  ground,  and  it  became  a  serpent."  1.  Be  has  t/ie  ability/  to  derjrade 
Divine  Truth.  Heavenly  truth  and  doctrine,  as  made  known  by  God — as 
enunciated  in  the  Bible — when  held  as  a  rod  in  the  hand  ol  man  for  his  moral 
direction,  guidance,  and  advancement — is  most  useful  and  absolutely  needful  to 
his  salvation ;  but  when,  by  profanity,  by  unholy  doubt,  by  wilful  rejection,  by 
cold  scepticism,  it  is  cast  on  the  ground,  it  becomes  a  serpent,  the  enemy  of  man, 
to  pred  ct  his  ruin.  Who  can  look  out  upon  the  world  without  seeing  to  what  an 
alarming  extent  the  sublime  truths,  books,  people  of  God,  are  degraded  by  the 
worldly  and  the  sceptical  ?  We  wonder  that  the  men  who  occasion  such  degra- 
dation do  not  flee  from  before  tlieir  own  profanity.  2.  He  ha.^  the  ability  to  degrade 
ihe  ptdjnt.     All  must  admit  the  great  utility  of  the  pulpit,  especially  when  they 

6a 


CHAP.  iv.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


consider  how  it  instructs  the  mind  of  the  nation,  how  it  appeals  to  tlie  conscieiicea 
of  men,  and  how  it  quickens  and  cultures  the  spiritual  lite  of  the  Church.  Yet, 
how  frequently  is  it  cast  upon  the  ground,  hy  giving  forth  uncertain  doctrine,  by 
pandering  to  the  sensational  requirements  of  the  age,  and  by  ministerial  Jncon- 
eistency.  At  such  times  it  becomes  as  a  serpent  to  inflict  moral  injury  upon  the 
weak  and  scoffing.  How  many  have  been  brought  to  reject  religion  by  tho 
unhallowed  conduct  of  its  professed  teachers.  May  the  Christian  Church  be 
delivered  from  the  venom  of  this  serpent !  3.  He  has  the  ability  to  degrade  the 
press.  None  will  deny  the  utility  of  the  press.  It  is  the  great  instrument  of 
civilization — has  done  more  than  any  other  agency  of  human  invention  to  instruct 
the  world  in  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  in  the  mystery  of  science,  in  the  philosophy 
of  history.  If  you  were  to  remove  the  printing  press  out  of  the  world, 
men  would  soon  return  to  the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages.  Yet,  how  has  this 
valuable  instrumentality  been  degraded.  Think  of  the  pernicious  literature  that 
it  annually  circulates,  with  inaccurate  views  of  life — exciting,  false,  unhealthy — 
altogether  enervating  to  the  manhood  of  those  who  read  it.  Thw  degradation  of 
■the  piess  is  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  lamentable  facts  of  tho  age.  It  has  indeed 
become  a  serpent  of  the  most  formidable  character,  and  is  doing  more  to  injure  the 
mental  life  of  the  young  than  perhaps  anything  else.  4.  That  rrttn  are  often 
terrified  hy  the  degradation  they  have  occasioned.  "  And  Moses  fled  from  before  it." 
No  doubt  many  an  infidel  has  fled  from  before  the  phantoms  of  his  own  unbelief, 
and  from  before  the  dark  abyss  toward  which  his  conscience  has  pointed  him. 
Many  a  fallen  minister  has  fled  from  before  the  enormity  of  his  own  sin  and  ruin. 
And  who  will  say  that  many  a  novel  writer  and  newspaper  contributor  has  not,  in 
quiet  moments  of  reflection,  trembled  at  the  result  of  his  own  profanity.  All  meu 
•will  one  day  experience  a  desire  to  flee  from  before  their  sins,  to  escape  their  terrible 
'etributiou.  II.  That  there  is  in  religion  a  restoring  influence,  whereby  useful 
things  that  have  been  degraded  may  be  uplifted  to  their  proper  condition. 
"  And  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  caught  it,  and  it  became  a  rod  in  his  hand." 
1.  T'his  restoration  is  exclxisive  and  extensive.  It  is  exclusive  in  that  it  can  only 
be  accomplished  by  religion.  Nothing  can  re-change  the  serpents  of  daily  life 
into  rods  but  the  Word  of  God,  and  Divine  influence  working  in  the  line  of 
human  effort.  God  told  Moses  to  put  forth  his  hand  and  take  it  by  the  tail. 
Men  must  do  their  part,  then  Heaven  will  help  them  in  this  great  work  of  restora- 
tion. Legislation  cannot  make  a  sceptic  into  a  believer  of  Divine  truth. 
It  may  do  much  to  suppress  a  pernicious  literature,  but  with  great  difficulty,  as 
men  immediately  cry  out  for  the  freedom  of  the  press  ;  it  will  never  remove  the 
desire  for  a  mental  stimulant  in  the  shape  of  unreal  fiction.  Education  may 
do  something  towards  taming  the  serpents  of  human  life,  but  it  will  leave 
them  serpents — it  cannot  change  them  into  rods.  This  Christianity  alone  can  do; 
and  happily  her  influence  is  co-extensive  with  the  degradation.  Not  one  serpent 
in  the  universe  is  beyond  the  charm  of  her  voice.  She  can  uplift  the  press.  She 
has  done  much  Jilready  to  purify  it.  Her  Bible  has  already  done  much  to  reclaim 
the  literature  of  our  land.  It  has,  in  fact,  created  a  heavenly  literature  of  its  own, 
which  is  exerting  a  most  salutary  influence  upon  thousands  of  human  souls.  Thus 
the  restoring  influence  of  Christianity  is  not  only  exclusive,  but  all-extensive 
in  its  capability.  2  This  restoration  is  sympathetic  and  happy.  God  has  great 
sympathy  with  the  world,  afflicted  by  these  degradations,  and  scuds  the  mitigating 
influence  of  a  peaceful  religion  to  relieve  its  woe.  And  this  token  of  pity  and  help — 
this  prophecy  of  hope — is  welcome  to,  and  happy  in  its  effect  upon,  humanity. 
A  mind  permeated  with  Divine  truth,  a  pulpit  refulgent  with  true  piety,  a  press 
Bending  forth  to  the  world  the  messages  of  Heaven,  are  happy  results,  and  are  the 
chief  outcome  of  Divine  grace  as  purifying  the  heart  of  society.  Learn — 1.  That 
the  creation  of  evil  is  within  the  poiver  of  man.  2.  That  our  highest  gifts  maybe 
prostrated  to  the  lowest  ends.  3.  That  it  should  be  the  aim  of  men  to  elevate  every- 
thing with  whigh  they  are  brought  into  contact. 
54 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  IV. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
Thr  Lament  of  the  Pulpit. 


Verse  1.  I.  The  Preacher  has 
frequently  to  lament  the  scepticism 
of  his  congi-egation.  "  But  behold 
they  will  not  believe  me."  Moses 
feared  the  Israelites  would  not  credit 
the  probability  of  the  freedom  he 
had  to  declare  unto  them.  Insupera- 
ble difficulties  would  appear  in  the 
way.  They  would  not  sufficiently 
take  God  into  the  matter.  Ministers 
have  now  to  complain  of  this  kind 
of  thing.  Sinners  are  told  that  the 
intention  of  Heaven  in  reference  to 
them  is  their  moral  emancipation. 
They  reflect  upon  their  natural  wick- 
edness— upon  their  wilful  departure 
from  the  law  of  God — and  regard 
the  proclamation  as  visionary.  They 
despair  of  freedom  from  sin,  self, 
and  Satan.  Ministers  frequently  carry 
glorious  tidings  to  their  congregations 
— the  willingness  of  God  to  save  them 
there  and  then — the  ultimate  conquest 
of  goodness  ;  and  yet  are  treated  with 
practical  unbelief. 

II.  The  Preacher  has  frequently  to 
lament  the  inattention  of  liis  con- 
gregation. "  Nor  heaiken  uuto  my 
voice."  Nothing  is  worse  on  the  part  of 
a  congregation  than  inattention,  and 
disobedience  to  the  messages  of  God. 
The  Divine  claims  are  of  the  first 
importance,  and  demand  immediate 
attention.  They  respect  our  future — 
they  are  for  our  spiritual  good — they 
design  our  eternal  freedom.  To  such 
a  message  all  men  ought  to  give  the 
most  earnest  heed. 

III.  The  Preacher  has  frequently  to 
lament  the  querulous  spirit  of  his  con- 
gregation. "  For  they  will  say  the  Lord 
hath  not  appeared  unto  thee."  How 
many  congregations  practically  ques- 
tion the  announcements  of  the  pulpit. 
They  challenge  the  inspiration,  the 
Divine  preparation,  the  Divine  qualifi- 
cation, the  heavenly  visions  of  their 
teacher.  And  often  they  do  this  in 
an  unkind,  factious  spirit.  They  should 
rather  welcome  him  as  from  God,  sent 
and  wishful  to  achieve  their  moral 
freedom.  This  would  be  more  to  their 
credit. 


IV.  That  this  conduct  on  the  part 
of  congregations  has  a  most  depressing 
influence  on  the  minds  of  ministers. 
How  can  a  man  preach  to  people  whom 
he  knows  are  in  the  habit  of  practically 
denying,  or  refusing  his  statements  of 
the  Divine  willingness  to  save  them. 
He  needs  the  attention,  sympathy, 
prayers,  help  of  those  whom  he  seeks 
to  free  from  the  tyranny  of  sin.  He 
has  enough  to  contend  with  external 
hindrances,  with  the  opposition  of 
Pharaoh,  without  having  added  to  it 
that  of  the  slave  whose  fetter  he  seeks 
to  break. 

Human  distrust  is  a  difficulty  which 
every  preacher,  teacher,  and  holy  la- 
bourer has  to  encounter.  All  great 
movements  are  carried  by  consent  of 
parties.  God  himself  cannot  re-estab- 
lish moral  order  without  the  concurrence 
of  the  powers  that  have  rebelled  against 
His  rule.  ...  After  all,  the  spiritual 
labourer  has  less  to  do  with  the  unbelief 
of  his  hearers  than  with  the  instruction 
and  authority  of  God.  We  have  to 
ascertain  what  God  the  Lord  Avould 
have  us  say,  and  then  to  speak  it  simply 
and  lovingly,  whether  men  will  hear  or 
whether  they  will  forbear.  The  preacher 
must  prepare  himself  for  having  doubts 
thrown  upon  his  authority ;  and  he 
must  take  care  that  his  answer  to  such 
doubts  be  as  complete  as  the  authority 
itself.  God  alone  can  give  the  true 
answer  to  human  doubt.  We  are  not 
to  encounter  scepticism  with  merely 
ingenious  replies  and  clever  arguments, 
but  in  the  power  and  grace  of  the  living 
God  [City  2'emple\. 

How  indisposed  is  man  to  believe 
the  testimony  of  God  1  Whether  He 
denounce  vengeance  upon  obstinate 
offenders,  or  pi'omise  acceptance,  as- 
sistance, and  salvation  to  the  returr  ing 
sinner,  we  are  ever  prone  to  question 
His  truth.  Thus  some  are  hai'dened 
in  presumption,  others  sink  into  de- 
spondency, and  others  are  discouraged, 
and  through  unbelief  continue  heartless 
in  all  they  attempt.  But  the  Lord 
deals  not  with  us  according  to  our  sins  ; 
else  the  strongest  believer  upon  earth, 

55 


CHAP.   IV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


instead  of  being  saved  by  his  faith, 
might  righteously  be  condemned  for 
his  unbelief  \IIenry  and  Scott]. 

Moses  objects  that  in  all  probability 
the  people  would  not  hearken  to  his 
voice  ;  that  is,  they  would  not  take  his 
bare  word,  unless  he  shewed  them 
some  sign,  which  he  had  not  yet  been 
instructed  to  do.  God  empowers  him 
to  work  miracles.  Miracles  are  the 
most  convincing  proof  of  a  Divine 
mission.  But  those  who  are  employed 
now  to  enforce  the  authenticated  reve- 
lation need  not  such  testimonials  ;  both 
their  character  and  their  doctrine 
are  to  be  tried  by  the  Word  of 
God,  to  which  they  appeal  [Henry  and 
Scott']. 

We  might  suppose  that  Moses  had 
seen  and  heard  enough  to  set  his  fears 
entirely  aside.  The  consuming  fire  in 
the  unconsumed  bush,  the  condescend- 
ing grace,  the  precious,  endearing,  and 
comprehensive  titles,  the  Divine  com- 
mission, the  assurance  of  the  Divine 
presence — all  these  things  might  have 
quelled  any  anxious  thought,  and  im- 
parted a  settled  assurance  to  the  heart. 
Still,  however,  Moses  raises  questions, 
and  still  God  answers  them ;  and  each 
successive  question  brings  out  fresh 
grace  [C.  E.  M.\ 

1.  Present  discouragements  often 
arise  from  former  disappointments. 
2.  Wise  and  good  men  have  some- 
times a  worse  opinion  of  people  than 
they  deserve.  Moses  said  "•  they  will 
not  believe  me,"  and  yet  we  find 
(verse  31)  "  the  people  believed." 

Dissatisfaction  is  incident  to  good 
souls  in  difficulty,  even  after  God  has 
answered  all  their  questions. 

Infirmity  of  faith  may  make  men 
suggest  things  contrary  to  the  promise 
of  God. 

Men  may  tax  others  with  unbelief, 
and  yet  be  unbelievers  themselves. 

The  obstinacy  of  the  human  heart 


often  makes  God's  ministers  despair  of 
success. 

It  is  incident  to  sinners  to  deny  the 
appearance  of  God  to  His  ministers  ; 
and  God's  ministers  are  apt  to  regard 
such  denials  as  discouragements  to 
their  work. 

Why  did  Moses  imagine  that  the 
Israelites  would  not  believe  him  ? 
1.  Because  he  knew  that  they  were  a 
stiff-necked  people.  2.  Because  he  con- 
sidered himself  of  insutficient  authority 
to  command  their  respect.  3.  Because 
the  power  and  tyranny  of  Pharaoh 
would  deter  them  from  believing  him. 
4,  Because  they  would  think  it  unlikely 
that  God,  who  had  never  been  seen  by 
man,  should  appear  to  him. 

Verse  2.  "  What  is  that  in  thine 
hand?  And  he  said.,  a  rod."  A 
staff — a  shepherd's  crook — the  staff 
which  indicated  his  return  to  the  pas- 
toral habits  of  his  fathers — the  staff  on 
which  he  leaned  amidst  his  desert  wan- 
derings— the  staff  with  which  he  guided 
his  kinsman's  flocks — the  staff  like  that 
still  borne  by  Arab  chiefs — this  was  to 
be  the  humble  instrument  of  Divine 
power.  "In  this" — as  afterwai'ds  in 
the  yet  humbler  symbol  of  the  cross — 
in  this,  the  symbol  of  his  simplicity,  of 
his  exile,  of  his  lowliness,  the  world 
was  to  be  conquered  [The  Jewish  Churchy 
by  Dean  Stanley^. 

"A  rod  " — probably  the  shepherd's 
crook — among  the  Arabs ;  a  long  staff, 
with  a  curved  head,  varying  from  three 
to  six  feet  in  length.  ...  God  followeth 
expostulationswith  resolutions  to  satisfy 
the  troubled  souls  of  His  servants. 

God  sometimes  exercises  His  power 
in  connection  with  small  things— a  rod. 

A  rod: — 1,  The  subject  of  Divine 
inquiry.  2.  The  token  of  a  sliepherds 
office.  3.  The  symbol  of  a  leader's 
power.  4.  The  prophecy  of  a  nation's 
freedom. 


A  Trivial  Possession. 


I.  God  frequently  makes  inquiry 
about  the  most  trivial  possessions  of 
men.  l.Have  they  beenhonouvublij gained? 
2.  Are  they  being  put  to  theii-proper  use  ? 
'6.  Are  they  in  a  line  with  Divine  power  ? 
56 


II.  God  frequently  makes  the  most 
trivial  possessions  of  men  teach  gi-eat 
trutlis.  1.  2'his  sheivs  the  Divine  adapta- 
bility  to  the  circumstances  of  men.  2.  This 
shews  the  Divine  wisdom  in  viahing  insig- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP,   IV. 


nificant  things  teach  Divine  truth.  3.  This 
sheivs  the  Divine  simplicity  of  the  plane- 
and  purposes  of  Heaven. 

III.  That  the  most  trivial  possess- 
sions  are  useful  to  others  as  weU  as 
those  to  whom  they  belong.  This  rod 
taught  the  Israelites  that  God  was 
with  Moses.  So  the  smallest  treasure 
possessed  by  a  man  may  at  times  be 
instructive  to  other  lives  around  him. 

IV.  That  the  most  trivial  posses- 
sions of  men  prove  after  aU  the  most 
useful,  and  ought  therefore  to  awaken 
human  gratitude.  We  are  taught 
here  not  to  calculate  the  worth  of  things 
by  their  market  price,  but  according  to 
their  adaptation  to  the  circumstances 
of  life  in  which  we  may  then  be  placed. 
At  this  moment,  and  throughout  the 
conflict  with  Egypt,  this  rod  was  the 
most  valuable  thing  that  Moses  could 
have  possessed.  There  are  times  when 
the  smallest  things  become  of  the 
greatest  value.  This  is  true  when  they 
are  used  by  God  for  the  moral  convic- 
tion and  freedom  of  others.  Moses 
would,  throughout  his  life  journey  in 
the  wilderness,  be  thankful  for  the  rod. 
So  we  ought  to  be  grateful  to  God  that, 
whether  we  have  great  possessions  or 
not,  yet  we  have  our  little  treasure 
which  renders  happy  and  effective  our 
entire  life  mission. 

God  takes  up  the  weakest  instruments 
to  accomplish  his  mightiest  ends.  "  A 
rod,"  "  a  ram's  horn,"  "  a  cake  of  barley 
meal,"  "  an  earthen  pitcher,"  "  a  shep- 
herd's sling,"  anything,  in  short,  when 
used  by  God,  will  do  the  appointed 
work.  Men  imagine  that  splendid  ends 
can  only  be  reached  by  splendid  means  ; 
but  such  is  not  God's  way.  He  can  use 
a  crawling  worm  as  well  as  a  scorching 
sun — a  gourd  as  well  as  a  vehement 
east  wind  [C.  H.  M.']. 

Verse  3.  Varied  suppositions  as  to 
the  meaning  of  this  miracle : — 

1 ,  That  hereliy  Pharaoh  is  set  forth, 
who,  at  the  first  entering  of  the  Hebrews 
into  Egypt,  was  as  a  rod,  easy  to  be 
handled,  but  afterwards  as  a  serpent ; 
and  again,  at  the  time  of  their  going 
out,  he  was  as  a  rod,  gentle  and 
harmless  2.  That  hereby  the  state  of 
the  children  of   Israel  was  set  forth, 


who  at  the  first,  under  Joseph,  had 
dominion,  signified  by  a  rod,  but 
afterwards  were  cast  down,  and  hated, 
as  a  serpent ;  but  finally,  at  their  going 
out  of  Egypt,  returned  to  their  power 
and  authority  again. 

3.  That  hereby  was  signified  the 
honour  of  God's  judgments;  till  they 
be  brought  none  fear  them  ;  but,  being 
brought,  the  very  best  are  made  to 
tremble  ;  but,  being  renewed  again,  all 
fear  is  taken  away. 

4.  That  Moses  was  set  forth  by  this 
staff :  for  he  in  himself,  being  but  a 
shepherd,  obscure  and  living  in  exile, 
was  no  more  to  Pharaoh  to  move  him 
than  a  staff  in  a  shepherd's  hand  ;  but, 
going  to  him  at  the  command  of  the 
Lord,  he  became  as  the  staff  at  his 
command  cast  upon  the  ground — a  ter- 
rible serpent  to  him — he  should  not 
need  any  other  armies  to  terrify 
Pharaoh ;  but,  going  with  this  staff, 
by  a  Divine  virtue,  he  should  be  made 
to  flee  before  him.  But  in  that  being 
laid  hold  upon  by  Moses  again,  it  is 
turned  into  a  staff,  it  was  signified  that 
the  same  which  should  be  terrible  to 
Pharaoh  should  be  a  comfort  to  Moses 
and  to  Israel  [Calving. 

5.  Tluit  hereby  Christ  crucified  is 
set  forth,  and  by  his  death,  subduing 
the  devil  that  he  cannot  hold  the  people 
of  the  Lord  any  more  in  bondage,  as 
Pharaoh  could  not  hold  the  Israelites 
\_Avgustine~\. 

The  serpent  is  entirely  under  the 
hand  of  Christ  ;  and  when  he  haa 
reached  the  highest  point  in  his  mad 
career  he  shall  be  hurled  into  the  lake 
of  fire,  there  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his 
work  for  ever  [C.  H.  M.]. 

From  the  story  of  Moses'  rod  the 
poets  invented  fables  of  the  thyrsus  of 
Bacchus,  and  the  caduceaus  of  Mercury. 
Homer  represents  Mercury  as  taking 
his  rod  to  work  miracles,  precisely  iu 
the  same  way  as  God  commanded 
Moses  to  take  his. 

There  are  many  serpents  in  the  world 
from  which  a  good  man  should  flee. 

When  God  commandeth  small  things 
he  worketh  miracles  to  confirm  them. 

The  true  transubstantiation  of  crea- 
tures is  the  alone  work  of  God. 

God's  miracles  may  be  terrible  tobia 

57 


cu'^v.  IV 


HOMILF/riC  COMMENTARY.    EXODUS. 


servants,  when   intended   to   be   com- 
fortalde. 

Sense  is  terrified  at  the  miraculous 
tokens  of  God. 

Verse  4.  Faith  in  God's  word  dare 
meddle  with  the  most  terrible  signs 
from  God. 

God  can  make  staves  into  serpents, 
and  serpents  into  staves,  terrors  to 
enemies,  and  supports  to  His  own. 

^'-Take  it  by  the  tail"  Which  was 
dreadful  to  be  done,  because  of  the 
antipathy  and  likely  danger  ;  but  faith 
fortifies  the  heart  against  the  fear  of  the 
creature,  and  carries  a  man  through  the 
difficulty  of  duty  [Trapp]. 

I.  That  men  have  often  to  come  into 
contact  with  the  morally  sinful  and 
dangerous.  Moses  is  bi-ought  into  con- 
tact with  a  serpent.  Dangerous  to  him. 
So  good  men  are  frequently  obliged  to 
encounter  the  morally  sinful— for  com- 
mercial— ministerial  purposes — they  are 
thus  rendered  liable  to  the  sting — con- 
tagion of  sin — and  will,  unless  careful, 
receive  spiritual  injury. 

IL  That  good  men  should  not 
enter  into  contact  with  the  morally 
sinful  and  dangerous,  except  by  the 
direct  permission  of  God.  "  And  the 
Lord  3aid  unto  Moses,"  etc.  The  good 
are  permitted  to  have  intercourse  with 
worldly  men,  for  ministerial  and  com- 
mercial purposes — but  they  must  re- 
member that  the  Divine  sanction 
does  not  extend  to  anything  but  the 
furthest  point  of  contact.  Moses  was 
only  told  to  take  the  serpent  by  the  tail. 
There  are  many  things  in  the  world 
that  the  good  man  is  only  to  touch. 
They  are  poisonous. 

III.  That  when  good  men  are 
brought  into  contact  with  the  morally 
sinful  and  dangerous,  they  should 
endeavour    to    aid    its    reformation. 


"  And  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and 
caught  it,  and  it  became  a  rod  in  his 
hand."  The  good  may  not  take  hold 
of  serpents  for  play,  or  for  imagined 
gratification,  but  only  that  they  may 
co-operate  with  the  Divine  power  and 
mercy  in  the  holy  work  of  restoration. 

IV.  That  when  good  men  achieve 
the  reformation  of  the  morally 
siiifal  and  dangerous,  they  find 
ample  reward  in  the  result.  "  And 
it  became  a  rod  in  his  hand."  How 
many  a  good  man  has  found  that 
the  sinner  converted  by  his  instrumen- 
tality has  become  a  help — a  stay — a 
moral  power — in  the  spiritual  life  and 
journeyings  of  his  own  soul !  Especially 
do  ministers  find  that  their  converts 
become  instruments  in  their  hands  for 
great  good  to  others. 

Things  that  Frighten. 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  put  forth 
thy  hand,  and  take  it  by  the  tail." — Ex.  iv.  4. 

Wo  may  learn  from  tlie  text,  and  tho  worda 
immediately  preceding,  that — 

I.  In  passing  through  life  we  must  expect 
to  meet  with  many  things  that  will  frighten 
us. 

II.  We  shall  gain  nothing  by  rxinning 
away. 

III.  The  hest  thing  we  can  do  is  to  grapple 
with  them. 

IV.  Acting  thus  we  may  always  rely  upon 
Divine  aid  \_Chiistian  World  Pulpit^. 

Verse  5.  Miracles  are  given  by  God 
to  turn  from  unbelief  to  faith  in  the 
Divine  word. 

True  miracles  are  the  only  work  of 
the  true  God,  the  God  of  Abraham. 

That  God  does  much  to  render  easy 
and  successful  the  mission  of  ihe  true 
preacher. 

That  the  great  thing  for  a  preacher 
to  demonstrate  to  his  people  is  that  Got' 
has  appeared  to  him. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH —  Verse  6—7 
Leprosy  as  Emblematical  of  Doubt. 

I.  That  as  leprosy  was  the  worst  disease  that  could  have  been  per- 
mitted to  the  hand  of  Moses,  so  doubt  of  the  Divine  Word  is  the 
most  hmtful  that  can  overtake  the  human  mind.  1.  Both  are  small  in 
their  covimencement.  Leprosy  first  manifests  itself  as  a  little  spot  upon  the  skni. 
Then  it  is  not  accompanied  by  any  pun.  Any  one,  unacqutiiuted  with  the 
malady,  from  seeing  its  first  indication  wouUl  have  no  idea  that  it  was  leprosy, 
58 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODVIS.  chap.  iv. 


and  that  its  end  would  be  so  terrible.  And  so  it  is  with  doubt  in  reference  to 
divine  truth.  At  first  it  presents  itself  to  the  mind  in  a  very  innocent  form, 
as  a  question,  or  as  a  suspicion.  There  is  no  mental  gi'ief  or  conflict.  The 
sonl  has  no  idea  that  a  terrible  moral  sickness  is  coming  upon  it,  but  regards 
the  little  indication  of  unbelief  as  an  effort  of  investigation,  and  brave  progress. 
Whereas  if  it  was  acquainted  with  the  reality  of  the  case  it  would  see  the  fii'st 
spot  of  mental  leprosy.  2.  Both  are  proyressive  in  their  development.  That 
spot  of  leprosy  does  not  long  remain  such — it  grows  larger — spreads  wider — 
from  limb  to  limb — until  the  entire  system  is  full  of  it — and  the  whole  man  is 
covered  with  it.  So  it  is  with  doubt.  It  does  not  long  remain  as  a  question — or 
as  a  suspicion  of  the  truth — it  advances  to  great  uncertainty — to  dimness  of 
moral  vision — until  the  mind  is  plunged  into  an  impenetrable  gloom.  The  man 
no  longer  doubts  one  truth,  but  all  truth;  the  entire  habit  of  his  soul  is  rendered 
sceptical  to  heavenly  things.  3.  Both  are  gloomy  in  their  forebudings.  What 
dark  and  terrible  forebodings  would  naturally  occupy  the  soul  of  the  leper,  after 
the  first  terror  and  consciousness  of  the  disease  had  come  upon  him.  He  woidd 
feel  that  certain  death  was  before  him — that  no  remedy — care — skill  could  attain 
his  recovery.  The  grim  shadow  of  the  future  would  ever  rest  upon  his  soul. 
Life  would  be  a  burden  to  him.  And  who  can  describe  the  paiuful  forebodings 
which  fill  a  sceptical  mind.  There  ai*e  the  inner  reasonings  of  the  soul — there  are 
bitter  cries  for  light  and  truth.  In  quiet  moments  the  conscience  reveals  another 
life — an  eternal  destiny — toward  which  the  man  is  travelling,  and  the  thought  of 
its  mystery  fills  him  with  awe.  In  fact  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  turned 
by  his  scepticism  into  phantoms,  which  haunt  him  ever,  and  torment  him  with  a 
sad  prophecy  of  his  awful  future.  4.  Both  are  isolating  in  their  tendency.  The 
leper  had  to  be  separated  from  his  family — from  his  neighbours — friends — com- 
panions— he  had  to  go  into  solitude  and  loneliness— away  from  all  the  active 
scepes  of  life  In  all  probability  his  malady  was  contagious.  Equally  has  doubt 
an  isokitiug  tendency — how  often  has  it  broken  up  families  and  near  friendships. 
Scepticism  throws  a  man  in  upon  himself  too  much — it  alienates  his  sympathy 
from  those  who  differ  from  him  in  opinion — it  places  him  witliout  the 
spiritual  enjoyments  of  the  church — and  renders  him  intensely  lonely  in  spirit. 
Doubt  is  also  contagious — it  spreads  not  only  from  subject  to  subject, — but  from 
person  to  person — by  speech — by  argument — and  thus,  if  it  does  not  isolate 
itself — the  community  ought  to  demand  its  removal — especially  from  near  the 
young.  5.  Both  are  paralysing  in  their  influence.  How  thoroughly  paralysed  are 
the  limbs  of  the  leper.  They  are  withered.  They  are  incapable  of  activity. 
They  are  almost  useless  to  him.  And  so  what  a  paralysing  influence  has  doubt. 
It  paralyses  the  mental  faculties  of  man,  rendering  them  almost  incapable  of  a 
healthful  and  vigoi'ous  investigation  of  truth.  It  paralyses  the  sympathies  of 
men — rendering  them  almost  incapable  of  pity.  It  paralyses  the  activity  of  men — 
rendering  them  almost  incapable  of  spiritual  effort  in  the  church  of  Christ.  6. 
Both  are  deadly  in  their  result.  In  the  system  of  the  leper  all  vitality  is  destroyed 
— there  is  no  play  of  physical  energy — all  the  streams  of  life  have  been  one  by 
one  dried  up — its  ultimate  issue  is  the  grave.  Equally  deadly  is  the  issue  of 
scepticism.  It  destroys  mental  vitality,  and  its  sad  destiny  is  the  second  death, 
far  more  awful  than  the  first.  II.  That  as  leprosy  comes  upon  men  miex- 
peetedly,  so  does  doubt  upon  the  limnan  mind.  The  leprosy  generally  comes 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  upon  the  individual  afHicted  thereby,  although  it 
might  have  been  lurking  long  within  his  physical  constitutioa.  And  so  it  is  with 
scepticism  and  doubt.  It  comes  unexpected  upon  the  mind,  it  miiy  have  been 
hiding  there  for  months;  the  thinker  knows  not  where  he  has  imbibed  it,  from 
what  book,  conversation,  or  series  of  mental  reasonings.  The  germ  of  scepticism 
often  remains  long  concealed  in  the  human  mind,  its  workings  are  subtle,  and 
we  kr'ow  not  what  will  be  the  extent  of  tlicir  future  harvest.  III.  That  aS 
leproKV  could  only   be  removed    by  the    Divine    touch,    so    human    doubt 

59 


CHAP.  IV. 


IIOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


can  only  be  removed  by  communion  with  God.     We  read  in  the  New  Te: 
t.inient  of    a  k'per  coming  to  Cliri.vt,    and    being  healed   by  the  Divine  touch 
'ihe  coining  of  that  wretched  man   to   the  Saviour  must  be  typical   of  the  ad 
vent  of  all  doubting  sceptical  souls  to  him,  and   the  result  will  be  equally  bene 
ficial  and  happy.       Such  a  mental  and  moral  attitude   will  not  be  healed   bj 
logic — by  argument — by  entreaty — by  persuasion— but  only  by  a  personal  and 
spiritual  interview  witl/the  Saviour.     True  prayer  is  the  only  cure  for  unbelief. 
Learn:    1.   To  watch  the  first  outcjoings  of  the  mind  in  relation  to   Divine  truth. 
2.    Not  to  cnltivats  a  captious  spirit  in  relation  to  heavenly  things.     3.  To  spend 
much  time  in  cummunion  with  the  Eternal  Truth. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  6.  Varied  suppositions  as  to 
the  meaning  of  this  miracle—  1.  Some 
give  it  a  moral  signihcation — as  that 
the  leprous  hand  of  Moses  sheweth  the 
works  of  the  law  that  justifieth  not 
2.  Some  give  it  a  mystical  signification 
^that  the  leprous  hand  of  the  syna- 
gogue of  the  Jews  was  cast  off  as  the 
leprous  person  out  of  the  house,  and 
the  hand  restored  betokeneth  the 
Gentile  Church  adopted  instead  of  the 
Jewish  \Avgustiiie\  3.  Some  refer  it 
to  Christ,  that  he  being  the  hand,  that 
is,  the  poAver  of  his  Father,  by  taking 
our  nature  upon  liim,  became  as  it  were 
leprous,  that  is  deformed,  by  his  suffer- 
ings and  passion,  but  by  his  resurrection 
and  ascension  His  glory  appeareth 
4.  Some  give  it  an  historical  signi- 
fication— by  the  leprous  hand  they 
understand  the  miserable  state  of  the 
Hebrews  in  the  time  of  their  cruel  ser- 
vitude, who  in  their  deliverance  received 
their  former  liberty.  5.  Some  think 
that  the  leprous  hand  signilieth  the 
pollutions  of  Egypt,  wherewith  Israel 
was  defiled,  who  being  delivered  were 
restored   to  the  true  worship   of  God. 

6.  That  the  first  sending  of  JNIoses  to 
the  Israelites  brought  upon  them  more 
cruel  treatment,  but  his  after  ministry 
brought    them    joy    and     deliverance. 

7.  That  the  hand  being  the  instrument 
of  working,  betokeneth  the  ministry 
and  authority  of  Moses,  and  that  God 

Leprous 

I.  "Leprous  as  snow."  Then  oitr 
moral  condition  is  a  picture  of  woe. 
AVhat  more  pitiable  sight  than  a  leper — 
with  a  fearful  disease  running  through 
his  veins.  An  outcast  in  the  world.  Con- 
template tiie  sinner.  His  natural  bias 
to  evil.      Surrounded  by  his  vices.     He 

60 


would  use  a  weak  instrument  to  effect 
His  will,  Moses  having  lived  a  long 
time  in  banishment  seemed  a  thing 
leprous  and  vile,  yet  God  should  in 
this  His  service  make  him  a  glorious 
vessel  and  instrument.  8.  That  as 
the  leprosy  is  only  cured  by  God.  so 
their  deliverance  was  only  God's  work, 
and  to  humble  Moses  by  the  remem- 
brance of  his  own  infirmity.  9.  As 
far  as  the  intrinsic  signiiicancy  of 
the  sign  is  concerned,  it  was  evidently 
calculated  to  teach  that  whatever  is 
new,  vigorous,  vital,  and  flourishing, 
may  at  once  be  withered  at  the  word  of 
Omnipotence ;  and  again  with  equal 
facility  restored  to  its  pristine  condition 
[J5ws/ij . 

Power  for  God's  service: — 1. 
Human  hands  weak  and  unfit  for 
service.  2.  Sanctified  power  is  only 
attained  from  God.  3.  Hence  the 
worker  must  be  humble,  but  not 
impotent  or  paralytic  in  hand. 

''•Leprous  as  snow."  The  white  lep- 
rosy was  that  form  with  which  the 
Hebrews  were  best  acquainted,  and  the 
most  dilHcult  of  cure. 

God  sometimes  commands  His  ser- 
vants in  order  to  disease  and  try  them. 

A  sudden  change  from  soundness  to 
leprosy  is  God's  miracle. 

That  therearetimesand  circumstances 
when  the  use  of  legitimate  things  may 
prove  injurious. 

AS  Snoav. 

is  restless.  He  is  grief -stricken.  He 
is  without  virtuous  friendship.  Truly 
he  presents  a  sad  spectacle.  Contem- 
plate the  world — its  passion  and  pride 
—  its  heathenism  —  superstition  —  and 
crime — it  is  "  leprous  as  snow." 

II.  "Leprous  as  snow."     Then  our 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   IV. 


moral  condition  is  an  argument  and  a 
plea  for  Divine  help.  Would  not  a 
leper  excite  the  pity  of  all  who  saw  him. 
So  our  moral  woe  is  a  forceful  appeal 
to  the  Divine  mercy.  Our  grief  is  a 
prayer  for  the  exercise  of  Divine  power. 
Human  aid  is  ineffective  here.  Men 
may  pity  the  sinner.  Only  God  can 
heal  his  leprosy.  Every  sinner  in  the 
universe  is  an  object  of  Divine  compas- 
sion. But  wicked  men  wiU  not  allow 
the  argument  of  their  misery  to  find  its 
conclusion  in  their  moral  reformation  ; 
they  will  not  permit  the  prayer  of 
their  grief  to  be  answered,  they  re- 
fuse the  pardon  it  would  obtain. 

III.  "  Leprous  as  snow,"  Then  our 
moral  conversion  is  a  triumph  of 
Divine  grace.  What  a  conversion  for 
a  leper  to  become  a  healthy,  vigorous 
man.  What  a  change  in  all  his  surround- 
ings. How  happy.  How  benevolent. 
So  it  is  equally  a  marvellous  transition 


for  the  sinner.  Spiritual  life  courses 
richly  through  his  soul.  He  is  sur- 
rounded by  heavenly  companions,  and 
animated  by  new  hopes.  His  unrest 
is  calmed.  His  grief  is  removed.  His 
moral  disease  is  healed.  He  is  indeed 
a  trophy  of  Divine  grace. 

IV.  "  Leprous  as  snow."  Then  the 
greatest  sinner  is  within  the  reach  of 
Divine  restoration.  Your  leprosy  may 
be  of  the  worst  kind — may  have  been 
long  continued — yet  there  is  hope.  For 
the  sympathiser  is  Divine,  The  healer 
is  God.  Wherefore  He  is  able  to  save 
to  the  uttermost,  etc. 

Verse  7.  After  trial  God  commands 
His  sei'vants  again  in  order  to  healing. 

God  answers  the  obedience  of  His 
servants  with  wonderful  healing. 

It  is  God's  prerogative  alone  to  send 
disease  and  healing  to  his  creatures, 
miraculously  by  His  word. 


Soul-Instruction. 


I,  As  undertaken  by  a  Divine 
Teacher.  The  Divine  Being  is  here 
instructing  Moses  about  his  mission  to 
Israel,  There  are  many  instructors  of 
human  souls  in  the  world.  God  is  the 
supreme.  There  are  lessons  for  every 
man  to  learn  which  heaven  only  can 
teach.  Happy  the  soul  that  receives 
the  lesson  of  its  life  from  God.  Minis- 
ters who  aim  to  instruct  the  souls  of 
men  are  in  true  sympathy  with  the 
Divine. 

II.  As  employing  the  most  impres- 
sive symbolism.  The  burning  bush. 
The  rod  turned  into  a  serpent.  The 
hand  made  leprous.  The  Divine  teach- 
ing is  always  suggestive,  never  exhaus- 
tive. Heaven  has  always  fine  il- 
lustrations at  command  in  which  to 
convey  truth.  Hence  our  attention 
is  gained.  Our  souls  are  impressed. 
We  are  made  to  feel  that  duty  is  im- 
perative and  responsible,  and  to  prepare 
for  its  discharge.  The  pulpit  would  be 
much  more  effective  in  its  work  of  soul- 


instruction    if    it  employed  more  im- 
pressive imagery. 

III.  As  occupying  but  a  short 
space  of  time.  The  Divine  Being 
was  not  long  in  giving  these  signs 
to  Moses,  they  followed  in  quick  suc- 
cession. Heaven  is  spontaneous  in 
its  teaching.  It  can  teach  a  soul  an 
eternal  lesson  in  a  moment.  Ministers 
in  these  days  are  too  long  in  their  com- 
munication of  spiritual  truth.  They 
spend  too  much  time  on  detail. 

IV.  As  preparing  for  important  duty. 
God  is  preparing  Moses  to  achieve  the 
freedom  of  Israel.  The  Divine  instruc- 
tion always  has  a  definite  result  in 
view.  It  is  not  aimless.  It  is  not 
random.  It  is  designed  not  merely  to 
make  men  clever,  but  to  give  them  the 
power  of  moral  emancipation,  God 
teaches  human  souls  not  merely  for 
their  own  welfare,  but  that  they  may 
make  a  practical  use  of  their  know- 
ledge by  striving  to  enhance  the  spiritual 
condition  of  humanity. 


MAIN  HOMILETIC S  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH— Verse  8,  9. 
Tpie  Divine  Treatment  of  Human  Doubt. 

I,  That  the  Divine  Being  recognises  the  probability  that  men  will  not  wel- 
come the  truth  upon  its  first  presentation  to  them.  "  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  if  they  will  not  believe  thee,  neither  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  first  sign," 

61 


CHAP.  IV.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


etc.  If  this  history  had  not  been  complete  before  us,  we  should  ha^  2  imagined 
that  the  Israelites  would  at  once  have  welcomed  the  message  which  Moses  had  to 
declai-e  unto  them,  and  that  they  would  immediately  have  received  him  as  their 
deliverer.  1.  The  message  he  proclaimed  was  adapted  to  their  condition.  They 
were  slaves ;  he  preached  ta  ti^3m  of  freedom.  Their  lives  were  saddened  by 
oppression  ;  he  announced  the  removal  of  their  tyraimy.  They  were  degraded; 
he  proclaimed  to  them  moral  elevation.  In  this  light  how  astonishing  is  their 
unbelief.  We  should  have  expected  tliat  tlie  Israelites  would  have  gladly 
responded  to  his  voice,  and  have  followed  him  to  demand  of  Pharaoh  their 
release.  E(pially  surprising  is  the  unbelief  of  men  to-day  in  reference  to  the 
Gospel.  It  announces  the  moral  freedom  of  humanity,  of  release  from  the 
tyranny  of  sin,  from  envy,  from  disappointment,  from  degradation,  and  in  place 
thereof  to  give  enjoyment,  rest,  and  ultimately  heaven.  Yet  men  hesitate  to 
believe  the  glad  news,  or  to  receive  those  who  bring  it.  Is  it  not  surprising  that 
men  should  reject  a  Gospel  so  thoroughly  adapted  to  their  moral  need.  See  the 
folly  of  unbelief,  in  that  it  will  not  accept  a  divine  freedom  of  soul  when  benevo- 
lently offered.  The  tendency  of  all  unbelief  is  to  intensify  the  slavery  of  the 
moral  nature.  2.  The  message  he  proclaimed  was  wonderfully  simple.  It  was 
simply  a  message  of  freedom.  True,  at  certain  points  this  proclamation  of  Israel's 
freedom  bordered  on  the  supernatural  and  sublime,  as  when  associated  with 
the  mystery  of  the  burning  bush,  with  the  progressive  revelation  of  the  name  of 
God,  and  with  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  the  future;  yet  this  was  but 
natural,  as  freedom,  wherever  found,  must  inevitably  be  connected  with  mystery, 
as  it  is  the  work  of  God.  Yet  the  message  of  freedom  to  Israel  was  simple.  Their 
bondage  was  acknowledged.  Here  is  a  leader.  They  have  the  power  of  numbers ; 
They  have  the  aid  of  Heaven.  What  great  mystery,  then,  in  its  practical  side,  could 
their  freedom  present  ?  And  so  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  presented  for  the  credence 
of  humanity  is  simple.  It  is  but  a  message  of  moral  freedom.  True,  there  are  points 
at  which  it  enters  into  the  mystery  of  God;  but  this  fact  ought  to  make  the  freedom 
more  probable,  as  it  is  an  indication  of  Divine  thought  and  energy.  But  unbelief 
is  associated  with  prejudice,  sees  difficulties  in  the  most  simple  truth,  and  even 
rejects  a  freedom  which  one  effort  to  attain  would  demonstrate  to  be  true.  3. 
The  message  he  proclaimed  was  Divinely  authenticated.  The  Israelites  were  not 
called  merely  to  receive  the  tidings  of  their  freedom  upon  the  bare  word  of  Moses, 
although  that  ought  to  have  commanded  their  attention,  but  upon  the  evidence  of 
the  Divine  power.  Moses  was  empowered  to  work  miracles  before  them,  so  that, 
reasoning  from  the  evidence  of  sense,  they  might  attain  ultimately  to  the  evidence 
of  faith.  But  miracles  will  not  convince  a  sceptic.  His  unbelief  will  question 
their  reality.  Scepticism  is  well-nigh  invincible.  It  is  certainly  unreasonable. 
The  gospel  of  freedom  now  proclaimed  to  men  is  well  authenticated  by  prophecy, 
and  miracle,  by  its  internal  consistency  and  purity,  and  by  its  external  achieve- 
ments and  progress.  It  bears  Divine  credentials.  Yet  men  will  not  believe  it. 
They  call  it  fable  Truly  God  might  well  tell  Moses  that  the  first  sign  would 
not  win  the  confidence  of  Israel,  even  though  the  message  he  proclaimed  was 
what  they  needed,  was  simple  in  its  meaning,  was  well  authenticated  in  its  evi- 
dence, and  sublimely  grand  in  its  destiny.  Ministers  of  Christ  know  right  well, 
and  may  truly  wonder,  that  their  hearers  do  not  more  often  embrace  the  truth  upon 
its  tirst  presentation  to  them,  impelled  not  only  by  the  w(  e  of  sin,  but  also  by 
the  well-authenticated  grace  of  GdiI.  II.  That  the  Divine  Being  mercifully 
makes  provision  for  the  conviction  and  persuasion  of  men  in  refeieace  to  the 
reality  of  the  tioith  proclaimed;  notwitlistanding  their  confiiined  mibelief. 
*' And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  they  will  not  believe  also  these  two  sigas,  neither 
hearken  to  thy  voice,  that  thou  shalt  take  of  the  water  of  the  river,"  etc.  1.  This 
method  of  treatment  is  considerate.  It  woul'l  be  considerate  towards  the  Israelites; 
it  recognised  their  degraded  position,  ami  th  ir  consequent  diiliculty  of  entering 
into  a  message  of  freedom,  however  jsimpie  m  its  term^.  Much  of  the  unbehei 
62 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  Chap  \\\ 


of  the  Gospel  arises  from  the  moral  degradation  of  men.  They  consider  the 
freedom  of  a  degraded  soul  an  improbability.  Tliis  method  of  treatment  is  con- 
siderate toward  the  mental  and  moral  conlition  of  the  race,  and  gives  men 
repeated  opportunities  for  examination  in  reference  to  the  truth.  The  truth  is 
not  arbitrary  in  its  demand  of  credence.  It  gives  every  facility  for  complete  inves- 
tigation. In  fact  it  is  often  much  more  considerate  than  many  who  pretend 
to  advocate  its  claims.  2.  This  mdliod  of  treatment  is  merciful.  Tlie  Divine  Being 
might  have  required  the  Israelites  to  have  credited  the  message  of  their  freedoui 
on  the  bare  word  of  Moses;  or,  He  might  have  given  them  one  token  of  approval, 
and  then  have  left  them  to  their  ovvu  reasonings  and  effort.  But  not  so.  He  gave 
sign  after  sign,  to  convince  them  of  the  necessity  and  likelihood  of  their 
freedom  as  declared  by  Moses.  So,  we  have  been  repeatedly  urged  to  welcome 
the  salvation  of  Christ,  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel,  Have  we  not  had  many 
tokens  of  its  divinity  ?  Truly  we  have.  God  might  have  left  Himself  without 
a  witness,  but  He  has  not  doae  so,  and  this  merciful  arrangement  is  in  harmony 
with  the  holy  and  kindly  freedom  He  offers  to  our  souls.  3.  This  method  of 
treatment  is  condescending.  III.  That  the  persistent  unbelief  of  men  is  likely  to 
awaken  evidences  of  truth  indicative  of  the  Divine  displeasure.  "And  the 
water  which  thou  takest  out  of  the  river  shall  become  blood  upon  the  dry 
land."  1.  Evidences  that  recall  past  sorrows.  Moses  was  to  take  water  from  the 
river,  and  it  should  be  turned  into  blood.  This  would  remind  the  Israelites  of  the 
murder  of  their  children  in  those  waters.  So  if  VfQ  are  persistent  in  our  unbelief, 
God  can  make  recollections  of  past  grief  come  anew  to  our  minds  with  deep  sig- 
nificance of  woe,  to  give  empliasis  to  the  Gospel  He  wishes  us  to  welcome. 
2.  Evidences  prophetic  of  future  woe.  Who  can  tell  the  depth  of  meaning  there 
would  be  to  Isi'ael  In  this  miracle  of  the  water  being  turned  into  blood  ?  It 
would  indicate  a  strange  and  unhappy  transition  in  their  condition,  if  they  em- 
bi-aced  not  the  message  of  Moses.  And  so  God  will  send  evidence  of  the  truth 
to  convince  the  unbelieving  which  shall  but  faintly  foreshadow  their  end  if  they 
obey  not  the  Gospel. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  8.     These  signs  were  spoken  3.  His  knowledge  of  the  Divine  name, 

to  the  ear  of  reason,  if  not  of  sense: —  4.  His  supreme  moral  power— and,  5. 

"  They  will  believe  the  voice  of  the  latter  Intimate    communion   with    God  —  is 

sign."     This  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  un-  exposed  to  the  unbelief  of  those  whom 

derstood  as  a  positive  affirmation  ;  for  he  seeks  to  benefit. 

tlie  next  verse  intimates  the  possibility  Miracles  at  first  may  miss  their  end, 

that  they  may  require  still  further  evi-  and  not  persuade  men  to  faith, 

deuce.     The  words  appear  designed  to  Second  miracles  may  do  that  which 

express  the  intrinsic  adaptedness  of  the  the  first  failed  to  effect, 

signs  to  produce  belief,  or  the   effect  God's  word  and  promise  alone  can 

which  might  be  reasonably  anticipated  make     miracles     themselves     effectual 

from  their  exhibition.       The  circum-  means  of  faith. 

stance  strikingly   shews  tlie  extent  of  Miracles   have  voices  which   should 

the  Divine  indulgence.     The  perverse  command  faith  and  obedience, 

rejection  of  the  great  sign  alone  would  "  I'he  voice  of  the  first  sign  :  " — I.  It 

clearly  show  them  unwortliy  of  being  speaks  of  the  tluraldrom  of  man.     II, 

favoured  with  another.     But  God  mul-  It  speaks  of  the  inabUity  of  man  to 

tiplies  mercies,  even  when  judgments  Liberate  himself  therefrom.      III.    It 

are  most  richly   deserved.     He  gives  speaks   of  the  agency  that  God  has 

sign  upon  sign,  as  well  as  line  upon  provided  for  the    freedom    of    man. 

Une  [Bush'].  IV.   It  speaks  of  the  strange  unwil- 

That  a  true  minister,  notwitstanding  Ungness  of  man  to  credit  the  tidings  of 

1.  His  call  2.  His  spiritual  preparation,  freedom. 

63 


CHAP.    IV, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Verse  9.  "  Take  of  the  tvater  of  the 
river " —  that  is,  of  the  river  Nile. 
Thus,  it  would  appear,  was  a  miracle 
to  be  wrought  for  the  confirmation  of 
Moses'  calling  before  the  Israelites,  and 
not  before  the  Egyptians  ;  for  in  that 
mentioned  (Chapter  vii.  17),  the  waters 
in  the  river  were  to  be  turned  into 
blood ;  here  the  water  taken  out  of  the 
river,  this  was  done  before  the  elders 
of  Israel  ;  but  tlnit  was  turned  into 
blood  before  Pharaoh,  and  continued 
BO  seven  days,  to  his  great  annoyance. 

The  Nile  was  venerated  as  a  divinity, 
under  the  name  Hapi,  cognate,  if 
not  identical,  with  Apis.  Its  waters 
were  therefore  regarded  as  sacred,  and 
highly  esteemed  as  salubrious  to  the 
drinker,  and  fertilizing  to  the  soil.  If 
Moses  was  endowed  with  the  power  to 
turn  these  waters  into  blood,  it  was 
a  pledge  that  his  delegated  power 
should  prevail  over  all  the  power  of 
Egypt. 

This  sign  also  denoted  that  the  time 
was  now  at  hand  when  God  would 
judge  the  Egyptians  for  the  death  of 
the  Hebrew  infants,  whose  blood  they 
had  shed  in  the  waters. 

Some  would  yield  to  the  evidence  of 
the  first  miracle  ;  others  would  hesitate 
tiU  they  had  seen  the  second  ;  and  others 
would  not  believe  till  they  had  seen  the 
water  of  the  Nile  turned  into   blood, 


when  poured  upon  the  dry  ground  \_A. 
Clarke~\ . 

The  obstinacy  of  unbelief: — It  will 
reject  the  truth.  1.  In  opposition  to 
the  word  of  Him  by  whom  it  is  brought. 
2.  In  opposition  to  the  Divine  power  by 
which  it  is  accompanied.  3.  In  op- 
position to  the  benevolent  design  it 
contemplates.  4.  In  opposition  to 
accumulative  demonstration. 

God  trebleth  His  indulgence  to  help 
the  infirmities  of  His  servants. 

It  is  natural  to  sinful  man  to  mis- 
trust the  wonders  of  God. 

Such  incredulity  may  discourage 
God's  wonder-working  instruments  in 
their  work. 

God  knoweth  this  evil  of  men,  and 
permits  it — but  not  approves  it. 

God  works  not  only  strange,  but  ter- 
rible signs  to  make  sinners  believe 

When  God  giveth  forth  His  word, 
water  shall  blood  the  land,  not  Avater  it. 

"When  waters  are  made  blood-guilty, 
they  are  justly  turned  into  blood. 

Signs  demonstrative  of  God's  power, 
unto  His  servants,  are  vindictive  unto 
His  enemies. 

God  is  willing  more  abundantly  to 
show  the  truth  of  His  word,  and  is 
not  sparing  in  His  proofs  ;  the  multi- 
tude and  variety  of  the  miracles  cor- 
roborate the  evidence. 

Unbelief  shall  be  left  inexcusable, 
and  convicted  of  a  wilful  obstinacy. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH —Verses  10—14. 
The  Objections  Made  to  Religious  Service. 

I.  These  objections  were  made  after  God  had  given  him  a  full  insight  into  the 
nature  of  the  service  required.  1.  The  insight  given  to  Jlfoses  teas  infallible.  It 
had  been  Divinely  imparted.  God  had  appeared  to  him  in  the  burning  bush, 
had  informed  him  of  the  bitter  servitude  of  Israel,  and  of  His  intention  to  achieve 
their  freedom  through  his  instrumentality.  I\loses  could  not  be  mistaken  in  all 
this.  His  observation  and  hearing  had  not  been  deceived.  He  could  retrace 
his  own  mental  and  moral  experience  occasioned  by  the  phenomenon.  Nor 
was  the  burning  bush  the  only  token  that  he  had  received,  but  he  had  also  long 
communion  with  God.  The  Divine  name,  in  all  its  significance  and  grandeur 
was  unfolded  to  the  vision  of  his  soul.  And  the  sacred  presence  before  which  he 
stood,  had  made  him  feel  that  his  mission  to  Israel  was  a  solemn  reality,  requiring 
all  the  energy  and  devotion  of  his  nature.  Thus,  had  an  insight  into  the  nature 
—requirements — success — and  method  of  his  work  been  Divinely  and  infallibly 
communicated  to  him.  And  good  people  in  these  days  have  an  equally  infallible 
insight  into  the  religious  service  that  is  required  of  them.  It  is  found. in  the 
Bible.  It  is  given  in  the  life  of  Christ.  It  is  seen  in  the  moral  want  of 
G4 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  CHai-  iv. 


humanity.       Tliey   learn  it  not  from  the  burning  bramble-bush,  not  from  the 
audible  voice   of  God,  not  from  the  miraculous  turning  of  rods  into  serpents, 
but  in  hours  of  quiet  communion  with  the  Infinite;  in  times  of  severe  grief  the 
Boul  is  infallibly  taught  the  meaning  of  these   great  calls  to  service.      2.    Thi 
insight  given  into  the  nature  of  this  service  was  forceful.     What  could  have  been 
more  sublime,   more    instructive,  more  impressive,  and  consequently  more  cal- 
culated to  command  attention  and  obedience,  than  a  service  made  known  by  such 
a  grand  display    of   heavenly    glory,  of    the   Divine  name,   and  of  the  Divine 
power.     This  was  designed  to  lend   moral  force  to  the  duty    made  known  to 
the  desert  shepherd.     And  so  in  these  days  our  calls  to  spiritual  service  come  to 
us  full  of  heavenly  meaning  and  grandeur.     They  gather  emphasis  from  our  lonely 
and  dependent  condition,  from  the  fact  that  they  come  from  God,  from  the  fact 
that  they  plead  the  cross  of  Christ  as  a  claim  upon  our  obedience,  from  the  factthat 
all  the  motives  of  the  Bible  are  on  their  side,  and  from  the  fact  that  there  is  given 
a  Divine  inspiration  to  enable  us  to  perform  them.     Every  enliglitened  conscience 
knows  the  forcefulness  of  these  Divine  appeals.     Let  us  not  be  found  disobedient 
to  duty  so  impressively  made  known,  so  solemnly  required,  and    so    awful  in 
its  possibility  of  eternal  retribution.      3.   The  insight  given  into  the  nature  of  this 
service  was  sympathetic.  God  did  not  merely  tell  Moses  of  the  work  he  had  to  perform 
in  relation  to  the  freedom  of  Israel,  and  then  withdraw  Himself  from  the  vision 
of   the  bewildered  shepherd,  but  remained  for  a  length  of  time  in  coversation 
with  him,  answering  questions,  dispelling  doubts,  removing  difficulties,  giving  a 
new  revelation  of  the  Supreme  life,  and  finally  delegating  to  him  the  Divine  power. 
Hence  the  Divine  Being  manifested  the  truest  sympathy,  the  sympathy  of  friendly 
intercourse  and  help,  with  Moses  in  his  very  arduous  undertaking,     "  Certainly 
I  will  be  with  thee," — nothing  could  have  beenmore  sympathetic  than  this.  And  so, 
to-day,  good  men  have  given  to  them  a  sympathetic  insight  into  the  service  that  is 
required  of  them,     God  bears  with  their  moral  weakness.     Answers  their  objec- 
tion.    Forewarns  them  of  difficulty.  Inspires  them  with  bright  hopes.  Announces 
Himself  as  tlieir  unerring  Friend  and  Guide.      II,    These  objections  frequently 
arise  from  an  undue  consciousness  of  self.     1,  From  a  consciousness  of  natural  in- 
firmity.    "  And  Moses  said  unto  the  Lord,  0  my  Lord,  I  am  not  eloquent,"  etc. 
Moses  has  now  narrowed  the  mission  to  himself  and  his  own  ability  for  it,  leaving 
altogether  out  of  calculation  his  heavenly  preparation,  and  the  Divine  promise  of 
help.    And  here  is  the  weakness  of  an  undue  consciousness  of  self,  in  that  it  tends  to 
put  God  out  of  our  service.     Unaided  hunuin  ability  cannot  achieve  the  service  of 
God,     If  Moses  had  been  eloquent  he  could  not  have  accomplished  the  freedom  of 
Israel  without  the  Divine  aid.     In  undertaking  moral  service,  men  must  not  think 
too  much  about  their  own  physical,  mental,  or  moral  capabilities,  but  mainly  of  Him 
who  has  called  them  to  the  work.     He  can  make  provision  for  all  their  defects. 
It  is  quite  true  that  many  good  people  have  a  natural  hindrance  to  religious 
work — they  are  slow  of  speech — they  find  it  difficult  to  pray  in  a  prayer  meeting 
— or  to  undertake  any  duty  requiring  publicity — but  this    does  not  place  them 
outside  the  range  of  service,     God  sometimes  calls  such  to  achieve  the  freedom 
of  the  slave.      It  ought  to  inspire  within  them  a  more  thorough  determination 
to  rely    on  Divine  help.     Silence   is    often    more  eloquent  and  valuable  than 
speech.     2.  From  a   supposition  of  moral   incapacity.     Moses  did  not  think  him- 
self capable   of  securing   the   freedom  of  a  vast  nation  like  Israel,  a  nation  of 
such   historic    grandeur,    and  of   such    holy  moral    relationships  and  covenant, 
hence  distrustful  of  self,  he  cried,  "Who  am    1?"     And  this  feeling  of   inca- 
pacity is  frequently  shared  by  good  men  when  they  are  called  to  the  performance 
of  religious  service.     And  apart  from  the  Divine  call,  preparation,  and  help,  all 
men  are  totally  unfit  for  such  work,  but  the  vision  of  heaven  and  the  revelation 
of  God  are  calculated  to  lift  them  above  their  natural  infirmities,  to  place  them 
on  a  level  with  their  duty,  and  enable  them  to  rise  superior  to  difficulty.      The 
call  of  God  is  calculated  to  educate  all  the  sublime  tendencies  of  the  soul,  and 

1'  65 


CHAP.  IV.  UOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


render  men  fit  for  heroic  toil.     3.   That  rather  than  self,  God  must  be  the  supreme 
idea  of  the  soul  tv/ien  about  to  enter  upon  rellijious  service.     At  such  times  the  good 
man  must  forget  his  natural  inlirmity  for  service  in  the  all-absorbing  tliouglit  of 
the    Divine  love,    companionsliip,  ami  power.     His  soul  must  rest  in  the  arms 
of  the  Infinite,  and  catching  the  smile  of  the  Divine  face,  it  will  ever  bo  cheered, 
and  inspired  for  duty,  and  in  the  happiness  of  such  an  experience,  all  painful 
thoughts  of  self  will  be  excluded  from  tho  mind.     The  Chri:,tian  service  of  men 
in  the^e  days  retains  too  feebly  the  thought  of  God,  hence  its  unrest,  its  inefficiency. 
Our  hearts  should  be  a  templij  in  which  every  act  of  service  should  be  rendereil 
to  the  Infinite.      III.  These  objections  do  not  sufficiently  regard  the  efficiency  of 
the  Divine  help  that  is  promised  in  the  semce.      "  Now  therefore  go,  and  1  will 
be  with  thy  mouth,  and  teach  thee  what  thou  shalt  say."     1.  The  Divine  help  is 
adapted  to  our  natural  infirmity.     God  promised  to  aid  the  speech  of  Moses.     And 
so  it  is  now.    God  always  meets  men,  in  the  performance  of  their  religious  set  vice, 
at  the  point  of  their  weakness.     Tiie  natural  powers  of  men  are  used  in  the 
missions  of  God.     The  Divine  plan  is  to  strengthen  them  if  weak;  to  guide  them  if 
strong.     If  our  natural  infirmity  is  ditfidence,  God  will  give  us   courage.     He 
sends  power  and  help  to  men  in  tliat  department  of  soul  where  it  is  most  needed. 
It  is  far  better  to  have  God  joined  to  our  infirmity,  than  to  have  the  eloquent 
tongue  without    Him.      Thus   there  are  times  when   an   infirmity   may   be  of 
inestimable  advantage  to  a  Christian  worker.     2.  The  Divinehelp  is  adapted  to  our 
full  requirement.     God  did  not  merely  promise  to  aid  the  speech  of  Moses,  but  also 
to  teach  him  what  he  should  say.     So  in  the  Chi-istiau  service  of  to-day,  good 
men  are  not   merely  aided    in   the  line    of   their    natural    infirmity,     but   also 
to  the  extent  of  their  requirement.     See  the  variety  of  the  Divine  help  given  to 
Moses:  the    vision    of   the    bush;  the  revelation  of  the  great  Name ;  an  insight 
into  the  success  of  his  mission  ;  the  miracle.     Thus,  not  merely  was  he  aided  in 
speech,  but  in  all  the  need  of  his  soul.     A  grand  encouragement  for  Christian 
workers  to-day.     God  is  with  us  to  the  full  extent  of  our  want.     IV.  These  ob- 
jections are  a  reflection  on  the  propriety  of  the  Divine  selection  for  the  service. 
"  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him.  Who  hath  made  man's  mouth,"  etc.     1.   This  method 
of  conduct  is  ungrateful.     Instead  of  mentioning  this  one  natural  infirmity,  Moses 
ought  to  have  been  thankful  that  he  had  so  many  aids  to  the  work  required  of  him. 
Was  the  impediment  of  speech  more  to  him  than  the  vision,  revelation,  and  miracles 
with  which  he  had  been  favoui'ed?     Certainly  not.     Hence  his  ingratitude.    Moses 
has  many  imitators  to-day.     Men  are  called  to  religious  service.     But  instead  of 
reviewing  their  favourable  circumstances,  the  holy  qualifications  that  have  been 
imparted  to  their  souls,  they  fix  their  attention  upon  one  drawback  untu  they 
complain  and  become   discontented.     What  ingratitude!     2.   This  method  of  con- 
duct  is  irreverent.     Moses  ought  to  have  remembered  that  he  was  in  converse  with 
God,  that  he  was  commanded  by  God  to  this  work.     This  ought  to  have  subdued 
his  mind.     It  ought  to  have  silenced  objection.     He  is  not  now  paying  sutiicient 
deference  to  the  Divine  presence.     So,  good  men  should  ever  remember  that  it  is 
God  who  calls  them  to  service,  and  that  therefore  they  must  merge  all  their  natural 
reasonings  into  a  faithful  compliance  with  His  will.     We  must  be  more  reverent 
in  our  service-relations  with  Heaven.     V.  These  objections  do  not  sufficiently 
recognise  the  dignity  and  honour  wliich  the  service  will  command;     1.  There 
was  the  honour  of  achieving  the  freedom  of  a  vast  nation.     2.   There  was  the  honour 
of  conquering  a  tyrant  king.     3.   There  was  the  honour  of  becoming  the  Lawgiver  of 
the  world.     All  religious  service  is  honourable,  and  this  is  especially  shewn  in  the 
history  of  Moses,     it  elevated  him  from  the  sheepfold  to  the  tiirone.     Instead  of 
the  crook  it  gave  him  the  sceptre.     And  many  a  man,  whose  name  is  known  to 
fame  and  history,  has  gained  eminence  through  co-operation  with  tlie  providence 
of  God,  and  undertaking  a  work  for  the  moral  good  of  men.     If  men  did  but 
realise  the  dignity  of  religious  service,  they  would  never  be  deterred  from  it  by 
their  own  uatmal  iulirmities.     VI.   These  objections  are  liable  to  awaken  the 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CllAP.    IV. 


Divine  displeasui'e.  "  And  the  anger  of  tne  Lord  was  kindled  against  Moses." 
1.  This  nng(;r  may  be  manifested  in  our  removal  from  service.  2.  This  anger  may 
be  manifested  by  the  positive  injiiction  of  penalty.  3.  This  anger  may  occa* 
sion  our  moral  ruin.  It  is  dangerous  to  trifle  or  contend  with  the  Divine  call  to 
religious  duty.  There  is  a  point  bejond  which  God  will  not  permit  a  human 
Boul  to  do  so.  Our  prompt  obedience  will  be  ihe  most  welcome  to  hpaven,  the 
most  effective  in  service,  and  the  most  kindly  to  others,  whom  our  disobedience 
might  have  called  into  peiilous  prominence.  Aaron.  Learn  : — I.  Good  men 
ought  to  know  better  than  to  object  to  the  service  of  God.  2.  Tliat  in  the  service  of 
God.,  men  find  the  highest  reward.  3.  That  in  the  service  of  God,  men  attaineth 
diviucst  imjnurtality. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  10.  1.  Some  sui)pose  that  Moses 
being  astonished  with  God's  glory, 
since  his  beginning  to  talk  with  Him, 
which  tlicy  gather  was  three  days,  one 
after  another,  was  thus  disabled  in  the 
use  of  his  tongue,  and  though  eloquent 
before,  yet  now  in  this  Divine  mission 
he  seemed  a  child  unto  himself,  and 
unable  to  speak  to  men.  (Philo,  Origin, 
Gregory).  But  this  supposition  is 
plainly  against  the  meaning'  of  the 
text,  which  is  as  if  Moses  had  said,  *'  I 
have  not  only  wanted  eloquence  hereto- 
fore, but  ever  since  thou  has  spoken  to 
me,  I  have  not  found  this  fault  amended." 
And  if  he  had  only  at  this  time  been 
taken  with  a  lack  of  words,  there  would 
have  been  no  need  for  the  oratorical 
help  of  Aaron  afterwards. 

2.  Some  imagine  that  Moses  had 
been  a  shepherd  so  long  that  he  had, 
to  a  large  extent,  lost  the  power  of 
words. 

3.  Some  imagine  that  Moses  meant 
his  inability  to  speak  to  Pharoah  in  the 
Egyptian  tongue. 

4.  Some  imagine  that  Moses  had  a 
natural  impediment  in  his  speech. 

5.  Probably  Moses  found  a  diffi- 
cuity  in  readily  expressing  his  thoughts. 
He  was  slow  of  speech.  And  such  an 
instrument  did  God  choose  for  his  own 
greater  glory  ;  and  thus  doth  Moses 
write  of  himself,  laying  open  his  im- 
perfections, and  backwardness  in  obey- 
ing God's  calling  in  humility;  whereby 
We  must  also  Iciirn  to  lay  ojien  and  con- 
fess o;  r  own  faults,  that  they  may  be 
forgivLU  unto  us  out  of  God's    uiei'cy 

Moses  had  not  that  first,  second,  or 
third  of  an  orator,  elocution,  or  pro- 
uounciatiou.        And    yet    God    made 


choice  of  him  rather  than  eloquent 
Aai'on  to  pray  (Exodus  xvii.  12), 
Not  gifts  but  graces  prevail  in  prayer 
[Trapj}]. 

Moses  still  continues  backward  to 
the  service  God  had  designed  him  for; 
we  can  no  longer  impute  it  to  humility 
and  modesty,  but  must  own  that  there 
was  too  much  of  cowardice,  slothful- 
ness,  and  unbelief  in  it.  Moses  pleads 
that  he  was  no  orator.  He  was  a  man 
of  clear  head,  great  thought,  and  solid 
judgment,  but  had  not  a  voluble  tongue, 
or  ready  utterance.  We  must  not 
judge  of  men  by  the  readiness  and 
fluency  of  tlieir  discourse.  What  he 
said  distilled  as  the  dew.  Christ's 
disciples  were  no  orators,  till  the  spirit 
made  them  such  [Henry  and  Scott^. 

God  docs  not  always  make  it  appear 
that  he  hath  furnished  men  for  services 
till  they  are  actuiilly  called  to  engage 
in  them,  but  we  may  depend  upon  Him 
to  qualify  us  for  whatever  He  com- 
mands us  to  do.  All  knowledge,  wis- 
dom, and  utterance,  with  every  good 
gift,  are  derived  from  Him  ;  but  many 
endowments  are  supposed  needful  or 
useful  in  the  public  service  of  God  and 
His  Church,  which  He  pours  contempt 
npon,  as  mere  tinsel,  worthless,  if  not 
pernicious.  Such  are  all  the  studied 
and  affected  arts  of  human  oratory, 
which  the  great  apostle  would  not  con- 
descend to  employ,  ''  that  the  faith  "  of 
the  people  "  should  not  stand  in  the 
wisdom  of  man,  but  in  the  power  of 
God  "  yScott]. 

Let  a  man  look  unto  himself,  and 
measure  his  work  by  hiuiseU,  and  the 
movement  of  his  life  will  be  dowuwai'd 
and  exhaustive.  Let  him  look  away 
from  himself  to  the  Lispirer  of  his  life, 

67 


CHAP.  IV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


and  tlie  Divine  reward  of  his  labours, 
and  lie  will  not  so  much  as  see  the  diffi- 
culties which  may  stand  ever  so  thickly 
iu  hisway[C«V^  Temple]. 

Infirmity  of  faith  maketh  those  called 
by  God  to  object  to  the  service  He 
commands  of  them. 

Miracles  sometimes  Avill  not  silence 
Buch  objections  of  doubting  souls. 


Unwilling  souls  for  God's  work  arc 
apt  to  plead  real  infirmities  for  excuse. 

Weakness  of  faith  will  urge  against 
God's  call,  not  only  self-insufficiency, 
but  also  the  lack  of  Divine  supply  in 
the  direction  of  infirmity. 

Infii-mity  in  speech  may  be  an  argu- 
ment to  men  against  the  work  of  God, 
but  it  is  not  to  God  Himself. 


Eloquence. 


I.  "  I  am  not  eloquent."  Then  true 
eloquence  may  have  its  use:— 1.  To 
explain  Divine  Truth.  2.  To  inspire 
men  with  the  thought  of  freedom.  3.  To 
manifest  the  perfection  of  the  gift  of 
speech. 

II.  "I  am  not  eloquent."  Then 
do  not  condemn  men  who  are.  Some 
people  are  in  the  habit  of  condemn- 
ing in  others  what  they  do  not  find 
in  themselves.  Many  public  speakers 
denounce  their  eloquent  compeers  for 
the  simple  reason  that  they  are  not 
so  gifted  themselves. 

III.  "  I  am  not  eloquent."  Then  do 
not  envy  those  who  are  acknowledged 
to  be  so.  Nature  has  unequally  dis- 
tributed her  gifts.  She  has  given  the 
thinking  power  to  one,  the  speaking 
power  to  another.  If  we  have  not  elo- 
quence we  have  some  other  equally 
valuable  talent  in  its  place.  Let  us 
therefore  be  thankful,  not  envious. 


IV.  "I  am  not  eloquent."  Then 
the  Lord  can  use  a  feeble  mstnunen- 
taUty.  We  should  have  antecedently 
imagined  that  God  would  have  selected 
Aaron  for  the  work  of  Israel's  freedom. 
But  not  so.  God  can  send  a  great 
message  by  a  man  of  slow  tongue. 
This  will  enhance  the  Divine  glory. 

v.  "  I  am  not  eloquent."  Then 
words  are  not  the  chief  conditions  of 
service.  In  the  service  of  the  good, 
ideas — thoughts — emotions — and  moral 
influences  occupy  a  more  prominent 
place  than  mere  words. 

VI.  "I  am  not  eloquent."  Then  do 
not  grumble,  but  seek  the  Divine  aid 
in  your  uifirmity.  If  the  time  spent  in 
lamenting  our  natural  infirmities  was 
only  occupied  in  prayer  to  God  for 
help  in  our  work,  and  for  his  blessing 
thereon,  the  world  would  soon  be 
emancipated  from  the  bondage  of  sin. 


Slowness  op  Speech. 


^^  But  I  am  sloio  of  speech."  I.  An 
Infirmity.  II.  A  Discretion.  III.  A 
Discipline. 

Verse  IL  The  Hebrews,  in  giving 
a  reason  why  the  Lord  speaketh  of  His 
making  dumb,  and  deaf,  and  blind,  as 
well  as  giving  a  mouth  to  speak,  say, 
that  these  things  were  spoken  in  allu- 
sion to  Ilis  past  operations  with  Moses  ; 
because,  when  he  had  slain  the  Egyp- 
tian that  wronged  the  Hebrew,  and 
was  by  Pharaoh  therefore  committed 
to  the  gaoler,  the  gaoler  was  imme- 
diately smitten  with  blindness,  and  so 
Moses  had  opportunity  to  escape  from 
him,  and  the  King,  seeing  that  he  fled, 
was  stricken  dumb,  so  that  he  could 
not  speak  nor  make  any  sign  to  have 
him  appruheudud  again.  But  whether 
68 


this  is  true  or  not,  it  is  certain  that 
God  can  thus  in  judgment  smite  whom 
it  pleaseth  Him,  as  He  did  the  Sodo- 
mites with  blindness  \_Maijer~\. 

To  balance  the  weakness  of  Moses, 
God  here  reminds  him  of  his  own  power. 
To  encoiu'age  him  in  this  great  under- 
taking. He  repeats  the  promise  of  His 
presence,  not  only  in  general,  but  in 
particular  [//e/ir?/  and  Scott^. 

By  this  appeal  to  Moses  respecting 
the  origin  of  the  human  faculties,  God 
would  have  him  to  infer,  that  he  who 
bestowed  them  upon  the  first  man, 
could,  with  infinite  ease,  endow  him 
witii  those  which  were  lacking,  and 
remedy  those  which  were  imperfect 
{Bush]. 

How  sublime  is  the  rebuke  of  God  I 
Cauuot   the   Maker   of    man's  mouth 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    IV. 


touch  with  eloquence  the  lips  which  He 
has  fashioned  ?  What  is  human  elo- 
quence but  the  expression  of  Divine 
music  ?  Pedantic  rhetoricians  may 
fashion  rules  of  their  own  for  the  refine- 
ment of  human  speech  ;  but  he  who 
waits  diligently  upon  God,  and  whose 
pui'pose  is  to  know  the  will  of  God,  that 
he  may  speak  it  to  men — will  be  en- 
trusted with  an  eloquence  rhythmie 
as  the  sea.  and  startling  as  the  thunder. 
Rhetoric  is  the  gift  of  God.  Eloquence 
is  not  a  merely  human  attainment.  The 
secret    of   convincing   and    persuasive 


speech  is  put  into  the  hearts  of  those 
who  forget  themselves  in  the  homage  of 
God  and  truth  [City  Temple] . 

Jehovah  indulgeth  his  weak  servants 
to  object,  that  he  may  multiply  satis- 
faction to  their  doubts. 

God  teacheth  and  checketh  his  ser- 
vants sometimes  by  questioning  with 
them. 

Man's  mouth  is  from  God,  and  so 
ought  the  use  of  it  to  be. 

Defects  of  speech  and  senses  are 
incident  to  some  amongst  men. 


The  Divine  Creatokship. 


I.  Should  silence  the  voice  of  com- 
plaint under  natural  infirmities. 

II.  Should  become  an  argument  for 
the  ready  performance  of  any  mis- 


sion on  which  we  may  be  divinely 
sent. 

III.  Should  lead  us  reverently  to 
acknowledge  the  Sovereignity  of  God 
in  the  varied  allotments  of  life. 


Natural  Infirmities  in  Relation  to  Moral  Service. 


I.  That  God  does  not  always  see  fit 
to  remove  natural  infirmities  from 
those  who  are  commissioned  to  im- 
portant service  : — 1.  They  keep  us  hum- 
ble. 2.  They  remind  us  of  God.  3. 
Tliey  prompt  us  to  prayer. 

II.  That  God  renders  natural  im- 
pediments effective  to  the  clear  mani- 
festation of  His  power  and  glory: — 1. 
Shoxdd  win  our  submission,.  2.  Shoidd 
gain  our  confidence.  3.  Shoidd.  inspire 
our  praise. 

III.  That  God  so  far  compassion- 
ates our  natural  infirmities  as  to 
reheve  them  by  congenial  and  efficient 
help: — 1.  Fraternal.  2.  Adapted  to 
need.     3,  Constant. 

Verse  12.  There  is  no  mouth  into 
which  God  cannot  put  his  words. 
Balaam's  ass  was  enabled  by  God  to 
convince  his  master  [^Trapp]. 

God's  injunction  of  duty  justly  fol- 
lows his  satisfaction  to  doubts. 

God  utters  successive  injunctions  to 
duty,  even  though  men  try  to  withdraw 
from  them. 

God's  promise  of  presence  and  in- 
fluence aids  his  injunctions,  and  renders 
them  more  welcome  to  his  servants. 

A  mouth  divinely  instructed,  is 
mighty  in  the  word  of  wisdom. 

L  The  Divine  Commission. 


II.  The  Divine  Companionship. 

III.  The  Divine  Instruction. 

Verse  13.  Does  not  this  hold  up  to 
us  a  faithful  mirror,  in  which  we  can 
see  our  hearts  reflected  ?  Truly  it  does. 
We  are  more  ready  to  trust  anything 
than  the  living  God.  We  move  along, 
with  bold  decision,  when  we  possess  the 
countenance  and  support  of  a  poor  frail 
mortal  like  ourselves ;  but  we  falter, 
hesitate,  and  demur,  when  we  have  the 
light  of  the  master's  countenance  to 
cheer  us,  and  the  strength  of  His 
omnipotent  arm  to  support  us  [C.  H. 
M.] 

Send,  I  pray  thee,  by  the  hand  of  him 
whom  thou  ivilt  send."  1.  Some  think 
that  Moses  meant  his  brother  Aaron, 
who  was  older,  and  of  more  eloquent 
speech ;  but  no  mention  had  yet  been 
made  of  Aaron,  whom  Moses  knew 
not  to  be  alive  till  the  Lord  told  him. 
(Verse  18). 

2.  Some  think  that  Joshua  was  meant, 
whom  God  revealed  to  Moses  as  the 
Leader  of  Israel  into  the  Land  of 
Promise.  This  would  make  Moses 
appear  somewhat  envious  of  Joshua. 

3.  The  majoi-ity  of  the  ancient 
writers  think  that  Moses  here  speaks  of 
the  Messiah. 

4.  The  meaning  of  Moses   is,  that 

69 


CHAP.  IV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODOS. 


whereas  God  might  find  out  many  more 
fit  than  himself,  He  wouhi  send  by 
their  hand,  whoever  they  might  be. 

Unbelief  has  still  something  to 
oppose  against  God's  call  and  promise. 

A  weak  faith  is  ever  willing  to  avoid 
the  dilFiculty  of  work. 


Infirm  believers  are  willing  to  put 
off  Gods  work  to  any  from  themselves. 

The  weak  in  I'uith  would  yet  have 
tliera  to  be  of  God's  sending  that  shall 
be  employed  for  the  freedom  of  tho 
Church. 


An  Evasion  of  Spiritual  Work. 


I.  He  recognised  the  necessity  that 
the  work  should  be  accomplished. 
Moses  did  not  cast  a  doubt  upon  the 
need,  utility  of  the  mission  given  to 
him ;  yea,  he  virtually  acknowledged 
that  it  was  worthy  of  more  able  instru- 
mentality. Like  many  to-day.  They 
acknowledge  that  certain  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  Church  ought  to  be 
done.      But  that  is  all. 

II.  He  manifested  a  disposition  to 
slmnk  from  achieving  the  work  liim- 
self.  There  are  hundreds  in  our 
churches  who  acknowledge  the  need  of 
certain  religious  enter})!  .e,  but  they 
do  nothing  to  it  themselves. 


III.  He  expressed  a  desire  that 
some  other  person  should  be  called  to, 
and  entrusted  vnth,  the  work.  This 
course  is  often  pursued  by  people.  The 
very  enterprise  that  they  refuse  to 
undertake  themselves,  they  propose 
shoidd  be  carried  out  by  another. 
They  hope  thus  to  relieve  themselves 
of  its  ditliculty. 

IV.  He  was  in  danger  of  losing  the 
honour  of  the  work  to  which  he  was 
called.  God  might  have  refused  to 
send  Moses  after  all  this  indolence  and 
unbelief.  People  do  not  know  the 
moral  good  and  honour  they  miss  by 
refusing  the  work  of  the  Church. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH —  Verses  14—17. 

Mutual  Aid  in  Religious  Work. 

I.  That  sometimes  good  men  are  called  to  midertake  a  work,  against  the 
performance  of  wliich  they  imagine  themselves  to  have  a  natural  impediment. 
Moses  was  called  to  go  and  achieve  tlie  freedom  of  Israel.  But  he  says  that  he 
is  a  man  slow  of  speech,  and  that  as  he  is  unlikely  to  succeed  in  such  an  under- 
taking, lie  asks  that  God  will  send  another  in  his  stead.  Thus  Moses  was 
designated  to  a  work,  against  the  perfoi-inance  of  which  he  imagined  himself  to 
have  a  natural  infirmity,  the  lack  of  ready  utterance.  1.  Men  should  be  certain 
that  their  so-called  impediinent  is  a  real  hindrance  in  the  service  to  ivhich  they  are 
sent.  Was  Moses  certain  tiiat  his  lack  of  speech  would  prove  a  real  hindrance  in 
the  {)erforinance  of  his  mission,  especially  when  he  considered  the  preparation 
he  had  already  received,  and  tlie  miracles  he  had  been  empowered  to  work  ? 
If  so,  he  was  mistaken.  He  looked  more  on  the  surface  of  things  than  into  their 
depths.  He  probably  regarded  his  own  comfort  more  than  the  real  bearing  of 
his  infirmity  upon  his  mission.  He  wanted  an  excuse,  aud  found  one  in  his 
natural  deficiency  of  language.  He  probably  wanted  to  appear  before  Israel  as 
some  great  one.  He  wanted  to  accomplished  his  mission  without  encountering 
dilliculty.  He  looked  more  at  secondary  causes  than  at  primary,  more  at  him- 
self than  at  God  and  his  promised  help.  And  men  who  do  this  will  be  sure  to 
have  inllrmities,  fancied  or  reaL  Thus  we  are  not  quite  so  sure  that  Moses  waa 
right  in  supposing  that  his  lack  of  speech  was  a  real  hindrance  to  his  mission.  If 
he  had  been  gifieil  in  tlie  direction  of  language,  he  might  have  been  in  danger  of 
betraying  his  mission  by  indiscretion.  It  is  a  dangerous  thing  for  a  u)an  that 
has  moral  power  and  a  great  mission  to  have  the  gift  of  language,  he  will  almost 
be  sure  to  talk  too  much  about  the  honour  of  his  calling,  aud  tlie  power  he  has 
to  work  miracles.  Many  such  enterprises  have  been  wrecked  by  so-called 
7U 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  iv. 


eloquence.  True  the  public  like  a  man  that  can  talk ;  he  is  more  likely  to 
become  a  general  favourite ;  he  may  win  their  pleasantry,  but  will  he  achieve 
their  moral  conviction  ?  Many  a  minister  would  have  been  more  successful  in 
his  work  if  he  had  been  more  slow  of  tongue.  Tiius,  before  we  lament  our 
natural  impediment  to  service,  and  say  that  God  has  called  the  wrong  man  for 
the  work,  we  must  look  into  the  reality  of  things,  and  see  whether  our  infirmity  is 
a  real  hindrance  or  not.  In  these  days  when  people  ai-e  called  to  work,  they  at 
once  refer  to  their  infirmity  and  unfitness  for  it,  but  their  real  infirmity  is  not  so 
much  their  slowness  of  speech,  as  this  unbelief  and  unwillingness  to  follow  the 
Divine  command.  They  have  not  the  moral  courage  to  encounter  difficulty. 
They  think  more  of  Pharaoh  and  his  army  than  of  the  Divine  companionship 
that  has  promised  to  be  with  them.  2.  But  we  admit  that  sometimes  men  are  called 
to  religious  service  against  the  'performance  of  which  they  have  a  natural  impediment. 
Sometimes  men  of  little  courage  are  sent  on  errands  which  require  them  to  be 
brave ;  sometimes  men  of  little  faith  are  sent  on  errands  which  require  them  to 
have  strong  confidence  in  the  Unseen  ;  sometimes  men  of  slow  f-peech  are  sent  to 
give  the  law  of  God  to  the  assembled  multitudes  at  Sinai.  And  why  this  apparent 
anomaly  and  invertion  of  things.  (1.)  Is  it  not  an  injustice  on  the  part  of  the 
Divine  requirement.  Can  God  fully  expect  men  of  small  courage  to  go  to  Pharaoh 
and  demand  the  freedom  of  a  nation.  It  is  just,  because  with  the  command  He 
gives  the  moral  energy  necessary  for  its  execution.  He  gives  the  timid  man  the 
stimulus  of  the  vision.  He  gives  him  the  inspiration  of  a  miracle.  (2.)  Its 
design  is  to  educate  man  on  the  side  of  his  weakness.  The  man  lacks  courage.  The 
mission  requires  it.  God  awakens  it.  Hence  the  man  who  left  home  a  coward, 
returns  a  hero,  Moses  hesitated  to  undertake  the  journey  to  Israel ;  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  take  that  stiU  more  formidable  journey  up  the  mountain  of  Nebo,  into 
the  arms  of  death.  No ;  the  discipline  of  the  mission  has  been  effectual.  He 
has  been  educated  thereby  on  the  side  of  his  weakness.  Thus  the  calling  of  men 
to  work  for  which  they  are  antecedently  unfitted,  is  purely  educational  in  its 
design.  (3.)  It  is  to  render  the  mission  all  the  more  triwnjihant  when  accomplished. 
The  strong  man  is  familiar  with  victory,  it  has  ceased  to  awaken  him  to  enthu- 
siasm as  once  it  did.  But  for  the  weak  to  be  the  victorious  is  a  new  thing,  it 
occasions  a  new  experience,  and  renders  the  occasion  worthy  of  more  triumphant 
plaudits.  It  is  the  distinguishing  glory  of  Christianity  that  it  makes  provision 
for  the  victory  of  the  weak  who  have  within  their  souls  the  grace  of  God.  II. 
That  at  such  time  good  men  require  the  aid  of  others  whose  talents  compensate 
for  their  infirmity.  Sometimes  the  Divine  discipline  requires  that  the  weak 
shall  go  alone  to  the  mission,  for  their  greater  spiritual  good  and  honour,  but  in 
the  case  before  us  so  arduous  was  the  duty,  so  destitute  were  the  times  of  religious 
light,  and  so  vague  were  the  ideas  of  men  on  moral  service,  that  God  responded 
to  the  implied  wish  of  Moses,  and  gave  him  the  direct  help  he  needed.  God 
does  not  entirely  leave  men  of  natural  infirmity  alone  in  their  Christian 
service,  but  sends  them  external  aid,  most  helpful  and  welcome.  1,  This 
help  teas  adapted  to  the  infirmity  of  Moses.  "Is  not  Aaron,  the  Levite,  thy 
brother  ?  I  know  that  he  can  speak  well."  Moses  was  a  thinker.  So  thei-e  is 
a  variety  of  gifts  and  talent  in  the  Church.  Some  have  the  gift  of  wealth. 
Others  have  the  gift  of  originality.  Others  have  the  gift  of  legislation.  Others 
have  the  gift  of  great  influence.  One  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory. 
How  happy  when  the  whole  system  of  Christian  work  is  revolving  in  harmony, 
giving  light  and  hope  to  the  universe.  Thus  the  weak  catch  the  light  and  impetus 
of  the  strong,  and  the  lack  of  talent  in  one  direction  is  made  up  by  its  supply  in 
another.  It  is  by  this  combination  of  Chi-istian  talent  that  all  great  enterprises 
will  be  carried  to  their  successful  issue.  Let  no  Christian  speaker  refuse  to  aid 
a  Christian  thinker.  The  one  is  the  complement  of  the  other.  2.  This  help  ivas 
arranged  by  the  jjrovidence  of  God.  "And  also,  behold  He  comcth  forth  to  meet 
thee."     (1.)  As  to  the  time  of  meeting.     (2.)  As  to  the  place  of  meeting.     (3.)  As  to 

71 


CHAP.  rv. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


thepwpose  of  meeting.  Thus  the  useful  combination  of  talent  in  the  enterprise  of 
human  emancipation  from  moral  evil  has  the  Divine  sanction,  its  blending  is 
arranged  by  the  providence  of  God,  and  its  entire  out-working  is  superintended 
by  Him.  "  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth,  and  with  his  mouth,  and  will  teach  you 
what  ye  shall  do."  3.  The  help  iv as  founded  upon  and  rendered  tvslcome  hij  family 
relationship.  "  Thy  brother."  God  did  not  bring  a  stranger  to  the  aid  of  Moses. 
Moses  could  not  well  have  communicated  his  history,  his  moral  experiences  to 
fcuch  an  one,  but  he  was  glad  to  meet  his  brother,  the  sadness  of  his  new  missioa 
was  removed  by  the  joyful  interview,  and  together,  animated  by  new  impulses  of 
hope,  they  would  look  over  tlieir  work  and  enter  into  each  other's  feelings  respect- 
ing it.  The  talents  of  a  family  are  variously  distributed,  and  when  all  are  con- 
secrated to  the  Divine  service,  one  may  aid  another  in  the  great  spiritual  enterprise 
of  his  life.  III.  That  such  co-operation  renders  religious  work  much  more 
jubilant  and  successful.  1.  It  is  happy.  It  is  adapted  to  our  weak  conditions  of 
faith.  God  is  unseen  and  we  are  liable  to  think  him  distant  from  us  in  our  work. 
His  companionship  seems  unreal,  and  communion  with  Him  is,  at  times,  very 
difficult.  Our  unbelief  robs  us  of  the  great  repose  aud  hope  we  ought  to  experience 
in  His  presence.  But  Aaron  was  seen  by  Moses.  They  could  converse  one  with 
the  other.  They  could  walk  together,  not  by  faith,  but  by  sight.  And  in  con- 
verse with  each  other  they  might  rise  into  higher  communion  with  God.  So  mutual 
help  in  religious  service  is  happy,  it  links  soul  to  soul,  and  becomes  the  inspiration 
of  richer  communion  with  heaven.     2.  It  is  sympathetic.     3.  It  is  hopeful. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  14.  The  literal  rendering  of 
the  clause  is,  "  Is  not  Aaron  thy 
brother,  the  Levite  "?  which  we  cannot 
but  understand  as  implying,  that  in 
consequence  of  Moses'  unbelieving 
waywardness  on  this  occasion,  the  dis- 
tinguishing honour  of  the  priesthood, 
aud  of  being  the  olRcial  head  of  the 
house  of  Levi,  the  person  in  whom  the 
dignity  of  that  name  should  be  especially 
centred,  which  would  otherwise  have 
been  bestowed  upon  him,  should  now 
be  conferred  upon  his  brother  Aaron, 
ftnd  perpetuated  in  his  family.  In  this 
fact  the  expression  of  the  Lord's  anger 
consisted.  Otherwise,  how  was  Aaron 
anymore  the  Levite  tlian  Moses  ?  We 
find  accordingly  the  forfeited  privilege 
of  Moses  thus  secured  to  Aaron  (1 
Chron.  xxiii,  13).  This,  we  suppose 
would  have  been  the  honour  of  Moses, 
had  he  yielded  a  ready  obedience  to  the 
divine  mandate.  The  event  teaches  us 
tliat  those  who  decline  the  labour  and 
hazard  connected  with  the  call  of  God 
to  a  special  service,  may  thereby  forfeit 
and  forego  a  blessing  of  which  they 
little  dream  [i?M.sA]. 

Thus  Moses  forfeited  the  dignity  of 
being    Jehovah's    sole    instrument   in 
72 


that  glorious  work  He  was  about  to 
accomplish. 

No  wonder  that  the  anger  of  the 
Lord  was  kindled  against  Moses.  Where 
God  commandeth,  there  to  ask  a  reason 
is  presumption  ;  but  to  oppose  reason,  is 
a  kind  of  rebellion  [Trapp^. 

Moreover,  God  condescended  so  far 
to  the  weakness  of  Moses,  as  to  find 
him  a  coadjutor  in  his  mission  to  the 
children  of  Israel  and  to  the  King  of 
Egypt.  Aaron  could  speak  well. 
Moses  was  a  thinker ;  Aaron  was  a 
speaker.  Aaron  was  to  be  to  Moses 
instead  of  a  mouth,  and  Moses  was  to 
be  to  Aaron  instead  of  God.  Thus 
one  man  has  to  be  the  complement  of 
another.  No  one  man  has  all  gifts  and 
graces.  The  best  and  ablest  of  us 
cannot  do  without  our  brother.  There 
is  to  be  a  division  of  labour  in  the 
great  work  of  conquering  the  world  for 
God.  The  thinker  works  ;  so  does  the 
speaker;  so  does  the  writer.  We  ai'e 
a  chain  ;  not  merely  isolated  links  ;  we 
belong  to  one  another,  and  only  by 
fratenuil  ami  zealous  co-operation  can 
we  secure  the  great  results  possible  to 
faitli  aud  labour.  Some  men  are 
fruitful    of    suggestion.       They    have 


HOMILETIG    COMMENTARF:    EXODUS. 


CHAP.   IV. 


wondrous  powers  of  indication ;  but 
there  their  special  power  ends.  Other 
men  have  great  gifts  o^ expression  ;  they 
can  put  thoughts  into  the  best  words  ; 
they  have  the  power  of  music ;  they 
can  charm  and  persuade.  Such  men 
are  not  to  undervalue  one  another;  they 
are  to  co-operate  as  fellow-labourers  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Grod  \_City  Temple], 

Multiplied  oppositions  to  God's  call 
may  provoke  Him  to  be  angry  with 
His  servants. 

When  the  Divine  promise  cannot 
persuade,  God's  auger  drives  His  ser- 
vants from  their  excuses. 

When  one  refuseth  God's  work  in 
redeeming  His  Cliurch,  He  knoweth 
others  to  use  for  it. 

God  indulgeth  the  weakness  of  His 

The  Two 
I.  As  educated  by  different  methods. 
Moses  was  educated  in  the  palace  of 
Egypt.  In  the  desert.  By  the  vision. 
By  the  miracles.  Aaron  was  educated 
by  his  parents.  Little  is  known  of  his 
early  training.  He  was  incidentally 
called  into  history.  One  good  natural 
gift  may  be  fortune  and  fame  to  a  man. 
Moses  was  the  greater  man,  yet  Aarou, 
though  of  less  moral  energy,  was  useful 
to  him.  Smaller  souls  have  their  mis- 
sion. Small  souls  are  often  gifted  with 
speech.  The  education  of  these  two 
brothers  had  led  to  different  results.  It 
is  not  the  tendency  of  education  to 
bring  all  men  to  one  level  of  talent,  but 
to  draw  out  their  distinctive  gifts,  for 
the  common  good  of  humanity. 

II.  As  meeting  after  a  long  separa- 
tion. 1.  The  meeting  was  providential. 
2.  The  meeting  had  a  moral  and  national 
significance.  3.  The  meeting  was  welcome 
to  the  brothers.  What  is  more  pleasing 
than  the  reunion  of  the  members  of  a 
family  after  a  long  absence  ?  Whatnar- 
ratives  each  brother  would  record  to  the 
other.  Especially  would  they  talkabou  t 
their  new  mission,  and  its  likelihood  of 
success.  Thesebrothers  met  in  a  wilder- 
ness. Jo)  and  friendship  is  in- 
dependent of  locality.  The  brethren 
of  the  Christian  Chuch  will  one  day 
meet  again,  not  in  the  wilderness,  but 
in  the  paradise  of  God. 

III.  As  uniting  in  a  grand  enter- 


servants  to  give  associates,  when  they 
decline  to  go  alone. 

God's  knowledge  of  persons,  rela- 
tions, and  conditions,  puts  them  in  a 
capacity  to  do  His  work. 

God  moveth  the  hearts  of  people 
sometimes  to  the  same  work  when  they 
are  in  remote  places. 

Some  hearts  are  more  ready  to  move 
about  God's  work  than  others. 

Providence  moveth  persons  to  meet, 
for  carrying  on  His  work,  when  they 
are  at  a  distance. 

God  appointeth  meetings  of  friends 
to  enhance  the  welfare  of  His  Church. 

God  useth  the  gladness  of  some  to 
help  on  the  deadness  of  others  in  His 
work. 

Brothees. 
prise.  These  two  brothers  are  going 
to  accomplish  the  freedom  of  Israel ! 
To  the  world,  a  folly ;  to  faith,  a 
victory.  Brothers  should  always  join 
in  the  enterprises  of  moral  freedom. 
They  should  unitedly  place  themselves 
in  a  line  with  the  providence  of  God. 

IV.  As  entering  upon  an  important 
future.  What  will  be  the  issue  of  this 
meeting  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  It  will  have 
an  influence  upon  both  lives.  All  the 
casual  meetings  of  life  are  important  in 
their  bearing  upon  present  work  and 
future  destiny. 

V.  As  reflecting  commendation  upon 
their  family.  Was  it  not  a  great 
honour  to  Amrara  and  Jochebed  that 
two  of  their  sons  should  be  called  to  be 
the  deliverers  of  Israel  ?  Sons  honour 
their  parents  when  they  undertake 
an  enterprise  for  the  good  of  men. 
Brothers  cannot  be  better  united  than 
in  the  cause  of  God. 

The  Divine  anger : — 1.  Often  righte- 
ously provoked.  2.  Often  gentle  in  its 
reproof.  3.  Truly  benevolent  in  its 
disposition. 

"  /  know  that  he  can  speah  well."  I. 
Then  God  takes  knowledge  of  the 
varied  talents  of  men. 

II.  Then  God  will  hold  men  respon- 
sible for  their  talents. 

III.  Then  the  talents  of  men  cannot 
be  better  employed  than  in  the  servi^s 
of  the  Church. 

73 


CHAP.  IV.  UOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 

ItAIN  UOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Ferse  18. 

A  True  Eecoqnition  of  Filial  Duty. 

I.  It  consists  in  a  true  recogaition  of  Parental  Authority.  "  And  Mosea 
went  and  returnee!  to  Jethro  liis  fatber-iii-law,  and  said  unto  him,  Let  me  go,  T 
pray  thee,  and  return  unto  my  brethren  which  are  in  Ei,'ypt."  Thus  we  find  that 
Mosea  acknowledged  the  authority  of  his  father-in-law,  hv  asking  his  consent  to 
a  journey  into  !EL;ypt.  1.  Moses  ivas  animated  by  hunesiy.  This  Midianitish 
family  had  been  very  kind  to  him,  they  had  given  him  a  home  when  he  was  a 
wanderer;  especially  had  the  father  of  the  family  been  his  Irieud,  in  prompting 
the  daughters  to  fetch  the  man  who  had  protected  them,  in  retaining  him 
under  his  roof,  and  in  his  employment.  Hence  Moses  could  not  honestly  have 
left  Jethro  without  his  consent.  He  had  become  his  servant,  he  must  therefore 
acknowledge  him  as  a  master.  He  had  become  his  son,  he  must  therefore 
recognise  him  as  a  father.  He  had  received  his  hospitality,  he  must  therefore 
manifest  gratitude  in  return.  We  have  here  a  pattern  worthy  the  imitation  of 
all  young  men.  Be  honest  in  all  your  dealings  with  your  parents.  They  have 
great  claims  upon  you.  Their  attention  to  you  in  times  of  peril,  the  education 
they  have  given  you,  and  the  happy  future  they  are  opening  to  you,  prove 
them  to  be  your  best  friends,  and  therefore  you  ought  in  common  honesty  to 
recognise  their  authoiity  over  you.  Especially  should  young  men  recognise 
the  authority  of  their  parents  in  the  matter  of  leaving  home ;  when  the  time 
come  for  them  to  quit  the  abode  of  their  youth,  it  should  be  with  the  know- 
ledge and  consent  of  those  who  are  so  interested  in  them.  The  young  man  who 
leaves  home  with  the  blessing  and  prayer  of  his  father  carries  a  rich  treasure 
with  him,  more  valuable  than  gold.  It  will  be  the  happiest  remembrance  of  his 
after-life.  Toung  men  cannot  be  too  open  in  their  conduct  with  their  parents. 
2.  Moses  was  related  by  marriage.  He  had  married  the  daughter  of  Jethro, 
and  was  therefore  under  obligation  to  cousult  with  him  in  the  important  move- 
ments of  his  life.  Moses  was  evidently  very  sensitive  to  the  claims  of  others. 
Many  would  have  said  that  Jethro  was  only  their  father-in-law,  and  that  there- 
fore they  were  under  no  obligation  to  tell  him  their  intentions.  Marriage 
introduces  a  man  into  new  relationships,  it  gives  him  new  joys  and  new  hopes, 
and  also  imposes  new  duties,  which  will  ever  be  recognised  by  the  true-hearted. 
Men  cannot  better  show  the  worth  of  their  social  character  than  by  recognizing 
the  claims  and  opinions  of  those  who  may  be  distantly  related  to  them.  Let 
young  men  imitate  the  example  of  Moses,  and  consult  the  wish  of  their  distant 
relatives  prior  to  entering  upon  any  great  enterprise  which  may  involve  the 
welfare  of  those  committed  to  their  care.  3.  Moses  was  obligated  by  kindness. 
As  we  have  seen,  Jethro  had  shewn  him  great  generosity  in  providing  him  with 
a  home,  at  the  most  destitute  moment  of  his  life.  This  required  every  return 
that  Moses  was  capable  of  making.  But  Moses  might  have  said  that  he  had 
worked,  that  he  had  kept  the  fiock  of  Jethro,  in  return  for  tliis  kindness,  and 
that  this  freed  him  from  all  obligation.  He  might  have  argued  that  Jethro 
was  old  and  unacquainted  with  the  requirements  of  life,  and  that  he  was  man 
enough  himself  to  know  what  was  the  most  likely  to  enhance  his  future  good, 
without  consultation  with  anyone  else.  Many  young  men  of  the  present  day 
would  have  reasoned  thus.  But  not  so  Moses.  He  was  always  responsive  to 
kindness.  He  was  a  n)an  of  meek  spirit.  He  knew  that  he  had  won  the  con- 
fidence of  Jethro,  and  that  therefore  the  old  man  would  have  no  hesitation  in 
allowing  his  daughter  to  accompany  him  on  the  destined  journey.  Some  young 
men  know  that  their  parents  cannot  trust  them,  and  this  is  one  great  reason 
wliv  they  seldom  a?k  them  to.  Moses  knew  that  the  Divine  claims  were  per- 
74 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  iv. 


fectly  consistent  with  bis  recognition  of  the  human  responsibilities  under  which 
he  was  placed.  Grod  never  requires  a  young  man  to  go  contrary  to  the  prayerful 
wishes  of  a  good  and  pious  parent.  A  man  is  never  too  old  to  ask,  and  follow 
the  judicious  advice  of  his  father.  II.  It  is  compatible  with  silence  in  reference 
to  the  inner  experiences  of  our  spiritual  life  and  work.  M  »ses  only  asked  the 
consent  of  his  father-in-law  to  visit  his  brethren  in  Egypt ;  he  did  not  name  the 
primary  object  of  his  journey.  This  was  quite  consistent,  under  the  circum- 
stances, with  a  true  recoi^nition  of  filial  duty.  1.  Silence  is  not  necessarily 
cunning.  Mones  was  not  animated  by  a  sinful  motive  to  conceal  from  Jethro 
tho  object  of  his  visit  into  Egypt,  but  by  a  prudential.  He  had  no  purpose  o 
serve  in  acting  clandestinely  in  the  matter.  He  was  going  do  nothing  of 
which  he  would  be  ashamed  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  about  to  undertake  a 
work  required  by  heaven.  Had  he  been  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  treachery,  he 
would  probably  never  have  consulted  with  Jethro  at  all,  but  would  have  taken 
the  matter  entirely  into  his  own  hands.  Cunning  is  always  wicked,  but  never 
more  so  than  when  found  in  the  family  circle.  In  the  home  there  should  bo 
freedom  and  frankness ;  one  should  never  attmpt  to  impose  on,  or  deceive, 
another.  And  when  there  is  need  of  retaining  in  silence  the  deeper  experiences 
of  the  soul,  this  can  be  done  in  perfect  integrity,  and  in  harmony  with  all  the 
duties  and  requirements  of  filial  love.  3.  Silence  may  he  discreet.  It  was  so 
in  the  case  of  Moses.  He  had  been  favoured  with  a  heavenly  vision  of  remark- 
able significance.  He  had  held  communion  wdth  God.  He  had  been  divinely 
commissioned  to  undertake  the  freedom  of  Israel.  If  he  had  communicated  all 
these  experiences  and  facts  to  Jethro,  he  might  have  awakened  prejudice,  and 
rendered  difiicult  his  departure.  Jethro  might  have  derided  his  vanity.  He 
might  have  considered  him  vain  and  deluded.  He  might  have  refused  to 
permit  him  to  go  on  such  an  errand.  So,  Christian  workers  must  be  careful 
how  they  talk  about  their  soul-experiences ;  they  are  sacred,  their  meaning  is 
not  easily  comprehended  by  the  outer  world,  and  even  our  nearest  friends  and 
companions  are  not  always  prepared  to  enter  sympathetically  into  the  visions, 
prayers,  and  toils  of  our  moral  life.  Hence  it  is  best  to  retain  them  within  the 
privacy  of  our  own  hearts.  These  things  penetrate  deeper  than  any  natural 
relationship,  they  enter  into  a  realm  where  the  spiritual  and  eternal  take  pre- 
cedence of  the  natural  and  transitory.  They  are  soul-histories  ;  they  cannot  be 
uttered  even  by  a  child  to  his  parent,  and  silence  in  reference  to  them,  so  far 
from  being  wilful,  is  discreet  and  consistent  with  filial  duty.  3.  Silence  may  be 
self -protective.  Moses  was  about  to  enter  upon  a  great  work.  It  was  an  enter- 
prise involving  the  destinies  of  empires.  Had  he  communicated  this  fact  to 
anyone,  he  might  have  put  obstacles  in  his  own  path  which  would  have  been 
difficult  to  remove.  Moses  knew  that  the  work  with  which  he  was  entrusted 
had  claims  upon  him  as  well  as  his  father-in-law ;  he  knew  also  which  were  the 
more  authoritative.  Hence  this  silence  was  needful  to  protect  himself  from 
misapprehension,  to  give  his  mission  the  opportunity  of  exerting  its  destined 
influence  upon  Israel,  and  to  retain  definite  and  influential  the  vision  of  heaven 
within  his  own  soul.  Many  toils  of  Christian  workers  have  been  brought  to 
naught  by  the  lack  of  precautionary  measures  on  the  part  of  those  who  have 
been  entrusted  with  them.  III.  It  should  awaken  kindly  and  judicious  parental 
consideration  and  response.  "  And  Jethro  said  to  Moses,  Go  in  peace.  "  1.  Some- 
times the  request  should  he  granted.  Jethro  made  a  favourable  reply  to  the 
request  of  Moses.  He  did  not  unduly  assert  his  parental  authority.  He 
recognized  the  age,  the  intelligence,  the  moral  character,  the  wish  of  Moses, 
and  felt  that  the  request  he  made  was  likely  to  be  right  and  reasonable, 
especially  after  (-o  long  an  absence  from  his  country.  Some  parents  take  a 
delight  in  an  arbitrary  assertion  of  their  authority.  They  put  no  confidence  in 
the  moral  rectitude  of  their  children;  they  imagine  evil  where  there  is  none; 

75 


CHAP.  IV.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


tliey  regard  their  movements  with  suspicion,  and  but  seldom  grant  their  requests. 
This  kind  of  treatment  is  a  fruitful  source  of  disobedience  on  the  part  of 
children  who,  if  they  were  properly  managed,  would  be  most  dutiful.  Parents 
Biiould  make  it  easy  fur  their  children  to  consult  them  in  all  their  movements. 
They  should  not  ktop  them  in  constant  awe.  They  should  take  a  delight  in 
granting  their  requests,  wheu  for  their  good.  By  refusing  a  son  permission  to 
leave  home  you  may  be  intercepting  the  agency  which  is  to  give  freedom  to  a 
nation.  You  should  recognise  the  probability  that  he  is  acting  under  a  spiritual 
inspiration  unknown  to  you.  Jethro,  in  allowing  Moses  to  go  into  Egypt,  gave 
Israel  a  deliverer.  Many  a  kind  and  judicious  parent  has  given  the  world  a 
true  hero.  2.  Alwai/s  goodwill  should  be  expressed.  "  Oo  in  peace."  Jethro 
did  not  manifest  any  token  of  disappointment  or  anger.  Moses  had  been  very 
helpful  to  him  ;  had  looked  after  his  flock,  and  been  useful  to  him  in  the  way 
of  service.  We  may  presume  therefore  that  Jethro  would  have  been  glad  to 
retain  him.  Moses  had  also  married  his  daughter,  and  on  this  account  his 
departure  would  be  regretted.  But  Jethro  was  generous.  He  rose  above  every 
feeling  of  regret  into  a  full  expression  of  goodwill.  Parents  cannot  deal  too 
generously  with  their  children.  A  generous  parent  will  make  a  generous  child. 
Especially  should  parents  express  goodwill  to  their  sons  wheu  they  are  about  to 
leave  home  for  the  more  active  ent;ageraents  of  life ;  a  kind  word  at  such  a  time 
may  be  productive  of  a  grand  result  in  the  future.  3.  Supremely  should  self  he 
forgotten.  Jethro  did  not  allow  his  own  opinion  or  welfare  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  the  departure  of  Moses.  He  forgot  himself,  sacrificed  all  bis  hopes  and  feel- 
ings of  parental  iilFection  for  his  daughter,  in  the  wish  to  grant  the  reque.->t  of 
his  son-in-law.  Moses  became  the  emancipator  of  Israel.  And  parents  who 
are  self-forgetful  when  the  interests  of  their  children  are  concerned  may  thereby 
bring  them  into  the  line  of  great  usefulness  and  fame.  The  self-forgetfulness  of 
the  father  will  shine  out  and  find  its  reward  in  the  noble  character  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  son. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Ferse  19. 
The  Divine  Precaution  foe  the  safety  of  Cheistian  Wokkees. 

I.  It  is  sometimes  manifested  by  removing  good  men  and  great  workers  from 
dangerous  associations.  The  Divine  Being  uses  every  precaution  for  the  safety 
of  those  employed  in  the  great  moral  enterprises  of  humanity.  He  does  not 
achieve  their  safety  by  miracles,  but  by  prudence,  even  though  it  may  involve 
delay  in  the  completion  of  His  plan.  Sometimes  we  hear  Christian  workers 
say  that  they  can  go  fearlessly  into  danger,  because  they  are  assured  of  tlie 
protection  of  heaven  ;  they  are  not  wan  anted  in  talking  or  acting  thus,  for,  as 
a  rule,  God  gives  the  truest  safety  to  tl)o^e  who  keep  the  I'urthest  from  peril. 
It  is  the  Divine  plan  to  take  Moses  away  from  Egypt  until  those  who  would  will 
him  are  dead,  rather  than  expose  him  to  their  continued  rage.  1.  Christian 
workers  are  sometimes  removed  from  the  pride  of  high  sociely.  Moses  was 
providentially  removed  from  the  pride  and  splendour  of  the  Egyptian  pahice, 
in  order  that  he  might  retain  the  simplicity  of  a  true  servant  ot  Grod.  Gaiety 
is  a  great  temptation  to  a  Christian  worker.  It  has  ruined  many  men  of  early 
promise.  How  many  workers  in  the  world  and  in  the  Church  to-day  owe  their 
util  ty  and  success  to  the  fact  that  God  removed  them  from  the  social  allure- 
ments of  their  youth.  True,  the  change  fronj  the  palace  of  Pharaoh  to  the 
solitude  of  the  desert  may  not  have  been  welcome  at  first,  but  now  it  is  the 
gladdest  recollection  of  your  life.  2.  Christian  workers  are  sometimes  removed 
_from  the  contamination  of  great  sin.  The  palace  of  Pharaoh  was  most  un- 
luvourable  to  the  cultivation  of  a  pure  life.  It  was  the  seat  of  despotism,  and 
7U 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  Vf. 


despotiam  is  generally  allii'd  to  almost  every  other  sin.  lu  this  royal  court 
Moses  was  in  danger  of  containination,  and  that  at  the  most  susceptible 
period  of  his  life.  Hence  Gr"d  removed  him  from  this  school  of  vice,  and 
brought  him  into  the  primitive  simplicity  of  a  desert  family.  Many  a  youthful 
worker  for  Grod  has  been  ruined  by  a  bad  example.  3.  Christian  workers  are 
sometimes  removed  from  the  peiJantri/  of  great  learning.  In  the  Egyptian  piila(^e 
Moses  had  every  facility  for  acquiruig  knowledge,  and  there  was  a  possibility 
that  he  might  become  mentally  pn)uil,  an  1  think  the  claims  of  religious  service 
beneath  his  talent  and  education.  Multitudes  have  been  turned  aside  from 
moral  service  by  the  conceit  of  imagined  wisdom.  4.  Christian  workers  are 
sometimes  removed  from  physical  peril.  II.  It  is  sometimes  manifested  by 
informing  good  men  and  great  workers  of  the  removal  of  danger.  G-od 
informs  Moses  that  the  men  who  sought  his  life  are  dead.  See  the  folly  of  men 
who  oppose  themselves  to  the  plans  of  heaven;  they  will  soon  die,  and  their 
death  will  be  the  signal  of  victory  to  the  servant  whose  moral  fitness  has  been 
enhanced  by  the  solitude  rendered  necessary  by  their  rage.  Time  aids  the 
enterprises  of  lieaven.  Death  subdues  the  hatred  and  passion  of  men.  Grod  ia 
interested  in  the  mission  ot  His  servants,  so  that  He  aids  them  in  its  fulfilment. 
III.  That  the  Divine  Precaution  does  not  allow  an  abandonment  of  the  work 
committed  to  the  good.  Moses  was  to  go  to  his  work  again.  Temporary  perils 
and  hindrances  are  not  to  t-ntirely  set  aside  Christian  toil.  Israel  must  be 
emancipated.  The  servant  of  God  must  fulfil  his  calling,  even  though  he  haa 
to  wait  years  in  the  deaert  before  he  can  commence  it. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  20. 

The  Jouhnet  to  Egypt. 

I.  That  a  good  man  journeying  on  the  service  of  God  should  take  his  family 
with  him.  "  And  Moses  took  his  wife  and  sons,"  &c.  When  a  man  is  going  on 
the  errands  of  God  he  should  always  take  his  family  with  him,  that  they  may 
participate  in  his  work,  its  responsibility,  its  sorrow,  and  its  victory.  Never  go 
on  any  good  errand  without  your  family  ;  it  is  well  to  teach  the  youtiiful  feet 
to  walk  in  obedience  to  God.  Many  a  young  man  has  learned  the  art,  and 
gathered  the  spirit  and  desire  for  Christian  service,  by  being  taken  to  it  by 
a  godly  parent.  Are  you  journeying  to  heaven?  Take  your  family  with  you. 
II.  That  a  good  man  journeying  on  the  sei  vice  of  Gf  d  should  take  his  rod  with 
him.  Never  go  on  a  journey  of  moral  service  without  God.  Especially  if 
you  are  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  take  the  rod  on  your  journey  to  Egypt. 
1.  It  will  heep  you  humble.  It  will  remind  you  of  your  humble  occupation  in 
the  desert,  when  you  are  tempted  to  pride,  in  the  great  service  to  which  God 
has  called  you.  Every  Christian  worker  nei  ds  to  have  something  within  hia 
soul  to  inspire  humility.  2.  It  will  make  i/ on  happi/.  When  you  are  desponding 
and  sad,  when  the  work  does  not  open  up  to  your  eft'ort  as  you  would  wish,  the 
rod  will  remind  you  of  the  vision  at  the  bush,  and  of  the  miracles  \vrought  at 
the  commencement  of  the  mission.  The  reason  why  there  are  so  many  unhappy 
workers  in  the  Church  is  because  they  have  left  the  rod  nt  home.  3.  It  will 
make  you  powerful.  With  this  rod  j\loses  was  to  work  miracles.  So  if  Christian 
workers  had  the  rod  of  God  in  their  hand,  they  would  be  able  to  show  to  the 
world  much  more  effectively  than  they  do,  the  holy  tokens  of  their  mission. 
To  all  the  emancipators  of  the  souls  of  men  we  would  say,  Never  journey  to 
Egypt  without  your  rod.  God  has  given  it  to  you.  He  has  consecrated  it 
by  His  promise.  He  has  made  it  the  symbol  of  his  power.  You  cannot  aiford 
to  travel  without  it.     No  other  rod  cau  supply  its  place. 

77 


EO^niETlC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARArrRAPH.—Veri^es  21-23. 

The  ANTiciPATroN  of  Cuuistian  Sekyice. 

I.  That  very  frequently  God  causes  good  men  to  anticipate  Christian  service. 

I.  It  is  often  anticipated  as  the  hour  of  severe  trial.  "  See  that  thou  do  all  those 
wonders  before  Fharaoh."  It  is  almost  iuatinctive  in  man  to  anticipate  the 
future,  especially  if  any  important  duty  is  awaiting  him.  And  the  mental 
experience^  awakened  by  the  thought  of  future  service  are  often  more  painful 
than  those  which  come  upon  the  soul  in  the  hour  of  its  performance.  It  is  right 
and  wise  of  good  men  to  anticipate  religious  work,  that  by  prayer  and  thought 
they  may  get  prepared  for  it,  tiiat  it  may  not  take  them  bj  surprise.  This  kind 
of  anticipntion  will  make  them  strong  in  their  appearance  before  Pharaoh.  But 
at  such  a  time  it  is  distrustful  of  the  Divine  promise  and  aid  to  harbour  feelings 
of  timidity  and  painful  anxiety,  as  they  will  cover  a  Christian  worker  with 
defeat  before  he  comes  to  the  battle.  Good  men  should  not  doubtfully  antici- 
pate the  hour  of  service,  they  have  everything  on  their  side  indicative  of  victory 
and  success.  The  joyful  experiences  in  the  service,  of  vision  and  communion 
with  heaven,  will  compensate  for  the  difficulty  of  the  work.  2.  It  is  often  antici- 
pated as  the  moral  crisis  of  life.  Sometimes  a  man  views  a  certain  service 
demanded  of  him  as  most  difficult  and  important — as  more  so  than  any  before 
undertaken.  All  his  fears  are  awakened,  and  surroujid  the  future  toil  with  a 
gloom  into  which  there  scarcely  gleams  one  ray  of  hope.  The  Pharaoh  of  diffi- 
culty is  far  more  prominent  in  the  picture  than  the  God  who  has  promised  to 
help  him.  Moses  no  doubt  felt  that  this  conflict  with  Pharaoh  would  decide  his 
entire  future  ;  if  successful,  he  will  proceed  on  the  mission  of  Israel's  emanci- 
pation ;  if  not,  he  will  return,  a  runaway  from  duty.  Christian  workers  know 
what  this  means.  They  have  frequently  undertaken  work  with  the  feeling  that 
its  issue  w^ould  have  a  very  happy  or  injurious  effect  upon  their  lives.  The 
destiny  of  a  man  has  more  than  oiice  depended  upon  the  perf  )rmance  of  one  act 
of  important  service.  3.  It  is  often  anticipated  with  a  desire  to  make  the  best 
use  of  all  the  means  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  ivorher.  Moses  feels  that  he 
must  employ  in  the  act  of  service  all  the  instrumentalities  that  he  can  com- 
mand. God  has  abundantly  prepared  him  for  the  task.  The  Divine  Being 
never  sends  any  muu  to  a  great  mission  without  placing  at  his  disposal  all 
the  necessary  aids  to  it,  and  he  who  neglects  to  make  use  of  them  is  guilty  of 
supreme  folly  and  sin.  When  God  sends  Christian  workers  to  appear  before 
Pharaoh,  He  always  provides  them  with  a  rod  to  take  with  them.  If  we  spend 
much  time  in  thinking  over  the  agencies  that  are  calculated  to  give  success  in 
the  approaching  mission,  we  shall  be  more  likely  to  use  them  well,  than  if  our  only 
thought  be  of  the  difficulty  of  the  work.  4.  //  is  often  anticipated  as  shevjinq  the 
intention  of  Providence  in  reference  to  the  future.  After  JMoses  had  appeared 
before  Pharaoh,  and  had  passed  through  his  hour  of  trial,  his  work  would  not  be 
ended  as  the  servant  of  God  in  the  emancipation  of  Israel.  But  the  result  of 
this  interview  with  Egypt's  moiuirch  would  indicate  new  work.  One  service 
is  always  suggestive  of,  and  leads  into,  another.  Men,  if  they  are  willing,  will 
find  emplov  nient  in  the  service  of  God  to   occupy  the  whole  of  their  lives. 

II.  That  when  God  causes  good  men  to  anticipate  Christian  service,  He  often 
informs  them  of  their  probable  difficulties,  and  of  the  best  method  of  work. 
1.  Moses  was  informed  of  the  moral  obstinacy  of  Fharaoh.  The  Divine  Being 
is  here  said  to  harden  the  heart  of  Pharaoh.  In  subsccjuent  chapters  it  is  said 
that  Pharaoh  hardeni'd  his  own  heart.  We  must  therefore  view  both  sides  of 
the  case,  and  find  a  principle  of  underlying  harmony.  God  works  directly  and 
indirectly :  the  former  when  He  exerts  His  own  power  in  any  undertaking,  the 

78 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  i^. 


latter  when  He  employs  a  secondnry  as^ency,  or  when  He  permits  anytliin^  to 
be  done.  Grod  presented  his  wish  to  Pharaoh  iti  reference  to  the  f'reidom  of 
Israel,  accompanied  by  evidences  which  ought  to  have  wrouijht  a  conviction  of 
duty  within  his  heart,  but,  being  rejected  by  him,  they  tended  to  moral  obstinacy. 
The  sun  melts  some  substances  while  it  hardens  others,  and  so  it  is  with  the 
revelation  of  the  Divine  will  in  its  effect  upon  human  hearts.  Pharaoh  had  the 
power  to  let  Israel  go  free,  but  he  had  not  the  disposition.  Moses  was  informed 
that  he  would  have  to  contend  with  the  unwillingness  of  this  monarch.  He 
was  thus  prepared  to  meet  it.  2.  He  was  told  to  make  use  of  all  his  resources 
of  work.  "  See  that  thou  do  all  those  wonders  before  Pharaoh,  which  I  have 
put  in  thine  hand."  The  Christian  has  more  resources  of  work  than  any  other 
workman.  They  are  God  given.  They  were  at  one  time  miraculous.  Now 
they  are  of  a  purely  moral  character,  and  are  far  more  inlluential,  and  adapted 
to  the  present  requirement  of  hutmm  experience  and  thought.  If  Christian 
workers  would  but  make  use  of  all  the  resources  at  their  command,  they  would 
not  so  frequently  have  to  lament  failure,  but  they  would  achieve  great  victories 
of  service.  3.  lie  ivas  told  of  the  method  of  argument  lohich  he  was  to  employ. 
"And  thou  shalt  say  unto  Pharaoh,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Israel  is  my  son,  even 
my  first-born :  And  I  say  unto  thee.  Let  my  son  go,  that  he  may  serve  me  : 
and  if  thou  refuse  to  let  him  go,  behold  I  will  slay  thy  son,  even  thy  first-born." 
This  language  was  authoritative  in  its  demand,  pathetic  in  its  mention  of  Israel, 
and  terrible  in  its  threat  to  Pharaoh  if  he  refused  to  grant  the  request  of  Moses. 
Lessons  .  1.  It  is  not  wrong  to  anticipate  Christian  service.  2.  That  the  voice 
of  Ood  should  ever  be  heard  by  Christian  workers.  8.  That  a  remembrance  of 
God  should  give  hope  to  all  our  anticipations  of  great  toil. 

SUGGESTIFE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  21.     God  is  at   hand   to  in-  no  man  must  expect  to  have  all  my8terie8 

struct  servants  who  are  willing  to  un-  dwarfed  to  the  measuie  of  his  own  understHnd- 

1      .    I      Tj.  ,  °  ing.     Tbe  greatest  of  all  mysteries  is  G 'd 

aertake  Jlis  wort.        ^     ^  himself,  yet  we  are  not  therefore  to  doubt  Hia 

God  alone  can  put  it  into  the  power  exis'ence,  or  to  deny  His  loving  Providence, 

of  creatures  to  work  miracles.  The  mere  fact  of  any  question  being  myt-te- 

It  is  God's   will  that  His   servants  riuua  does  not  alter  its  truthfulness.    Look  at 

should   see   and   consider    that   novver  ^^e  text  in  this. 'spirit;  generally  in  relation  to 

snoum   see   ana    consiaer    tnat    power  Divine  snvfrHgnfy  three  things  are  clear. 
aelegated.  I.  That  all  nations  are  not  equally  honoured. 

God'swillisthat  His  miracles  should  ThisdifEfrencoamoDgstthenationsistiotmade 

be  wrought  before  His  proudest  ene-  by  the  Bible,  or  by  any  system  of  theology; 

jjjjgg  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  fact.     One  natiou  is 

-T^i^.       1  ..  -11        i_  1  highly  civilized,  anotht-r  is  in  the  lowest  con- 

Miraeles  sometimes  will  not  prevail  ^ition  of  barbirism  ;  yet  all  nations  are  under 

with    persecutors     to    dismiss     God's  the  government  of  the  same  gracious  God. 

people.  Every  day  the  sun  sees  some  nations  wor- 

Hardness    of  heart   is    that    which  shpping  the  true  Spirit,  and  others  bowing 

_   1  •  i  /-I     It  1  to  idols.     1  his  is  matter  of  fact,  however  we 

makes  men  resist  God  s  wonders.  ^^^  account  for  it. 

W  hen  men  harden  themselves  by  sin,  n.  That  all  individuals  are  not  equally  en- 

God  often  hardens  them  by  judgment.       dowed.    We  are  all  men,  and  yet  nu  two  men 

Moral  obstinacy  : ''^^^  alike.     In  every  history  you  find  the  great 

1.  A  great  sin  ot  nian.  acknowlpdge  th«  same  Ooi. 

2.  A  common  sin  ot  man.  HI.  ihat  Divine  judgment  is  regulated  by 

3.  A  sad  judgment  on  man.  Divine  allotment.      We  open  the  Bible,  and 

find  that  to  whom  much  is  given,  from  him 

MosES  BEFOKB   PhaBAOH.  ^^^^^  "'V''^  uf  ^^"J,^'^'^-  an^  that  it  shall  be 

more  tolerable  for  lyre  and  S'don  m  the  day 

There.are,  of  courpe,  many  d'flicultips,  by  us       of  judgment  than  for  nations  which  enjoy  a 

insolublcinconnexionwith  the  sovereignty  of       fuller  revel  ati  on  of  Divine  purpose  and  require- 

Qod.  This  must  be  distinctly  recognised,  and      ments.     First  of  all,  and  last  of  all ,  it  must  be 

79 


CHAl    IV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


our  unalterable  conviction  that  Gd  mvxf.  do 
right,  or  He  is  no  longer  God.  Israel  was  un- 
der thesovereign  control  of  the  KingofEfiypl". 
He  had  property  in  them.  Moses  in  the  nan  e 
of  the  Lord  suddenly  asked  Pharaoh  to  gi^e 
'  Israel  their  freedom.  He  was  startled.  He 
did  not  acknowledge  the  Lord.  A  political 
petition  was  pieserited  to  him,  and  lie  dealt 
with  it  OD  political  grounds,  li  was  not  a  spiri- 
tual question  which  was  proposed  to  Pharaoh. 
It  was  exclusively  a  political  question.  It 
was  therefore  wiihin  this  sphere  that  the 
Divine  action  was  taken,  and  that  action  is 
fitly  described  in  the  text  as  a  hardening  of 
Pharaoh's  heart.  The  question  will  then  arise, 
what  the  meaning  of  that  har()eiiing  was,  and 
what  useful  results  accrued  from  a  process 
which  appears  to  us  to  be  to  mysterious.  The 
hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart,  as  involving  the 
developmentofamerely  political  scheme,  may 
amount  in  effect  tonomore  thun  this,  "  I  will 
delay  the  process,  this  request  shall  not  be 
granted  at  once;  and  I  will  prolong  the  pro- 
cess in  order  that  T  may  bring  out  lesscms  for 
Pharaoh  himself,  for  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  for  mankind  at  large;  were  Pharaoh  to 
let  the  childien  of  Israel  escape  from  him  at 
once,  the  result  would  be  mischievous  to  them- 
selves ;  therefore  in  mil cy,  not  in  anger  I  will 
harden  Pharaoh's  heart.  So  far.  the  question 
is  not  a  moral  one,  except  in  the  degree  in 
which  all  question'*  have  more  or  less  of  a 
moral  bearing.  It  has  bi^en  supposed  by  some 
that  in  the  case  of  this  exercise  of  Divine 
sovereignty,  the  sum  total  of  Pharaoh's  wick- 
edness was  increased.  Not  so.  There  is  the 
greatest  difference  between  wickedness  being 
localized  and  wickedness  being  increased.  As 
the  history  proceeds,  we  see  that  the  political 
situation  enlarges  itself  into  a  spiritual  pio- 
blem.  Pharaoh  made  a  promise  to  Moses,  which 
he  did  not  keep.  Thus  he  hardened  his  own 
heart.  Apply  these  lessons  to  ourselves  as 
sinners,  I  have  now  to  teach  that  Jesus  Christ 
tasted  death  fore  very  man, and  that  whosoever 
will  may  avail  himself  of  the  blessings  secured 
by  the  mediation  of  the  Saviour.  If  any  man 
who  now  hears  me  i»  excusing  him-elf  on  the 
ground  that  God  has  hardened  his  heart,  I 
charge  that  man  with  tiusting  to  an  excuse  in 
the  most  solemn  affairs  of  his  being,  which  he 
would  not  for  a  moment  tolerate  in  the  region 
of  family  or  commercial  life.  Were  your  ser- 
vanttotellyouthatsheisfated  to  be  uncleanly 
in  her  habits,  you  would  justly  treat  her  with 
angry  contempt.  Were  your  travelling  com- 
panion to  tell  you  to  make  no  attempt  to  be  in 
time  for  the  train,  because  if  you  weie  fated 
to  catch  it  there  would  be  no  fear  of  your 
losing  it,  you  viould  treat  his  suggestion  as  it 
deserved  to  be  trca'td.  Yet  men  who  act  in  a 
common-sense  manner  in  all  such  little  affairs 
as  these,  sometimes  profess  that  they  will  not 
make  any  attemjit  in  a  religious  direction,  be- 
cause they  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  predesti- 
nation. Wicked  and  slothful  servants,  they 
shall  be  condemned  out  of  their  own  mouth, 
"Whosoever  will  let  him  come." —  CityTvm^le. 

80 


The  Pj{imogknituke  or  the  Good. 

Verse  22.  "  Israel  is  my  son,  even 
my  first-born." 

I.  That  the  good  have  a  Divine 
Father. 

1.  He  is  merciful  to  the  children. 
God  was  merciful  to  Israel.  Though 
they  had  rebelled  against  Him,  and 
given  themselves  up  to  idolatry  and 
degradation,  yet  in  the  time  of  their 
sorrow,  He  came  to  deliver  them  from 
slavery.  Is  there  a  good  man  in  the 
universe  who  can  say  that  God  has  not 
been  merciful  to  him?  His  mercy  has 
been  seen  in  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  and 
in  our  adoption  into  His  spiritual  and 
heavenly  family. 

2.  He  vindicates  the  cliildren  from 
their  foes. 

II.  That  the  good  have  heavenly 
privileges. 

As  the  sons  of  God.  1.  They  have 
the  privilege  of  high  birth.  Men  may 
boast  of  their  descent  from  a  renowned 
ancestry;  what  ancestry  so  ancient  and 
renowned  as  that  of  the  heavenly 
Father.  When  a  man  is  born  of  God, 
he  is  allied  to  the  grandest  spirits  of 
the  unseen  universe.  Only  they  who 
are  the  subjects  of  this  new  birth  know 
the  privileges  it  confers  upon  them. 
Nor  can  the  meanest  ancestry  of  earth 
be  excluded  therefrom. 

2.  Theg  have  the  privilege  of  good 
moral  culture.  In  God's  family  all  the 
chikiren  are  well  disciplined.  They 
are  not  exempt  from  sorrow  and  pain. 
Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth. 
We  are  made  perfect  through  suflering. 
This  culture  of  our  moral  nature  is 
designed  to  fit  us  more  thoroughly  for 
the  high  relationship  into  which  we 
are  called,  that  we  may  be  responsive 
to  all  its  duties,  and  in  harmony  with 
its  sacred  destinies. 

III.  That  the  good  have  inspiring 
hopes. 

I.  The  hope  of  a  happy  death.  The 
children  of  God  can  die  happily.  When 
passing  through  the  valley  and  shadow 
of  death  they  are  conscious  of  a  com- 
paniun  who  can  chase  away  all  their 
fears.  He  comforts  them.  In  this  try- 
ing hour  the  good  man  joyfully  breathes 
his  spirit  into  the  hand  of  God  who 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


CHAP.  IT. 


gave  it.     Instance  Stephen.     The  end 
of  that  man  is  peace. 

2.  The  hope  of  a  vast  inheritance. 
There  is  reserved  iu  htaven  for  the 
good  a  vast  inheritance,  that  is  unde- 
tiled,  and  that  can  nt-ver  pass  away.'^^ 
This  inheritance  of  our  moral  life  i^ 
the  animating  hope  of  our  soul. 

3.  The  hope  of  a  sublime  future. 
A  future  to  be  spent  in  eternal  com- 
munion with  God,  in  perpetual  study 
of  His  character,  in  a  happy  solution 
of  the  dark  mysterieswhich  so  perplexed 
the  soul  on  earth,  and  in  a  service  ever 
welcome.  They  serve  him  day  aud 
night.  In  this  future  we  shall  be  in 
companionship  with  the  good  of  all 
ages,  and  with  them  shall  hold  inspi- 
ring converse.  Christians  are  the  sons 
of  God.26 

1.  Live  worthy  of  your  Great  Fa- 
rent. 

2.  Act  worthy  of  your  nohle  ancestry. 

3.  Embrace,  your  glorious  privileges. 

4.  Let  nothing  dim  your  bright  hopes. 

Verse  23.  The  Divine  intention  in 
the  moral  freedom  of  man.  "  Let  my 
son  go,  that  he  may  serve  me." 

I.  That  God  has  a  definite  purpose 
in  the  moral  freedom  of  men. 

He  does  not  relieve  men  from  one 
kind  of  slavery  that  they  may  go  into 
another — not  that  they  may  spend  life 
in  inactivity.  Indolence  is  not  free- 
dom. His  great  aim  is  to  bring  men 
from  the  tyranny  of  passion,  pride, 
covetour^ness,  and  gelf,  into  the  ireedom 
of  a  tranquil,  humble,  and  self-denying 
service.    Hence  the  Divine  preparation 


that  is  given  to  the  varied  agencies  that 
are  to  achieve  this  freedom. 

II.  That  the  purpose  of  God  in  the 
moral  freedom  of  men  is  that  they 
should  serve  Him. 

1.  That  we  should  serve  Him  in  our 
business. 

2.  That  we  should  serve  Him  in  our 
social  life. 

3.  That  we  should  serve  Him  with 
all  our  energies. 

Why  should  we  serve  Him?  (1)  Be- 
cause  loe  are  His  sons.  2.  Because  of 
the  freedom  He  has  wrought  for  us. 

The  service  of  God  is  perfect  free- 
dom. Would  that  men  were  as  earnest 
about  their  mural  freedom  as  they  are 
in  reference  to  their  civil.  In  the  ser- 
vice of  God  we  gain  the  highest  re- 
muneration. 

Goti's  aniba^isadors,  though  never  so 
mean,  must  speak  to  kings  what  God 
enjoineth  them. 

God's  name  must  be  attached  to 
His  message,  that  kings  may  stoop  to 
hear  it. 

God's  Church  is  His  first-born. 

Jehovah  require  th  His  first-born 
frt^m  the  hand  of  all  oppressors. 

The  wicked  powers  ot  Hell  will  deny 
the  dismission  of  God's  Son  as  long  aa 
they  can  hold  him. 

The  sons  of  the  world  God  will  slay 
for  the  redemption  of  His  own. 

God's  tirst-born  sons  are  dearer  to 
Him  than  all  the  first-born  of  the 
world. 

A  Divine  threat: — 1.  Claims  at- 
tention. 2.  Certain  of  Execution. 
3.  Stern  in  requirement. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS   OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  24—26. 

Neglected  Duty  a  Hindrance  tu  tue  Peeeoemance  of  Eeliqious  Wobk. 

I.  Moses  had  neglected  the  duty  of  circumcising  his  son.  It  was  divinely 
required  of  the  Israelite  that  he  should  circumcise  all  his  sons,  and  this  Moses 
had  neglected  to  do  up  to  this  time.  Probably  his  wife  was  averse  to  a  rite  so 
bloody,  and  while  living  in  her  country  and  at  her  home,  he  yields  the  matter 
in  deference  to  her  wishes.  But  the  claims  of  duty  are  not  so  easily  dismissed, 
Tiiey  are  Divine  and  therefore  imperative.  If  neglected  they  will  follow  a  man 
through  life  and  present  themselves  to  him  under  every  variety  of  circumstances, 
often  with  appalling  tfi'ict  and  unhappy  result.  Service  always  finds  out  the 
weak  point  of  our  character  and  conduct,  therefore  if  we  would  be  ready  for  the 

s  81 


CHAP.  IV.  HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


work  of  God  we  must  see  to  it  that  we  are  not  guilt j  of  neglected  duty.  One 
duty  unperformed  may  nearly  ruin  us.  We  must  never  allow  domestic  relatioQ- 
ship  to  hind  r  the  performance  of  a  Divine  command  ;  the  wife  that  hinders 
her  husband  in  the  performance  of  religious  duty  is  endangering  his  life,  and 
her  own  comfort  and  safety.  The  day  of  retribution  will  come,  and  perhaps 
when  it  will  be  the  least  welcome.  The  Divine  claims  are  supreme,  and  in 
tlioir  performance  we  find  our  truest  safety  and  comfort.  II.  That  this  neglect 
of  duty  introdaced  an  experience  of  pain  into  his  life.  "  And  it  came  to  pass 
by  the  way  in  the  inn,  that  the  Lord  met  liim,  and  sought  to  kill  him."  This 
does  not  mean  that  Moses  and  his  family  came  to  a  house  or  building  in  which 
they  could  abide,  but  simply  indicates  a  fiivourable  place  for  halting  and 
remaining  for  the  night,  perhaps  under  a  tent,  or  in  the  open  air.  But  here  he 
was  destined  to  pass  through  a  very  painful  experience,  which  would  probably 
make  a  lasting  impression  upon  him  and  his  wife.  Some  writers  suppose  tliat 
he  was  nearly  slain  by  an  angel ;  others,  that  he  was  smitten  with  a  terrib  e 
disease  which  nearly  caused  his  death.  However,  all  this  came  upon  him  as  the 
penalty  of  neglected  duty,  and  that  in  the  presence  of  his  family,  who  would  see 
that  the  anger  of  Grod  rested  upon  them.  We  all  know  the  power  of  neglected 
duty  to  introduce  painful  experience  into  our  lives,  which  put  out  all  our  lights 
of  hope,  and  fill  our  sonis  with  an  inpenetrable  gloom,  indicative  of  Divine 
wrath  and  judgment.  The  bitterest  moments  of  our  history  have  been  caused 
by  a  neglect  of  the  commands  of  Grod.  If  we  want  a  happy,  peaceful  life,  we 
must  perform  every  duty  that  presents  itself  gladly  and  at  once  A  good  con- 
science is  a  continual  joy.  III.  That  this  neglect  of  duty  endangered  the 
performance  of  his  religious  work.  Many  men  have  endangered  the  great 
religious  enterprises  of  the  world  by  their  past  neglect  of  an  apparently  trivial 
duty.  The  work  of  God  requires  that  he  who  is  called  to  it  should  be  of  pure 
soul,  enabled  to  rebuke  siu  without  rebuking  himscdf.  Unless  able  to  do  this, 
his  mission  will  ^e  vain.  Many  a  Christian  worker  is  rendered  feeble  to-day 
by  the  sin  of  his  past  life.  Let  us  beware  how  we  imperil  the  freedom  of  men 
and  the  work  of  God  by  our  own  neglect.  Freedom  from  sin  is  the  great  essen- 
tial to  the  success  of  Christian  work.  IV.  That  the  neglect  of  this  duty  was 
most  foolish,  as  it  had  after  all  to  be  performed.  "  And  Zipporah  took  a  sharp 
stone  and  cut  oft'  the  foreskin  of  her  son."  God  had  prepared  Moses  for  his 
work  in  Egypt  as  far  as  he  could.  He  had  given  him  a  vision,  had  conversed 
with  him  about  the  per])lexities  of  his  work,  and  had  empowered  him  to  work 
miracles  ;  but  God  will  not  by  a  miracle  overcome  the  defect  arising  from 
neglected  duty.  This  must  be  removed  by  a  moral  method.  As  a  rule,  God 
does  not  work  miracles  to  rid  men  of  their  sins;  yet  He  does  sometimes  place 
man  in  such  a  position  that  a  vivid  impression  of  sin  is  made  upon  his  mind,  so 
that  he  must  either  perforin  the  neglected  duty,  or  die.  Men  will  have  to 
face  their  neglected  duties  again,  if  not  for  performance  in  this  world,  yet 
for  judgment  in  the  next. 

The  Pbepaba-Toby  Experiences  of  Seevice, 

I.  The  experiences  preparatory  to  Service  are  solemn.  This  eventful  cir- 
cumstance in  the  inn  is  connected  with  everything  that  can  invest  it  with 
solemnity.  Moses  is  prepared  for  hi.s  work.  There  is  only  one  duty  that  requires 
doing.  Then  he  can  go  to  Pharaoh  and  demand  Israel's  freedom.  Will  he 
circumcise  his  son?  Will  he  make  amends  for  the  past?  His  future  position, 
character,  work,  and  relation  to  mankind,  all  depend  upon  the  issue  of  this 
event,  designed  to  prepare  hiin  for  the  future.  The  experiences  in  the  inn 
are  solemn.  IV.  The  experiences  preparatory  t)  S^ervice  are  painful.  These 
experiences  are  very  intense.  They  penetrate  our  iumoBt  heart.  They  reach 
82 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  JEIODUS.  chap.  iv. 


wherever  sin  is  to  be  found,  that  it  may  be  removed,  that  it  may  not  impede 
our  destined  toil.  Even  we  who  have  to  work  upon  the  lower  planes  of  moral 
service  know  somewhat  of  the  deep  soul-ant^aish  occasioned  by  the  conflict 
prior  to  our  entrance  upon  it.  III.  The  experience  preparatory  to  Service  are 
instructive.  This  event  in  the  inn  would  teach  Moses  the  wickedness  and 
folly  of  neglecting  duty,  no  matter  what  excuse  might  appear  for  so  doing.  It 
would  show  him  that  God  i-s  cognizant  of  all  the  moralities  of  life ;  and 
probably  he  would  argue  from  his  own  case  to  that  of  Pharaoh,  and  feel  that 
the  claim  of  God  w^ould  be  equally  imperative  upon  him.  AVe  have  sometimes 
learned  more  while  waiting  anxiously  on  the  threshold  of  service  than  we  have 
learned  during  years  before.  IV.  The  experiences  preparatory  to  Service  are 
varied.  The  joy  of  the  vision,  the  inspiration  of  the  miracles,  and  the 
arrest  in  the  inn.  These  experiences  relate  to  mau  in  every  department  of  his 
life  and  service. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  24.     After  great  encourage-  death  to  His  servants,  He  sometimes 

ments    many    bitter    discoveries    are  allows  means  of  escape, 
made  by  God  to  his  servants.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  wife  to  save 

In  the  way  of  obedience  God's  ser-  her    husband   from   perishing   at   the 

vants    may  meet    with    the    sharpest  hand  of  God. 
trials.  God  bears  long  with  the  sinful  neg- 

The  place  intended  for  rest  by  ua  lects  of  His  people,  but  not  with  ap- 

inay  be  turned  into  a  place  of  trouble  ptoval. 
by  God.  It  is  dangerous  to  neglect  an  initial 

Jehovah  may  sometimes  meet  His  sacrament  ordained  by  God;  it  is  safe 

dearest  servants  as  an  adversary.  to  observe  it. 

It  is  a  sad  defect  in  God's  servants 
that  puts  Him  to  the  necessity  of  call-  Verse  2G.     Deliverance  is  very  near 

iiig  ihem  to  pass  through  such  painful  at  hand  to  the  obedience  of  God's  ser- 

experiences.  vants. 

God  ceaseth   from  plaguing    when 

Verse   25.     When   God    threatens  men  cease  from  sinning. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH. -Verses  27—28. 

The  Meeting  op  Two  Brothers. 

I.  It  was  in  a  strange  place.  The  wilderness  would  not  be  a  very  favourable 
place  for  the  meeting  of  these  two  brothers  It  would  be  wild  and  lonely. 
But  brotherly  affection  is  not  dependent  upon  time  and  place ;  it  can  turn  a 
wilderness  into  a  father's  hearth ;  it  can  make  the  dessert  blossom  as  the  rose 
The  friendship  of  these  brothers  was  real  Some  men  are  only  brotherly  before 
the  crowd  ;  in  privacy  or  solitude  they  are  social  despots  The  wilderness  will 
test  our  affection.  II.  It  was  characteriied  by  warmth  of  aflfection.  They 
kissed  each  other.  Brothers  do  not  often  act  in  these  days.  They  think  it 
unmanly  to  do  so.  The  age  is  cold  at  heart.  It  is  a  token  of  courage  as  well 
as  love  that  a  brother  will  thus  greet  his  brother.  But  let  the  kiss  be  accom- 
panied by  kindly  attentions,  otherwise  it  is  a  mockery  III.  It  was  the  occasion 
for  religious  talk  and  consultation.  "And  Moses  told  Aaron  all  the  words  of 
the  Lord  who  had  sent  him,  and  ail  the  signs  which  He  had  commanded  him." 
No  doubt  a  word  was  passed  about  their  aged  parents,  about  the  memories  of 

83 


CHAP  IV.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


youth;  but  the  chief  theme  was  their  future  mission.  It  is  well  for  brothers 
to  converse  together  about  the  work  and  words  of  God.  All  other  themes  are 
of  minor  import. 

SUGOESTIFE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  27, 28.  Christian  Brothers  : —  God    makes  the  desert   a  place  to 

1.   Called  by  God  to  work.     2.  Joined  meet  infor  thedeliverers  of  HisCburch. 

by  God  in  work.     3.  Conversing  to-  It  is  best  for  brothers  to  meet  at  the 

gether  about  work.     4.  Learning  their  mount  of  God 

respective  work  Itis  just  tor  Supreme  Powers  to  open 

God  may  call  the  elder  brother  after  their  commission  from  God  toinferiors. 

the  younger.  God's  wonderful  works  as  well  as  Hia 

God    can   bring  brethren    together  gracious  works  must  be  showed  at  Hia 

which  were  as  lost  to  one  another.  comraaud. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGR4PH.— Verses  29—31. 

The  Fiest  Interview  of  Moses  and  Aaron  with  the  Eldees  or  Iseael, 

AND  the  Welcome  they  Eeceived. 

I.  They  acted  upon  the  Divine  suggestion.  "  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went 
and  gathered  together  all  the  Elders  of  the  Children  of  Israel."  This  is  what 
God  told  them  to  do.  All  Christian  work  should  be  undertaken  according  to 
the  Divine  suggestion,  and  in  harmony  with  the  Divine  will.  God  generally 
tells  men  how  to  work' As  well  as  what  to  do.  If  we  were  left  to  mark  out  our 
own  methods  of  foil,  \re  ^^liould  often  involve  both  ourselves  and  the  enterprise 
entrusted  to  us  in  great  danger.  II.  They  spake  according  to  the  Divine  dicta- 
tion. "  And  Aaron  spake  all  the  words  which  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto  Moses." 
In  a  great  mission  the  sayings  of  a  man  are  as  important  as  his  doings :  hence 
these  must  be  divinely  directed  Great  workers  require  to  be  taught  by  God. 
In  this  consists  their  safety  and  success.  A  man  who  speaks  to  the  world  the 
messages  of  God  will  always  be  list*  ned  to.  III.  They  succeeded  according 
to  Divine  intimation.  "  And  the  people  believed  :  and  when  they  heard  that 
the  Lord  had  visited  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  that  he  had  lof)ked  upon  their 
affliction,  then  they  bowed  their  heads  and  w^orshipped."  Thus  Moses  and 
Aaron  awakened  the — (1).  Faith;  (2).  Hope;  (3).  Direction — of  Israel.  Moses 
had  previously  said  that  Israel  would  not  believe  him.  We  mistake  our  mis- 
sions. We  cannot  form  an  estimate  of  success.  If  we  act  and  speak  accord- 
ing to  the  instruction  of  God,  we  must  succeed. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VERSES. 

Yerso  20.     The  declaring  of  God's  should  closely  follow  upon  the  word  of 

will  is  suitably  united  to  the  assem-  God    ministered,  and    by  His    works 

bling  of  His  people.  confirmed. 

God's  spokesmen  made  by  Him  are  All  professed   believers  receive  not 

the  best  to  declare  His  mind  to  His  God's  word  with  the  same  faith, 

people.  God's    gracious    visitation    of    His 

God  may  unfold  His  mind  more  fully  Church,  and  providential  sight  of  its 

to  one  servant  than  to  another.  afflictions  are  made  known  by  His  ser- 
vants, and  are  welcome  to  them. 

Verse  30,  31.  The  faith  of  the  people  The  tidings  of  God's  visiting  love 
84 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP  .IV. 


and  redeeming  providence  must  aifect 
God's  Israel. 

Worship  is  <he  most  suitable  return 
to  God  for  His  redemption. 

Human  and  Divine  Attitudes. 

I.  The  attitudes  predicated  of  the 
people : — 


I.  Their  lelief.     2.  Their  reference, 
3.  Their  devotion. 

II.  The    attitudes    predicated    of 
God:— 

1.  He   saw  the  njffiiction    of  Israel. 
2.    Visited  Israel. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  IF. 


BY 

REV.  WM. 

Page   53.— Bible    Degraded  !— Some 
men  imagine  that  they  could  do  wellenougti 
■without  the  Bible,  the  Church,  the  ministry. 
Conceive  a  patient  witti  a  shattered   limb 
coming  to  the  sage  cooclusion  that  the  best 
way  to  become  whole  is  to  thrust  the  skilled 
Burgeons  and  their  surgical  nplints   out  of 
doors.     They  did  not  fracture  the  limb  ;  they 
only  propose  to  set  it.     The   Bible  did  not 
dislocate  the  human  intellect,  it  only  pro 
poses  to  restore  it  to  soundness.     Far  better 
to  have  the  leg  set  than  to  leave  the  shattered 
bone  to  hv-al  unsplintered. 
"  The  Lamp  of  Kevelauon  not  only  shows 
What  human  wisdom  cannot  but  oppose, 
That  man — in  nature's  richest  mantle  clad 
And  graced  with  all  philosophy  can  add, 
Though  fair  without,  and  luminous  within," 
cannot  heal  his  own  malady — cannot  restore 
his  fractured  soul,  but  it  offers  to  effect  the 
cure.     Is  anything  too  hard  for  the  Lord  1 

Page    54.— Infidel    Terrors! — Paine 
boastfully  vaunted  that  he  had  gone  up  and 
down  through  the  Cbrintian  garden  of  B  ien, 
and  with  his  simple  axe  had  cut  aown  one 
after  another  of  it8  trees,  until  scarce  a  sap- 
ling remained  to  weep  over  the  chaos  of  ruin. 
He  lived  to  flee  from  his  own  guilt,  and  amid 
agonies  of  remorse  to  exclaim  that  he  would 
give  worlds  never  to  have  published  his  '  Age 
of  Reason,"  never  to  have  moulded  his  -'simple 
axe,"  never  to  have  lifted  its  edge  upon  the 
Tree  of  Life.  So  it  was  with  Bion,  the  atheist 
philosopher,  who  on  his  deathbed  offered  up 
prayers  to  God  for  mercy  and  recovery — 
"  And  as  he  writhed  and  quivered,  scorched 
within, 
The  fury  round  his  torrid  temples  flapped 
Her  fiery  wings,  and  breathed  upon  his  lips 
And  parched  tongue,  the  withered  blasts  of 

heWr— Pollock. 
Page  54.  —  Christianity  !  —  Quaint 
Thomas  Fuller  says  ttiat  Charnock  met  with 
a  very  sad  disaster  in  his  efforts  to  discover 
the  philosopher's  stone  ;  for  just  as  he  was  on 
the  point  of  completing  the  grand  operation, 
his  work  fell  into  the  fire.  Asihiaisaca'amity 
which  has  happened  lo  all  alchy mists ;  so  is  it 
always  the  misfortune  of  legislators.  They  are 
always  on  the  point  of  discovering  the  grand 
panacea  for  all  evils,  yet  they  never  succeed. 
Chntiuaaity  steps  in,  and  succeeds. 


THE 

ADAMSON. 

"  Religion  !   Providence  I  an  after  state  I 
Here  is  firm  footing  ;  here  is  solid  rock  I 
Tnis  can  support  us  ;  all  is  sea  besides  : 
Sinks  under  us  ;    bestorms,  and  then   de- 
vours."—  Young. 

Page  54. — Christianitv  Beneficent  I 

— Ancient  tra<1itioii  records  a  contest  said  to 
have  tiiken  place  at  Rome — in  the  presence  of 
the  Emperor  Constantineand  his  mother,  the 
Empress  Helena -Detvseen  the  Jewish  and 
Koman  philosophers  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Sylvester,  the  Chiistian  patriarch,  on  the 
ether.  The  leader  of  the  philosophers  showed 
the  superiority  of  their  system  over  Chris, 
tianity  by  miraculously  KILLING  a  fierce  bull 
with  uttering  in  his  ear  a  single  word.  Syl- 
vester, with  a  word,  not  only  restored  the 
wild  animal  to  LIFE,  but  raised  it  tame  and 
gentle  as  if  it  had  been  in  the  yoke  from 
biith.  Christianity  is  happy  in  its  effects 
upon  untameable  human  nature — raising  it  to 
life — and  making  it  to  sit  clothed  and  in  its 
right  mind  at  the  feet  of  the  Founder. — 

•'  As  when  a  wretch,  from  thick  polluted  air. 
Darkness    and     stench,    and    suffocating 

damps. 
And  dungeon  horrors,  by  kind  fate  dis- 
charged, 
Climbs  some  fair  eminence,  where  ether 

pure 
Surrounds  him,  and  Elysian  prospects  rise, 
His  heart  exults,  his  spirits  cast  their  load, 
As  if  new  born,  he  triumphs  m  the  change." 

Page  54. — Christianity  versus  Philo 
Sophy  I — TiUotson  says  that  philosophy  haa 
g  veil  us  several  plausible  rules  for  attaining 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  mind  ;  but  these  fall 
very  much  shore  of  bringing  men  to  it.  They 
have  expanded  our  ideas  of  creation  ;  but 
they  neither  inspired  a  love  to  the  moral 
character  of  the  Creator,  nor  a  well-grounded 
hope  of  eternal  life. — 

"  Philosophy  did  much,  refining  and  exalt- 
ing man  ; 

But  could  not  nurse  a  single  plant  that  bore 

True  happiness.  From  age  to  age  she  toiled  ; 

Shed  from  her  eyes  the  mist  that  dimmed 
them  siill. 

Looked  forth  on  man  :  and  then  retired  fai 
back 

To  meditation's  silent,  shady  rest. 
85 


CHAP.  IV. 


flOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Like  Moses  who  must  DIE  on  Pisgab,  philo- 
Bophy  enables  us  to  ascend  to  tbe  heifjhts  of 
human  discovery — there  to  PERISH.  Christi- 
anity is  the  medium,  and  tbe  only  medium, 
by  which  "  death  "  can  be  turned  into  "  life." 

Paee  55. — Depression  ! — Dr.  Stevens 
narrates  how  an  eminent  minister  was  very 
much  depressed  by  the  unbelief  of  his  congre- 
gaiion,  and  how  his  spirit  of  depression  was 
shaken  off.  He  dreamed  that  he  was  working 
with  a  pickaxe  on  the  top  of  a  basaltic  io<"-k, 
which  remained  non-riven  in  spi'e  of  repealed 
Btrokes  of  his  arm  of  muscle.  When  about  to 
give  up  in  despair,  a  stranger  of  solemn  and 
dignified  demeanour  appeared  on  tbe  scene, 
who  reminded  him  that  as  a  servant  he  was 
bound  to  go  on  whether  tbe  rock  yielded  or 
not.  "  Work  is  your  duty  ;  leave  the  results 
to  God,"  were  the  last  words  of  his  strange 
visitor.  The  result  was  that  the  discouraged 
pastor  resumed  his  work,  and  wasabundantly 
rewarded  by  "theshatteringof  therockof  un. 
belief  and  indiflEerence  "  among  his  flock.  For 
"  Perseverance  is  a  virtue 

That  wins  each  Godlike  act,  and  plucks 
success, 

E'en  from  the  spear-proof  crest  of  rugged 
danger. — Havavd. 

Page  55. — Prayers  I — An  anecdote  is 
told  concerning  a  popular  preacher  who 
gradually  lost  his  influence  and  congregation. 
The  chuich  officials  were  authorized  to  wa't 
on  him  with  the  frank  avowal  that  the  whole 
blame  was  at  his  door.  With  still  more  frank- 
ness the  condemned  pastor  acknowledged  his 
failure,  adding  that  in  former  times  his  flock 
had  been  a  praying  people,  that  many  had 
joined  in  prayer  that  his  preaching  might  be 
blessed  to  the  conversion  of  souls,  but  that 
now  prayer  had  been  abandoned.  The  result, 
he  added,  of  such  restraint  in  prayer  was  the 
failure  of  his  chuich,  and  he  bet;ged  them  to 
renew  tt  eir  pleadings  in  his  behalf.  For 
"  More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dieams of.     Wherefore 

let  thy  voice 
Eise  like  a  fountain  for  me  night  and  day, 
For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is  every  way 
Bound  by  g"ld  chains  about  the  feet  of 
Gk)d." — Tennyson, 

Page  56.  —  Miracles  1  —  Fuller  calls 
them,  in  his  quaint  method  of  expression,  the 
swaddling  clo'hes  of  the  infant  churches. 
They  arenot.  i-a^/^Trcnch.thegarmenisof  the 
full-grown.  They  are  the  bright  clouds  which 
gather  round  and  announce  the  sun  at  his 
first  appearing ;  but  the  midday  splendour 
knows  not  those  bright  heralds  and  har- 
bingers of  his  rising.  Such  were  miracles  at 
the  dawns  of  the  Mosaic.  Prophetical,  and 
Christian  dispensations  ;  they  were  like  the 
framework  on  which  the  arch  is  rounded, and 
which  is  taken  down  as  soon  as  it  is  com- 
pleted. Beecher  thinks  that  they  are  mid- 
wives  of  s  oung  moral  truths  —like  candles  lit 
8U 


up  till  the  sun  rises,  and  then  blown  out. 
While  Macmillan  declares  that  they  are  not 
only  ( mblems  of  power  in  the  spiritual  world, 
but  also  exponents  of  the  miracles  of  nature 
— experiments,  as  it  were,  made  by  the  Great 
Teacher,  on  a  small  scale,  to  illustrate  to  man- 
kind the  phenomena  that  are  taking  place 
ov3r  longer  periods  throughout  the  universe. 

Page  56  — Ministerial  Difl&cultiesl  — 

SirLcon  saj  s  that  he  had  been  used  to  read  the 
Scriptures,  to  get  from  them  rich  discoveries 
of  the  power  and  grace  of  Christ,  so  that  he 
might  learn  bow  to  minister  to  a  loving  and 
obedient  people  ;  but  that  now  he  was  study- 
ing the  Won!  of  God  in  order  that  he  might 
know  how  to  minister  to  a  conceited,  con- 
tentious, and  rebellious  people.  '"  Two  quali- 
ties," he  adds,  "  1  am  sure  are  requisite — 
meekness  and  patience  ;  I  have  been  used  to 
sail  in  the  Pacific,  but  I  3m  now  learning  to 
navigate  tbe  Red  Sea,  which  is  full  of  shoals 
and  rooks,  with  a  very  intricate  passage." 
"Toll  on.  faint  not,  keep  watch  and  pray  ; 
Be  wise,  the  erring  soul  to  win  ; 
Go  forth  into  the  world's  highway. 
Compel  the  wanderer  to  come  in. 
The  toil  is  pleasant,  the  reward  is  sure. 
Blessed  are  those  who  to  the  end  endure." — 

Bonar. 

Page  56. — Faith  !— Faith  is  the  main- 
spring of  a  minister. —  Cecil, 

"  Beware  of  doubt— faith  is  the  subtle  chain 
Which  binds  us  to  the  Infinite  ;  the  voice 
Of  a  deep  life  within,  that  will  remain 
Until  we  crowd  it  thence." — Smith. 

Page  56. — Gifts  1— The  discussion  about 
gifts,  sajs  a  glowing  divine,  amounts  very 
much  to  a  discussion  whether  the  rifle,  the 
carbine,  the  pistol,  or  the  cannon  is  the  best 
weapon.  Each  is  best  in  its  place.  The  great 
point  is  that  every  one  shall  use  the  weapon 
best  suited  to  him— that  he  charge  it  well — 
and  that  he  see  it  is  in  a  cond  ition  to  strike  fire. 

"  The  solemn  trifler,  with  his  boasted  skill. 
Toils  much,  and  is  a  solemn  trifler  still ; 
Blind  was  he  born,  and  his  misguided  ejes 
Grown   dim  in  tiifling  studies,  blind  he 
dies. " —  Coivpcr. 

Page  58.— Serpent-tail !— Bishop  Pat- 
rick notes  that  Moses  found  his  rod  was  a 
sen  ent  until  he  took  it  by  the  tail,  and  then 
it  became  what  it  wa<»  befoie ;  and  if  we  lay 
hold  of  things  only  by  their  END,  we  should 
find  many  things  that  seem  terrible  and 
noxious  to  be  benign  and  salutiferous.  But 
the  hand  was  that  of  faith;  for 
"  Never  was  a  marvel  done  upon  the  earth, 
but  it  had  sprung  of  iA\x,\i.'"—Tvpper. 

Page  59. — Leprosy  !— In  the*abbinical 
books  of  the  Jewe  there  im  a  curious  tradition 
about  the  growth  of  lepros>,  that  it  btrg-in 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  IV. 


with  the  walls  of  a  man's  house — then,  if  he  did 
not  repent,  it  entered  his  garments — then  it 
affected  his  body,  until  it  spread  over  every 
part — 

"  His  skin  grew  dry  and  bloodless,  and  white 
scales 
Circled  with  livid  purple  covered  him. 
And  then  his  nails  grew  black,  and  fell  away 
From  the  dull  flesh  about  them,  and  the  hues 
Deepened  benenth  the  hard,  unmoistened 
scales.'' 
So  with  unbelief,  it  first  afft-cts  the  walls  of 
the  mind— thence  extending  its  corruption  to 
the  heart — and  onwards  througii  the  entire 
inner  man  ;  until  death  ensues. 

Page  59. — Sceptic  Fears !— History  re- 
lates of  David  Hume  that,  having  visited  the 
family  of  the  worthy  La  Roche,  where  the 
consociations  of  the  Gospel  were  practically 
evidenced,  he  was  afterwards  heard  to  confess 
that  there  were  moments  when,  amid  all  the 
pleasures  of  philosophical  discovery  and  the 
pride  of  literary  fame,  he  wished  that  he  had 
never  doubted — 

"  And  evermore  his  eyes  about  him  went, 
As  if  some  proved  peril  he  did  fear, 
Or  did  misdoubt  some  ill,  whose  cause  did 
not  appear." — Spencer, 

Page  59. — Doubt-Paralysis! — We  may 

as  well,  says  Shepherd,  expect  a  singing  bird 
to  be  vocal  in  a  receiver  where  it  has  little 
or  no  air  to  respire,  as  expect  the  genuine 
exercise  of  real  gooiiness  f'om  the  paralysed 
doubter.  As  leprosy  is  the  destitution  of 
those  physical  powers  by  which  sound  health 
can  be  sustained  ;  so  doubt  of  Divine  truth 
is  the  destitution  of  those  efficient  principles 
of  which  the  moral  and  spiritual  life  can  be 
sustained.  The  experimentalist  may  display 
a  vessel  from  which  air  has  been  more  or 
less  exhansted,  and  may  tell  us  that  there 
is  nothing  pernicious  in  it,  but  if  we  discover 
a  deficiency  of  support  for  animal  and  vege- 
table life,  we  shall  charge  him  with  a  paltry 
equivocation.  Doubt  is  that  air-void  vessel, 
in  which  the  mental,  moral,  and  spiiitual 
life  cannot  subsist — 
"  Doubt  is  the  eternal  shade  by  evil  cast ! 

'  The  vision  and  the  faculty  divine ' 
Fail  when  the  spirit  o'er  its  empire  vast 

Throws  appetite  and  crimes." — Harris. 

Page  60.— The  Divine  Touch!— In 
healing  the  leper  by  a  touch,  our  Saviour  not 
only  showed  His  power,  but  claimed  a  right 
that  belonged  only  to  the  priest,  and  asserted 
His  own  exemption  from  ceremonial  defile- 
ment ;  while  in  saying  "  I  will,  be  thou  ciean," 
He  assumed  a  still  higher  prerogative,  and 
pointed  to  a  more  thorough  purification  of 
the  whole  nature  : — 
"  He  took  a  little  water  in  His  hand 
And  laved  the  suflfeiers  brow,  and  said, 

'  Be  clean  1 ' 
And  lo  !  the  scales  fell  from  him,  and  his 
blood 


Coursed  with  delicious  coolness  through 

bis  veins, 
And  his  dry  palms  grew  moist,  and  on  hii 

lips 
The  dewy  softness  of  an  infant's  stole. 
His  leprosy  was  cleansed,  and  he  fell  down 
Prostrate  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  worshipped 

Him." —  Willis. 

Page  60.— The  Healer!— It  is  related 
that  a  student  once  visited  Dr.  Hodge  re- 
garding tome  doubts  entertained  by  him  as 
to  the  divinity  of  Christ,  when  the  venerable 
man  of  God  at  once  counselled  :  The  best  way 
to  remove  your  doubts  and  guard  yourself  from 
future  anii  gn  ater  troubles  is  to  have  Christ  in 
you  :  learn  His  life— to  trust  in  Him  more — 
to  love  Him  more;  become  identified  with 
Him,  and  your  doubtt)  as  to  His  Divinity  will 
div-appear : — 

"Abide  in  me,  I  pray,  and  I  in  Thee ; 

From  this  good    hour,    Oh  1   leave  me 
nevermore, 
Then  shall   the  diecord  cease,  the  wound 
be  healed. 
The  life-long  bleeding  of  the  soul  be 
o'er." — Stowe. 

Page  60.— Sinner  Leprous !— What  a 
pitiable,  repulsive  sight  1  We  pass  by  a  leprous 
stone  unnoticed ;  it  is  unconscious  of  its  state, 
and  meant  to  be  trampled  under  foot.  But 
rising,  says  Trench,  to  a  step  higher  in  the 
scale  of  creation — to  an  ui  clean,  leprous 
plant — we  become  conscious  of  a  slight  emo- 
tion of  dislike  ;  because  we  see  that  which 
might  have  pleased  the  eye  disfigured.  But  a 
leprous  human  being  excites  our  loathing 
more  than  all.  It  presents  our  nature  in  a  light 
so  disgusting,  that  it  lessens  our  pity  for  him 
if  he  be  miserable,  and  excites  in  us  ideas  of 
disease,  contamination,  and  pain:  — 

"  Depart,  and  come  not  near 
The  busy  mart,  the  crowdea  city,  more ; 
Nor  set  thy  foot  on  human  threshold  o'er ; 

And  stay  thou  not  to  hear 
Voices  that  call  thee  in  the  way." 

But  a  leprous  soul— a  sinner — how  loath- 
some above  all  things  1  It  is  the  most  unclean 
object  in  the  universe — the  soul  and  essence 
of  pollution — the  spectacle  which  appals  an- 
gelic hosts  and  excites  deep  abhorrence  in 
the  mind  of  God. 

Page  61  —Nil  Desperandum  ! — The 

healer  is  G^d  ;  and  who  can  tell  what  God 
can  do?  A  man  uiterly  despairing  of  his 
f-oul's  salvation  thought  that  he  might  as  well 
be  in  the  woes  of  hell's  abyss  at  once.  He 
therefore  went  to  a  river,  designing  to  throw 
himself  in  ;  but  as  he  was  about  to  commit 
the  mad  deed,  he  seemed  to  hear  a  voice  say- 
ing to  him,  "  Who  can  tell  ?"  His  thoughts 
were  arrested,  and  thus  began  to  work  on  what 
he  had  heard.     "  Yes,  who  can  tell  what  God 

87 


CHAr.  IV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


can  do  ?  Who  can  tell  what  purpopes  God  will 
serve  in  my  recovery  ?  "  By  such  thoughts 
as  these,  it  pleased  God  to  enable  him  to 
shake  off  the  delirium  of  despair,  and  to  throw 
himself  into  the  arms  of  hope  in  Christ  as 
ab'e  to  save  to  the  uttermost. 

"  He  came — a  leper  all  unclean  and  foul : 
He  left,  as  fresh  as  freshest  infancy. 
So  come  I  to  Thy  feet,  unclean  in  S(ju1, 
So  leave  I,  Lord,  cleansed  and  restored 
h^  thee." 

Page  61. — Illustrations!— Robert  Hall, 
on  one  occasion,  when  criticising  a  sermon  in 
the  hearing  of  the  preac'icr,  said  :  "  You  have 
no  likeg  in  your  sei  mon  !  You  tell  us  what 
they  are,  '  but  rot  what  they  are  lilte.''  "  As 
Hood  says,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching,  one  illustration  is  worth 
a  thousand  abstractions  ;  a  sentiment  recipro- 
cated by  a  famousjudeeof  the  Supreme  Court, 
who  exclaimed  to  a  divine :  '■  I  am  glad  that 
you  employed  that  touching  story  'toillus- 
strate  your  thought.' "  Analogies  are  the 
windowsof  speech;  through  them  truth  shines. 
Ordinary  minds  fail  to  perceive  truth  clearly, 
unless  it  is  presented  to  them  by  expressive 
imagery,  which  appeals  both  to  the  reason 
and  to  the  imagination.  It  is  Salter  who  says 
that  illustrations  are  like  the  painting  on 
canvas  which,  while  it  charms  the  eye,  also 
interests  the  mind.  They  resemble  the  incense 
which  flamed  on  the  Jewish  altar,  and  which, 
while  it  arrested  t  be  eye  with  its  cloudy  pillar, 
regaled  the  seniles  with  its  fragrance — 
"Wherefore,  it  is  wise  and  well — to  guide 
the  mind  aright — 
So  to  talk  of  spirit  by  analogy  with  sub- 
stance : 
And  analogy  is  a  truer  guide  than  many 

teachers  tell  of. 
Similitudes  are  scattered  round  to  help  us — 

not  to  hurt  us ; 
Moses  in  his  every  type,  and  the  greater 

than  a  Moses,  in  His  parables. 
Preach  in  terms  that  all  may  learn  the  philo- 
sophic lessons  ot  analogy." — Tupper. 

Page  61. — Definite  Result ! — Look  at 
that  parent  bird  picking  at  the  nest  which 
she  has  built  for  her  tender  offspring  !     See 
how  she  breaks  off  one  twig  afier  another — 
exciting  her   brood  to  leave  their  nest  and 
soar  on  high  amid  the  sunshine  of  heavtn. 
And  if  they  will  not  leave  it,  she  will  break  it 
further  and  further  until  it  is  utterly  broken 
up,  and  they  are  t>rced  to  fly  or  f  j11.     They 
would  prefer  to  linger  in  downy  ease;  the 
mother  would  teach  them  to  fly.     Her  aim  is 
definite — her  purpose  one.     So  G  d  teaches; 
and  never  without  a  design  worthy  of  Him 
self.     And  that  design  is  His  own  glory  in 
man's  everlaeting  good — 
*'  Oh  I  I  doubt  not  through  the  ages  one  in- 
creasing purpose  runs. 
And  the  thoughts  of  men  are  widened  with 
the  trocess  of  the  sun.'' — Tcnnygon, 
88 


Page  62. — Human  Folly ! — One  can 

hardly  conceive  a  poor  wayworn  wretch,  as  he 
lies  on  the  arid  waste,  panting  with  blackened 
lips  and  swollen  tongue,  striking  the  kind 
traveller's  flask  from  his  hand,  and  spilling 
the  precious  wa'er  among  the  blistering  sands. 
The  slave  hoy — now  an  African  bishop — ex- 
ulted gleefully  when  a  British  cruiser  snapped 
the  fetters  from  his  youthful  limbs  and  bore 
him  to  free  Liberia.  Can  folly  surpass  that 
insensate  madness  which  makes  the  sinner 
spurn  the  clear,  cool,  crystal  drops  of  life,  and 
perversely  traverse  the  wilds  of  sin  ?  Can 
madness  outrival  that  supreme  folly  which 
leads  the  hapless  bondsman  of  sin  to  hug  the 
chains  of  condemnation,  and  obstinately  kiss 
the  fetters  of  wrath  ? 

"  Woe ;  woe  to  the  sinner  who  lives  in  his 
sin. 
Unrighteous  without,  and  unholy  within  : 
Each  thought  of  his  heart,  and  each  look 

of  his  eye 
Is  tainted  with  sin,  and  his  doom  is  to 
die." — Hunter. 

Page  62.— Unbelief  and  the  Bible  I— 

An  infidel  said  that  there  was  one  thing  which 
marred  all  the  pleasures  of  his  life :  where- 
upon a  friend  enquired  of  him  what  it  was. 
He  quickly  responded,  "  I  am  afraid  the  Bible 
is  true  ;  if  I  could  know  for  ct-rtain  that  death 
is  an  eternal  sleep,  1  should  be  happy  ;  but 
the  thought  that,  if  the  Bible  is  true,  my  soul 
is  lost  for  ever,  stings  me  like  a  thorn — pierces 
me  like  a  sword." 
"  The  avenging  horror  of  a  conscious  mind, 

Whose  deadly  fear  anticipates  the  blow, 

And  sees  no  end  of  punishment  and  woe  ; 

Butlooks  for  more,  at  the  last  gaspof  breath; 

This  makes   a  hell  on  earth,  and  life  a 
death." — I/tieretivs. 

Page  62. — First  Sign !  —Few  but  have 
observed  a  startling  picture  suspended  on  the 
walls  of  our  metropolitan  and  suburban  rail, 
way  stations.  It  is  a  lion — with  shaggy  mane, 
and  eyes  glaring  half  with  anger,  half  with 
fear.  Around  its  agile  form  are  the  meshes  of 
a  net. — 1.  That  net  speaks  of  the  thraldom  of 
the  monarch  of  the  forest.  2.  That  net  speaks 
of  the  inability  of  the  lion-king  to  free  him- 
self. And,  3.  That  net  speaks  of  the  agency  by 
which  the  wild  beast  is  to  have  liberty  ;  for 
a  tiny  moupc  is  busily  employed  nibbling  the 
meshes  one  by  one.  None  can  mistake  the 
expression  of  that  animal's  eye — its  eagerness 
to  escape — its  gleesomeness  as  it  feels  one 
mesh  after  another  give  way.  Alas  I  That 
picture  does  not  t-peak  of  what  "  the  voice  of 
the  first  sign  "does  : — unwillingness  to  believe 
in  freedom  : — 

*'  He  is  the  freeman  whom  the  truth  makes 
free. 

And  all  are  slaves  beside.     There's  not  a 
chain 

That  hellish  foes  confederate  for  his  harm 

Can   wind   around   him,    but   he  casts  it 
off." — Cowper. 


EOMILETW  C0M3IENTART:    EXODUS. 


CHAP.  rv. 


Page  64.  —  Obstinate  Unbelief!  — 
Away  at  pea,  the  msriner  will  sometimes  come 
upon  a  bottle  floa'ing  upon  the  wide  waste  of 
waters.  For  months — ay,  years — the  waters 
have  bet  n  surfing  round  and  lound  it,  and  yt-t 
not  a  drop  is  within.  So  it  is  with  <  ur  hearls, 
unbelief  closes  them  so  that  that  the  water 
of  life  cannot  fill  them ;  and  no  matter  how 
numerous  and  copious  mercy's  showers,  they 
remain  persistently  sealed.  The  Orientals 
have  a  proverb — 

'•  The  cocoa-palm  leaves  infidels  without  ex- 
cuse, 
For  nine  and  ninety  are  its  common  uses ; 
In  hardened  carelessness  they  wait  a  hun- 
dredth use, 
Until  some  new  discovery  introduces  1  " 

Page  65.  (i)  —  Hesitation! — A  youth 
crobsing  a  narrow  tree-trunk  bridj^e  kept  look- 
ing at  the  gorge  below,  down  which  foamed 
and  thundered  the  mountain  cataract.  His 
conductor  f-aw  that  he  was  tuinirg  g'ddy  and 
faltering  :  whereupon  he  counselled  him  to 
fasten  his  eye  on  the  lovely  scenery  in  the 
front.  A  boy  climbing  the  ladder  of  ropes 
leading  to  the  top  mast  began  to  tremble  as 
he  looked  down  at  the  deck  and  yawning 
waters,  which,  when  his  father  noticed,  he  en- 
deavoured to  prevent  by  shouting:  "Look 
up  1  "  Moses  hesitated ;  therefore  God  tells 
him  two  things:  1.  To  look  up  to  Him:  and 
2.  To  look  at  the  holy  land  whither  He  would 
bring  His  people  from  Egypt — 
"  With  eyes  turned  upward,  whence  her  help 
descends, 
She  waits  expecting  till  the  tempest  ends." 

— Holmes. 
Page  66.  (2) — Worthlessness.  —  The 
meek  Moses  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  God 
does  not  of  necessity  require  good  material. 
The  paper  mauufaciurer  is  not  nice  in  the 
choice  of  his  mateiials.  He  does  not,  writes 
Arnot,  reject  a  torn  or  filthy  piece  as  unfit  for 
his  purpose.  All  come  alike  to  him  ;  for  be 
knows  what  he  can  make  of  them.  The  filthy 
rags  can  be  made  serviceable.  So  God  needed 
not  a  man  highly  endowed  with  mental  gifts 
and  intellectual  energies,  with  commanding 
presence  and  persuasive  eloquence.  His  pro- 
vidence and  grace  could  prepare  Moses  for  his 
mission.  Yet 
"No  mortal  eye  the  manner  sees, 
The  impel ceplible  degrees, 
By  which  our  Lord  conducts  His  plan. 
And  brings  us  to  a  perfect  man." —  Wesley. 
Page  66.  (3)— Try  and  Trust  I— The 
mi.-sionary  JohnWilliams  once  said  that  there 
were  two  little  words  which  were  able  to  make 
the  most  lofty  mountains  melt :  "  Try  "  and 
"  Trust."  Moses  had  yet  to  learn  the  use  of 
these  words.  God  taught  him.  The  sailor  has 
to  be  taught  that  he  nmst  not  look  on  the 
dark  and  troubled  waters,  but  at  the  clear  blue 
heavens  where  shines  the  pole-star.  Moses  was 
gazing  at  the  surging  sea  of  Egyptian  wra'h, 
and  God  taught  him  to  direct  his  gaze  heavf  n- 
ward.  then  to  trxj  and  trust,  for  greater  is  H« 

I 


that  is  with  you  than  all  that  be  against  you. 
As  an  early  Christian  wiiter  enjoins,  let  us  not 
forget — as  Moses  did  at  first— that  all  God's 
biddings  are  enablings,  and  that  it  is  for  us  not 
to  at-k  the  reason  but  to  obey.  As  Luther  said, 
"  1  would  rather  obey  than  work  miracles." 

Page  66.  {4)  —  Success!  —  Moses  was 
looking  at  himself,  not  at  6od,whow»i8is9uing 
the  commands,  and  therefore  was  responsible 
for  its  fulfilment.  With  the  issue  Moses  had 
nothing  to  do — with  the  execution  very  much. 
Certain  officers,  says  Dr.  Scudder,  once  spoke 
in  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  of 
the  missionary  enterprise  as  though  there 
could  be  no  rational  prospect  of  its  success. 
The  old  iron  Duke  replied  by  asking  them 
what  they  had  to  do  when  the  commander-in- 
chief  issued  marching  orders  ?  On  receiving 
their  ready  resp(.nse,  "  To  march,"  he  quickly 
enquired  for  a  Bible.  Opening  it,  he  told 
them  that  the  marching  orders  of  the  chief  of 
the  missionary  army  were  :  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach.  He  added,  "Your  duty 
is  to  march  and  fitzht.  The  responsibility  of 
success  lies  with  the  commander,  not  with 
you.  If  you  do  not  march  I  shoot  you  " — 
"  Let  me  to  Thy  wisdom  leave 
When  and  what  thou  art  to  give  : 
All  Thy  works  to  Thee  are  known, 
Let  Thy  blessed  will  be  done." 

Page  68.  (5) — Disinclination!— When 
Palamedes  came  to  Ithaca  to  invite  Ulysses 
to  join  in  the  expedition  against  Troy,  the 
latter,   unwilling   to   engage   in   the  under- 
taking, betook  himself  to  ploughing  the  sand, 
as  an  evidence  of  insanity,  and  consequent 
unfitness.     Moses  pretended  unfitness  to  ex- 
cuse hirafelf  from  the  duty  to  which  God  was 
calling  him,  but  upon  the  discharge  of  which 
he  was  very  unwilling  to  enter : — 
"  Be  not  too  fast,  be  not  too  slow  ; 
Be  not  too  early,  not  too  late  ; 
Go,  where  His  orders  bid  thee  go  ; 
Wait,  when  His  orders  bid  thee  wait.' 
—  Ujjliam. 

Page  68,  (6)— Gifts  and  Graces!— 

The  meanest  grace  is  above  the  highest  intel- 
lectual gifts,  as  the  smile  of  a  sunbeam  i8 
more  powerful  to  chase  away  the  grim  and 
sour  darkness  of  the  night  than  the  fparkling 
of  a  million  diamonds.  As  Beecher  say?,  mere 
eloquence  is  like  the  light  of  shavings,  which 
burn  with   a   sudden   flash,   blaz  ng   for  aa 
instant,  and  then  going  out  wiihout  leaving 
either  coals  or  heat  behind.   It  is  like  the  harp 
which,  while  the  wind  touched  its  chords,  dis- 
coursed harmonious  strains  ;  but  music  and 
breeze  died  away  together.    Man's  eloquence 
is  mighty,  but  it  is  transient. 
"  Could  I  command  with  voice  or  pen 
The  tongue  of  angels  and  of  men, 
A  tinkling  cymbal,  sounding  brass, 
My  speech  and  preaching  would  surpass  ; 
Vain  were  such  eloquence  to  me 
Without  the  grace  of  charity." — 

Montgomery, 
89 


CHAP.  IV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


Page  69.  (7)— Divine  Help  !— Changes 
take  place  above  and  arouTnl  the  fortress;  but 
its  massive  buttresses  still  stand  unmoved, 
and  its   battlementa  frown  dufi  ince  at  the 
strength  of  the  foe.    Certainly  I  will  bs  with 
thee.     The  clouds  above  are  fleeting  past,  it 
may  be  in  pall-like  gloom     The  leaves  are 
budding  or  fading  according  to  their  seasons 
upon  the  earth.     There,  however,  stands  the 
Rock  of  Ages,  upon  which  is  rooted  the  For- 
tunes of  Truth  and  Faithfulness : — 
"  And  truth  shall  live  for  ever. 
And  through  endless  ages  give 
Her  blessings  to  the  sainted, 
And  fail  them  never — never." 
Page  70.  (8)— Work!— M  >8es  was  evl- 
dently  at  ease,  and  disliked  action.  Evidently 
his  mind  was  in  a  dangerous  condition,  for, 
as  Cecil  says,  a  man  who  gets  into  the  habit 
of    enquiring   about  pio()rieties  and   expe- 
diencies, and  occasions,  often  spends  his  life 
without  doing  anything  to  purpose.  The  state 
of  the  world  is  such,  and  so  much  depends 
upon  action,  that  everything  seems  to  siy 
loudly  to  every  man  :  Do  something — do  it. 
Moses  was  well  nigh  forgetting  all  about  Egypt 
in  his  quiet  and  happy  home  in  Midian : — 
"  OfiEer  thy  light  on  the  altar  ; 
In  the  high  purpose  be  strong : 
And  if  the  tired  spirit  should  falter. 
Then  sweeten  thy  labour  with  song." — 
Punshoti, 
Page  70.  (9)— Duty!  —  Duty  is  first; 
pleasure  comes  second.    God  first ;  then  self. 
His  glory;  then  our  own  ease.  The  welfare  of 
Israel's  host  before  the  comfort  of  the  shep- 
herd Moses.     When  Pompeius  Magnus  pre- 
pared and  freighted  a  ship  with  provisions  for 
beleagured  Rome,  his  friends  endeavoured, 
with  persistent  importunity,  to  dissuade  him 
from  so  doing.    With  great  vehemence  he  re- 
sponded :  "  It  is  necessary  that  I  should  go, 
not  that  I  should  live."   Moses  needed  not  to 
be  concerned  about  his  own  safety,  so  long  as 
the  freed  m  of  Israel  was  accomplished. 
•'  Away,  then,  causeless  doubts  and  fears, 
That  weaken  and  enthral ; 
Wipe  off,  my  soul,  thy  faithless  tears, 
And  rise  to  duty's  call." — L>/fr. 
Page  71.  (10) — Moses  and  Aaron! — 
The  cobbler,  writes  bmith,  could  not  paint 
the  picture  ;  but  he  could  t<  11  Apelles  how  to 
put  in  the  shoe-latchet.     T»vo  neighbours — 
one  blind  and  the  other  lame — were  called  to 
a  place  at  a  great  distance.  It  was  agreed  that 
the  blind  man  should  carry  his  lame  friend, 
who  would  help  his  human  hoise  with  his  eyes; 
"  The  lame  man  with  his  crutches  rude 
Upon  the  blind  man's  shoulders  broad; 
United  thus  achieved  the  pair 
What  each  would  have  accomplished  ne'er." 

—  Gdlert. 
Moses  and  Aaron  had  each  their  defects. 
Moses  and  Aaron  also  had  their  qualifications. 
Mo^eswasi'arnest.  Aaron  was  elotjuent.  Moses 
had  a  bold  heart.  Aaron  had  a  beautiful  voice. 
Both  aided  each  otbor.  Mutual  help. 
90 


Page  71.  (i  i)-Gift8 !— Well  does  Salter 
put  It  when  he  point-*  <tut  that  flowers,  while 
they  captivate  us  with  their  beauty,  no  less 
astonish  us  with  their  variety.  Every  country 
has  its  peculiar  species.  Some  of  these  love 
the  burning  suns  of  India  ;  some  the  barren 
deserts  of  Africa.  Am  rica  and  New  Holland 
are  equally  distinguished  by  the  variety  of  its 
animals  as  by  the  diverge  flowers  of  singular 
and  rare  beauty,  'i'hen  aizain  there  are  some 
flowers  which  are  the  natives  only  of  tem- 
perate climates,  and  a  few  are  confined  to  the 
snowy  rpgions  of  the  north.  All  these  are 
remark abe  for  their  different  qualities ;  since 
some  have  fragrance — others  beauty — and 
others  again  the  properties  of  medicine.  80 
in  the  Christian  Church,  the  gifts  and  graces 
of  its  mt-mbers  differ  widely. 
"And  yet  what  godlike  gifts  neglected  lie 

Wasted  and  marred  in  the  forgotten  soult 

The  fiaest  workmanship  of  God  is  there." 

—  Willi*. 
Guthrie  aptly  remarks  that  in  Christians 
there  are  differences  of  character,  which — 
springing  from  constitittional  peculiarities  or 
early  education — grace  will  modify,  but  never 
altogether  er.adicate  on  this  side  the  grave. 
But  there  are  also  differences  which  imply 
no  defect ;  just  as  there  are  in  countenances 
which  are  very  unlike,  and  yet,  be  the  com- 
plexion dark  or  fair,  are  very  beautiful.  We 
do  not  expect  all  good  men  to  be  alike,  any 
more  than  we  would  have  all  the  members 
of  a  family  alike,  or  all  the  flowers  alike. 
The  Church  of  Christ — like  the  meadows 
below,  or  the  star-spangled  heavens  above — 
owes  its  biauty  to  that  variety  in  unity 
which  mirks  the  works  of  God  and  mars 
none  of  them. 

"  Everywhere  about  us  they  are  glowing. 
Some  like  stars,  to  tell  us  Spring  is  bom; 

Others,   their  blue  eyes   with   tears   o'er. 
flowing, 
Sta.id  like  Ruth  amid  the  golden  corn." 
— Longfellow. 

Page  72.  (12)— Reward  !— There  is  a 
beautiful  tradition  illustrating  the  blessed- 
ness of  performing  our  duty  at  whatever  cost 
to  our  inclination.  A  lovely  vision  of  our 
Saviour  had  appeared  to  a  monk.  In  silent 
rapture  and  bliss  of  ecstacv  he  was  gazing 
upon  it,  when  the  hour  arrived  at  which  it 
was  his  duty  to  feed  the  poor  of  the  convent. 
He  lingered  not  in  his  cell  to  enj  «y  the  vision, 
but  left  it  to  perform  his  humble  duty.  On 
his  return,  the  \<  gctid  runs  that  he  found  the 
vi-ioii  still  waiting  f<r  him  to  salute  him  with 
the  words:  "  Flad-t  thou  staid.  I  must  have 
fled."  Ancient  history  (says  Pilkington) 
stories  of  Dionysius  that  he  caused  a  band  of 
musicians  to  play  before  him  on  the  promise 
of  reward— antl  that  he  told  them  when  they 
came  for  their  reward  that  they  had  already 
had  it  in  their  hopes  of  it.  Not  so  does  God 
fulfil  his  promise.  Moses  had  respect  unto 
the  recompense  of  the  reward,  and  he  now 
enjoys  it. 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   IV. 


"  So  do  thy  work  ;  it  shall  succeed 

In  thine  or  in  another's  day  ; 

And  if  denied  the  victor's  meed, 

Thou  shall  not  lack  the  toiler's  pay."— 
Whittier. 

Pag-e  72.  (13)— Mutual  Help  !  —  Con- 
ceive a  chain  whose  nppermost  link  was 
surely  fixed  in  the  living  rock  as  your  only 
hope  of  eccape;  would  jou  not  venture  your 
body's  weight  upon  its  stivnyth  1  But  what 
would  be  the  result  if  the  links  were  not 
within  one  another;  but  O'lJy  attached  ex- 
tcmally  by  some  brittle  thing?  You  would 
sini[)ly  be  exchanging  a  slipi)ery  place  of 
danger  for  inevitable  death.  No  ;  tbe  links 
mus'  be  within  each  other,  and  this  is  doie  in 
the  fires.  They  were  brought  to  a  white  heat 
ere  they  could  be  welded  in.  Moses  and  Aaron 
had  thus  to  be  welded  together  in  the  furnace 
of  affliction — ere  attactied  to  the  Eternal 
Rock — tbey  were  safe  holding  for  the  im- 
perilled host  of  Israel. 
"  Steadfast  and  sure  it  cannot  fail, 

It  enters  deep  within  the  veil, 

It  fastens  on  a  land  unknown. 

And  moijrs  me  to  my  Father's  throne." 

Wesley. 

Page  74.  (14)— Parental  Respect!— It 
is  reported  of  George  Washington  that,  when 
quite  young,  he  was  anxious  to  enter  upon  a 
seafaiing  life  against  his  mother's  wish.  She, 
however,  yielded  to  his  going  as  a  midship- 
mm.  When  all  was  in  readiness — when  his 
trunk  had  been  put  on  board — he  went  to  bid 
her  gooil-bye.  The  tears  welled  up  in  her 
eyes,  and  stealthily  stole  down  the  maternal 
cheek.  Set-ing  how  broken-hearted  his  mo'hifr 
was,  he  called  to  the  servant  to  brinir  b4ck 
his  box,  for  he  could  "  not  go  away  to  brtak 
his  mo'her's  heart."  His  mother  assu'ed  him 
that  since  God  had  promised  to  bless  thot-e 
who  honour  parents,  He  would  assuredly 
bless  her  son  for  his  filial  obedience. 
"  One  lamp — thy  mothei's  love — amid  the 
stars 

Shall   lift  its  pure  flame  changeless,  and 
before 

The  Throne  of  God  burn  through  eternity." 

Willis. 

Page  74  (15)— Filial  Memory  !— It  is 
only  when  we  have  lott  our  jia'cnts  that'  we 
Fee  how  far  short  we  came  in  filial  obedience. 
An  amiable  youth  was  iarat'.nting  the  death  of 
a  most  affectionate  parent.  His  rompanions 
endeavoured  to  console  him  by  the  reti  ction 
that  he  had  always  behavtd  to  ih^  deceased 
with  duty,  tendeines'',  and  rc-pecr.  This  far 
from  really  comforting  him  only  increased 
his  self-reproach  :  ''  Whilst  my  father  lived,  I 
ih'ught  thtt  I  was  a  good  son,  but  now, 
»'as  1  I  recolkct  with  pain  many  ins'Hricesof 
disobedience  and  neglect"  H' w  similar 
were  the  sentiments  of  Richard  th<-  Lion, 
when  he  stood  in  the  church  of  Fontevraud, 
and  g^zed  upon  the  face  of  bi3broi<«n-hentted 
father's  corp-e,  upon  which  the  broad  light 
')f  noon  was  fluiii'. 


Page  74.  (16)— Gratitude  I  Hethathaa 
nature  in  tiim  must  be  grateful — 
"  'Tis  the  Creator's  primary  great  law, 
That  links  the  chain  of  being  to  each  other, 
Joining  the  greater  to  the  lef-ser  nature, 
Tying  the  weak  and  strong,  the  poor  and 

powerful. 
Subduing  men  to  brutes,  and  even  brutes 
to  JAen." 

Page  76.  (17)— Pa'-ental  Dealing  I — 
Ou  one  occasion  a  minister  of  God  was 
c'u 'Selling  a  little  girl  to  evince  g'atitude 
flviys  for  the  kin  i  father  whom  God  had 
graciously  given  her,  when  she'  luoked  up  in 
his  face  with  her  soft,  blue  eyes,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  He  never  speaks  kind  to  me."  Can 
we  wonder  if  that  child  grows  up  undutiful 
— disobt-dien  — ^oid  of  all  confiding  ten-  er- 
ness  tovaids  her  parent  ? 

Pag^  76.  (18)— Presumptuous  Ch'-is- 
tian  ! — '1  hat  sailor  is  a  fool  who  wilfully 
runs  his  vcs-el  among  the  foam  ng  breake-a 
because  his  ship  is  stout — hears  a  life- 
boat on  her  deck,  and  can  be  rescued  by 
watch(  rs  on  the  shore.  Tiench  relates  the 
visit  of  a  gentlem  ill  to  the  scene  of  a  colliery 
explosion.  The  mine  was  full  of  chokedamp; 
and  yet  his  guide  persisted  in  entering  it  with 
his  Davy. lamp.  That  light  was  invented^^tfl' 
protect  miners,  and  not  to  make  them  pre- 
sume. Christians  presurue  on  the  providence 
of  God  when  they  rush  recklessly  and  un- 
called into  danger. 

"  Whate'er  our  thoughts  or  purpose  be, 
They  cannot  reach  iLeir  destined  end. 
Unless,  oh  Go  i.  they  go  with  Thee, 
And    with    Thij   thoughts   and   purpose 
blend. 

Page  76.  (19)— Confidence  I  —  Luther, 
when  u..aking  his  \^  ay  into  ihe  presence  of 
Cardinal  C  'j^Uan,  who  had  summoned  him  to 
answer  for  his  heretical  opinions  at  Augs- 
b  irg,  was  asked  by  one  of  the  cardinal's 
minions  where  he  would  fi^id  a  shelter  if  his 
pitn  n  'he  Elector  of  S><xonv  deserted  him. 
His  immediate  reply  was,  '•  Under  the  shield 
of  heiven."  Under  ihit  shield  Moses  was  to 
enter  Fnaraoh's  presence. 
••  A  strong  tower  is  the  Lord  our  God, 
To  shelter  and  dtfend  us  ; 

Oai  shield  Hi-  arm,  our  s^  ord  His  rod. 
Aga'nst  (;ur  foes  befiiend  us." — Luther. 

Page  78  (20)— Hope  ! — Dr.  Judson  was 
once  a-<ked  whether  the  prospect  of  the 
speedy  conversion  of  the  heathen  was  bright ; 
whereupon  he  immedia'ely  responded:  "as 
bright  as  the  promises  of  God.''  On  these 
promises  Mos-  s  was  to  rely.  On  these 
divine  assurances  Mo-^es  was  to  hope  ;  for  God 
assured  him  that  He  w.ukl  certa'ulv  be  with 
him.  This  hope — as  Smiles  has  it — is  like  the 
sun  which,  as  we  journey  towa'dsit  casts  the 
shadow  of  our  burden  behind  us.  So  Moses 
foun  i  when  he  laid  hold  of  the  Divine  Assur- 
ance.    The  islanders  of  St.  Kilda  cain  their 

91 


CHAP  IV. 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Bnbsistence  by  searching  for  nests  along 
dangerous  heights  and  down  precipitous 
cliffn.  Their  waists  are  girdled  with  a  cord 
let  down  from  above.  Moses  girdled  his 
heart  with  the  golden  cord  of  God's  promises, 
ere  he  lowered  himself  from  Horeb's  frown- 
ing heights  to  Egypt's  dark  abyss. 
'  With  him  went  ilope  in  rank,  a  handsome 

maid, 
Of  cheerful  look,  and  lovely  to  behold  ; 
In  silken  samite  she  was  light  array 'd, 
And  her  fair  locks  were  woven  up  in  gold." 

Sjicuser. 

Pag'e79.(2i) — Wonders  1 — The  scientific 
man  asserts  as  the  latest  generalization  of 
his  science  that  there  is  in  nature  the  uni- 
formity of  natural  sequence — in  other  w  oi  ds, 
that  nature  always  moves  along  the  tame 
path,  and  that  law  is  a  necessity  of  thitigs. 
He  thus  indirectly  asserts  the  probability  of 
miracles — indeed  admits  them  ;  for  where 
there  is  no  law  there  is  no  transgression,  and 
the  very  belief  in  miracles  depends  upon  this 
uniformity.  In  nature  there  are  deviations 
from  this  law  of  uniformity  ;  and  so  it  is  in 
grace.  God  has  a  certain  courbe  of  dealing 
generally  with  man,  and  He  is  pleased  to 
diverge  from  that  course  at  times — that  the 
exception  may  prove  the  rule  :  — For 
"  Order  is  heaven's  first  law — a  glorious  law, 

Seen  in  those  pure  and  beauteous  isles  of 
light 

That  come  and  go,  as  circling  months  fulfil 

Their  high  behest." — Milton. 

Page  79.  (22) —  Fear  I  —  Fear  secretes 
acids,  but  love  and  trust  are  sweet  juices. 
Who  has  not  learned  this  as  truly  as  Moses 
did  ?  The  fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare  ; 
but  whoso  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  mercy  en- 
compasseth  him  on  every  side.  It  is  like  a 
hedge  which  keeps  off  the  wild  beasts  ;  like 
the  coral  reef,  which  bafiies  the  angry  waves 
in  their  recurring  daily  attempts  to  leap  over 
and  disturb  the  calm  still  lagoon  of  tropical 
islands. 

"The  saints  should  never  be  dismayed, 
Nor  sink  in  hopeless  fear  ; 
For  when  they  least  expect  his  aid, 
The  Saviour  will  appear." 

Page  79.(23)— Divine  Sovereignty  I — 
Bishop  Hall  says,  "  I  leave  God's  secrets  to 
Himself  :  it  is  happy  for  me  that  God  makes 
me  of  His  court,  and  not  of  His  counsel." 
As  another  expresses  himself,  it  is  not  given 
to  man  to  discover  all  the  woiks  and  ways 
of  God,  either  in  nature  or  in  grace.  Perhaps 
those  of  nature — notwithstanding  all  our 
boasted  discoveries  and  pride  of  science — 
lie  as  unknown  to  us  as  the  wide  forest  to 
the  microscopic  inject,  whose  life  is  a  day, 
and  whose  world  is  a  leaf.  Laplace  wrote 
that  it  was  the  little  that  we  knew,  the  great 
that  remained  unknown.  And  Newton's 
matchless  imagery  of  the  pebbles  on  the  sea- 
horse displays  the  profound  conviction  of  the 
Christian  philosopher  that  we  are  ign  )rant  of 
far  more  tliau  we  know.  Nor  is  the  warning 
92 


of    puritan    Adams   out  of  date    when  he 
monishes  that  he  who  will  be  sifting  every 
cloud  may  be  smitten  with  a  thunderbolt : — 
"  Those  puzzled  souls  of  ours  grow  weak. 
With  beating  their  bruised  wings  against 
the  rim 
That   bounds   their  utmost  flying,   when 
they  seek 
The  distant  and  the  dim." — Ingelorv. 
Page  79.   (24)— Mysteries  1 — It  is  for 
man  to  acctpt  them.     Grosart  remarks  that 
he  could  drink   of   the  clear,   cool   spring, 
though   he  might  not  hope  to   pierce   the 
awful  foundation  of  granite  from  whence  it 
came    gushing   up.      I    can   rejoice   in   the 
shining  sun,   and    fan   my  ch'  ek  with  the 
breathing  wind,  though  I  am  ignorant  as  an 
infant  of  the  great  palace  of  light,  and  know 
not  whence   the  wind   cometh.     Believing, 
where  we  cannot  prove — 
*'  As  sinks  the  moaning  river  in  the  sea. 
In  silver  peace,  so  sinks  my  soul  in  Thee." 

Stowe. 
Page  81.  (25) — Future  Hopes  I — Moses 
had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the 
reward.  God's  reward  is  exceeding  great. 
When  Zelilaus  lost  his  hand  in  the  service  of 
his  master,  the  king  of  Poland,  he  received 
from  him  a  golden  hand  in  its  place.  Agrippa 
had  suffered  much  for  Caligula  at  Rome,  who 
therefore  upon  his  elevation  to  imperial 
power  presented  him  with  chains  of  gold 
equivalent  in  weight  to  the  iron  fetters  he 
had  worn  in  the  dungeon.  God's  reward 
reserved  in  heaven  is  a  vast  inheritance,  in- 
corruptible aiid  undefiled,  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  an  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory.  And  as  the  workman  is 
paid  after  his  work  is  done  ;  so  the  Christian 
is  rewarded  when  life  is  ended — 
"  For  loss,  nor  shame,  nor  grief,  nor  sin,  His 
promise  may  gainsay ; 
The  name  Divine  hath  spoke  within,  and 

God  did  ne"er  betray. — Adams. 
Page  81  (26)— Eternal  Prospect  I — 
Melvill  likens  it  to  a  glorious  morning,  with 
the  sun  rising  higher  and  higher — one  blessed 
springtime,  and  yet  richer  summer,  every 
plant  in  full  flower,  but  every  flower  the  bud 
of  a  lovelier.  It  would,  however,  be  a  poor 
prospect  which  such  beings  as  ourselves  could 
comprehend  or  anticipate.  Give  me,  says 
one,  the  majestic  cloud — the  oracular  veil— 
the  mighty  shadows  which  recede  as  we 
advance,  filling  the  mind  with  amazement. 
I  wish,  when  I  have  climbed  the  highest 
pinnacle  that  sanctified  conception  can  soar 
to,  to  be  compelled  to  own  that  I  have  not 
reached  the  base  of  the  everlasting  hills, 
whence  to  survey  the  eternal  proxpects  : — 
"  Go,  wing  thy  flight  from  star  to  star, 
From  world  to  luminous  world  as  far 

As  universe  spreads  its  flaring  wall  : 
Take  all  the  pleasures  of  all  the  spheres. 
And  multiply  each  through  endless  years, 
One  minut(i  cf  heaven   is  worth  them 
all." — Moore. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  v 


CHAPTER  V. 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  Hold  a  feast]  That  is,  of  course,  a  religious  festival, — a  "holyday,"  aa 
the  same  word  is  rendeied  Ps.  xlii.  4;  "with  processions  aud  dancing,"  if  we  keep  close  to 
the  primary  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word  cha-ghagh,  "to  move  in  a  circle."  However  opt-n 
to  abuse,  we  cannot  afford  to  let  slip  the  propriety  of  joy  in  worship.  The  infinitely  blessed 
.Jehovah  would  be  served  with  gladness.  His  own  holy  joy  seeks  to  overflow  into  the  hearts  of 
his  saints ;  and  this  it  does,  if  ever,  in  those  direct  acts  of  homage  which  he  himself  has 
instituted.  2.  Neither  will  I  let  Israel  go]  Or,  rather:  ''And  certainly  I  will  not  let  Israel 
go," — the  language  of  tyrannical  determination  and  bold  defiance.  As  much  as  to  say  :  "  I 
know  not  Jehovab ;  but  even  if  I  did,  THAT  would  make  no  difference."  3.  Hath  met  with  us] 
And  this  may  be  an  adequate  rendering.  But  the  construction  (with  the  preposition,  '  «,Z, 
"uion"),  and  the  context,  rather  strongly  favour  the  more  forcible  meaning  attributed  by 
Fiirst  and  Davies  to  qa  rd  (see  under  qd-ra,  No.  II ),  "to  strike  upon,  or  hit  against  a  thing." 
This  hint  might  lead  us  to  interpret  the  words  thus:  "  The  God  of  the  Hebrews  has  en- 
countered us  ;  "  i.e.,  "has  laid  an  arrest  upon  us  " — '•  His  call  is  imperative."  It  is  a  wrong 
di>ne  to  God,  which  he  must  needs  resent,  when  the  leisurely  joy  of  worship  is  denied  him. 
What  an  ^ffliction  to  any  people  to  be  too  hard-worked  to  render  God  this  service.  The 
Pharaohs  who  impose  such  an  affliction  cannot  complain  if  the  wronged  Jehovah  call  th(  m 
very  sternly  to  account.  3  Let  us  go]  The  cohortative  mood  :  alinost=  '  We  must  needs  go" 
(comp.  Ewald.  Gr.  §  228) ;  but  here  blended  with  the  particle  of  entreaty  nd,  "  pray  : "  "  We 
must  needs  go — pray  If-t  us  I  "  The  joyful,  leisurely  wor!.hip  which  God  demands  is  needful 
for  us  as  well  as  due  to  Him.  5.  Now  are  many]  The  connection  between  this  fact,  and  the 
easing  of  the  people's  burdens  is  not  at  first  sight  apparent ;  but,  on  rt  flt-ction,  becomes  clear. 
From  chap.  i.  11  we  learn  that  the  building-tasks  exacted  of  the  Hebrews  were  demanded 
under  the  idea  of  tribute;  for  the  words  there  rendered  "  taskmasters  '  (cf.  below,  on  ver.  6) 
namely  sd-rey  miggini  mean,  *'  princes  of  tribute  "  Now  it  is  evident  that  a  given  sum-total 
of  tributary  builamg  would  gradually  become  a  lighter  burden  as  the  Hebrews  multiplied. 
Hence  the  meaning  of  Pharaoh  in  this  place  seems  to  be :  "  The  work  has  not  been  increased 
in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  the  people  :  permitting  this,  you  have  allowed  them  to  find 
ease  by  the  mere  fact  of  multiplying."  It  may  not  have  been  convenient  or  desirable  to 
begin  building  more  citie.s :  so  Pharaoh  would  have  the  labour  of  finishing  those  in  hand  most 
vexatiously  augmented.  By  the  way,  we  thus  get  a  glimpse  of  Vne  process  by  which  the  sons 
of  Israel  were  enslaved.  Their  yoke  was  imposed  under  the  specious  name  of  "  tribute  : "  this 
tribute  was  imperiously  exacted  :  then  the  payment  was  made  gallingly  hard  to  render.  The 
enslavement  was  complete.  6.  Taskmasters]  A  good  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  nS-ghesim, 
which  literally  means  "exactors,"  and  is.  in  Job  xxxix  7,  used  of  the  "drivers"  of  asses. 
The  Sej)t.  rendering  of  this  word  is  exceedingly  expressive  :  ergodioktai  (epyoSiuKTat),  "  work- 
pursuers,"  "  work-persecutors."  These  "  taskmasters  "  seem  to  be  the  same  as  the  '•  princea 
of  tribute"  mentioned  chap.  i.  11  (comp.  previous  note),  and  manifestly  were  Egyptians 
acting  under  Pharaoh  and  looking  but  too  well  (ver.  14)  after  his  interests.  Officers]  These 
were  evidently  Hebiews  (vv.  14 — 20)  who  were  set  over  their  brethren,  and  were  held  respon- 
sible for  the  performance  of  the  required  work.  Theirs  was  indeed  an  unenviable  position  : 
ttiey  had  to  wring  Pharaoh's  demands  out  of  their  own  kinsmen,  or  be  beaten  themselves. 
23.  Neither  has  thou  delivered  thy  people  at  all]  This,  though  strong,  is  scarcely  so  bold  as  the 
original,  which  here  makes  an  effective  use  of  its  preplaced  infinitive  absolute:  "  and — as  for 
delivei  ing — thou  has  not  delivered  thy  people." 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Ferses  1—9. 

The  Piest  Attempt  at  Religious  Seevice. 

What  a  long  time  it  takes  to  get  men  fairly  into  any  work  that  ia  required 
of  them.  This  is  true  in  the  secular  sphere  of  daily  life.  Men  put  off  till  to- 
morrow what  ought  to  be  done  to-day.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in  reference 
to  the  duties  that  pertain  to  our  moral  life  ;  there  is  much  delay  before  men  are 
willing  or  ready  to  undertake  them.^  It  is  now  some  time  since  the  first 
indication  had  been  given  to  Moses  that  it  was  the  Divine  will  that  he  should 
achieve  the  freedom  of  Israel.  Yet  he  has  been  objecting  to  the  service, 
reasoning  with  God,  wishing  to  be  liberated  from  it,  and  in  fact,  only  now, 
when  he  finds  escape  impossible,  is  he  about  to  commence  it.  Men  little  suspect 
the  time  they  waste,  the  energies  they  weaken,  and  the  unnecessary  difficulties 

S3 


CHAP.  V.  HOMILETIC  COMMmTARY :  EXODUS. 


they  occasion,  by  auch  unbelief  and  delay.  Every  day  we  neglect  the  mission 
it  becomes  harder  to  accomplish.  We  honour  God  by  speeding  immediately 
upon  His  errands,  Tliey  are  important,  and  may  be  endangered  by  delay.* 
Israel  is  suffering  the  hardships  of  a  cruel  bondage  all  the  time  we  are  reasoning 
and  objecting  to  free  them,  and  therefore  a  tardy  obedience  is  cruel  and  un- 
warrantable. The  woe  and  sorrow  of  the  world  demands  that  Christian  workers 
should  be  immediately  brave  and  active.  It  is  all  very  well  to  linger  for 
few  moments  by  the  buf^h,  burning  but  unconsumed,  to  get  a  vision  of 
heaven,  and  to  hold  communion  with  God,  that  the  soul  may  be  refreshed  and 
strengthened  for  the  arduous  work  before  it,  but  the  act  of  worship  must  soon 
and  naturally  break  into  the  act  of  service,  or  we  shall  be  guilty  of  unnecessary 
delay.  In  obedient  work  men  hold  communion  with  God  quite  as  truly  as  when 
standing  near  the  burning  bush.  We  have  here  illustrated  the  first  attempt 
made  at  religious  service.  1.  That  this  first  attempt  at  religious  service  was 
made  responsive  to  the  caU,  and  in  harmony  with  the  will,  of  God.  "  And 
afterward  M^ses  and  Aaron  went  in^  and  told  Pharaoh,  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  let  my  people  go,  that  they  may  hold  a  feast  unto  me  in  the 
wilderness,"  1.  Thus  there  was  a  great  necessity  that  the  work  now  attempted 
hy  Moses  and  Aaron  should  he  accomplished.  It  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
realize  the  condition  of  Israel  at  this  time.  They  had  been  the  slaves  of  a 
tyrant  king,  many  of  them  from  their  birth.  They  were  ignorant.  They  were 
heavily  worked.  They  knew  not  the  glad  meaning  of  freedom,  nor  did  their 
slavery  accomplish  any  worthy  political  end;  it  had  been  achieved  by  deception, 
and  was  marked  by  severe  oppression.  Here  then  was  a  grand  sphere  for  a 
brave  and  heroic  man.  It  is  a  sphere  greatly  needing  his  attention,  worthy  of 
his  deepest  sympathy,  and  it  will  require  his  most  potent  eftbrt.  Hence  we  see 
that  Moses  and  Anron  were  not  seeking  to  remove  a  fancied  evil,  with  which  a 
few  people  were  afiiicted,  but  a  wide-spread  and  long-continued  woe,  which 
rendered  sad  the  lile  of  a  vast  nation.  Some  men  seek  to  remove  imaginary 
evils  and  fail,  and  with  their  failure  society  at  large  has  little  sympathy.  They 
are  objects  of  merriment  rather  than  of  serious  thought.  We  shall  expect  then 
of  these  two  men  entering  upon  a  work  so  eminently  needed,  that  they  will 
in  all  probability  succeed.  It  is  a  source  uf  great  strength  to  a  Christian 
worker  to  have  the  consciousness  that  he  is  attempting  a  work  that  really  needs 
doing.  There  are  hundreds  of  good  men  animated  by  this  conviction  to-day, 
and  we  all  know  that  in  the  great  world  round  us,  there  are  many  enterprises 
requiring  their  eflbrt.  Humanity  is  in  a  condition  of  servitude,  of  moral 
servitude  far  more  dreadful  and  despicable  than  that  of  ancient  Israel.^  It  is 
in  need  of  moral  emancipation.  Are  there  not  many  of  us  willing  to  make  our 
first  eflbrt  in  such  a  cause  ?  That  wicked  alley  is  without  a  tract  distributor, 
will  you  not  ofler  to  take  it  ?  That  class  in  the  Sunday-school  is  without  a 
teacher,  will  you  not  endeavour  to  instruct  it?  That  pulpit  is  without  a 
minister,  will  you  not  make  an  efi"ort  to  deliver  the  Gospel  from  it  ?  That 
heathen  town  wants  a  missionary,  will  you  not  leave  your  home  to  take  it  the 
freedom  ot  the  cross  ?  The  work  is  a  necessity,  will  you  not  make  an  attempt 
at  it  ?  You  can  {^o  to  the  tyrant  Sin,  and  demand  the  freedom  of  his  slaves. 
This  is  a  work  that  the  world  needs  doing,  and  at  once.  It  is  rendered 
imperative  by  the  passion  ot  men,  by  the  pain  of  society,  by  the  obligations  of 
the  cross,  and  by  the  distinct  call  to  Christian  service.  2.  Moses  and  Aaron 
were  the  riyht  men  to  undertake  this  work.  lu  the  first  place,  Moses  had  been 
directly  called  by  God  to  do  it;  also  Aaron  had  been  providentially  conducted 
to  this  sphere  of  work.  In  this  we  see  the  dilferent  methods  by  which  God 
enjoins  work  upon  good  men.  He  sometimes  speaks  directly  to  to  the  soul 
in  such  a  niMuner  as  cannot  be  mistaken;  at  other  times.  He  quietly  opens  up 
our  way  to  duty,  and  unexpectedly  we  find  ouraelves  in  the  presence  of  work 


HOMILETIC   COMMENTARY:   MODUS.  chap.  V. 


demanding  our  immediate  attention.  I  believe  in  a  special  call  to,  and 
frefmration  for^  Christian  work.  Unless  a  man  has  heard  the  voice  of  Q-od, 
unless  he  has  beheld  the  vision  of  the  burning  bush,  unless  his  soul  has  held 
communion  with  heaven,  unless  he  has  learned  to  speak  the  deep  name  of 
Jehovah,  he  has  no  right  to  go  on  the  errand  of  Israel's  emancipation.  He 
cannot  teach  to  others  the  meaning  of  a  name  he  does  not  understand  himself. 
He  cannot  reflect  the  light  of  a  virion  he  has  never  seen.  A  call  from  Grod  is 
an  absolute  necessity  of  Christian  service.  We  are  getting  too  lax  in  this  matter. 
We  fear  that  the  Church  is  sending  men  on  errands  of  freedom  whom  GTod 
has  not  commissioned.  We  cannot  expect  them  to  succeed.  Then,  thinlc  of  the 
moral  'preparation  that  Moses  and  Aarun  had  received  for  this  ivorh  in  relation 
to  Israel.  We  know  right  well  the  discipline  through  which  Moses  had  passed 
up  to  this  hour.  It  is  written.  The  prior  life  of  Aaron  is  unwritten.  God 
does  not  alwa^-s  disclose  the  process  by  which  his  servants  are  prepared  for 
their  toil.  They  are  prepared  in  different  ways.  Solitude  prepares  one  man  ; 
publicity  will  prepare  another ;  the  preparation  must  be  in  harmony  with  the 
temperament  of  the  man,  and  the  work  that  he  has  to  perform.  The  Church 
requires  to  think  less  of  results,  and  more  of  the  methods  by  which  they  are 
to  be  attained.  Sometimes  we  see  a  great  worker.  He  conquers  every  difficulty. 
He  is  always  successful.  We  at  once  regard  him  as  ideal.  We  laud  his  talent. 
We  say  that  Christian  toil  is  easy  to  him.  We  only  view  the  result.  Had  we 
seen  him  years  ago,  we  should  have  seen  him  curious  at  the  bush,  objecting  to 
the  service,  asking  that  another  may  be  sent  in  his  place ;  then  he  was  a  feeble, 
trembling  worker,  but  the  Divine  preparation  and  heavenly  grace  has,  through 
long  years,  made  him  what  he  is.  The  call  to  Christian  work  is  of  God,  and 
likewise  all  the  qualifications  for  it.*  The  reason  why  there  is  so  much  failure 
in  the  toil  of  good  men  is  because  they  do  not  entirely  submit  themselves  to 
the  holy  discipline  which  would  qualify  them  for  it.  Christian  workers  seek  to 
be  prepared  of  God  for  your  toil.  Thus  Moses  and  Aaron  were  well  qualified 
for  this  work.  And  we  have  workers  in  the  Church  to-day  almost  equal  to 
them  ;  divinely  cultured  in  soul  they  are  making  their  first  attempt  at  service. 
This  very  day  they  are  standing  before  Pharaoh.  They  are  seeking  the  freedom 
of  the  morally  enslaved.  May  God  prosper  them  in  their  mission.  3.  Moses 
and  Aaron  undertoolc  this  work  in  the  proper  manner  and  spirit.  There  is  a 
right  way  and  a  wrong  in  the  performance  of  any  kind  of  work ;  but  especially 
when  it  is  of  a  moral  character;  then  the  greatest  restilts  are  dependent  upon 
the  utmost  trivialities.  It  sometimes  occurs  that  God  gives  a  man  a  pattern  of 
work,  and  shows  him  how  to  execute  it.  This  was  the  case  with  Moses  and 
Aaron.  They  were  told  to  gather  the  elders  of  Israel  together,  and  then  to 
proceed  to  Pharaoh  with  the  request  of  freedom.  The  Divine  mind  is  capable 
of  infinite  suggestions  to  moral  service,  which  are  always  helpful  and  welcome 
to  tlie  earnest  worker,  and  which  should  be  carefully  wrought  out.  The  direc- 
tion of  heaven  is  needful  in  the  work  of  spiritual  emancipation.  There  are  so 
many  methods  to  be  considered,  so  many  interests  to  be  regarded,  so  many 
emert^encies  to  be  expected,  so  much  impulse  required,  and  so  many  difficulties 
to  be  encountered,  that  only  God  can  render  us  any  aid  in  such  a  work.  But 
often  the  gentle  methods  of  service  are  the  most  effective,  and  we  want  to  obtain 
the  sublime  and  happy  art  of  Christian  work,  to  win  men  into  acquiescence 
with  the  Divine  will  by  a  word  of  love,  almost  unconsciously  to  themselves. 
We  should  strive  to  present  the  message  of  God  to  them  in  such  a  voice  and 
manner  as  shall  the  most  entice  their  attention  and  obedience.  Many  a  good 
enterprise  has  been  ruined  by  the  lack  of  a  little  loving  and  considerate  art, 
whii'li  would  have  rendered  it  successful.  But  there  are  times  when  Christian 
art  is  of  little  use,  as  in  the  case  now  under  review;  Pharaoh  will  not  yield  his 
profitable  slaves  to  the  courteous  request  of  two  strangers.      Hence  Mosea 


CHAP.  V.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


and  Aaron  are  bold  and  determined  in  tlieir  request  for  the  freedom  of  Israel 
they  plainly  make  known  the  word  of  Grod  in  reference  thereto.^  So,  when  we 
have  to  attack  time-honoured  custom,  unholy  vested  interests,  and  to  deal 
with  men  who  are  deaf  to  all  the  rigliteous  claims  of  God,  the  onl}^  method  of 
service  is  to  say,  "  Thus  said  the  Ood  of  Israel,  let  my  people  go."  Thus  we 
should  imagine  that  the  work  attempted  being  greatly  needed,  of  divine 
appointment,  and  preparation,  it  will  be  almost  certain  of  success.  But  how 
disappointing  is  the  sequel.  II.  That  our  first  attempt  at  religious  service  is 
often  met  by  open  profanity  and  ignorance.  "  And  Pharaoh  said,  who  is  the 
Lord  that  1  should  obey  his  voice  to  let  Israel  go?  I  know  not  the  Lord, 
neither  vpill  I  let  Israel  go."  1.  Moses  and  Aaron  were  met  hy  a  manifestation 
of  ignorance.  Pharaoh  seems  to  know  nothing  about  the  God  of  Israel ;  or,  if 
he  was  aware  of  His  existence,  to  hold  Him  in  very  inferior  esteem.  Perhaps 
he  thought  that  Jehovah  was  unable  to  aid  the  people  in  their  bondage,  or  He 
would  have  done  so  long  before.  And  so  it  often  happens,  when  Cbristiau 
workers  commence  their  toil,  that  they  are  met  by  wilful  and  lamentable 
ignorance, — ignorance  of  the  very  fir^^t  principles  of  religion,  by  a  rejection  of 
moral  restraint,  of  the  claims  of  God  and  humanity.  Such  a  dark  condition  of 
mind  is  very  difficult  to  contend  with,  and  is  a  great  hindrance  to  philantbropic 
toil.  Only  a  Monarch  ignorant  of  God  would  permit  slavery  within  his  realm. 
Where  there  is  the  most  religion  there  will  be  the  truest  freedom.  But  the 
sequel  of  the  history  will  show  that  Pharaoh  could  not  much  longer  remaia 
ignorafit  of  Jehovah,  and  that  he  had  reason  to  trenible  before  His  power. 
2.  That  Moses  and  Aaron  were  met  by  deep  profanity.  It  would  seem  that 
Pharaoh  had  very  loose  notions  about  gods  ;  he  thought  no  doubt  that  one  was 
as  good  as  another.  His  own  country  abounded  with  them.  And  he  had  not 
much  regard  for  those  whom  he  had  been  brought  up  from  childhood  to  fear 
rather  than  to  respect.  Besides,  he  had  got  to  regard  himself  of  as  much 
importance  as  they  were.  In  short,  he  was  a  god  unto  himself,  and  wished  to 
be  unto  his  people.  He  was  not  th^^refore  prepared  to  show  any  consideration 
for  the  claim  of  a  Deity  of  whom  he  was  comparatively  ignorant.  Yet  he  must 
have  known  something  of  Jehovah,  he  would  gather  indications  of  his  power  and 
supremacy  from  the  enslaved  Israelites  and  their  national  records.  It  is  great 
profanity  for  a  man  to  slight  the  faintest  indication  of  the  Supreme  Euler  of 
the  universe,  even  though  he  be  comparatively  ignorant  of  his  true  existence. 
After  hearing  the  request  of  Moses  and  Aai  on,  Pharaoh  ouyht  to  have  thought- 
fully and  seriously  enquired  into  the  matter,  and  a  moment's  serious  reflection 
would  have  shown  him  that  lie  wuvs  putting  himself  in  antagonism  to  the  God 
of  the  despised  Israelites.  But,  instead  of  this,  he  becomes  insolent,  opposea 
his  authority  to  that  of  the  most  High,  and  refuses  the  request  of  the  emanci- 
pators of  Israel.^  So  there  are  pe-ople  in  these  days  who  have  very  loose 
conceptions  about  the  deity,  they  are  comparatively  ignorant  of  Him,  they  treat 
His  claims  with  contempt,  they  regard  His  servants  with  scorn,  they  imagine 
that  they  are  free  from  His  dominion,  and  with  this  profanity  Christian  workers 
are  frequently  called  to  contend.  3.  That  Moses  and  Aaron  tvere  met  by 
unwarrantable  pride.  Pharaoh  speaks  in  the  second  verse  as  though  he  were 
the  supreme  monarch  of  the  world,  as  though  there  were  none  to  rival  his 
grandeur,  or  to  defeat  his  pnwer.  And  thus  his  pride  led  him  to  an  unwar- 
rantable defiance  of  Jehovah.  It  exposed  him  to  imminent  peril,  for  in  a 
moment  the  Divine  Being  could  have  crushed  him  as  a  moth  in  his  hand  ;  so 
lamentable  is  the  pride  of  man.  And  yet  this  ancient  king  of  Egypt  is  but  a 
type  of  many  to-day,  whose  i)ride,  the  outcome  of  ignorance,  brings  them 
into  open  hostility  to  the  will  of  God,  and  renders  them  antagonistic  to  Hia 
servants.  Frequently  are  Christian  workers  met  by  manifestations  of  pride 
which  they  find  very  difficult  to  conquer.  Thus  the  fact  that  we  are  sent  by 
96 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  v. 


Q-od  to  our  first  effort  of  Christian  service,  that  we  nre  prepared  for  it  by  the 
heavenly  discipline  of  years,  and  that  it  is  a  work  greatly  required  at  our  hands, 
does  not  remove  from  before  us  all  the  difficulties  of  the  case.  We  have  as 
thoroughly  to  contend  with  the  ignorance,  profanity,  and  pride  of  men  as  though 
we  had  never  received  our  commission  at  the  hand  of  God.  It  is  not  the 
economy  of  heaven  to  remove  all  obstacles  out  of  the  way  of  Christian  service, 
else  there  would  be  but  little  for  man  to  do  in  the  way  of  sacred  toil 
III.  That  our  first  attempt  at  service  is  often  misunderstood,  and  its  motive 
maligned.  "And  the  King  of  Egypt  said  unto  them,  wherefore  do  ye,  Moses 
and  Aaron,  let  the  people  from   their  works  ?     Get  you   unto  your  burdens." 

1.  Pharaoh  icas  not  sensVive  to  the  claims  of  duty.  He  was  a  king,  and  had 
learned  through  a  long  series  of  years,  by  continued  practice,  to  despise  the 
claims  of  otliers,  nor  would  he  make  an  exception  in  the  case  of  Jehovah.  He 
was  hardened  in  heart.  He  was  darkened  in  mind.  He  was  surrounded  by  all 
that  could  flatter  his  vanity,  or  aid  him  in  the  event  of  conflict:  hence  he  was 
not  much  troubled  by  the  moral  questions  of  life.  He  would  be  far  more  per- 
plexed by  the  invasion  of  a  foreign  king  than  by  any  command  from  God,  And 
so  Christian  workers  have  to  appeal  to  men  who  are  almost  destitute  of  religious 
feeling  and  sensibility,  to  convey  to  them  the  stern  messages  of  God.  We  can- 
not wonder  then  that  they  are  so  often  misunderstood  and  rejected.  Pride 
always  renders  men  insensible  to  the  claims  of  duty.  2.  Pharaoh  was  not  a 
disinteresfed  interpreter  of  the  claims  urged  upon  him.  Moses  and  Aaron 
demanded  that  the  tyrant  monarch  should  announce  freedom  to  all  his  slaves. 
But  these  slaves  were  of  great  service  and  profit  to  him  and  his  nation :  hence 
Pharaoh  could  not  put  a  disinterested  interpretation  upon  the  demand  thus 
made  upon  him.  And  so  it  is  now,  Christian  workers  have  frequently  to 
undertake  work,  and  to  enunciate  requirements  which  are  opposed  to  the 
secular  interests  of  men.  Can  they  wonder  if  these  requirements  should  be 
rejected,  and  their  motives  misrepresented  ?  It  is  difficult  to  get  a  man  to  do 
the  will  of  God  when  it  is  in  apparent  antagonism  to  the  interests  of  his  trade 
or  profession.  Thus  Christian  workers  can  generally  explain  the  opposition 
to  which  they  are  subject ;  they  know  that  it  arises  from  the  enmity  of  the  carnal 
mind,  and  from  the  dictation  of  self  interest,  rather  than  from  any  rejection  of 
them  personally.  This  misrepresentation  may  give  rise  to  persecution  and 
slander,  but  from  this  God  will  ultimately  deliver  those  vkho  toil  for  Him. 
Their  aspersed  character  will  be  cleared.  Their  safety  He  will  ensure,  or  the 
service  of  earth  shall  break  into  that  of  heaven.  IV.  That  sometimes  our  first 
attempt  at  religious  service  appears  to  be  more  productive  of  harm  than  good, 
and  to  have  the  very  opposite  eflfect  to  that  designed.  "  And  Pharaoh  com- 
manded the  same  day  the  taskmasters  of  the  people,  and  their  offi.cers,  saying, 
Ye  shall  no  more  give  the  people  straw  to  make  brick,  as  heretofore :  let  them 
go  and  gather  straw  for  themselves,"  «&c.  Thus  it  would  appear  that  Moses  and 
Aaron  instead  of  accomplishing  the  freedom  of  Israel,  rather  increased  the  pain 
of  their  slavery.  But  we  know  not  by  what  methods  God  will  accomplish  His 
will,  and  even  this  intolerant  conduct  of  the  king  may  be  part  of  the  discipline 
which  shall  occasion  his  defeat.  How  many  Christian  workers  have  been  in 
like  circumstances  to  these,  apparently  having  done  those  whom  they  sought 
to  benefit  more  harm  than  good.  And  this  has  been  a  cause  of  great  regret  and 
discouragement  to  them.  VV^e  would  urge  such  not  to  be  discouraged  by  appa. 
rent  failures,  for  after  all,  these  may  contain  the  germs  of  future  success- 
Lessons  : — 1.  Pegiii  at  once  some  enterprise  for  the  moral  freedom  of  humanity  ."^ 

2.  if  in  the  first  atttf/ipt  at  service  you  meet  with  difficulty  and  rejection,  do  not 
he  dismayed.  3.  That  you  must  he  finally  successful  in  your  ejforts: — (1.)  For 
they  are  appointed  hy  God.  (2.)  You  are  upheld  hy  heaven.  (3.)  You  have  the 
sympathy  of  all  good  men. 

X  97 


CHAP.  V. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


Verse  1.  That  Christian  Workers 
should  go  boldly  to  their  duty.  "  Aud 
afterwards  Moses  and  Aaron  went  in 
and  told  Pliaraoh."  Tliese  two  men 
had  been  set  about  their  God-given 
work ;  they  do  not  hesitate ;  there  is 
no  manifestation  of  timidity ;  they 
stand  before  the  King  of  Egypt  as 
equal  to  him,  and  as  equal  lo  their 
duty  in  every  respect.  80  Christian 
workers  should  go  to  their  work  in  a 
bold  spirit,  as  supported  by  theSupreme 
Power.8  They  have  no  need  to  tremble 
in  the  presence  of  any  difficulty.  The 
Lord  is  their  Helper. 

II.  That  Christian  Workers  should 
present  the  direct  claims  of  god  to  men. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel, 
Let  my  people  go."  We  must  never 
go  to  moral  service  in  our  own  name, 
nor  must  we  use  our  own  authority. 
All  our  messages  and  demands  must 
be  presented  under  the  authority  of 
God,  and  only  His  words  are  we  war- 
ranted in  uttering.  Never  leave  out 
the  "Thus  saith  the  Lord"  in  your 
effort  of  service.^ 

III.  That  Christian  Workers  should 
aim,  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  God, 
to  bring  the  enslaved  to  a  grand  moral 
festival  of  freedom.  "  That  they  may 
hold  a  feast  unto  me  in  the  wilder- 
ness."^" All  service  should  have  refe- 
rence to  moral  festivities  ;  (to  times  of 
gladness  and  hope  the  world  is  called.) 
But  the  festival  which  is  the  accom- 
paniment of  the  freedom  wrought  by 
God  is  characterised  by  devotion. 

Why  did  God  send  Moses  and  Aaron 
to  Pharaoh,  when  He  could  have  de- 
stroyed him  with  a  stroke,  and  have 
wrought  the  freedom  of  Israel: — 1. 
That  God's  power  might  appear  in 
shewing  his  wonders.  2.  That  the 
Israelites  miglit  see  the  great  care  God 
had  over  them.  3.  To  exercise  their 
patience,  not  being  delivered  at  once. 
4.  To  leave  Pharaoh  without  excuse. 
God's  ambassadors  must  proceed 
orderly  in  delivering  their  message — 
first  to  Israel,  secondly  to  Pharaoh. 
94 


Order  of  persons  as  well  as  time  is 
observable  by  God's  servants. 

The  poorest  persons  under  God'a 
authority  may  come  into  the  presence 
of  the  proudest  king. 

God's  ambassadors  must  dec'areHis 
will  to  the  greatest  potentates. 

God's  messengers  must  go  in  Ilis 
authority,  and  vouch  His  name. 

A  proclamation  of  God  : — 1.  His 
name.  2.  His  authority.  3.  His  re- 
gard for  His  people.  4.  His  desire  for 
the  frt-edoni  of  man. 

The  freedom  of  men  : — Earnestly 
desired.  2.  Effectively  undertaken. 
3.  Divinely  approved.  4.  Successfully 
achieved. 

The  end  of  all  redemption  is  that 
God's  people  should  serve  him. 

Tl)e  true  service  of  God  is  a  festival 

of  .joy-. 

It  is  better  to  serve  God  in  the 
wilderness  than  Pharaoh  in  Egypt. 

Verse  2.  Who  is  the  Lord  that  1 
should  obey  Sis  voice?  ^^ 

I.  Who  is  the  Lord  ? 

I.  Thy  Creator.  2.  Thy  Benefactor.  3.  Thy 
Redeevier.    4.  Thy  Governor. 

II.  How  may  we  bear  His  voice  1  (11) 

1.  In  the  workt  of  natwre 

2.  In  the  dispensations  of  Providence. 

3.  In  our  spiritual perceptiont. 

4.  In  the  Bible. 

[^Pulpit  Analyst,"] 

Pharaoh's  Impious  Intebeogation. 

The  text  is  the  language  of  the  Pagan  and 
impious  Pharaoh.  A  person  whose  history 
and  character  are  fully  presented  to  us  in  the 
Divine  Word. 

I.  God  has  spoken  to  mankind. 

1.  He  has  graciously  spoken  by  His  irorks. 
"  The  heaveiiS  declare,  dec,  Kom.  1.  20.  Here 
the  existence,  majesty,  power,  and  wisdom 
are  all  rieclared. 

2.  He  has  .<tpoken  continually  by  His  good 
jjrovidmce.  The  admiiable  piovision  matte 
for  all  creatures,  &c  Hear  Paul's  address 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Lvstra:  Acts  xiv.  15,  17. 

3  He  httth  spoken  awfully  by  His  judg- 
ments. How  terrible  His  voice  to  the  ante- 
diluvians— Pharaoh.  By  war — by  pestilence 
by  famine — by  earthqunkeH, 

4.  He  hath  spoke, n  distinctly  in  Hit  word. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  V. 


By  the  ancient  prophets — by  H's  own  Son. 
Hear  the  Apostle:  Heb.  i.  1.  The  Saviour 
also  instituted  the  r^bristian  Ministry,  to  con- 
vey the  words  of  God  to  all  the  world. 

II.  "Why  and  how  you  should  hear 

1.  Why  you  should  hear  His  voice.  Because 
hi  His  right  in  and  over  you.  He  is  your  God, 
Creator,  Lawgiver.  Because  of  his  condescen- 
sion to  you.  It  is  iijfinite  condes-cenfiion  on 
the  part  of  Deity  to  stoop  and  S'peak  to  you. 
How  angels  hearken.  Because  of  the  design 
of  His  speaking,  which  is  your  present  and 
eternal  welfare. 

2.  UowweshmJd  hear  His  voice.  With  awe, 
sacred  attention,  with  holy  anxiety  to  under- 
stand and  obey  it. 

III.  The  impiety  and  folly  of  refusing  to  hear 
the  voice  of  God.  But  who  are  guilty  of  it  ? 
The  tceptic,  sensualist,  worlding,  sinner. 
Pride  of  heart  Ipads  to  it. 

1.  It  is  flagrant  contempt  of  God. 

2.  It  is  open  rrhellion  against  tlu  authority. 

3.  It jnvstbervenfuallyruinoustothesinner. 

{^Sketches  of  Sermons,  by  Dr.  Su7'ns.^ 

Proud  imperious  spirits  are  hasty  to 
reply  roughly  to  Goil's  messengers. 

Idolaters  are  apt  to  despise  God  in 
the  true  revelation  of"  Him. 

Hardened  souls  vent  their  contempt 
upon  God  Himself  more  than  on  His 
Church. 

Contempt  of  Jehovah  will  not  suffer 
men  to  hear  His  voice. 

Disobedience  to  God  ushers  in  op- 
pression to  His  people. 

Scorners  of  God: — 1.  They  hear  not 
His  voice.  2.  They  perceive  not  His 
revelation.  3.  They  recognize  not  His 
claims  4.  They  insult  His  servants. 
5.  They  enslave  His  people.  6.  They 
are  obstinate  in  their  deuial. 

The    Eeasonings   of   an   Enslaved 
Soul  with  iis  Ttraut  Opphessob. 

Verse  3.  There  are  times  when  men 
deeply  feel  the  pain  and  degradation  of 
their  slavery;  they  are  awakened,  by 
the  messengers  of  God,  to  a  desire  for 
freedom,  when  they  utter  their  senti- 
ments in  the  language  of  this  verse  : — 

I.  They  urge  the  Divine  uprising 
on  their  behalf.  "  The  God  of  the 
Hebrews  liatli  met  with  us."  God 
had  awakened  within  Israel  the  desire 
and  hope  of  freedom,  had  urged  thecn 
to  achieve  it,  and  had  promised  to  aid 


them  in  so  doing.  Pharaoh  little 
knew  the  events  that  had  happened 
prior  to  this  visit ;  he  was  ignorant  of 
the  revelation  which  had  been  given 
to  Moses  and  Aaron ;  but  so  it  is, 
imperious  sinners  walk  to  their  doom, 
ignorant  of  the  agencies  that  would 
achieve  their  ruin.  There  is  another 
history  than  that  which  is  seen  by  the 
world  at  large ;  it  is  behind  in  the 
sliade,  only  known  to  the  favoured 
servants  of  God.  The  meeting  of  God 
with  his  people  is  an  argument  for 
freedom,  and  should  be  recognised  as 
such  by  the  proudest  monarchs  of 
earth. 

II.  They  urge  their  own  desire  for 
freedom.  "  Let  us  go,  we  pray  thee." 
Probably  many  will  not  consider  this 
could  have  been  a  very  great  argument 
with  Pharaoh  for  the  freedom  of  Israel; 
but  it  ought  to  have  been.  A  desire 
for  freedom,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
are  destitute  of  it,  should  be  a  strong 
plea  for  its  bestowal  with  all  who  have 
it  in  their  power  to  snap  the  fetters  of 
the  slave.  Heaven  always  respects  our 
wish  for  freedom.'^  True  kinghood  al- 
ways will. 

III.  They  urge  their  desire  for  soli- 
tude. "  Three  days'  journey  into  the 
desert."  They  had  been  so  long  in 
the  crowded  cities  of  the  Egyptians, 
so  painful  and  sad  had  their  condition 
become,  that  they  longed  for  the  soli- 
tude of  the  desert  to  refresh  their  souls, 
that  they  might  drink  in  new  life  and 
hope. 

IV.  They  urge  their  desire  for  devo- 
tion. "  And  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord 
our  God."  Their  better  manhood  had 
returned  to  these  Israelites.  Their 
old  feelings  of  worship  are  awakened. 
They  have  struggled  through  their 
pain  and  slavery,  to  God.  They  wish 
to  worship  hitn.  This  is  a  strong 
argument  for  liberty. 

V.  They  urge  their  fear  of  pestilence. 

"  Lest  he  fall  upon  us  with  pestilence 
or  with  the  sword."  Slavery  in  any 
nation  is  more  productive  of  calamity 
and  retribution  than  almost  any  other 
sin.     That  country  will,  in  all  proba- 

99 


CHAP.  V. 


UOMILETIO  COMiUENTARY:  EXODUS. 


bility,  bo  the  most  exempt  from  pesti- 
lence and  war  which  ia  the  most  free. 
There  is  a  healing  influence  in  liberty: 
hence  this  is  an  argument  for  it. 

Just  mark  thecontrast  between  the 
Eiiyptian  king,  and  the  Hebrew  or 
Christian  mesf^engers.  Being  threat- 
ened, they  threatened  not;  reviled, they 
reviled  not  again.  They  took  meekly 
his  remarks;  they  entreated,  but  threat- 
ened not ;  for  they  said  immediately, 
"  The  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews," etc  ; 
speaking  calmly,  as  if  not  one  insulting 
expression  had  been  used.^*  Now  here 
is  a  precerient  for  us.  If  Pharaoh 
forgot  his  place,  Moses  and  Aaron  were 
not  to  forget  theirs.     \_Dr.  Cummh^g.'] 

Q-od's  ambassadors  must  not  forsake 
His  message  upon  man's  denial. 

Further  aryuments  must  urge  the 
message  of  God,  when  its  mere  pro- 
posal is  not  enough. 

The  God  of  the  Hebrews  must  be 
owned  by  them,  though  despised  by 
Pharaoh. 

Although  God  commands  powers, 
yet  it  is  fit  that  his  people  should 
entreat  them. 

To  sacrifice  to  God  and  to  feast  with 
Him  are  synonymous. 

Pestilence  and  sword  are  God's  judg- 
ments, exacting  the  neglect  of  His 
service. 

These  plagues  are  incident  on  all 
that  neglect  God,  but  much  more  on 
thtm  that  foibid  others  to  serve  Him. 

'J'he  fear  ot  these  judgments  should 
awe  souls  from  slighting  His  message 
to  them. 

Verse4.  Goodman areoften wrongly 
judged: — 1.  In  respect  to  their  mo- 
tives.    2.  Actions.     3.   Writings. 

Persecuting  puwers  return  rough 
answers  to  humble  petitions. 

Oppressing  kings  make  nothinji;  of 
despising,  checking,  and  menacing 
God's  met^sengers. 

Wicked  powers  censure  the  motions 
for  God's  service  to  be  detractions  from 
their  work. 

Oppressing  rulers  are  angry  with  men 
who  move  souls  to  serve  God. 
100 


Cruel  masters  drive  God's  people 
from  serving  Him  to  bear  their  burdens. 

Eeligionno Excuse  roRxnENEOLECT 
or  Daily  Work. 

There  is  much  daily  work  carried 
on  that  is  both  against  the  law  of  God 
and  man  ;  this,  religion  will  suspend, 
and,  instead,  will  give  a  man  work  to 
do,  the  performance  of  which  will  be  in 
harmony  with  conscience,  and  beneficial 
to  the  commonwealth.'*  True  religion 
is  no  friend  to  indolence.  Religion 
is  no  excuse  for  the  neglect  of  daily 
work:  — 

I.  Because  it  commands  men  to  pro- 
vide things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all 
men.  It  gives  a  man  an  employment 
to  fulfil,  in  one  station  or  another,  in 
lowly  social  grade,  or  otherwise.  It 
makes  uien  willing  to  earn  their  daily 
bread,  to  answer  the  purposes  of  labour, 
and  to  enliance  the  general  welfare  of 
the  nation.  If  men  are  idle  in  their 
daily  avocation,  it  is  from  the  lack  of 
religion,  not  from  the  possession  of  it. 
True  piety  consists  as  much  in  pur- 
suing our  daily  toil  as  in  attendance 
upon  the  services  of  the  sanctuary. 
AVe  should  render  both  as  a  service  to 
God.    We  must  be  diligent  in  business. 

II.  Because  it  provides  men  -vrith 
forceful  motives  to  work.  True  religion 
brings  torceful  motives  to  bear  upon 
the  souls  of  those  who  are  animated 
by  it.  It  animates  men  to  do  their 
work  from  love  to  an  unseen  God, 
from  faith  in  an  unseen  Saviour,  and 
from  fear  of  a  coming  judgment  and 
eternity.  Hence  the  motives  of  re- 
ligion are  calculated  to  make  men 
earnest  workers.  "  Whatsoever  thy 
hand  findeth,"  &c. 

III.  Because  it  enlargesman'ssphere 
of  work,  liesides  working  in  the  world 
for  daily  bread,  it  opens  up  to  him  an 
enlarged  and  holy  sphere  of  toil  in  the 
churcli,  for  the  moral  welfare  of  men. 
Nor  will  the  duties  of  the  one  inter- 
fere  with  those  of  the  other  ;  both  will 
admit  of  careful  attention.  St  Paul 
wrought  at  tent  making,  and  also  had 
the  care  of  the  churches  upon  him. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  V. 


Verse  5.  From  the  multiplied  num- 
bers of  the  church,  tyrants  expect 
multiplied  labours. 

It  is  the  envy  of  persecutors  to  see 
Grod's  servants  have  rest  from  burdens. 

It  is  incident  to  wicked  powers  to 
suggest,  that  God's  ministers  move 
His  people  to  idleness  and  sedition. 

Verse  G-7.  God's  commands,  and  the 
interests  of  his  people,  are  bitterly  op- 
posed by  wicked  pow^ers. 

Persecuting  powers  delay  not  to  vent 
their  malice  against  God  and  his  people. 

Wicked  rulers  have  their  agencies 
by  whom  they  afflict  the  people  of  God. 

Cruel  powers  stay  the  hands  of 
ministers  from  doing  justice  to  such 
as  they  will  oppress. 

It  is  savage  cruelty  to  deny  means, 
and  expect  work  and  advantage. 

Former  justice  is  forgotten  where 
future  oppression  is  intended. 

Wicked  powers  will  lose  no  gain, 
though  they  allow  poor  souls  nothing 
to  get  it  with. 

They  used  straw  in  making  brick. — 
1.  To  temper  the  clay,  that  it  might 
be  firmer.  2.  There  was  a  great  use 
for  brick  in  Egypt,  not  only  because 
they  wanted  stone,  but  because  the 
buildings  made  of  brick  were  durable. 

In  the  pyramid  of  Fayoun  there  are 
found  bricks  which  have  been  hardened 
in  the  sun,  containing  short  particles 
of  chopped  straw  mixed  with  the  clay, 
their  just  idea  being  that  straw  would 
give  cohesion  to  the  mass,  the  brick  not 
being  submitted  to  the  action  of  fire, 
but  only  to  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Whilst 
these  bricks  would  not  be  suitable  for 
our  buildings,  you  can  see  their  appro- 
priateness iu  Egypt,  where  there  is  no 
rain.  In  a  dry  and  sunny  clime  the 
bricks  would  last  *or  thousands  of 
years,  whereas  in  our  climate  thcj 
would  be  of  no  use. 


Verses  8-9.  The  worli  and  Satan  opposed  to 
the  Christian's  Spiritual  Progress.  "  If  thou 
come  to  serve  the  Lord,"  saith  the  wisdom  of 
the  Son  of  Sirach,  "  prepare  thy  soul  for 
temptation.  Tciis  caution  too  often  neglected. 
YouDg  converts  imagine  that  the  vic'orj  over 
Satan  will  be  won  at  once,  by  the  first  blow. 


The  children  of  Israel  had  sighed  by  reason 
of  their  bondage.  The  Lord  heard  their 
groaning.  Sent  Moses  and  Aaron  to  the 
Elders.  The  people  believed  Did  the  chains 
of  their  bondage  then  fall  oil  i)t  once  ?  Far 
otherwise.  They  were  now  m  the  way  fmm 
slavery,  towards  the  liberty  for  which  they 
panted  :  but  toil,  privation,  and  affliction 
lay  before  them  in  long  succe-sfion,  ere  they 
could  sit  down  every  mtin  under  his  own  virie, 
and  every  man  under  his  own  fig  iree,  within 
the  consecrated  borders  of  Canaan.  Have  y  -  u 
listened  to  the  gracious  pleading  of  ttie 
Spirit  of  God,  in  sincere  anxiety  for  a  com- 
pletr)  and  eternal  deliveranc  ■  1  You  will 
metit  with  hindrances,  one  of  the  first  will 
arise  from  those  who  make  a  mock  at 
sin,  who  deride  the  privilege's  and  duties  of 
pure  and  undefiled  religion  (15)  Such  a  rock 
of  offence  is  represented  by  Paaraoh  in  this 
chapter,  where  we  find  emblematically  pour- 
trayed  : — 

I.  The  prejudice  of  the  careless  and  world'y 
agaimt  sincere  and  vital  Godliness.     1.  It  is 

regarded  as  tlie  dream  and  vision  of  a  heated 
and  enthusiastic  imagination.  When  the 
wonders  of  redemption  first  br^ak  in  upon 
the  mind,  when  the  inquirer  fi'st  beholds  the 
Son  of  God  dying  for  him,  he  is  ready  to 
exclaim,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
thee  1 "  Are  these  feelings  visionary  ;  or 
have  they  been  enkindled  within  his  heart 
by  the  Spirit  of  God?  2.  It  is  regarded  as 
inconsistent  with  a  projper  attention  to  the 
duties  of  active  life.  1  grant  it  possible  that 
thee.i  e  ot  a  Christian's  soul,  first  open  to 
behold  the  glories  of  the  G  spel,  may  be 
dazzle!  with  their  transcendent  brightness, 
and  become  ind  fferent  to  objects  of  an 
importance  merely  temporal;  as  the  natural 
eye,  which  has  gazed  f  'r  a  moment  upon  the 
sun,  sees  nothing  but  dimness  in  the  things 
of  earth  :  bat  such  an  exclusive  view  of 
eternal  things  is  of  rare  occurrence. 

II.  Another  temptation  which  Satan  em- 
ploys to  oppose  an  entire  devotion  of  the  heart 
to  God,  is  by  exaggerating  the  importance  of 
worldly  pursuits.  "  Let  there  bo  more  work 
laid  upon  the  men."  What  shall  it  profit  a 
man  if  he  shall  gain  the  who'e  world,  if  he 
shall  loe  his  own  soul  1  A  double  caution 
may  be  deduced  : — 1.  To  thouc  who  would 
hinder  th'i  spiritvjol  freeilonv  of  others  whom 
they  may  control  or  influence;  ax  Phiiraoh 
would  have  impeded  the  jiolitical  deliverance  of 
Israel.  You  must  settle  from  Scripture  and 
prayer  whether  the  resolutions  and  desires 
you  oppose  arise  from  the  inspiration  of  God, 
or  the  imagination  of  men.  Woe  to  him  that 
striveth  with  his  Maker.  2.  Tow  who  are 
thus  hindered,  remember  that  Scripture  ad' 
dresses  you  with  a  cautionary  voice.  Be  not 
elothful  in  business. 

[^Buddicom's  Christian  Uxodus.J 
101 


CHAP.  V.  EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

MAIN   HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Ferses  10—14. 

The  Teue  Pictuee  of  a  GBEiL.T  Tteant. 

la  the  Word  of  God  we  have  many  patterns  of  human  life  and  moral  con- 
duct.    We  have  depicted  the  proud  man  in  his  gaiety,  the  covetous  man  with 
his  wealth,  the  foolish  man  in  his  folly,  and  the  tyrant  in  his  cruelty.     These 
pictures  of  life  are  eminently  calculated  to   answer  a  useful  and  practical  pur- 
pose.    When  the  picture   is  of  moral  goodness  and  virtue,  it  is  calculated  to 
inspire  with  its  beauty,  and  to  had  men  to  an  imitation  of  it.     When,  however, 
it  is  of  tyranny,  as  in  the  case  before  us,  it  is  likely  to  awaken   supreme  con- 
tempt, and  deep   abhorrence  for  it.     There  is  in  man  a  certain  intuition  which 
always  utters  a  response  to  the.-e  representations  of  conduct,  especially  when 
they  are  presented  in  a  pictorial  form,  as  then  they  appeal  to  the  imjigination, 
and  make  a  far  deeper  impression  upon  the  mind  than  any  mere  precept  could. 
In  these  pictorial  representations  of  character  there  is  real  life  ;  we  feel  that 
we   are  in  contact  with  men  who   exhibit  feeling,  who   speak,   who   act,  whose 
bearing  is  in  harmony  with  our  own  inner  experiences:  hence  they  take  deep  hold 
of  your  souls.     We  hope  that  the  picture  sketched  in  the  verses  of  this  para- 
pruph  will  give  us  such  a  vivid  realization  of  the  cruelty  and  horror  of  tyranny 
that  we  shall  flee  from  it  ourselves,  and  endeavour  to  repress  it  in  others.  We 
observe — I.  That  tyrants  generally  take  offence  at,  and  make  the  slightest 
interference  with  their  conduct  the  occasion  of  additioual  hardship  to  their 
slaves.     The  narrative  ihfoims  us  that  Moses  and  Aaron   had   been   divinely 
commissioned  to  go   to  Pharaoh,  and   rebuke   his  treatment  of  the   Israelites, 
and  to  demand  their  freedom.     1.  Thus  we  see  that  it  is  the  duty  of  good  men  to 
rebuke   tyrants.       Grod    calls  men,   and    especially    qualihes  them,   to    rebuke 
tyrants  who  are  oppressing  humanity.     It  would  appear  as  if  Piiaraoh  had 
almost  had  his  own  way  in  the  oppression  of  Israel.     E^ypt  had  not  inter- 
cepted him,  nor  had  the  Israelites  risen  in  rebellion  against  him,  nor  had  any 
heroic  champion  undertaken  their  cause ;  they   were  the  slaves  of  a  monarch 
who  acted  towards  them  according  to  the  arbitrary  and  cruel  impulse  of  his  iron 
will.     And  this  had  been  the  case  for  years.     He  has,  therefore,  grown  impa- 
tient of  rebuke,   and  especially  when  administered  by   comparative   strangers. 
It  does  sometimes  happen  that  tyrants  are  allowed  long  to  pursue  their  course 
of  cruel  oppression  without  interruption;  hence  they  are  imperious.     But  God 
will  one  day  arrest  them  by  a  stern  message.     He  will  send  an  heroic  servant, 
qualified  by  heavenly  vision  and  a  clear  insight  into  the  purposes  of  the  future, 
who  shall  meet  the  tyrant  in  his  own  palace,  and  reveal  a  power  supreme  and 
unconquerable,  before  which  he  will  have  to  yield.     Some  good  people  think  it 
best  to  let  tyrants  alone,  to  let  them  work  their  own  cruel  purpose  until  they 
come  to  their  sad  end,  when  they  will  die  unpitied.'«     They  imagine  it  foolish 
to  arouse  their  nige  by  interference,  to  awaken  them  to  further  cruelties  to  those 
already  under  their  charge.      We  say  that  this  is  a  wrong  and  cowardly  method 
of  viewing  the  matter.      W^e  are  unwarranted  in  allowing  tyrants  to  reign  for  a 
day  ;  in  standing  near  while  multitudes  are  sutiering  the  agonies  of  a  bondage 
they  have  not  power  to  resist.     In  such  an  emergency  we  must  be  meu  ;  above 
all,  vve  must  be  Christian  men.    It  is  our  duty  to  demand   the   freedom  of  the 
oppressed,  and,  if  necessary,  to  use  stringent  measures  to  obtain  it.     We  must 
be  tired  with  a  holy  courage,  and  go  as  angels  to  snap  the  fetters  of  the  bond- 
men, and  bring  them  into  sweet  liberty.     2.   That  good  men  who  rebuke  tyrants 
are  likely  to  involve  themselves  in  anxiety  and  conflict.     Moses  and  Aaron  who 
have  just  rebuked  Pharaoh   f(jr  his  cruelly  to,   and  demanded  the  freedom  of, 
Israel,  have,  by  so  doing,  ct  mmenced  a  struggle  that  will  involve  them   in  life- 
102 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  ciiap.  v. 


long  trouble  and  anxiety.  And  so  it  is  now.  To  rebuke  a  tyrant  is  a  difficult 
matter,  and  especially  if  he  occupies  a  high  social  position.  There  are  always  men 
of  policy,  place-hunters,  who  will  defend  such  a  man  as  Pharaoh,  animated  by 
the  hope  of  future  gain :  hence  such  hollow-hearted  hypocrites  are  the  first  to 
insult,  and,  if  possible,  to  defeat,  the  earnest  endeavours  of  the  good  to  relieve 
the  slave  of  his  chains.  A  few  such  sycophants  as  these  can  contrive  plots, 
circulate  slander,  and  awaken  animosities  very  difficult  to  be  overcome.  Many 
a  man  has  rendered  sad  his  life  by  interfering  with  a  tyrant  in  the  interest  of 
humanity  at  large.  Such  a  sacrifice  of  personal  comfort  is  hurd  to  make,  but  is 
often  required  at  the  hands  of  those  who  would  be  the  heroic  emanc-ipators  of 
the  enslaved.  Such  will  get  their  reward.  Tiiey  will  win  a  calm  peacefulness 
of  soul  which  outward  clamour  will  not  be  able  to  disturb,  and  the  gratitude  of 
the  world.  Instance  Wiiberforce.  3.  That  good  men  hy  their  rebuke  often 
awaken  tyrants  to  further  animosity.  We  are  painfully  conscious  that  the 
attempts  at  freedom  are  not  at  first  successful ;  they  require  long-continued 
operations,  which  are  likely  to  augment  the  rage  of  the  de-pot  they  seek  to 
dethrone:  hence  during  the  process  of  emancipation  all  slavery  is  rendered 
more  cruel  and  despicable.^'  But  this  is  only  the  prophecy  of  ultimate  freedom, 
and  will  soon  obtain  its  fulfilment  in  the  songs  of  ransomed  Isr.iel.  The  heroic 
good  are  not  responsible  for  this  additional  cruelty,  but  it  is  a  tribute  to  the 
energy  of  their  effort;  and  instead  of  discouraging  those  who  are  called  to 
endure  it,  it  should  inspire  them  with  hope,  as  the  darkest  part  of  night  is  that 
just  preceded  by  the  dawn.  All  tyrants  are  impatient  of  the  interference  of 
others.  II.  That  tyrants  generally  employ  others  to  carry  their  messages  and 
to  execute  their  purposes  of  cruelty.  Probably  Pharaoh  seldom  saw  the  enslaved 
Israelites,  or  the  burdens  they  were  made  to  bear,  and  the  cruelty  to  which  they 
•v\  ere  subjected.  He  only  knew  the  treasure-cities  they  were  building,  and  the  way 
in  which  they  enriched  his  royal  cofters.  He  simply  gave  his  orders  to  the  task- 
masters and  they  executed  them.  He  had  little  or  no  personal  oversight  over  his 
slaves.  1.  Tyrants  are  generally  too  indolent  and  indifferent  to  take  a  personal 
oversight  of  their  slaves.  Pharaoh  would  prefer  lounging  about  in  his  royal 
palace  to  the  trouble  of  a  personal  inspection  of  his  slaves.  The  walk  to  them 
would  be  too  much  for  him.  Besides,  he  would  not  risk  the  consequences  of 
"such  a  visit.  The  condition  of  Israel  was  so  sad,  their  work  so  hard,  their 
scourging  so  brutal,  and  their  bondage  so  severe,  that  even  his  heart,  stone-like 
as  it  was,  might  feel  regret  at  their  woe.  The  human  heart  in  the  worst  of 
wretches,  and  in  the  greatest  tyrants,  will  assert  its  natural  feeling  of  pity,  even 
though  it  be  unwelcome  to  those  within  whom  it  is  awakened.  The  remembrance 
of  Israel's  wrongs  might  haunt  him  in  the  day  time,  and  disturb  his  slumbers 
by  horrid  dreams  at  night.  He  would,  therefore,  keep  at  a  distance  from  his 
slaves,  that  he  might  not  hear  their  cries,  and  that  he  might  live  on  almost 
unconscious  of  their  woes.  There  are  few  men  vpho  can  visit  the  wrongs  and 
woe  they  occasion  ;  they  prefer  to  live  at  a  distance  from  it.  True,  there  are 
some  hardy  sinners  who  can  stand  unmoved  surrounded  by  the  victims  of  their 
tyranny.  2.  Tyrants  generally  prefer  the  excitement  of  j)  I  easing  amusement. 
Pharaoh  in  the  Egyptian  Palace,  and,  as  the  centre  of  an  Oriental  court,  would 
not  be  wanting  in  amusements  and  occupations  congenial  to  his  passionate 
desires.  He  would  much  more  prefer  the  pleasantry  and  magnificent  enter- 
tainment of  his  royal  surroundings  than  visiting  his  slaves.  Hence  he 
employed  others  who  should  exercise  a  direct  supervision  over  them.  Tyrants 
like  to  make  others  responsible  for  the  injuries  they  inflict.  III.  That 
tyrants  generally  demand  work  under  conditions  that  renaer  it  almost  impos- 
sible. Pharaoh  commanded  that  henceforth  the  Israelites  should  make  bricks 
without  the  regular  provision  of  straw.  The  officials  were  forbidden  to  find  it 
for  them :  hence  they  were  scattered  about  the  country  to  obtain  it  for  them- 

103 


ClIAF.  T. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EIODUS. 


selves.  This  occupied  much  of  their  time,  and  yet  the  same  amount  of  work 
was  required  from  them.  So  tyrants  are  unjust  and  inconsiderate  in  their 
demands.  They  are  unreasonable.  There  are  many  of  this  kind  in  the  world 
to-day.  There  are  some  in  the  commercial  world;  they  expect  their  servants  to 
make  bricks  without  straw,  to  make  money  without  capital.  There  are  some  in 
the  Church  :  they  expect  Ministers  to  make  bricks  without  straw,  to  fill  the 
chapel  when  no  one  will  help  him,  to  save  souls  when  no  one  prays  for  him. 
There  are  lots  of  people  in  the  world  who  expect  those  under  them  to  do  the 
impossible,  and  this  is  the  essential  spirit  and  demand  of  tyranny.  Only  a 
despot  will  require  of  a  man  more  than  he  can  happily  and  reasonably  render. 
IV.  That  Tyrants  bring  grief  upon  the  lives  of  others  without  the  slightest 
regret,  and  are  utterly  destitute  of  human  feeling.  Who  can  imagine  the 
condition  of  Israel  at  this  time  1  Their  slavery  throughout  has  been  one  of 
calamity  and  woe,  but  never  has  it  beeu  more  severe  than  now.  This  is  the 
supreme  moment  of  the  tyrant's  rage.  The  burden  of  Israel 's  work  is  unbearable. 
Their  lives  are  full  of  grief.  All  public  spirit  is  crushed  out  of  them.  And 
this  is  always  the  result  of  despotic  rule ;  it  brings  misery  upon  a  nation  ;  it 
crushes  the  energy  out  of  a  people;  it  makes  them  incapable  of  noble  impulse, 
or  of  heroic  action.  The  saddest  pictures  of  past  history  are  those  connected 
with  the  records  of  tyranny."  The  tear  and  voice  of  sorrow  cannot  move  the 
heart  of  a  despot,  he  ia  accustomed  to  their  wail. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


The  Taskmasters  of  the  People. 


Verse  10.  I.  As  coming  out  from  the 
presence  of  a  cruel  monarch  The 
taskmasters  and  officers  were, no  douht, 
some  of  them  chosen  from  the  Israelites, 
as  they  would  be  more  likely  to  find 
out  any  plot  that  might  be  contrived 
for  their  freedom,  and  they  would 
have  more  influence  with  their  brethren 
in  the  event  of  a  rebellion.  They  had 
been  in  companionship  with  Pharaoh. 
They  would  be  no  better  for  this. 
Men  are  always  morally  the  worse 
for  spending  an  hour  with  a  tyrant. 
They  almost  unconsciously  imbibe  his 
spirit.  They  become  familiar  with  his 
vocabulary. 

II.  As  uttering  from  Pharaoh  a  cruel 
message.  When  you  see  a  man  coming 
out  from  companionship  with  a  tyrant, 
you  may  expect  that  he  will  soon  speak 
a  message  of  cruelty.  When  tyrants 
are  together,  their  counsel  generally 
has  reference  to  the  oppression  of  the 
weak. 

III.  As  imposing  from  Pharaoh  a 
cruel  task.  Israel  was  to  make  bricks 
without  straw.  Tyranny  is  very  inven- 
tive.   It  is  never  at  a  loss  for  a  method 

104 


whereby  to  augment  the  woe  of  those 
whose  slavery  it  has  achieved. 

"  I  will  not  give  you  straw^  Cold 
comfort  I  Things  commonly  go  back- 
ward with  the  saiuts  before  they  go 
forward,  as  the  com  groweth  down- 
ward ere  it  grow  upward.  Hold  out, 
faith  and  patience  ;  deliverance  is  at 
next  door.  When  things  are  worst, 
they  will  mend.     {Trapp.) 

The  cruel  commands  of  despotic 
monarchs  are  quickly  obeyed  by  their 
instruments. 

Instruments  must  do  and  say  what 
persecuting  powers  command. 

Some  messengers  may  deliver  glad 
tidings  to  Grod's  people  with  gladness, 
others  with  regret. 

A  sad  message  : — 1.  Sent  by  a  tyrant, 
2.  Sent  through  his  servants.  3.  Sent 
to  the  people  of  G-od.  4.  Sent  under 
permission  of  Providence. 

Means  necessaev  to  woek. 

Verse  1.  I.  That  man  cannot  accom- 
plish work  without  means.  Israel  could 
not  make  bricks  without  straw.     Nei- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    V. 


ther  can  men  undertake  any  work 
without  the  means  necessary  to  its 
accomplisliment.  A  man  cannot  write 
a  book  without  intellect.  He  caunot 
build  a  church  without  money.  He 
cannot  save  souls  without  intimate 
communion  with  God.  He  cannot 
gather  riches  without  industry.  He 
cannot  influence  social  without  moral 
purity.  Men  cannot  make  bricks 
without  straw.  The  great  folly  is  that 
tliey  try.  They  are  men  trying  the 
impossible.  They  are  of  weak  intel- 
lect, yet  they  waut  literary  fame  ;  they 
are  of  feeble  sympathies,  yet  they 
long  for  the  honours  of  emancipation  ; 
they  are  animated  by  a  dream,  they 
pursue  a  phantom. 

II.  That  one  man  has  often  the  power 
to  intercept  the  means  by  which  ano- 
ther man  works.  Pharaoh  had  the 
power  to  take  away  the  straw  from  the 
Israelites,  which  afore-time  had  been 
given  to  them  to  make  their  bricks. 
So,  one  man  has  the  power  to  intercept 
the  methods  by  which  the  intellect, 
the  genius,  the  activities,  of  another  are 
accustomed  to  work.  We  can  take 
away  the  straw  by  which  our  brotlier 
has  been  accustomed  to  make  his 
bricks.  And  many,  animated  by  envy, 
covetousness,  and  despotism,  render 
those  around  them  almost  incapable 
of  toil.  Hence  many  bright  visions 
are  dispelled,  many  long-indulged  ex- 
pectations are  disappointed,  and  many 
hours  are  beclouded  with  sorrow, 
through  the  interference  of  such  overt 
tyranny. 

III.  That  when  men  are  robbed  of 
their  means  of  work  they  are  thrown 
into  great  straits.  The  Israelites  were 
scattered  all  through  the  land  of  Egypt, 
to  seek  stubble  instead  of  straw, 
whereby  to  fulfil  their  toil.  Men  must 
work.  They  are  not  to  be  entirely 
stopped  by  hindrances,  but  they  are 
greatly  impeded  by  tiiem.  They  are  ren- 
dered unhappy.  They  know  not  where 
to  supply  the  place  of  that  they  have 
lost.  Their  amount  of  work  is  greatly 
diminished.  One  man  has  the  ability 
to  render  the  tatk  ol  another  difficult. 


IV,  Any  man  who  intercepts  the 
work  of  another  takes  a  fearful  re- 
sponsibility upon  himself  The  man 
who  takes  away  the  straw  whereby 
another  man  works  is  involving  him- 
self in  terrible  responsibility.  The 
poorest  workman  can  make  a  brick  if 
he  cannot  build  a  house.  Do  not  im- 
pede his  labour ;  if  you  do,  Grod  will 
measure  out  to  you  a  just  retribution. 
Many  men  who  are  now  dead  would 
have  left  the  world  a  far  richer  legacy 
of  tliought  and  labour,  if  the  straw  had 
not  been  taken  from  them  in  the  day 
of  their  eff"ort.  "Woe  to  the  Pharaoh 
who  gave  orders  for  its  removal,  and 
who  sent  these  great  minds  to  gather 
stubble  in  the  broad  universe,  anywhere 
where  they  could  meet  with  more 
kindly  shelter  and  aid. 

The    Chuech    Cast   upon  hee  own 
Eesoueces. 

Verse  12.  I.  That  the  Church  is  often 
cast  upon  her  own  resources.  There 
are  times  when  men  withdraw  the 
aid  they  have  long  given  to  the  Church. 
They  issue  orders  that  no  more  straw 
is  to  be  placed  at  her  disposal.  Men 
of  the  world  do  not  give  the  Church 
her  due.  She  is  thrown  back  upon  her 
own  resources,  upon  her  own  origi- 
nality, suggest iveuess,  and,  supremely, 
upon  her  Gri^d.  She  has  to  go  into  the 
wide  world  to  seek  aid  in  the  per- 
formance of  her  holy  toil.  She  has  to 
make  use  of  the  meanest  agencies,  even 
of  stubble,  now  that  her  straw  is 
withheld.  These  are  times  of  dark 
depression. 

II.  That  when  human  aid  is  thus 
withdrawn,  men  expect  from  the 
church  the  same  amount  of  work  that 
she  accomplished  before.  Pharaoh 
expected  from  the  Israelites  the  same 
amount  of  work  daily  after  the  straw 
was  withheld,  as  before.  So,  notwith- 
standing that  the  Church  has  to  go  in 
search  of  new  agencies,  and  awaken 
new  instrumentalities,  yet  in  the  time 
of  her  depression  men  unreasonably 
expect  that  she  will  achieve  the  same 
amount  of  toil.  Let  our  business  men 
give  the  Church  the  straw,  the  wca.ih, 

105 


CUAP.  V. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


the  consecrated  talent  she  needs,  and 
ought  to  have  from  them,  and  she  will 
Boon  double  her  diligence  and  duty. 

III.  That  when  the  Church  does  not 
accomplish  her  work  as  fully  and 
speedily  under  these  difficult  circum- 
stances, she  is  persecuted  and  slan- 
dered by  the  world.  Verse  14.  Thus 
the  Church,  in  the  most  trying  moments 
of  her  hiistory,  is  mi-under?tood,  mis- 
represented, slandered,  and  persecuted 
by  those  to  whom  she  has  rendered 
unnumbered  and  incalculable  service.'' 

Cruel  commands  of  persecuting 
powers  are  obeyed  by  afflicted  souls. 

Dispersion  from  fellow  workers  is  a 
hard  burden  on  them,  from  whom  work 
is  exacted. 

It  is  a  contradictory  thing  to  drive 
men  from  work,  and  yet  expect  daily 
labours. 

Such  hard  undertakings  are  the  ser- 
vants of  God  sometimes  called  to  bear. 

Verses  13,  14.  Eeasons  why  men  do 
not  perform  their  work. 

Wherefore  have  ye  not  fulfilled  your 
task  in  making  brick  both  yesterday 
and  to-day,  as  heretofore  ? 

I.  Some  men  say  that  they  do  not 
work  because  they  cannot  see  any  to 
do.  They  say  that  no  one  will  etnploy 
them  to  make  bricks.  When  men 
make  this  excuse  we  seldom  believe 
them.  In  a  country  like  this,  where 
every  kind  of  industry  is  carried  on,  no 
honest,  intelligent,  and  diligent  worker 
need  be  without  employment.  This 
excuse  is  generally  the  plea  of  the 
idle  vagrant,  rather  than  the  statement 
of  real  tact.  It  may  occasionally  and 
lor  a  time  be  made  with  truth. 

II.  Some  men  do  not  work  because 
they  are  physically  incapacitated. 
They  are  unable  to  make  bricks. 
They  may  have  been  born  with  the 
defective  use  of  their  bodily  limbs, 
hence  they  are  not  able  to  enter  upon 
the  industrious  pursuits  of  a  busy  life. 
Such  cases  are  numerous.  They  are 
deserving  of  special  asylums  for  their 

106 


benefit.  They  should  always  excite 
our  sympathy,  and  the  best  aid  we  can 
render. 

Some  men  do  not  work  because 
they  are  indolent.  They  will  not  make 
bricks.  They  say  there  are  no  bricks 
to  be  made  They  are  idle.  Such  men 
are  a  curse  to  themselves,  to  their 
families,  and  to  the  nation  at  large. 
The  law  ought  to  have  power  to  make 
them  work,  and  earn  honestly  their 
daily  bread.  They  are  the  cause  of 
half  the  woe  that  comes  upon  our 
country. 

IV.  Some  men  do  not  work  as  thej 
would  because  they  are  prevented 
from  doing  so  by  the  injustice  o\ 
others.  These  Israelites  did  not  make 
as  many  bricks  as  they  otherwise  would 
have  done  had  Pharaoh  supplied  them 
with  straw,  as  was  his  duty.  There  are 
multitudes  of  good  workmen  kept  from 
the  full  and  complete  performance  of 
their  daily  work  by  the  injustice  and 
tyranny  of  their  superiors  or  even  by 
their  comrades.  Not  even  kings  ought 
to  have  the  power  to  prevent  the  easy 
and  happy  workmanship  of  their  sub- 
jects. What  a  vast  amount  of  profit- 
able labour  would  be  lost  to  Egypt 
through  this  conduct  on  the  part  of 
Pharaoh.  That  nation,  as  a  rule,  will 
be  tlie  strongest  and  happiest  in  which 
there  is  the  greatest  facility  for  good 
and  joyous  work. 

In  the  absence  of  help,  cruel  task- 
masters are  hasty  to  call  for  work. 

Full  work  is  called  for  by  wicked 
exactors,  where  means  of  doing  it  are 
withheld. 

Daily  work  is  commanded  by  op- 
pressors when  they  deny  daily  bread. 

Hard  blows  as  well  as  harsh  words 
cruel  powers  inflict  upon  God's  harm- 
less ones. 

Tender  officers  are  made  to  smart  by 
superiors,  because  they  dare  not  op- 
press others  under  them. 

Unreasonable  demands  are  the  best 
reasons  which  oppressors  give  for  their 
cruelty. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  15-19. 

Eequiring  the  Impossible. 

I.  That  there  are  some  people  in  society  who  strive  to  make  those  under 
them  do  the  impossible.    Pharaoh  tried  to  make  tlie  Israelites  do  the  iinpossible, 
when  he  commanded  them  to  make  bricks  without  providing  them  with  straw. 
This  demand  of"  tyranny  is  heard  to-day  in  our  large  factories  and  amongt<t 
our  agricultural  population.      1.  All  require  men  to  do  the  impossible  who  wish 
them  to  work  beyond  their  capabilities.     Every  man  has  a  degree  of  capability 
for  work  peculiar  to  himself,  aud  can  only  execute  that  kind  of  work  in  a  given 
time,  according  to  his  own  ability.    I'o  require  more  at  his  hands  is  to  require  the 
impossible.     To  require  men  to  work  beyond  their  physical  strength  is  to  require 
the  impossible.     Some  employers  have  no  regard  for  the  physical  manhood  of 
those  engaged  in  their  service.     Tney  give  the  same  a.mount  of  work  alike  to 
the  strong  and  the  weak,  and  expect  it  accomplisht  d.     The  thin,  pale  coun- 
tenances of  many  who  are  daily  seen  wending  their  way  to  our  busy  hives  of 
industry  are  indices  to  sad  tales  of  heart  aud  home.     They  are  overworked. 
They  are  sinking  into  the  grave.     How  often  is  the  buoyant  life  and  energy  of 
youth  quenched,  and  almost  extingu  shed,  by  toil  in  an  overcrowded  and  ill- 
ventilated  oflBce.     All  who  require  young  men  to  prosecute  their  daily  bu  iness 
under  such  conditions  are,  in  effect,  seeking  the  impossible.     To  require  men 
to  worh  beyond  their  intellectual  ability  is  to  require  the  impossible.     There  are 
hiiudreds  of  men  in  our  country  who  occupy  positions  beyond  the  power  of  their 
mental  ability  to  sustain  happily,  and  with  comfort  to  themselves.     This  is  the 
case  with  many  who  indulge  in  large  financial  speculations;  with  many  in  the 
daily  haunts  of  life  who  occupy  a  higher  position  than  they  are  qualified  for ;  and 
with  many  popular  ministers.     Those  in  authority  over  them,  and  an  exacting 
public,  are  ever  urging  them  to  make  bricks  without  straw.     Hence  their  work 
becomes  a  burden  and  a  sorrow.     To  require  men  to  icork  beyond  their  moral 
enrrqy  is  to  require  the  impossible.      There  are  some  men  of  little  souls  and 
small  sympathies,  who  have  great  churches,  and  who  have  in  their  congregation 
men  of  large  hearts     These  large-hearted  hearers  get  but  little  help  in  their 
sorrows  aud  conflicts  from  their  minister  and  his  sermons ;  they  ought  not  to 
expect  otherwise,  for  even  a  minister  cannot  make  brick  without  straw.     How 
can  a  preacher  give  to  his  congregation  the  sympathies  of  an  overflowing  heart 
of  love,  when  his  soul  is  hardly  large  enough  to  contain  even  himself,  when  he 
is  of  cold  temperament,  logical  in  thought  rather  than  deep  in  emotion.    Never 
require  your  minister  to  do  the  impossible;  to  visit  all  the  parish  in  a  day,  to 
know  that  people  are  ill  when  he  has  never  been  told,  to  attend  half-a-dozen 
committees  at  the  same  hour,  to  lead  a  prayer-meeting  when  he  is  preaching 
elsewhere,  or  expect  sympathy  from  him  when  he  has  none  to  give.     If  you 
have  chosen  him  as  your  pastor,  do  not  expect  him  to  make  bricks  without 
straw.     2.  All  require  men  to  do  the  impossible  who  wish  them  to  worh  beyond 
their  opportunity.     Every  man  must  have  time,  and  a  proper  time,  to  do  his 
work.     He  must  not  be  expected  to  do  two  things  at  once.     He  must  not  be 
expected  to  work  when  nature  requires  that  h-;  should  be  in  bed  asleep.     But 
men  must  not  only  have  the  opportunity  of  time  in  which  to  accomplish  their 
work,  but  also  the  opportunity  of  place  and  means.     Every  workman  should 
have  a  place  adapted  to  his  employment,  aud  should  be  readily  supplied  with 
means  whereby  to  carry  it  on.     He  should  have  a  shed  to  make  his  bricks  in, 
as  well  as  straw  to  make  them  with.     3.   Contemplate  the  method  employed  to  get 
men  to  do  the  impossible.     These  methods  are  various.     Some  will  condescend 

107 


cuAr.  V. 


UUMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


to  flattery  and  cant  to  get  men  to  do  that  for  which  they  are  totally  unadapted. 
Others  will  use  force  and  persecution.  (1.)  They  set  taskmasters  over  us.  To 
watch  our  conduct.  To  inspect  our  work.  To  insure  our  diligence.  To 
augment  our  burden.  To  darken  our  Borrow.  How  many  managers  in  our 
large  factories,  inspired  Dy  the  tyrant  spirit  of  their  masters,  act  the  part  of 
these  Egyptian  officers.  How  many  deacons  in  small  churches  are  more  like 
tliem  than  they  are  like  Clirist,  who  gave  rest  to  the  heavy  ladened.  (2.)  Tfiey 
abuse  us.  'J'hey  say  we  are  idle,  and  that  even  after  we  have  made  the  best 
jittempt  within  our  power,  to  tail  in  with  their  unjust  demands.  (3.)  They  mock 
our  religious  .sentiment.  "  Therefore,  ye  say,  let  us  go  and  do  sacrifice  unto 
the  Lord."  They  impeach  our  religious  motives.  They  insinuate  that  we  are 
hypocrites.  These,  ihen,  are  the  ways  and  methods  in  which  we  are  treated, 
w  hen  tyrants  endeavour  to  compel  us  to  do  the  impossible.  (4.)  Some  people 
will  attempt  to  accomplish  the  impossible.  It  would  seem  that  these  Israelites  did. 
They  were  scattered  abroad,  and  went  seeking  stubble  wherewith  to  make 
bricks.  Never  attempt  to  do  what  you  cannot,  either  in  response  to  the  order 
of  the  tyrant  or  the  smile  of  the  flatterer.  It  will  involve  you  in  utter  failure 
and  distress  at  last,  when  you  will  get  no  sympathy  from  those  who  urged  you 
to  it.  The  world  is  full  of  men  who  are  trying  to  do  the  impossible.  They  are 
trying  to  make  wealth  too  fast,  they  are  giving  out  energy  they  will  never  be 
able  to  repair. 

II.  That  the  people  who  strive  to  make  those  under  them  do  the  impos- 
sible are  throwing  society  into  an  attitude  of  pain  and  complaint.  "  Then  the 
offictrs  of  the  Children  of  Israel  came  and  cried  unto  Pharaoh,  saving,  where- 
fore dealest  thou  thus  with  thy  servants?"  1.  The  requirement  of  the  impossible 
tends  TO  throw  society  into  an  attitude  of  pain.  "When  men  are  required,  to  do 
the  impossible,  their  physical  and  moral  energies  are  exhausted  by  what  they 
know  must  he  fruitless  labour.  Hence  they  become  weary.  They  despair. 
Most  of  the  social  pain  of  our  country  is  occasioned  by  tyrannic  and  covetous 
spirits,  who  are  in  haste  to  get  rich  out  of  the  cheap  and  stern  labour  of  those 
who  are  unfortunately  in  tHieir  service.  National  happiness  is  to  a  very  large 
extent  the  outiome  of  a  free  and  sympathetic  employment  ot  the  working 
classes.  2.  The  requirement  of  the  impossible  tends  to  throw  society  into  an 
attitude  of  complaint.  When  society  is  in  pain,  it  is  almost  sure  to  render 
vocal  its  anguish  in  the  language  of  complaint.  Men  feel,  when  they  are 
required  to  do  the  impossible,  that  they  are  unjustly  treated.  And  nothing  will 
sooner  give  rise  to  complaint  than  a  sense  of  injury  and  wrong.  When  society  is 
complaining,  it  cannot  be  happy  or  prosperous.  A  tyrant  king  can  destroy  the 
very  life  of  a  nation.  "  AVherefore  dealest  thou  thus  with  thy  servants."  1.  Is 
it  from  the  sheer  motive  of  tyranny?  (2.)  Is  it  as  an  additional  assertion  of 
authority  since  the  demand  of  Moses  and  Aaron?  (8.)  Is  it  with  a  cruel  delight 
in  our  wue  ?     (4.)   It  certainly  cannot  be  justified. 

III.  'Ihat  the  people  who  strive  to  make  those  under  them  do  the  impos- 
sible, and  who  throw  society  into  an  attitude  of  pain,  are  but  little  affected 
by  the  woe  they  occasion,  and  generally  resent  any  mention  of  it  to  them. 
'•  Go  therefore  now,  and  work  ;  lor  there  shall  no  straw  be  given  you,  yet  shall 
ye  deliver  the  tale  of  brieks."  1.  I^'ot withstanding  the  outcry  of  the  oppressed 
the  tyrant  demands  renewed  work.  "  Go  therefore  now,  and  work."  2.  .Not 
withstajidiiifi  the  outcry  of  the  oppressed,  the  tyrant  adheres  to  his  cruel  measures. 
"  Tliere  shall  no  straw  be  given  you."  8.  JSotwithstandmg  the  outcry  of  the 
oppressed,  the  tytant  mocks  ttieir  woe,  and  treats  them  with  contempt.  Lessons: 
i.  .Sever  require  the  impossible.  2.  Never  attempt  the  impossible.  3.  Adapt 
methods  to  ends.     4.   Cultivate  kindly  dispositions  toward  your  employers. 


108 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  V. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
Eeasons  Eequieed  foe  Mokal  Conduct. 


Verso  15.  "  Wherefore  dealest  thou 
thus  with  thy  servants.^* 

I.  There  are  times  when  men  are 
required  to  give  reasons  for  their 
method  of  moral  conduct.  They  have 
been  oppressive  in  their  conduct.  They 
have  to  give  a  reason  for  their  oppres- 
sion. They  have  been  dishonest,  they 
have  to  give  a  reason  for  their  decep- 
tion. They  have  occasioned  pain  to 
others,  and  any  man  who  gives  pain  to 
his  fellow  creature  ought  to  be  rigor- 
ously questioned  about  it.  Public 
opinion  often  calls  a  man  to  its  tri- 
bunal. Sometimes  men  are  the  ques- 
tioners. Sometimes  God  is  the  Ques- 
tioner. Kings  are  not  exempt  from 
these  interrogations.  The  world  will 
one  day  have  to  give  a  reason  for  its 
conduct  at  the  solemn  bar  of  Grod. 

II.  It  is  highly  important  that  every 
man  should  be  able  to  allege  heavenly 
principles  and  motives  ns  the  basis  of 
his  conduct.  Men  must  not  rest  their 
methods  of  conduct  upon  the  dictate 
of  their  own  pleasure,  convenience,  or 
arbitrary  will,  but  upon  the  spiritual 
law  of  God.  lievenge,  envy,  and 
selfishness  are  vile  reasons  for  conduct, 
and  will  meet  with  severe  retribution. 
Love  to  Grod  and  man  is  the  only  true 
and  loyal  principle  and  motive  of 
human  action,  and  only  will  sustain 
the  scrutiny  of  infinite  rectitude. 

III.  That  a  man  who  can  allege 
heavenly  principles  as  the  basis  of  his 
conduct  will  be  safe  at  any  tribunal  to 
which  he  may  be  called.  1.  Re  will 
be  safe  at  the  tribunal  of  his  own  con- 
science. 2.  He  will  be  safe  at  the  tri- 
bunal of  God's  Book.  3  He  will  be 
safe  at  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion. 
4.  l£e  will  be  safe  at  the  final  tribunal 
of  the  universe. 

Oppressed  souls  cannot  but  complain 
of  cruel  and  unjust  smitings. 

A-ddreases  for  relief  are  fittest  from 


the  aflBicted  to  the  highest  power  op- 
pressing. 

Access,  cries,  and  sad  speeches  are 
forced  from  the  oppressed  to  oppressors. 

The  execution  by  instruments  is 
justly  charged  upon  their  Lord's. 

The  Oppressor: — 1.  He  has  often  to 
give  audience  to  his  slaves.  2.  He  has 
to  hear  the  cry  of  his  slaves.  3.  He 
has  to  listen  to  the  complaint  of  his 
slaves.  4.  He  has  to  give  a  reason  for 
his  conduct  to  his  slaves. 

Verse  16.    The  Expostulations  of 

THE  Slave. 

1.  They  expostulate  that  the  means 
necessary  to  the  accomplishment  ot 
their  daily  work  were  withheld. 
"  There  is  no  straw  given  to  thy  ser- 
vants." 

II.  They  expostulate  that  they  were 
brutally  treated.  "  Thy  servants  are 
beaten." 

III.  They  expostulate  that  they  were 
not  morally  culpable  in  their  neglect 
of  work.     "  The  fault  is  in  thine  own 

people  " 

True  servants  may  justly  expostulate 
about  hard  dealings  from  their  rulers. 

To  give  no  straw  and  to  command 
bricks  is  a  most  unreasonable  exaction. 

To  punish  innocent  servants  when 
others  sin,  is  a  most  unjust  oppression. 

Such  wicked  dealings  sometimes 
make  God's  servants  to  complain  to 
earthly  powers. 

The  tyrant: — 1.  Unreasonable  in  his 
demands. 

2.  Cruel  in  his  resentment. 

3.  Mistaken  in  his  juiigmentof  guilt. 

Verse  17 — 19.  Cruel  oppressors  of 
God's  people  are  deaf  to  complaints. 

Crimination,  though  false,  instead  of 
acceptation,  is  returned  to  the  appeals 
of  the  oppressed  by  cruel  powers. 

Double  labours  are  branded  for  idl©' 
ness  by  unreasonable  oppressors. 

109 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Persecutors  do  not  only  charge  men  servants  are  usually  answered  by  add- 
but  God,  for  making  His  people  idle.  ing  more. 

Inhuman  persecutors  drive  the  a|)-  Ciuel  exactions  of  persecutors  may 

pealing  oppressed  out  of  their  sight  to  mnke   deep   impressions   upon   God's 

work.  servants. 

Cruel  opprf-ssors  double  their  denial  Good  overseers   are  more  afflicted 

of"  help  unto  sad  plaintiffs.  when  they  see  themselves  forced   to 

Complaints  of  exaction  upon  God's  oppress  the  innocent. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  HIE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  20—23. 
Cheistian  Wobkees;  theie  Difficulties  and  Discotjeagement. 

"We  do  not  as  a  rule  fully  appreciate  the  difficulties  with  which  Christian 
workers  have  to  contend.  We  are  apt  to  imagine  that  their  toil  is  comparativtly 
easy,  that  they  are  aided  in  it  by  the  ministry  of  heaven,  and  that  therefore 
everything  yields  to  their  touch.  Any  man  who  talks  thus  shows  that  he  has 
never  been  engaged  in  moral  service,  or  his  own  experience  would  have  taught 
him  otherwise.  Christian  loork  is  more  difficult  and  perplexing  than  any  other ; 
it  requires  and  calls  into  exercise  the  higher  faculties  of  our  being,  which  in 
most  men  are  but  feebly  and  partially  developed  ;  it  brings  into  complicated 
social  relationships  ;  and  often  ends  in  apparent  failure.  The  Christian  worker 
must  be  permanently  a  man  of  faith,  or  he  will  despair  in  his  toil,  as  nearly  all 
that  is  seen  is  in  opposition  to  his  mission.  Also,  he  is  uncertain  as  to  the  time 
of  his  success;  he  knows  not  when  he  will  come  to  the  glad  termination  of  his 
work.  The  men  vvho  toil  in  the  secular  spheres  of  life  for  their  daily  bread, 
and  for  the  accommodation  of  society,  know  almost  to  an  hour  when  their  task 
will  be  completed.  They  have  to  deal  with  the  inanimate  things  of  nature, 
with  wood  and  stone,  which  have  no  power  of  resistance,  or  remonstrance, 
These  lil'eless  blocks  must  yield  to  the  piercing  of  the  chisel  and  the  stroke  of 
the  hammer.  But  not  so  with  the  material  on  which  Christian  workers  try 
their  art.  Human  souls  are  not  inanimate.  They  have  the  power  of  thciught, 
of  emotion,  of  will,  and  can  resist,  not  only  the  earnest  efforts  of  man,  but  also 
the  influences  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  when  He  strives  to  make  them  new  creatures 
in  Christ  Jesus.  Hence,  when  God  c:ills  Moses,  or  any  other  man,  from  ordinary 
toil  to  undertake  some  special  mission  for  the  moral  welfiire  of  humanity,  He 
calls  him  to  a  task  at  once  the  most  difficult  and  honourable.  Let  us  then 
endeavour  to  appreciate  and  sympathize  more  with  the  perplexities  of  Christian 
service  than  we  have  hitherto  done,  that  we  maybe  patient,  calmly  awaiting 
the  outcome  of  Divine  Providence  in  its  relation  to  the  conduct  of  men.  We 
observe : — 

I.  That  Christian  workers  have  frequently  to  contend  with  the  obstinacy 
and  ridicule  of  men  in  high  positions.  Moses  and  Aaron  had  to  contend  with 
the  moral  obstinacy  of  Pharaoh,  the  King  of  Egypt.  And  not  only  had  they 
to  conflict  with  his  obstinacy,  but  also  with  his  ridicule,  and  with  his  mis- 
representation of  their  motive  and  conduct.  He  said  that  the  design  of  these 
holy  men,  in  their  demand  of  freedom,  was  to  indulge  the  indolence  of  Israel. 
Antl  how  frequently,  in  the  history  of  Christian  and  philanthropic  service,  have 
kings  and  those  in  authority  been  the  greatest  hindrance  to  its  progress. 
When  the  godly  heroes  of  the  Church  have  sought  the  emancipation  of  men, 
the  pride  of  some  haughty  king,  or  the  prejudice  of  some  ignorant  nobleman,  or 
the  vested  interest  of  some  rich  autocrat,  have  thwarted  their  efiorts.  It  is  hard 
for  a  desert  shepherd  to  contend  with  an  impious  king  ;  the  latter  will  have  many 
allies,  the  former  will  rather  have  the  legions  of  heaven  to  aid  him  than  those 
110 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  \. 


of  earth,  ashis  cause  ismore  popul  ir  with  an.i;els  thaa  men.  Nor  is  it  easy  to 
endure  the  ridicule  of  those  in  high  position,  for  when  a  king  laughs  and  mocka 
at  religious  service,  there  are  always  a  lot  of  servile  spirits  who  will  try  to 
imitate  his  grin  and  raillery  at  our  toil.  We  imagine  that  ridicule  is  almost 
the  severest  trial  the  Christian  worker  has  to  endure  Thus  we  see  that  it  is 
not  the  Divine  plan  to  shield  men  from  the  ridicule  and  insult  incurred  by  their 
effort  of  moral  service,  but  rather  to  give  grace  that  they  may  endure  as 
serving  him  who  is  invisible.  The  ocean  of  Chrit<tian  service  is  rocky  and 
stormy,  but  we  have  a  good  pilot  and  a  safe  chart  to  guide  us  to  our  destined 
port. 

II.  That  Christian  workers  have  frequently  to  contend  with  the  discourage- 
ment of  a  first  defeat,  and  apparent  failure.  Moses  and  Aaron  had  been  to 
Pharaoh  according  to  the  Divine  command,  and  had  met  with  a  severe  repulse. 
'J'heir  God  was  rejected.  Their  requirement  of  Israel's  freedom  was  haughtily 
refused.  Their  visit  was  followed  by  a  servitude  of  increased  rigour.  It  was 
to  them  a  great  failure  They  had  no  doubt,  after  the  revelation  God  had 
made  to  them  and  the  words  He  had  spoken  to  them,  but  that  they  would 
meet  with  immediate  success.  But  at  once  the  fires  of  their  enthusiasm  were 
extinguished ;  their  best  eftorts  were  without  effect  upon  the  king.  Their 
statement  of  fact  was  useless.  Their  arguments  were  futile.  Their  entreaties 
were  vain.  The  proud  monarch  defies  lliem,  and  their  God.  All  Christian 
workers  will  be  able  to  enter  into  the  hitter  experiences  of  these  two  men. 
Their  disappointment  has  often  been  your.s.  Ton  heard  the  call  of  God  ;  went 
forth  to  noble  toil  ou  behalf  of  the  iiior;il  welfare  of  humanity,  your  heart  was 
warm  with  glad  excitement,  visions  of  grand  freedom  came  upon  your  soul,  but 
they  were  all  dispelled  by  the  first  attempt  to  snap  the  tetter.  You  were  dis- 
appointed.20  You  were  sad.  Your  energy  was  gone,  and  you  found  it  difficult 
to  summon  enough  strength  to  make  a  second  effort.  Failure  is  always  a 
woeful  experience.  It  is  to  the  scholar.  It  is  to  the  voyager.  It  is  to  the 
soldier.  It  is  especially  so  to  the  Christian  workef*.  Never  be  disheartened 
by  apparent  failure;  it  may  be  but  the  shutting  of  a  door,  which  will  open 
widely  upon  your  next  approach. 

III.  That  Christian  workers  have  frequently  to  contend  with  the  misappre- 
hension of  those  whom  they  seek  to  benefit.  Slopes  and  Aaron  had  not  merely 
to  contend  with  the  ridicule  and  resist ance  of  Pharaoh;  with  their  own  sad 
conscioufeness  of  failure ;  but  also  with  the  misrepresentation  and  ungrateful 
reproaches  of  the  slaves  they  sought  to  free.  This  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  features  of  Christian  service.  We  should  have  thought  that  the 
Israelites  would  have  been  so  tired  and  oppressed  by  their  long-continued 
slavery,  that  they  would  have  joyfully  welcomed  any  agency  likely  to  release 
them  from  it.  But  so  far  from  this,  they  reproach  Moses  and  Aaron  upon  the 
very  first  opportunity,  accusing  them  of  having  augmented  their  burdens  rather 
than  relieved  them.  These  Israelites  had  not  the  judgment  to  discern  that  this 
severe  oppression  was  but  the  prelude  to  their  release.  They  had  not  the 
patience  to  wait  for  the  Divine  Advent  which  would  be  the  signal  of  their 
freedom.  They  had  not  the  fortitude  to  endure  their  suffering  calmly,  even 
for  a  while.  They  immediately  give  vent  to  reproachful  language,  even  to 
those  who  have  given  up  all  to  relieve  them  in  their  trying  circumstances.  And 
this  picture  finds  its  reproduction  in  connection  with  much  of  the  Christian 
service  of  our  own  day.  How  many  of  the  slaves  of  sin,  whose  lives  are  full  of 
misery  and  woe,  resent  any  Christian  effort  that  is  made  to  recover  them  to 
purity  and  peace,  because  of  the  momentary  increase  of  pain  that  is  occasioned 
by  the  effort  to  become  morally  better.  They  desire,  in  response  to  our  call,  to 
leave  King  Satan,  and  to  enjoy  the  freedom  of  King  Jesus  ;  hence  Satan  becomes 
more  fierce  in  his  temptations,  he  endeavours  to  make  more  secure  their  fetters, 

111 


CHAP.  V.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


to  increase  their  burdeus  ;  and  in  bitterness  of  soul  they  are  liable  to  iudulu® 
in  ungrateful  words,  and  retjard  their  expected  deliverer  aa  their  foe.  An  in' 
crease  of  slavery  generally  precedes  freedom,  hence  the  slaves  of  sin  should  be 
prepared  for  anguish  bei'ore  tliey  can  chant  the  sweet  anthem  of  liberty.  These 
misrepresentations  are  however  hard  for  the  Christian  worker  to  endure  ;  they 
are  not  merely  ungrateful,  they  are  cruel,  they  wound  his  soul.  Happy  if  they 
lead  him  to  God  in  prayerful  spirit. 

IV  That  Christian  workers  have  frequently  to  contend  with  their  own 
misconception  of  the  Divine  method  of  working,  and  their  inability  to  rightly 
interpret  the  meaning  of  events  in  relation  thereto.  JSloses  and  Aaron 
no  doubt  thought  that  when  Pharaoh  had  rejected  their  message,  and  when 
the  Israelites  had  reproached  their  conduct,  that  their  mission  was  at  an  end, 
and  that  it  was  a  failure.^^  This  is  evident  from  the  prayer  of  the  next  verse  or 
two.  They  could  not  interpret  the  meaning  of  events  ;  they  could  not  under- 
stand the  increased  burden  of  Israel's  slavery.  They  could  not  look  beneath 
the  surface  of  their  daily  history;  and  only  few  men  can.  Hence  the  difficulties 
of  Christian  workers.  They  have  not  the  power  to  interpret  events.  They  lack 
intuitive  perception  and  penetration.  They  cannot  work  out  historical  problems; 
from  the  given  equation  of  to-day  they  cannot  find  out  the  unknown  quantity 
of  to-morrow.  Hence  they  err.  They  imagine  that  increa-ed  burdens  mean 
failure,  when  in  reality  they  are  the  first  indications  of  success.  For  if  the 
monarch  did  not  fear  ttiat  he  would  soon  lose  his  slaves,  he  would  not  require 
more  work  from  them  than  usual.  So,  the  Christian  worker  has  to  contend  with 
the  many  disadvantages  occasioned  by  his  own  misreading  of  daily  history. 
Lessons  : — 1.  ^ot  to  be  discouraged  by  apparent  failures  in  Ghi'istian  service. 
2.  Not  to  yield  to  the  scorn  of  the  Mighty  in  our  attempt  to  improve  the  moral 
condition  of  men.  3.  To  interpret  the  reproach  of  the  slave  in  the  light  of 
his  augmented  slavery,  and  not  to  be  dismayed  by  it.  4.  To  prayerfully  study 
daily  events,  so  as  to  find  God's  purposes  of  freedom  developing  themseloeg 
therein. 

The  Appaeent  Failure  of  Christian  Service. 

I.  Our  surprise  that  Christian  Service  should  be  a  failure.  It  is  a  matter  of 
surprise : — 1.  Because  the  workers  had  been  Divinely  sent,  and  prepared  for 
their  toil.  Had  Moses  and  Aaron  undertaken  the  emancipation  of  Israel  at  their 
own  wish,  or  at  the  instigation  of  their  friends,  we  could  not  have  been  astonished 
at  their  fiiilure  ;  but  they  were  sent  by  God.  They  had  been  instructed  by 
vision  They  had  been  enriched  by  life's  discipline.  They  had  gathered  im- 
pulse from  holy  communion  with  heaven.  They  were  invested  with  the  power 
to  work  miracles.  They  were  given  the  message  which  they  were  to  deliver 
unto  Pharaoh.  We  cannot  but  wonder  at  this  failure,  2.  Because  the  workers 
had  received  all  the  accompariiments  necessary  to  their  toil.  They  did  not  go 
a  warfare  in  their  own  charges.  Tbey  did  not  go  in  poverty.  All  the  resources 
of  heaven  went  with  them.  The  two  brothers  found  glad  companionship  in  each 
other,  and  their  all  in  God.  We  should  have  imagined  that  as  the  Divine 
Being  had  so  equipped  them  for  their  mission,  that  he  would  have  given  them 
immediate  success.  Hence  our  surprise  at  their  ap|)arent  failure.  3.  Brcause 
the  workers  had  arisen  to  a  moral  fortitude  veedjul  to  the  icork.  Ouce  they 
were  cowardly,  and  shrank  from  the  mission,  but  their  cowardice  had  broken 
unto  heroism  ;  their  tremor  was  removed  by  the  promise  of  God.  Their  objec- 
tions to  the  service  were  removed.  They  went  to  it  with  brave  heart.  They 
were  brave,  because  they  had  confidence  in  God.  Hence  we  should  have 
expected  them  to  have  succeeded  at  ouce,  as  a  brave  soul  is  never  far  from 
victory. 

II.  Our  sorrow  that  Christian  Service  should  be  a  failure.    It  is  a  matter  of 

112 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


CHAP.   V. 


gor»'nw: — 1.  Because  the  tyrant  is  unpunished.  Men  who  in  any  way  imprison 
tlu  ir  fellow  creatures  deserve  the  severest  penalties  that  can  be  inflicted  either 
by  earth  or  heaven.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  when  the  a>jeney  designed  for  the 
infliction  of  retribution  is  frustrated  in  its  stroke.  Let  the  world  rejoice 
when  a  despot  is  removed  from  his  throne.  2.  Because  the  slave  is  unfreed. 
We  had  anticipated  the  freedom  of  Israel  from  the  sacred  heroism  of  these  two 
servants  of  Grod.  We  are  apparently  disappointed.  But  though  the  immediate 
(fF'rt  is  unsuccessful,  God  will  achieve  their  freedom.  The  failure  of  moral 
service  is  only  temporary.  3.  Because  the  workers  are  disappointed.  Moses 
and  Aaron  expected  immediate  success.  Their  communion  with  God  had 
inspired  them  with  this  hope.  Hence  their  dejection. 
III.  Our  hope  that  the  failure  of  Christian  Service  will  not  be  ultimate. 

1.  Because  the  Divine  call  will  be  vindicated.  Moses  and  Aaron  were  the  right 
men  to  achieve  the  emancipation  of  Israel.  God  will  demonstrate  this,  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  by  their  success.  The  moral  selections  of  heaven  are 
capable  of  vindication,  and  one  day  will  be  vindicated  to  humanity.  1.  Because 
service  for  the  good  of  men  cannot  ultimately  fail.  This  thought  should  inspire 
Christian  workers  with  fortitude  and  patience.  Tou  are  employed  in  a  work 
that  commands  the  obligation  of  the  race,  and  the  final  blessing  of  God. 
Lesson's  : — 1.  Do  not  be  alarmed  at  the  temporary  failure  of  Christian  work. 

2.  The  apparent  failure  of  Christian  work  answers  some  wise  purposes.  3. 
Those  who  occasion  the  temporary  failure  of  Christian  work  are  liable  to  the  retri- 
bution of  heaven.  4.  Let  Christian  workers  to  hold  on  to  the  word  and  promise 
of  Ood.^ 

The   Complatbts  occastoued  by  Christian  Service. 

I.  There  is  the  complaint  of  the  King^,  that  the  people  are  idle.  The  effort 
of  Christian  service  always  awakens  complaint,  and  especially  of  those  toward 
whom  it  is  directed.  Men  are  sure  to  imagine  themselves  injured  by  it,  if  they 
are  to  lose  their  slaves  through  it.  People  do  not  like  the  Gospel  to  interfere 
with  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  sinful  pleasures. 

II.  There  is  the  complaint  of  the  people,  that  they  have  been  deluded. 
Moses  and  Aaron  had  inspired  them  with  the  bright  hope  of  liberty,  they  were 
acting  and  living  under  the  glad  influence  of  this  anticipation,  when  suddenly 
their  slavery  is  rendered  more  intolerable  by  the  revengeful  oppression  of 
Pharaoh.  Sometimes  impatient  people  who  have  been  led  to  expect  gifts  from 
God  imagine  themselves  deluded,  because  those  gifts  are  delayed  in  their 
bestowal  A  true  soul  will  wait,  without  a  word  of  reproach,  till  heaven  cornea 
to  open  its  prison  door  ^3 

III.  There  is  the  complaint  of  the  workers,  that  they  were  defeated. 
Sometimes  people,  who  ought  to  know  better,  complain  about  the  ways  of  God. 
There  are  times  when  Christian  service  happens  to  please  nobody  but  God. 
How  many  imperfections  attach  to  the  efFortjs  of  good  men.  We  do  not  much 
wonder  at  the  complainings  of  the  King,  or  even  of  the  Israelites,  but  we 
expected  better  things  from  Moses  and  Aaron.  Christian  men  are  too  often 
found  in  the  same  attitude  of  soul  as  men  of  the  world. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  20 — 21.     Sense  of  evil  from  Ministers  of  salvation  want  to  meet 

tyrants  may  make  the   oppressed  fall  God's   afl[licted,   when    they  look   not 

into    complaint    against     their     best  after  them, 

friends.  Instrumentsof  deliverance  may  desire 

Providence  orders  his  servants  some-  a  good  egress  of  the  oppressed  from 

times  to  meet   with   friends   after  sad  tyrants,  and  not  find  it. 

usage  by  oppressors.  Sense  overcharged  with  oppression 

u  113 


CHAP.   V. 


EOMILETtC   COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


may  make    men    reproach    God,  and 
curse  his  ministers. 

Unbelievinti;  souls  are  ready  to  set 
God  against  His  own  word,  and  instru- 
ments sent  by  Him. 

Hasty  unbelievers  under  cross  provi- 
dences are  ready  to  charge  the  cause 
upon  God's  ministers. 

Foolish  souls  charge  God's  instru- 
ments of  life  to  be  causes  of  death. 

These  charges  : — 1.  Unbelieving. 
2.  Ungrateful.  3.  Untruthful.  4 
Unhopeful. 

Thus  we  have  seen  dogs  in  the  chase 
bark  at  their  best  friends. — {Trapp). 

Now  comes  a  severer  trial  than  any 
which  these  servants  of  the  Lord  had 
had  to  go  through.  The  Lord's  people 
may  expect  to  receive  hard  words  from 
the  people  of  the  world  ;  they  may  ex- 
pect  to  be  regarded  as  troublers  of 
Israel  ;  they  may  expect  to  have  it 
said  of  them,  as  it  was  said  of  the 
Apostles,  that  they  have  "turned  the 
world  upside  down."  But  there  is  a 
harder  trial  to  the  Lord's  servants, 
when  from  professors  themselves  they 
meet  with  such  treatment  as  Moses 
and  Aaron  met  with  from  the  officers 
■who  were  set  over  the  people  of  Israel. 
These  men  meet  Moses  and  Aaron, 
and  they  say,  "  It  is  all  your  fault — 
Pharaoh  would  not  have  done  us  any 
harm  but  for  you."  Now,  brethren, 
we  have  seen  and  known  something  of 
this.  If  the  Lord's  servant  is  faithful, 
he  does  trouble  the  world.  He  dis- 
turbs the  monotony  of  things.  A 
member  of  a  family  receives  the  truth  ; 
his  former  practices  are  abandoned  ; 
the  whole  course  of  his  life  is  altered. 
It  may  be  worldly  prospects  are 
aifected  by  such  a  change  as  this :  it 
disturbs  the  every  day  worldliness  of 
the  family  of  which  this  individual  is  a 
member,  and  this  causes  more  or  less 
uneasiness  to  those  who  are  not  like- 
minded.  But  instead  of  inquiry  being 
made  as  to  the  cau^^e  of  ail  this — in- 
stead of  asking  whether  it  is  wrong, 
or  whether  it  may  not,  after  all,  be 
right,  ill  feeling  is  vented  against  the 
instrument,  who  was  the  means  of 
bringing  the  truth  home  to  that  heart, 
and  who  was  really  made  a  blessing  to 
114 


that  family.  Brethren,  the  Man  of 
God  must  make  up  his  mind  to  this, 
and  not  only  to  this,  but  one  of  the 
most  painful  things  a  servant  of  God 
meets  with  is  to  hear  it  said,  "  He  is 
doing  damage  to  the  Lord's  cause." 
If  we  are  told,  you  have  no  business  to 
stand  against  the  world  and  sin,  we 
can  bear  that,  for  it  is  the  commission 
we  have  received  from  our  Master,  but 
we  do  find  it  a  painful  trial  when  we 
are  told,  if  you  were  a  little  more  judi- 
cious in  your  way  of  stating  the  truth 
of  God, you  would  notoffend  the  people 
of  the  world,  and  your  preaching  would 
be  much  more  acceptable  than  it  is. 
Still  this  ought  not  to  affect  the 
minister  of  God  as  to  his  statement  of 
the  truth ;  for  if  he  has  learned  the 
truth,  he  knows  that  the  message  never 
was,  and  never  will  be,  recommended 
by  anything  in  the  instrument.  If  a 
man  had  the  silver  tongue  of  an  angel, 
he  would  never  bring  a  soul  to  Christ ; 
nor  can  any  disqualification  on  the 
part  of  the  instrument  hinder  the 
Lord's  work.  -*  — {Lectures  by  Rev.  W. 
H.  Krause,  A.M.) 

Verses  22 — 23.  The  prayer  of  a 
disappointed  worker: — 1.  It  is  indica- 
tive of  disappointment.  2.  Of  injus- 
tice on  the  part  of  God.  3.  Of  cruelty. 
4.   Of  contradiction. 

Unjust  criminations  from  God's 
people  make  the  ministers  of  God  may 
quail  and  recede  from  their  duty. 

God's  faithful  instruments,  though 
they  do  retreat  of  weakness,  yet  it  is 
unto  the  Lord. 

God's  faithful  ones  under  pressure 
may  charge  God  foolishly  for  doing  evil 
to  His  people.*^ 

In  such  workings  of  flesh  the  spirit 
may  humbly  expostulate  with  God  by 
prayer. 

Sad  events  in  ministering  may  make 
God's  servants  question  their  mission. 

In  such  questioning,  souls  may  hum- 
bly deprecate  the  frustration  of  their 
ministry. 

"  And  Moses  returned  unto  the  Lord.** 
He  turned  aside,  as  it  were,  to  speak 
with  a  friend,  and  to  disburden  him- 
self in  God's  bosom.  This  is  thesaint'a 
privilege. — {Traj^p). 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


CHAP.  V. 


The  language  in  thia  twenty-second 
verse  is  very  remarkable,  and  explains 
other  passages  of  Scripture.  Moses 
said,  "  Lord,  wherefore  hast  Thou  evil 
entreated  this  people  ?  "  But  it  was 
the  taskmasters  who  evil  entreated 
them,  not  Grod.  And  this  explains 
that  passage  to  which  I  referred  last 
Lord's  day  morning,  about  God  hai'd- 
ening  Pharaoh's  heart.  In  the  Hebrew 
idiom,  God  is  often  said  to  do  a  thing 
which  He  is  only  the  occasion  of  its  be- 
ing done.  It  is  said,  for  instance,  that 
the  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart ; 


that  is.  He  applied  those  means,  that,  if 
not  successful  in  subduing  that  heart, 
would  necessarily,  by  their  reaction, 
evenuate  in  the  hardening  of  that  heart. 
So  here,  God  did  not  evil  entreat  the 
people  ;  but  He  used  these  means  to 
tffectuate  their  exodus,  which  at  first 
added  to  the  weight  and  pressure  of 
their  burdens. — {Dr.  Gumming.) 
The  prayer  of  Moses  : — 

I.  A  right  act. 

II.  Done  in  a  wrong  spirit. 

III.  At  a  serious  time. 


Page  93.  (i)— Ready! — A  gentleman's 
dog  having  gallantly  rescued  a  drowning  child, 
the  spectators  were  eager  to  know  the  name 
of  his  mafctt  r,  in  order  to  publish  it.  The 
owner  at  once  exclaimed,  "  Never  mind  my 
name;  but  that  of  the  dog  is  'Rtadyl" 
Ready  1  aye,  ready !  Such  was  the  response  of 
ibe  brave  (  fficer  to  his  arxious  commandej's 
f  nquiry  whether  he  was  prepari-d  for  the  fight. 
Wti  ought  to  be  ready  for  every  good  work, 

''  If  it  were  done  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere 
well 
It  were  done  quickly." — Sluilics})eare. 

Page  94.  (2)— Delay ! — Every  day  we  ne- 
glect ibe  mission  it  becomes  harder  to  accom- 
plish hoth  as  regards  ourselves  and  it.  We  are 
less  anil  lees  disposed  towards  it  It  is  more 
and  more  inveterate.  Aa  with  travellers  on  the 
Alpine  hughts  overtaken  by  tl^e  pitiless  snow- 
storm at  diff.  rent  stages  of  the  mountain 
ascent,  numbness  is  creeping  over  one,  and  the 
longer  the  other  delays  10  help  his  friend  by 
rubbinghis  limbs,  the  more  profound  becomes 
the  torpor  of  both.  lubtani  action  will  save 
both.    Activity  will  give  them  both  a  glow. 

"  There  is  a  firefly  in  the  southern  clime, 

Which  shineth  only  when  upon  the  wing." 
Motion  is  developing  beat.  Magoon  Fays  that 
it  is  good  policy  to  strike  while  the  iron  ishot ; 
but  it  is  still  better  to  adopt  Cromwell's  pro- 
cedure, and  to  make  the  iion  hot  in  striking. 
As  one  has  said,  Be  ac'ive  and  ixpect  Christ 
to  be  with  you  ;  be  id'e  and  the  thorns  and 
briars  will  grow  so  quickly  that  He  will  be 
shut  out.  Delaying  to  obey  the  call,  the  ice 
forms  upon  our  feelings — gradually  freezes  to 
greater  thicknel^s,  unti.  total  indifference  re- 
sults. Delaying  to  obey  the  call,  the  slave's 
condition  becomes  more  wretched,  the  drown- 
ing man  sinks  the  deeper,  the  eufevered 
patient  is  entangled  more  pitiably  in  the 
meshes  of  delirium.  The  motto  of  each  ser- 
vant of  God  must  be  that  of  the  indomitable 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  V. 

BY  THE 

REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 

mind  of  Edmund  Burke  in  his  address  to  his 
constituents  at  Brit-tol  :  For  God's  sake,  let 
us  pass  on,     There  is  no  time  to  be  lost. 
"  Wake  ere  the  earth-born  charm  unnerve 
thee  quite, 
And  be  thy  thoughts  to  work  divine  ad- 
dress'd  : 
Do  something — do   it  soon — with  all  thy 
might — 
An  angel's  wing  would  droop  if  long  at 
rest." — Wilcox. 


Page  94.  (3)— Humanity ! — The  whole 
world  lieth  in  bondage  ;  and  no  man  in  his 
senses  will  venture  to  assert  that  man  is  to- 
day just  as  man  originally  way.  EvenMoncure 
Conway,  who  dethrones  Jehovah  and  en- 
thrones his  own  defication  (or  definition)  of 
Reason,  is  perforce  ready  to  acknowledge  that 
man  is  a  dismantled  fane — a  broken  sbiine, 
with  Fome  gleam  of  departed  glory  about  him 
sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of  what  he  once  was, 
and  with  (he  says)  Fome  germs  of  the  original 
perfection  which  may  be  cultivated  and  de- 
veloped. It  is  not  now  a  quettJon  how  this 
came  about,  or  why  it  was  allowed  to  happen. 
We  have  \he  fact  that  the  whole  world  is  in 
servitude  to  th-  wicked  one — that  from  time  to 
time  Jehovah  has  raisefi  up  deliverers,  either 
prospective  or  retrospective  of  the  one  great 
Deliverer,  Christ,  who  was  to  appear, 
"  He  came  the  piisoners  to  release 
In  Satan's  bondage  held," 
and  now  calls  upon  every  man  to  be  the  de- 
liveier  of  his  fellow-man.  Had  Moses  refused 
to  obey  the  call  in  the  spirit  of  Cain,  he 
would  have  met  with  Cain's  doom,  viz.,  loss 
of  the  Divine  approbation. 

Page  95.  (4) — Qualifications !— Bishop 
Wil-ou  wioie  that  the  great  secret  of  the 
ministry  consisted  in  three  things  :  1.  Christ : 
2.  Immortal  fouIs  :  and  3.  Selt-humiliation. 
But  £elf.bumiliaiion  springs  from  discipline- 
that   three-fold  discipline  of  which   Lather 

116 


CHAP.  V. 


HOMII-EriC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Ri  oke  when  he  declared  that  the  three  re. 
quiiites  or  qualifications  to  do  G..d's  woiks 
were  prayer,  meditation,  and  temptation.  All 
tb»8e  Moses  had  abundance  of  for  years — 
a'  e,  more  than  forty  Img  years.  God  instructs 
a-  d  qualifies  as  well  as  calls  ;  for  (says  Bishop 
Reynolds)  if  no  prince  will  si^iid  a  mechanic 
from  his  loom  in  an  honourable  embassage  to 
Fome  other  foreign  prince,  is  it  likely  that 
Jehovah  will  send  forth  unqualified  instru- 
ments about  so  great  a  work  as  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  saints?  — 

"For  well  he  knows,  not  learning's  purest  tides 
Can  quench  the  immortal  ttiirst  that  in  the 
Boul  abides." — Little. 

Page  96  (5) — Decision!— Es-ea  a  foolish 
man  may  utter  a  wise  sentiment,  as  Colton 
did,  when  he  said  that  men  ought  to  deliber- 
ate with  cau'ion,  but  act  tvith  dcxuion.  Hood 
calls  attention  to  the  decided  man.  He  may 
b '.  a  most  evil  man,  a  grasping,  avaricious, 
unprincipled  man  ;  still  look  how  the  diffi- 
culties of  life  know  the  stiongman.  and  give 
up  the  contest  with  him.  He  walks  by  the 
light  of  his  own  j -dgment  ;  he  has  made  up 
his  mind,  and  having  doiie  so,  hen2eforth 
action — action  is  bt^fore  him.  He  cannot  oea" 
to  sit  amidst  uni  ealiz-  d  expectations.  To  him 
speculation  is  only  valuable  that  it  may  be 
Tf  solved  into  living  and  doing.  There  is  no 
difiFerence,  no  delay.  To  this  Jehovah  had  to 
bring  Moses,  so  t'  a^^i  his  spirit  was  in  arms, 
all  in  ( arnest.  As  Pompey,  when  hazaiding 
bis  life  on  a  tempestuous  sea  in  order  to  be 
at  Rome  on  an  important  occasion,  said  that 
it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go,  not  for  him  to 
live.  Thus  Caesar,  when  he  crossed  the 
English  Channel,  burnt  his  shipson  the  Angli- 
can shores,  that  there  might  be  no  return. 
And  so  Co'tes  decided  to  break  up  the  ships 
which  had  brought  his  soldiers  to  Mex'co  f  lom 
8piin.  This  daring  act  had  the  tffcot  of 
bracing  his  men.  says  Trench,  to  a  pitch  of 
resolution  all  but  supernatural. 

Page  96.  (6)— Pbaraoh  versut  God  1— 
This  imperious  moi/arch  had  never  been 
accustomed  to  b^  thwarted.  Men  who  have 
always  thrust  obstacles  aside  come  to  think 
their  power  invincible,  and  to  make  them  a 
battering  ram  against  fate  and  circum- 
stances. When  Jehovah  came  down  to 
oppose  Pharaoh  in  his  despotic  behaviour 
towarr's  Israel,  he  tried  to  wrestle  with  Him, 
and  paid  dearly  for  his  folly.  A  bantam  may 
crow  in  the  face  of  a  flighting. ci  ck  once  too 
often;  and  woe  to  the  frail  boat  that  rashly 
contends  with  the  powerful  tail  of  the  whale. 
As  one  says,  God  never  wrestles  with  a  man 
without  throwing  him  :  so  that  we  might 
apply  Pollok's  desjription  of  the  atheist  to 
Pharaoh — 

"  The  unbeliever 
Despising  reason,  revelation,  God, 
And,  kicking   'gainst  the    pricks  of  con- 
science, rush'd 
Deliriously  upon  the  bossy  shield 
Of  the  Omnipotent.'' 
116 


Page  97.  (7)— Moral  Freedom  ! — 
B  bind  the  phy.~ictl  ^md  initio  lal  freedom  of 
Israel  was  their  moial  and  spiritual  disen- 
tbralraent.  The  hidden  is  i.fttimes  mo^t  im. 
portMnf.  It  WHS  so  here.  Jloral  freedom  is 
everything.  All  sinners  are  represented  as 
biing  in  bondage,  bound  with  the  chain  of 
their  sins,  servants  of  him  whom  they  obey, 
led  captive  by  the  devil  at  h'S  will.  He  is  the 
gr*  at  Pharaoh — 'hat  old  d  agon,  the  t-erpent 
He  g. Ids  the  yoke,  and  you  are  not  conscious 
that  y  u  wear  it;  but  there  are  times  when 
you  feel  its  fretting  notwithstunding.  That 
giant  passion  ma>ter8  you.  But  a  Deliverer  has 
cometothe  shores  of  our  world — proclaiming 
liberty  to  the  captive  and  freedom  to  those 
who  are  fast  bound  in  the  misery  and  iron  of 
sin-thraldom.  From  the  strongest  and  most 
frowning  fortress,  in  which  tyranny  can  bind 
its  captives,  this  Saviour  can  deliver.  He  will 
deliver :  for  if  the  Son  make  you  free,  you 
shall  be  free  indeed. — And 

"  A  day — an  hour  of  virtuous  liberty 
Is  worth  a  whole  eternity  of  bondage. ' 

It  is  Dr.  Caird  who  asserts  that  no  language 
— no  emblems  can  be  found  to  convey  any  ade- 
quate idea  of  thr  .j.ro.-icui.^ss  of  such  a  de. 
liverance.  Not  the  poor  timid  struggling  bird 
springs  forth  from  the  snare  with  a  note  of 
more  thrilling  joyfulness — not  the  despair- 
ii  g  heartsick  CMptive  casts  the  first  look  of 
freedom  on  the  biight  heaven,  or  treads  with 
bounding  steps  the  greensward  of  home  with 
a  more  exulting  throb  of  happiness.  And 
never  was  that  ancient  song  of  delivcance 
sung  with  a  deeper  meatjing  than  when  the 
soul,  morally  freed  frotu  the  galling  tyranny 
and  oppressive  yoke  of  Satan,  exclaims  :  Our 
soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of 
the  fowler — 
"  'Tis  liberty  alone  that  gives  the  flowprs 

Of  flteting  life  their  lustre  and  perfume. 

And  we  are  weeds  without  it." — Coivper. 

Page  98.  (8) — Fearless  ! — Moses  had  a 
duty  to  discharge,  and  no  dangers  must  deter 
him.  When  God  sends  men  on  a  work  for 
Him,  He  virtually  undertakes  the  responsi- 
bility of  "breakers  ahC'd."  His  ministers 
and  deliverers  must  not  look  askance  and 
hesitate  in  the  fulfilment  of  their  labours 
because  they  see  "  a  bombshell  "  coming.  It  is 
related  of  Charles  the  Twelfth  of  Sweden 
that — whilst  besieged  in  Slialsund  he  was 
one  day  dictatitit;  a  letter  to  his  st'cretary, 
when  a  bomb  fiom  theeriemy's  outworks  fell 
through  the  roof  of  the  house  where  they 
were.  The  report  of  the  shell  alarmed  the 
secretary  so  much,  that  the  pen  fell  from  his 
hand  ;  whereupon  the  king  enquired  what 
was  the  matter.  The  trembling  secretary 
could  only  ejaculate :  '  The  bomb«hell." 
The  monarch  s  stern  response  was  :  "What 
has  the  bomb  to  do  with  the  letter  ?  Go  on 
with  your  writing."  So  what  had  Moses  to  do 
with  Pharaoh's  wrath  ?  It  was  for  him  to  go 
on  with  the  work  of  deliverance  which  God 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  T. 


had  authorized,  and  as  he  had  been  pleased 
to  appoint.     Then 
"  Work,  though  the  enemies'  laughter 

Over  the  valleys  may  sweep, 
For  God's  patient  workers  hereafter 

Shall  laugh  when  their  enemies  weep." 

Page  98.   (9)— Divine  Authority  I — 

Canon  Ryle  mentions  an  incident  m  the  life 
of  Whitefield,  which  illustrates  the  auth'  rity. 
When  preaching  on  one  occasion,  an  old  man 
fell  asleep  and  some  of  the  audience  be -ame 
listless.  Suddenly  changing  his  manner, 
Whitefield  broke  forth  in  an  altered  tone — 
declaring  that  he  had  not  come  to  speak  in 
his  own  name,  otherwise  they  might  lean  on 
their  elbows  and  go  to  sleep.  "  No ;  I  have 
come  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  and  I  must,  and  will  be  heard."  The 
sleeper  started  wide  awake — the  hearers 
were  stiipped  of  their  apathy  at  once — and 
every  word  of  the  sermon  wa**  attended  to. 
It  was  thus  that  Moses  addressed  Pharaoh. 
It  was  thus  all  witnesses  for  God  should 
address  the  listeners,  with  authority  : 
"  By  Him  inspired,  they  speak  with  urgent 
tongue 
Authoritative,  whilst  the  illumined  breast 
Heaves  with  unwonted  strength." — Jenner. 

Page  98.  (10)  — Freedom's  Sweets  1 — 
The  Christian  deliverer  is  all  the  more 
.nctive  and  energetic  in  his  work,  because 
he  was  once  himself  a  slave.  A  traveller  stood 
one  day  beside  the  cages  of  some  birds 
which,  exposed  for  sale,  ruffled  their  sunny 
j>lumige  on  the  wires,  and  struggled  to 
be  free.  Sadly  be  gazed  on  these  captives  till 
tears  stood  in  his  eyes  ;  and  turning  round 
to  their  owner,  he  asked  the  price  of  one. 
As  SODH  as  tbe  money  was  handed  over,  he 
opened  the  door  and  set  the  prisoner  free. 
This  he  did  with  captive  alter  captive,  till 
every  bird  was  away,  soaring  to  the  sky, 
arising  on  ihe  wings  of  hberty.  The  crowd 
fetaied  and  stood  amazed  ;  but  his  remark 
soon  cleaied  up  tht.ir  difficulty:  "I  was 
myself  once  a  captive,  and  know  the  sweets 
of  libe  ty." — Liberty!  What  heart  is  there 
that  does  not  ftel  its  pulse  quicken  at  the 
p"imd?  All  instincts  beat  in  uni^on  here. 
Even  the  dullest,  we  are  told,  kindle  into 
rapture,  and  the  most  craven  for  freedom's 
^ake  would  strike  the  unwilling  blow — 
•'  Ah  1  There  lives  not  a  victim  of  pride  and 
power 
But  hopes  in  the  future  to  win  release  ; 

But  dreams  of  some  bright  and  golden  hour, 
When  the  reign  of  oppression  and  wrong 
shall  cease. 

Not  a  toiler  who  plods  'neath  a  burden  of 
care, 
But  dreams  of  relief  and  liberty  there." — 

Dcwart. 

Page  98.  (11)— Voice  of  God  ! — There 
ere  many  ways  in  which  God  causes  us  to 
hear  His  voice  I  and  the  first  of  all  His 
voices  is  that  of  His  works.  Eliza  Cook  has 
in  glowing  terms  written  v— 


"  God  has  a  voice  that  ever  is  heard 
In  the  peal  of  the  thunder,  the  chirp  of  the 

bird  ; 
It  ccimes  in  the  torrent  all  rapid  and  strong, 
In  the  streamlet's  soft  gush  as  it  ripples 

along ; 
Let  the    hurricane    whistle,    or   warblers 

rejoice, 
What  '"o  th^y  tell  thee  but  'God  hath  a 
voice.'  " 
How  many  have  neaid  Him  calling  in  His 
Providence,  amid  the  sunshine  ('f  prosperity 
and  the  shadows  (  f  sorrow — amid  the  chim- 
ings  of  the  marriage  beHs  and  the  solemn  toll 
of  the  funeral  knell.  But  His  sweetest  voice 
is  that  of  His  Evangel.  Pharaoh  had  heard 
the  Divine  voices  of  nature  and  Providence, 
but,  like  Samuel,  he  did  not  understand 
them.  Now  he  hears  the  "Evangelic" 
voice,  and,  like  the  deaf  adder,  stops 
his  ears.  Yet  no  voice  sounds  sweeter.  As 
Dr.  Hamilton  says,  on  the  gospel  tree  there 
grow  melodious  blossoms — sweeter  bells  than 
those  which  mingled  with  the  pomegranates 
on  Aaron's  vest.  The  idea  is  borrowed  from 
Oriental  pnetry,  which  tells  of  a  wondrous 
tree  on  which  grew  golden  apples  and  silver 
bells.  Every  time  the  breeze  went  by  and 
tossed  the  fragrant  branches,  a  shower  of 
those  yellow  gL;bes  fell,  and  the  living  bells 
chimed  and  tinkltd  forth  their  airy  ravish- 
ment. When  Moses  spoke  to  Pharaoh  the  bells 
rang  unheeded  in  the  monarch's  ears  ;  so  the 
golden  fruit  of  joy  and  peace  fell  among  the 
brick-kilns  of  Egypt  for  Israel's  nurture. 

Page  99.  (12)— Liberty  a  Divine 
Right  1 — Dr  Webster  tells  a  story  which 
admirably  illus' rates  this  axiom.  In  times 
past,  a  slave,  starting  in  the  darkness  and 
stillness  of  the  midnight  hour,  and  taking 
the  north -star  for  his  guide,  toiled  on  his 
weary  way,  resting  by  day  and  travelling  by 
night  until  he  reached  Vermont.  He  was 
pursued  by  his  alleged  owner,  and  seized 
with  the  intention  of  returning  him  to 
slavery.  The  case  was  brought  before  Judge 
Harrington  ;  and  the  slave-owner,  in  proof 
of  his  claim,  called  the  attention  of  the  judge 
to  a  bill  of  sale.  It  was  returned  with  an 
intimation  that  it  was  not  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  the  sale  and  purchase  ;  whereupon 
the  indignant  slave-owner  asked  what  would 
be  sufficient  proof.  Tbe  judge  at  once  replied 
that  a  bill  of  sale  from  God  Almighty  wouM 
alone  satisfy  him.  Such  God  will  never  give  ; 
fur  freedom  is  His  life — 
"  Oh,  freedom  1  terribly  thou  springest  forth, 

As  springs  the  flame  above  a  burning  pile  ; 

And  shoutest  to  the  nations,  who  return 

Thy  shoutings,   while  the  pale   oppressor 
flies." 

Page  100.  (13)  —  Wisdom  I  —  Nearly 
every  opinion  and  advice  may  be  stated  in  a 
gentle  or  in  an  offensive  way.  An  Oriental 
princfc  asktd  two  interpreters  to  explain  his 
dream.  One  said  that  he  would  lose  all  his 
relatives,  and  then  himself  die.  Tbe  morarch 

117 


CBAP.  V, 


BCMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


ordered  this  prophet  of  evil  to  be  beheaded. 
The  other  assured  him  that  he  would  survive 
all  his  relations.  The  prince  loaded  this  one 
with  favours,  th  ugh  both  interpretations 
were  the  same.  Moses  was  gentle  in  his 
demand  to  Pharaoh  :  Let  us  go  three  days' 
journey  and  sacrifice  to  our  God — 

"  iSpeak  gently  1  it  is  blotter  far 
To  rule  by  love  than  fear  , 
Speak  gently  1  let  not  harsh  wo  ds  mai 
The  good  we  might  do  hcTe."— Bates. 

"Page  100.  (14)— Law  of  Wo-  k  I— Work 
is  nececsity,  sa\s  Exill.  Work  gives  a  feel- 
ing of  strength,  cries  Miiller.  Work  is 
triumph,  as  Kicbard  Burke  exclaimed  shortly 
after  an  extraordiuHpy  display  of  powers  in 
Parliament  by  his  brother  E  Imund  :  "  When 
we  were  at  play,  he  was  always  at  work. 
But  work  is  also  a  law.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  the  Law  of  VV..rk  ;  and  from  the  par- 
tic  e  of  dust  at  our  feet  to  man — the  last 
stroke  of  God's  great  and  sublime  handiwork 
— all  bear  the  impress  of  the  law  of  labour. 
The  earth  is  one  vast  laboratory,  where  de. 
composition  an>l  re-formation  are  constantly 
going  on.  As  has  been  aptly  added,  the  blast 
of  nature's  f  urnac'>  never  ceases,  and  itt  fires 
never  burn  low.  The  lichen  of  the  rock  and 
the  oak  of  the  forest  each  works  out  the 
problem  of  its  own  exi-tence.  The  earth, 
the  air,  the  water,  teem  with  busy  life. 
Onward  unc<  asingly — age  after  age — the 
world  pursues  its  course  ;  a  perpetual  lesson, 
with  all  it  contains,  of  industry  to  man. 
Even  the  rolling  spheres  join  the  universal 
chorus  of  labour.  Tberefoie 
"  Work  though  the  world  would  defeat  you  ; 
Heed  not  its  slander  and  scorn  ; 

Nor  weary  till  angfls  shall  greet  you 
With  8mile<  through  the  gates  of   the 
m  orn , " — Pi/  n  sh  0  n 

Page  101  (15)  Christian  Hindrances ! 

The  tyrant's  malice  cannot  suffer  the  saints 
to  be  in  peace  :  hence  the  Siviour's  farewell 
monition  that  they  must  expect  tribulation. 
The  Biblical  Treai-ury  narrates  the  case  of  a 
8oldier  in  the  East  Indies — a  stout,  lion- 
hearted  man — once  a  noted  prizefighter,  and 
a  tenor  to  those  who  knew  him.  When  freed 
from  the  bonds  of  hia  own  passions  and  guilt 
the  change  in  his  character  became  most 
marked  and  decided.  The  lion  was  changed 
into  a  lamb,  but  the  lamb  had  to  submit  to 
peiseculion.  One  of  his  comrades,  stirred 
up  by  S,.tan,  ridiculed  him,  and  taking  a 
basin  of  hot  soup  threw  it  into  his  bosom. 
Instead  of  springing  like  a  tiger  upon  the 
insulting  comrade  He  wiped  his  scalded 
breast  and  calmly  said,  "  This  is  whan  I  must 
expect  as  a  Christian."  Every  means  will 
be  employed — every  tffort  and  device  made 
— every  subt'e  snare  enlisted  to  injure  the 
eoul  and  retard  its  spiritual  enjoyment  of 
Christian  freedom — yet  not  without  the 
Divine  permi^8lon — as  with  Israel  and  Job. 
God  allows  the  tyrant's  agents  and  emis- 
saries to  surround  tis  with  perils,  beset  us  with 
118 


Iroubles,  and  confront  our  footsteps  with  red- 
hot  ploughshares  as  necessary  discipline  ;— 

"  If  from  Thy  ordeal's  heated  bars 
Our  feet  are  seamed  with  crimson  scars, 
Ttiy  will  be  done." 

Page  102.  (16)— Tyrants!— Such  is  the 
policy  of  statesmen  in  these  days.  The  King 
of  Dahomey  has  been  allowed  year  after  year 
to  inilulge  in  the  most  horrid  and  repulsive 
8Cts  of  tyr»tnnic  cruelty  on  the  plea  that  if 
jou  give  a  man  rope  he  is  sure  to  hang  him- 
self. Similarly  the  Em  e  or  of  Abyssinia 
was  permitted  to  practise  the  most  per- 
fidious persecut  ons,  until  the  honour  of 
England  was  torched.  The  lion  remaintd 
quiet  whilst  the  hyena  destroyed  other 
animals,  and  only  aroused  himself  when  the 
wild  beasts  foot  touched  his  mane.  A  simiUr 
policy  of  non-intervention  led  to  increased 
despotism  on  the  part  of  King  Bomba,  and  to 
the  aggravated  tyranny  on  the  part  of  Spain 
over  the  inhabitants  of  Cub^.  So  odious 
have  been  the  cruelties  perpetrated  by  the 
Spaniards,  that  heaven  is  rejected  by  the 
natives  as  a  place  likely  to  contain  Spaniards. 
"  The  naturnl  bond 

Of  brotherhood  is  severed  as  the  flax 

That  falls  asunder  at  the  touch  of  fire." 

—  Cowper, 

Page  103.  (17)  -National  Liberty  !  — 

Num.-rous  and  bright  are  the  laurel  wreaths 
with  whic^i  poetry  has  decked  the  n>imes  of 
such  patriots  as  Wallace,  Tell,  Kossuth, 
Ctvour,  and  Garibaldi.  Yet,  after  all,  men 
may  be  patriots,  men  may  achieve  their 
country's  freedom,  and  yet  themselves  be 
slaves.  Some  have  been  still  themselves  bonds* 
men  to  their  own  passions,  bondsmen  to  sin — 

"  Who  then  is  free  1  the  wise  who  well  main- 
tains 

An  empire  o'er  himBelf." — Horace. 
No  word  has  been  more  prostituted.  The 
theme  of  evt;ry  factious  demagogue,  the 
watchword  of  every  traitor,  liberty  becomes 
a  name  which  the  honest  and  well  disposed 
almost  tremble  to  hear.  As  though  lawless- 
ness were  freedom,  and  submission  to  good 
government  slavery.  The  slave  of  his  every 
passion  will  proclaim  himself  the  worshipper 
of  liberty.  The  man  who  would  sweep  away 
religion  from  a  State  makes  a  boast  of  seek, 
ing  its  freedom.  So  that,  in  a  sense  in  which 
it  was  not  designed,  we  may  use  the  lines  of 
Edwards — 

"Like  Sicily's  mountain,  whose  fires  never  die, 
Thy  presence  on  earth  is  confest ; 

A  beacon  of  wrath  when  it  flimeson  high. 
And  a  mighty  fear  when  at  rest. 

Like  thee  it  awakes  from  its  terrible  sleep, 

And  oer  the  dark  rock  and  green  valley 
sweep," 

Pa^elOl  (iS)— Records  of  Tyranny 
Many  are  familiar  with  those  recorded  in  the 
Bible  from  Pharaoh  and  Adonibezek  to  Herod 
and  Nero.  The  recoids  of  secular  history  are 
even  darker  stili      The  emperor  Trajan  was 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   T. 


called  in  his  day  the  best,  so  that  the  prayer 
was :  "  May  you  have  the  virtue  and  goodness 
of  a  Trajan."  Yet  his  chief  pastime  was  in  the 
arena  of  the  gladiators.  In  his  tortures  of  the 
Christians  he  called  into  requisition  fire  and 
poison,  daggers  and  dungeons,  wild  beasts  and 
serpents.  Clemens  RonoAuus  he  cast  into  the 
sea  ^vith  an  anchor  rouu'l  his  neck,  while  Ig- 
natius was  oast  to  the  famished  lions  in  the 
amphitheatre.  The  Emperor  Commodus  took 
pleasure  in  cutting  off  the  feet  and  putting 
out  the  eyes  of  such  as  he  met  in  his  rambles 
through  the  city.  Dr.  Leland  writes  that  no- 
thing could  exceed  the  cruelty  of  the  Spartans 
to  their  slaves.  It  was  part  of  their  po  icy  to 
massacre  them  on  stated  occasions,  in  cold 
blood,  by  forming  ambuscades  in  thickets 
and  clefts  of  rocks.  They  rect-ived  a  certain 
number  of  lashes  annually  to  remind  them  of 
their  condition — 

"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man 
Makes  countless  thousands  mourn." — 

Burnsi. 

As  witness  the  bloody  pic' tires  of  llli^8ian 
tyranny  in  regard  to  the  Poles  ami  Circassians 
with  the  cruel  knout ;  or  the  more  extended 
and  aggravated  cruelties  of  the  Eoman  de- 
spotism upon  theVaudoisof  the  Valleys  of  the 
Piedmont,  as  well  as  of  Germany,  Bohemia, 
France,  Spain,  and  England.  And  that  tyrants 
come  at  last  to  be  indifferent  to  the  sorrows 
and  sufferings  of  their  slaves  appears  from  the 
account  given  by  Arvine  of  feminine  cruelty 
in  the  West  Indies.  Educated  in  this  country, 
Bbe  returned  to  her  home  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
to  be  married.  After  some  years,  she  again 
paid  a  visit  to  her  old  friends  in  Ireland,  who 
were  appalled  to  listen  to  her  sentiments  upon 
slavery,  and  to  her  statements  as  to  the  way 
in  which  West  India  ladies  treated  their  slaves. 
!^he  confessed  that  t^he  b-ad  often  snatched 
their  baby  from  their  bosom,  run  with  it  to  a 
well,  tied  her  shawl  round  its  shoulders,  and 
pretended  to  be  drowning  it.  As  she  told  this 
she  was  convulsed  with  laughter.  Domitian 
could  not  have  practised  more  refined  cruelty. 
Not  that  these  are  the  only  aspects  of  tyranny. 
As  Byron  asks — 
"  Thinkest  thou  there  is  no  tyranny  but  that 

Of  blood  and  chains?     The  despotism  of 
vice — 

The  weakness  and  the  wickedness  of  luxury, 

The  negligence,  the  apathy,  the  evils 

Of  sensual   sloth — produce  ten  thousand 
tyrants." 

Page  106.  (19)— Church  Work!— This 
is  specially  true  of  missionary  enterprise.  We 
sometimes  hear  complaints  of  the  slow  pro- 
gress of  missions,  as  though  nothing  had  been 
done.  These  charges  invariably  come  from 
men  who  have  wilfully  withheld  the  straw. 
And  yet  the  wonder  is  that  the  tale  of  bricks 
has  been  so  good.  Jud^oa  began  his  Burmese 
mission  in  1814,  but  the  Americans  who  sup- 
ported him  then  were  by  no  means  liberal  in 
their  supplies.  Yet  in  1870,  a  hundred  thou. 
sand  converts  could  be  counted.  If  the  pio- 
grfias  was  slow  we  see  that  it  was  also  sure.    It 


was  none  the  worse  for  being  progressive. 
Peter's  lengthened  shadow  did  not  fall  on  all 
the  gathered  sick  at  once  in  Jerusalem  ;  even 
so  is  Christianity  going  through  the  earth- 
lengthening  as  she  advances. 
"  Over  the  winter  glaciers 
I  see  the  summer  glow. 
And  through  the  wide-piled  snowdrift, 
The  warm  rosebuds  glow." — Emerson. 

Page  111.  (20)  -  Christian  Life  I  —When 
a  man  among  the  Grecians,  writes  Dr.  Boyd. 
entered  the  Olympic  Games  to  run  for  the 
prize,  he  had  to  lay  aside  all  ideas  of  ease  and 
self-indulgence,  and  prepare  himself  for  a 
severe  contest.  To  listen  to  the  voice  of  in- 
dolence and  loiter  by  the  way  would  cover 
him  with  deepest  disgrace.  And  the  more 
frequent  he  contended  for  the  prize,  the  more 
exp  rience  he  acquired  —  the  more  crospect 
had  he  of  winning  the  reward.  The  Christian 
life  is  a  struggle  from  first  to  last  with  the 
po  wei  s  of  darkness  within  and  without.  When 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  arises  in  its  full- 
orbed  grandeur  upon  his  mind  —  when  the 
chains  of  his  bondage  are  snapped  asunder  by 
Him  who  proclaims  liberty  to  the  captive — 
when  the  burden  of  his  guilt  is  removed,  and 
sweet  serenity  and  peace  takes  its  place — 
when  the  soul  begins  to  get  a  glimpse  of  its 
high  privileges  and  lofty  vocation,  then  the 
Christian  is  apt  to  think  that  this  is  to  con- 
tinue for  ever.  The  maiden  thinks  that  the 
joy  of  her  first  married  experience  is  to  be 
always  steadfast ;  but  she  soon  finds  out  from 
discipline  of  life  that  her  notion  is  premature. 
So  the  Christian's  life  becomes  overcast  with 
dark  and  threatening  clouds — the  enemy  col- 
lects all  his  forces  to  assail  the  fortress  of 
Man-soul — the  world  scowls  with  clouds  and 
tempests  upon  him — and  the  tyrant  lets  loose 
his  hell-hounds  of  temptation  to  bring  back 
the  escaped  bondsmen.  As  Cowper  says : — • 
"  He  who  knew  what  human  hearts  would 
prove, 

How  slow  to  learn  the  dictates  of  His 
love," 
ordained  that  the  Christian  life  should  be  a 
continuous  warfare — an  unceasing  struggle— 
an  unwearied  contention  with  evil.  And  thu? 
"  Our  blasted  hopes,  our  aims  and  wishes 
crossed. 

Are  worth  the  tears  and  agonies  they 
cost." — Taylor. 

Page  112.  (21)— Patient  ■Work!  — In 
the  museum  at  Rotterdam  is  the  first  piece 
painted  by  the  renowned  Eembrandt.  It  is 
rough,  without  marks  of  genius  or  skill,  and 
uninteresting  except  to  show  that  he  began 
as  low  down  as  the  lo^vest.  In  the  same  gal- 
lery is  the  masterpiece  of  the  artist,  counted 
of  immense  value.  Work  I  Patience  1  Years 
of  work  1  Years  of  patience  1  If  all  have  not 
genius,  all  have  the  power  to  work  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  spiritual  disenthralment  of 
man.  This  is  greater  than  genius ;  and  es- 
pecially if  it  be  the  work  of  moral  freedom— 
the  work  of  a  Divine  call  to  holiness. 

119 


CHAP.  V. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


*•  How  beautiful  is  genius  when  combined 
With  holiness  I  Oh  1  how  divinely  swell 
The  tones  of  earthly  harp,  whose  chorda 

are  touch'd 
By  the  soft  hand  of  piety,  and  hung 
Upon  religion's  shrine. 

Page  113  (22)— Promises!  — God  had 
said.  And  Muses  mipht  know  that  He  was 
able  to  peiform  what  He  had  spoken.  Men's 
promises  may  be  like  piecrust,  made  to  be 
broken  ;  not  fo  is  it  with  those  of  Jehovah. 
What  He  promises,  the  gates  of  hell  cannot 
hinder  its  perfoimance.  Therefore  Christian 
workers  may  well  stay  t  hemsel ves  on  this  reck 
of  infinite  assurance:  I  am  God,  and  change 
not.  By  60  doing  they  will  find  to  tbeir  un- 
speakable comfort  that  no  music  is  half  so 
sweet,  no  eloquence  so  entrancing,  no  picture 
at  all  so  attractive,  as  the  promises  of  God. 
Like  the  aurora  horealu,  they  would  shine 
on  the  frosty  and  sombre  sky  of  Moses'  dis- 
couragement, tinging  itwith  brilliant  colours, 
and  relieving  it  with  beautiful  rays ;  even  as 
with  the  pious  old  slave  on  a  Virginia  plan- 
tation, who,  when  asked  why  he  was  always 
so  sunny-hearted  and  cheerful  under  his 
bondage,  responded  that  it  was  owing  to  his 
custom  of  "  laying  flat  upon  the  promises, 
and  then  prajing  straight  up  to  my  heavenly 
Father."  Even  so  with  Moses,  he  reclines  on 
the  assurance  of  deliverance  whilst  he  pleads 
with  God,    Turn  thy  tace  sunward  1 

"  Watch  though  so  long  be  the  twilight  de- 
laying. 
Let  the  first  sunbeam  arise  on  thee  praying; 
Fear  not,  for  greater  is  God  by  thy  side, 
Than  armies  of  Satan  against  thee  allied." 

Page  113.  (23)— G^d's  Times. — Moses 
bad  expected  an  immediate  deliverance;  but 
that  God  had  not  promised.  Freedom  He 
had  solemnly  declared  that  Israel  should 
soon  enjoy,  but  the  *'  when  "  and  the  "  how 
soon"  were  hidden  in  the  dark.  Gurnal 
fitly  expresses  the  thought  that,  as  the  herbs 
and  flowers,  which  sleep  all  winter  in  their 
roots  underground,  when  the  time  of  spring 
approaches  forthwith  start  forth  fiom  their 
beds  where  they  had  lain  so  long  undis- 
turbed, so  the  promises  of  God  will  in  their 
seat-on  eflloresce  and  fruiten.  Every  promise 
is  dated  with  a  mysterious  chaiacter,  and  as 
the  gardener  knows  when  the  diileient  seeds 
will  come  up,  and  arranges  accordingly,  so 
God  knows  the  budding-time  of  His  promises. 
Moses  must  wait.  For  want  of  skill  in  G.  d's 
chronology,  we  are  prone  to  think  that  God 
forgets  us.  when  indeed  we  forget  ourselves 
in  being  so  bold  to  set  God  a  time  of  our  own, 
and  in  being  angry  that  he  comes  not  just  as 
we  wish  and  exptct. 

•'Be  patient!  oh,  be  patient  I  thougQ  yet 
our  hopes  are  green. 
The  harvest  fields  of  freedom  shall  bfl 
crown'd  with  sunnv  sheen. " 
120 


Page  114.  (24) — Means ! — Moses  forgot 
that  God  does  not  require  great  means — 
small  means— or  any  means.  He  can  work 
by  little  or  nothing;  though  He  is  pleased 
to  work  by  means.  A  ship  struck  on  a  reef  of 
rocks  distant  from  the  shore,  while  the  wind 
was  roaring,  and  the  wave  was  raging — 

"  Dreadful  was  the  rack 
As  earth  and  sky  would  mingle.     Nor  yet 

slept  the  winds 
Within  their  stony  caves,  but  rushed  abroad 
From  the  four  hinges  of  the  world." 

The  dwellers  on  the  land  conld  not  reach  the 
ship,  and  the  sailors  on  the  sea  could  not 
reach  the  shore.  But  the  captain  had  a  little 
dog  on  board — quick  and  intelligent.  To  tie 
a  string  to  its  neck — point  it  to  the  dit-tant 
dimly-dark  beach,  with  its  shadowy  group  of 
spectators — and  to  fling  it  into  the  abyss  to 
breast  the  foaming  billows,  was  the  work  of 
an  instant.  The  tiny  terrier  knew  its  errand 
and  loved  its  master,  and  so  fought  its  way 
buoyantly.  No  man  could  have  triumphed 
over  the  angry  waters,  but  the  dog  did.  The 
cord  had  its  rope,  which  was  pulled  ashore — 
then  a  hawser  —  then  a  cradle;  by  which 
means  the  crew  were  saved.  What  can  God 
not  do  with  little  means  ? — 

"  Let  us  be  content  to  work 
To  do  the  thing  we  can,  and  not  presume 
To  fret  because  it's  little." 

The  more  helpless  Moses  was,  the  more  glory 
accrued  to  his  God.  Just  as  with  the  bridge 
across  the  Falls  of  the  Niagara.  A  kite  bore 
a  cord — the  cord  held  a  rope — the  rope  drew 
a  cable — the  cable  hauled  the  first  material 
necessary  for  the  construction  of  the  bridge. 
The  insignificance  of  the  means  employed 
only  redounded  to  the  engineer's  praise. 

Page  114.  (25)— Discipline! — The  dove 
in  the  fable,  annoyed  because  the  wind  had 
ruffled  its  feathers,  foolishly  wished  for  a 
firmament  free  from  air,  through  the  empty 
space  of  which  it  vainly  dreamed  that  its 
unimpeded  wing  would  dart  swift  as  the 
nimble  lightning.  Silly  bird  I  without  that 
air  it  could  neither  live  nor  soar.  Do  not 
ignol)ly  wish  every  breath  of  opposition 
away  Difficulties  asserts  ("oley,  met  and 
mattered,  upbear  us  to  the  high  reiches  of 
honour.  Diflicaltiee,  Beecher  notes,  are  God's 
errands;  and  when  we  are  sent  1  pon  them 
we  should  esteem  it  a  proof  of  Dvine  confi- 
dence, as  a  compliment  from  GoO.  As  in 
the  Napoleonic  wars,  the  general  was  wont 
to  give  the  post  of  darger,  or  the  command 
of  a  forlorn  hope,  or  the  defence  of  some 
strategic  pass  or  bridge  to  a  favourite  subor. 
dinate. 

"  He  holds  me  that  I  shall  not  fall, 
And  so  to  him.  1  leave  it  all." — 

Rtdigatt. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODVS.  chap,  vi 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  Then  the  Lord]  We  can  scarcely  err  in  saying  that  this  verse  should 
g  '  with  chap.  v. ;  and,  as  furnishing  the  immediate  answer  of  Jehovah  to  the  complaint  of 
Mo^e-i,  it  brings  the  narrative  to  a  resting  place.  Verse  2  begins  a  new  section.  2  By  my 
name  Jehovah  was  I  not  known  to  them  ]  We  here  come  upon  what  appears  to  be  a 
grave  difficulty.  It  does  not  at  oiice  approve  itself  to  our  minds  as  consistent  with  fact  to  say 
that  the  fathers  of  the  Hebrew  people  were  not  acquainted  with  the  divine  name  Jehovah.  It 
would  seem  fiom  the  sacied  text  itself  that  Abiaham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  not  only  knew  this 
name,  but  wtre  familiar  with  it,  and  even  made  special  use  of  it  on  some  occasions.  For  proof;* 
of  their  acquaintance  with  it,  see  Gen.  xii.  8 ;  xiv.  22  ;  xv.  8  (Lord  GoD  =  Adonai  Jehovah)  ; 
xxi.  33  ;  XXIV.  3  ;  xxvi.  22  ;  xxvii.27  ;  xxviii.16;  xlix.  18,  etc.  As  an  example  of  special ues 
rf  it,  ''Jehovah  Jiieh"(Gen.  xxii.  14)  atonce  o^mes  tomind.  Here  is  the  difficulty.  Where  is 
the  solution  1  Huppily,  it  is  near  at  hand.  It  m  iy  be  found  by  simply  giving  to  the  statement 
before  us  its  full  value.  1 1)  The  word  "  name  "  should  be  taken  in  full  biblical  significance,  as 
denoting  jvhat  is  revealed  by  the  name — the  attrihutcs  of  Him  to  whom  the  name  belongs  in 
so  far  as  those  attributes  are  symbolised  by  the  nam*^ ;  in  fact  "  the  internal  essence,  as  far  as 
it  is  outwardly  revealed  and  known  as  operative  "  (FUrst,  under  shem).  In  other  words,  we 
must  pass  from  the  sign  to  the  thing  signijicd  (cf.  Ps.  v.  11  ;  Prov.  xviii.  10  ;  with 
Ps.  xlviii.  ]0.)  Apply  this  to  the  matter  in  hand,  and  we  at  once  catch  the  idea  that  the 
meaning  must  be,  not  that  the  elder  patriarchs  did  not  know  o/'such  a  name  as  Jehovah,  but 
that  God  had  not  revealed  himself  to  them  in  any  considerable  degree  according  ioihQimport 
of  that  name.  Now  this  naturally  leads  us  to  anticipate  for  the  name  "  Jehovah  "  a  very  dis- 
tinctive meaning  ;  moreover,  a  meaning  less  fully  veiified  to  God's  people  at  one  time  than 
another.  Let  ihis  be  well  observed.  (2)  For  the  imjjort  of  the  name  '"  Jehovah  "  we  must 
reftr  to  the  "  Critical  Notes  "  on  chap.  iii.  14.  To  bring  from  that  place  to  this  the  crowning 
ioca  of  '■  Fulfiller,''  let  us  ask  whether  this,  after  what  has  been  said  above,  does  not  fully  meet 
the  present  difficulty.  Is  it  not  most  obviously  true  to  say  that,  broadly  speaking,  God  made 
himself  known  to  the  patriarchs,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  rather  as  PROMISER  than  as 
FULFILLER.  We  say  '•  rather,''  purposely  qualifying  our  language  for  a  reason  to  be  stated 
presently.  [Under  "(3)"]  Certainly,  one  of  the  most  marked  featuies  of  the  Divine  dealings 
with  Israel  8  progenitors  is  the  lavish  abundance  and  astoumiing  magnitude  of  the  promises 
made  to  them, — made,  but,  for  the  time,  most  of  them  lelt  unfulfilled.  The  land  was 
promised  (ziii.  14,  15  ;  xv.  18 — 21)  but  the  promise  was  nut  fulfilled  ;  an  i7inum-erahle  seed 
was  promised  (xii.  2  ;  xiii.  16  ;  xvii.  6j,  but  this  prom'se  was  unfulfilled,  and  for  a  time  the 
first  steps  towards  its  realisation  were  tardy  ;  and  the  blessmg  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
in  the  seed  of  those  wanderers  was  promised  (xii.  3  ;  xxii.  IS),  and  this  again  we  need  not  say 
had  not  even  now  been  accomplished.  Most  true,  therefore,  it  is,  that  God  had  not  made  him- 
self known,  as  characteristically  "  the  Fulfiller,"  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  :  a  truth  now 
intimated  with  admirable  fitness,  when  the  land  is  just  about  to  be  given,  and  the  seed  has 
already  swarmed  from  a  family  into  a  nation,  and  the  bonds  of  that  holy  covenant  are  shortly 
to  be  entered  into,  by  virtue  of  which  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  at  last  be  savingly 
blessed.  (3)  We  have  only  to  add  that  the  context  here  altogether  confirms  this  solution  of  the 
dithculty.  If  we  mistake  not,  it  does  soin  a  manner  not  a  little  remarkable.  All  must  perceive 
how  forcibly  the  main  fact — that  the  God  of  Abraham  was  now  about  to  fulfil  as  he  had 
never  done  before — tells  in  favour  of  this  exposition.  We  now  advance  to  an  argument  in  its 
Buppoit  drawn  from  the  syntax  of  the  entire  passage,  which  has,  we  presume  to  think,  been 
most  strangely  negleeted.  In  other  words,  the  Jitting  in  of  the  difficult  statement  to  its  con- 
texts has  received  almost  no  attention  whatever.  And  yet  how  strongly  it  calls  for  notice. 
(a)  Note  thefvregoing  words.  '•  I  am  Jehovah  :  and  I  appeared  unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and 
unto  Jacob  as  God  Almighty,  but,"  etc.  "  AND  1  appeared  "  :  what  means  this  "  and  "?  The 
Hebrew  punctists  have  not  hesitated  to  throw  all  their  weight  on  the  conjunction,  having 
marked  it  as  the  strong  7va7v  consecutive  wa-  &ra),  and  thus  given  us  the  hint  to  make  the  most 
of  it,  which,  on  the  admitted  principles  of  Hebrew  Grammar,  we  are  entitled  to  do.  Availing 
our-elves  of  this  hint,  we  may  render  thus  :  "  I  am  Jehovah  :  AND,  indeed,  I  used  to  appear 
{imperfect,  incoming  tense,  here  probably  r(°ite/V7i'ii'c[cf.  Driver  §  26.])  unto  Abraham,  etc..  as 
liil  8haddai,  although,  by  my  name  (or,  to  the  extent  of  my  name)  Jehovah,  I  did  not  make 
myself  known  to  them."  In  point  of  fact  the  "strong  "  conjunction  (it  is  either  '  strong  " 
or  sujjerjiuous  I)  has  the  effect  that,  so  far  from  setting  the  names  El  Shaddai  and  JehovaE 
in  fipposition  to  each  other,  it  actually  makes  the  former  a  stepping-stone  to  the  latter, — 
makes  the  verification  of  that  an  anticipation  of  this.  We  may  paraphrase  the  coQuectiin 
between  them,  something  in  this  way  :  ''I  am  Jehovah,  'The  Fulfiller;'  and,  indeeJ,  I  did 
in  a  measure,  make  this  manifest  to  your  fathers,  by  again  and  again  giving  them  proof  oi 
my  power  and  of  my  goodness,  thus  fully  bringing  out  and  making  good  that  other  name 
of  mine,  Ul  Sliaddai,  '  Go<l  Almighty,'  (or,  as  some  [Girdle»tone  :  0.  T.  Sijn.'\  render)  '  G>xl 
All. Bountiful':  although  as  Jehovah,  '  The  Fulfiller  of  my  promises,  I  did  not  so  familiarise 
them  with  my  character,  in  that  1  suffered  them  to  fall  asleep  with  my  great  promises  yet 

w  121 


c:iAr.  VI.  HOMILETIC  COMMENrARV'.  EXODUS. 


unfulfilled,"  (b)  Now  observe  the  words  ih&t  follow.  "  Moreover  also  (w*  gbam,  I  set  up  my 
covenant  with  them,"  etc., — as  if  resuming  the  record  of  Jehovah  anticipations, — as  if  still 
keeping  an  eye  to  fulfilment.  S),  verse  4  : — "  Moreover  also  I  myself) — true  to  the  memory 
of  my  covenHnt,  and  resolved  to  fulfil  it — heard,"  etc.  "  Wherefore  say  ....  lam 
Jehovah  (the  Fulfiller)  ....  AND  thebefobe  will  have  brought  you  («'an>core«<fc?/;!t»d 
again,  though  now,  most  fittingly,  with  the  perfect  [the  complete'^  tense,  in  which  promises 
and  prophecies  delight).  And  thus  both  preceding  and  succeeding  context  fully  confirm 
the  main  statements  of  our  solution  ;  and,  for  our  own  part,  we  honestly  think  that  not  a 
shred  of  the  original  difficulty  is  Uft.  "Name  is  to  be  taken  as  signifying  revealed 
character.  The  name  "  Jehovah  "  is  to  be  regarded  as  emohasised  :  it  had  not  at  all 
adequately  been  verified,  so  far.  Yet,  as  All-mighty  and  All-bountifvl,  God  hasgiven  many 
tokens  that  He  would  ultimately  shine  forth  as  Jehovah  (Yahweh)  "  He  will  bring  to  pass" 
•'  He  will  become  all  He  ha.<t  said."  That  purpose.  He  now  renounces.  "  I  am  Jehovah  :  the 
which  ye  shall  kno>v  as  your  fathers  never  did."  14.  The  heads  of  their  fathers'  houses]  It 
is  obvious  that  versi  s  13 — 30  form  a  distinct  section  :  indeed  verse  .30  resumes  the  very  words  of 
verse  13.  The  interject&i  portion  might  seem  to  interrupt  the  flow  of  the  narrative  ;  but  on 
closer  examination  the  conclusion  that  it  could  ill  be  spared  is  easily  arrived  at,  since  the 
genealogy  given  relates  directly  to  the  leading  actors  who  are  coming  on  the  scene.  The  houses 
of  Reuben  and  Simeon  are  given  for  the  sake  of  introducing  Levi ;  and  Levi  and  his  house 
are  brought  forward  mainly  for  sake  of  exhibiting  the  tribal  and  family  connections  of  Moses 
and  Aaron.  Note,  accordingly,  the  climax  attained  in  verses  26—27;  and  the  return,  then, 
to  the  point  departed  from  at  verse  13. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.—Ferses  1—8. 
God's  Eeplt  to  the  Peatee  of  a  Disappointed  Woekee. 

It  is  evident  that  the  first  few  verses  of  this  chapter  belong  to  the  last 
chapter,  being  the  response  to  the  prayer  which  Moses  had  uttered  in  reference 
to  the  augmented  burdens  of  Israel.  Moses  had  said,  "  Lord,  wherefore  hast 
thou  so  evil  entreated  this  people  ?  Why  is  it  that  thou  hast  sent  me  ?  For  since 
I  came  to  Pharaoh  to  speak  in  thy  name,  he  hath  done  evil  to  this  people ; 
neither  hast  thou  delivered  thy  people  at  all."  Then  came  the  Divine  reply, 
**  Tou  are  mistaken,  Moses.  The  failure  of  a  first  attempt — if  failure  you 
choose  to  call  it — is  no  proof  that  a  second  experiment  will  not  succeed.  At 
all  events,  it  is  your  duty  to  follow  out  what  your  Grod  says :  It  is  My  glory  to 
see  that  what  I  have  promised  and  predicted  will  come  to  pass."  AV^e  are  apt 
in  all  things  to  intrude  on  God's  province,  thus  losing  force,  instead  of  concen- 
trating all  our  disposable  energy  within  the  province  that  God  has  assigned  us. 
It  is  not  ours  to  qutstion  for  a  moment  that  God  will  fulfil  His  promises;  it  is 
ours  always  and  t  verywhere  to  fulfil  the  obligations  that  He  has  laid  upon  us. 
God  says,  that  so  far  from  Pharaoh  succeeding,  he  will  be  glad  to  let  these  poor 
brickmakers  and  slaves  go  forth  from  his  land.  This  was  a  most  encouraging 
statement  to  Moses,  and  was  given  in  sympathetic  spirit. 

I.  This  reply  to  the  prayer  of  Moses  intimated  that  God  would  bring  the  true 
result  of  his  mission  more  thoroughly  within  the  cognizance  of  his  senses, 
"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  i«low  shalt  thou  see  what  I  will  do  to 
Pharaoh."  1.  The  mission  had  hitherto  been  a  great  tax  upon  the  faith  of  Moses. 
True,  he  had  beheld  the  vision  of  the  burniug  bush,  but  he  had  been  unable 
to  interpret  its  meaning.  He  had  held  communion  with  God,  but  no  man  hath 
seen  God  at  any  time.  His  was  eminently  a  mission  oi'  faith.  Keason  would 
never  have  led  him  to  it.  Sense  was  utterly  opposed  to  it.  He  had  in 
youth  seen  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh,  he  remembered  their  prowess,  and  would  feel 
that  it  would  be  the  extreme  of  folly  to  place  himself  in  antagonism  thereto, 
in  so  mad  an  enterprise.  But  God  told  him  to  go.  Faith  in  God  sustained 
him.  Hence  the  mission  commenced  at  its  highest  point,  and  was  being  pro- 
secuted in  truest  motive.  But  the  weak  soul  of  man  cannot  work  long  in  this 
high  realm  of  service  without  tremor  and  wavering  ;  he  is  liable  to  wander  into 
the  realm  of  sense.  Such  was  the  case  with  Moses.  The  first  repulse  made 
122 


HOMILEFW  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS.  chap,  vi. 


him  cry  out  for  the  visible  and  the  tangible.  Hence  the  sphere  of  service  was 
lowered.  God  does  frequently  adapt  the  work  to  the  varyino^  capacity  of  the 
workman.  He  sympathises  with  our  weakness.  He  promises  to  let  us  see  His 
dealings  in  reference  to  our  mission.  It  is  far  better  for  man  to  work  in  the 
higher  realm  of  service.  The  vision  of  faith  is  more  ennobling.  It  is  more 
refreshing.  It  gives  a  stronger  power  of  endurance.  It  is  better  to  trust  the 
promise  of  God  than  to  see  prematurely  God's  dealings  with  Pharaoh.  The 
moral  labour  that  taxes  faith  is  beneficial  to  man  eternally.  2.  Now  the 
mission  is  lowered  to  the  sensuous  vision  of  Moses.  He  was  to  see  what  God 
would  do  unto  Pharaoh.  Some  men  can  work  well  in  the  region  of  the  seen, 
but  are  im!)otent  at  moral  service  in  the  unseen  realm.  They  ascend  only  to 
the  mountain  peaks  of  earth  whither  they  can  climb,  they  do  not  rise  on  the 
pinions  of  faith  into  the  great  world  beyond,  where  the  service  is  the  most 
sublime.  But  sometimes  the  best  of  men  lower  their  energies  into  the  sphere 
of  the  sensuous,  eitlier  through  the  imperfection  of  their  energies,  either  in 
despair,  or  for  rest  from  the  constant  tension  of  faith.  God  bears  with  their 
weakness.     Let  them  return  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  higher  level  of  service. 

II.  This  reply  to  the  prayer  of  Moses  vindicated  Ms  conduct  against  the 
recent  insinuations  aad  reproach  of  the  Israelites.  "  For  with  a  strong  hand 
sliall  he  let  them  go,  and  with  a  strong  hand  shall  he  drive  them  out  of  his 
land."  Pharaoh  had  said  that  the  design  of  Moses  and  Aaron  in  making  their 
demand  of  freedom  was  to  encourai^e  the  Israelites  in  idleness  The  Israelites 
said  that  Moses  and  Aaron  had  deluded  them,  and  had  been  the  means  of  their 
augmented  burdens.  God  now  tells  Moses  that  he  had  done  his  duty,  and  that 
its  ultimate  issue  would  be  the  liberty  desired.  Men  often  take  a  wrong  view 
of  our  conduct.  God  always  takes  the  right  view.  He  is  infallible.  He  knows 
when  His  servants  are  doing  what  He  tells  them.  He  sends  them  messages  of 
approval  for  so  doing.  This  vindication:  (1.)  It  would  reassure  Moses  in  his 
work.  His  prayer  indicates  that  his  soul  was  growing  weary  in  the  work  of 
Israel's  freedom.  He  was  yielding  to  the  sad  influence  of  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  issue  of  things.  The  outworking  of  his  past  eff^ort  was  dis- 
couraging to  him.  Hence  this  reply  to  his  prayer  would  reassure  him  in  his 
work.  God  generally  sends  such  answers  to  our  prayer  as  shall  strengthen  us 
for  His  service.  In  the  attitude  of  devotion  we  always  get  visions  of  future 
toils.  (2.)  It  would  clear  his  conscience  from  all  condemnation.  I^his  reply  to 
his  prayer  would  give  him  to  see  that  he  had  done  the  Israelites  no  wrong,  and 
that  their  reproaches  were  ungrateful.  This  conviction  would  chase  away  his 
sorrow.  It  would  a  source  of  strength  to  him  in  his  labour.  A  peacefnl 
conscience  is  the  truest  jov  of  a  Christian  worker.  (3.)  It  would  enable  him  to 
interpret  his  apparent  Jailure.  Moses,  hearing  of  the  burdens  of  Israel  sub- 
sequent to  his  appeal  tu  Pharaoh,  regarded  his  work  as  a  failure.  He  would 
now  view  it  under  a  new  light,  under  a  brightening  aspect.  God  only  can  give 
to  men  the  true  interprttation  of  their  service,  and  this  He  does  in  answer  to 
their  prayers. 

III.  This  reply  to  the  prayer  of  Moses  indicated  how  thoroughly  the  work 
announced  by  God  should  be  accomplished.  "  For  with  a  strong  hand  shall  he 
let  ttiem  go,  and  with  a  ^trong  hand  shall  he  drive  them  out  of  his  land." 
1.  This  shows  how  wicked  men  are,  under  the  providence  of  God,  brought  to  do 
that  which  they  had  once  resolutely  refused.  Pharaoh  had  told  Moses  and  Aaron 
that  he  ignored  their  God,  and  that  he  would  not  give  the  Israelites  their 
freedom.  Tet  the  time  will  come  when  he  will  drive  them  tbrth  into  liberty. 
The  sinner  knoweth  not  the  future,  or  he  would  act  with  greater  wisdom  in  the 
present.  2.  Ood  makes  these  revelations  in  response  to  prayer  that  He  may 
reanimnff  fhf-  diapirilcd  worker.      What  a  reviving  effect  this  communication 

12a 


CHAP.  Tl.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


would  have  upon  the  soul  of  Moses ;  he  would  be  immediately  ready  for  new 
conflict  with  Pharaoh. 

IV.  In  reply  to  the  prayer  of  Moses,  God  vouchsafes  a  new  and  sublime 
revelation  of  His  character.  "And  God  ppake  unto  Moses,  and  said  uuto 
liiin,  I  am  the  Lord:  and  I  apprared  unto  Abraham,  unto  Isnae,  and  unto 
Jacob,  by  the  name  of  God  Alnii<;lity,  but  by  the  name  of  Jehovah  was  1 
not  known  to  them,"  &c.  1.  There  was  a  sublime  revelation  of  His  name. 
Here  the  question  occurs,  was  not  this  name  known  to  Moses.  There  are  two 
classes  of  commentators  on  this  very  text.  Some  say  that  the  name  of  Jehovah 
was  not  known  prior  to  the  appearance  of  God  in  the  burning  bush.  Tou 
answer  tliat  statement  by  referrins;  to  tlie  vision  that  Abraham  saw — the  ram 
caught  in  the  thicket — when  he  called  the  place  Jehovah-jireh,  "  The  Lord  will 
provide."  Well,  then,  if  Abraham  used  the  very  nanie  Jehovah,  and  if  the 
word  Jehovah  occurs  several  times  besides  in  the  course  of  the  previous  chapters, 
how  can  it  be  said  that  this  name  was  not  known  to  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  ?  Those  who  hold  the  opinion  that  it  was  not  literally  known  to  them, 
say  that,  as  Moses  did  not  write  Genesis  till  some  2000  years  after  the  facts 
recorded  in  it,  he  used  tlie  name  Jehovah  because  it  was  known  to  the  Jews  at 
the  time  he  wrote,  though  it  was  not  known  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in 
the  years  in  which  they  lived.  But  this  would  seem  to  be  irreconcileable  with 
some  passages  where  the  name  Jehovah  must  have  been  used,  because  it  was 
given  with  reference  to  special  circumstances  to  which  the  other  names  of  God 
would  not  seem  to  be  applicable.  And  besides,  it  would  seem  on  this  supposition 
that  Moses  did  not  write  strictly  and  literally  what  was  true,  but  wrote  the  past 
with  a  borrowed  light  from  the  present,  which  would  not  be  the  duty  of  a 
faitliful  historian.  The  other  opinion — and  I  think  it  is  the  just  and  only 
interpretation — is,  that  the  name  Jehovah  was  known  to  Abraham  ;  but  that  its 
pregnant  meaning,  preciousness  in  its  application,  and  comfort,  was  so  little 
known,  that,  in  comparison,  it  was  not  known  at  all ;  that  is,  God  had  not 
manifested  all  His  glory  as  Jehovah  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  as  he  would 
do  to  Moses,  and  to  the  children  of  Israel  in  after  generations.  Pharaoh  had 
made  a  new  and  more  terrible  revelation  of  himself  to  Moses  and  to  the  Israelites, 
and  therefore  the  Divine  Being  opened  up  to  theui  in  comfort  the  inner  glories 
of  His  Name.  God's  name  is  more  potent  than  all  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh.  That 
name  is  revealed  to  human  souls,  the  most  bi  autifully,  in  prayer.  2.  There 
was  also  a  covfortincj  reference  to  His  covenant.  "  1  have  also  established  My 
covenant  with  them,  to  give  them  the  land  of  Canaan,  the  land  of  their 
pilgrimage,  wherein  they  were  strangers."  God  thus  reminds  Moses  of  His 
covenant,  which  should  prevent  all  fear  on  his  part  as  to  the  ultimate  success  of 
his  work.  3.  There  was  also  a  pathetic  reference  to  the  sorrow  of  Israel. 
"And  I  have  also  heard  the  groaning  of  the  children  of  Israel,  whom  the 
Egyptians  keep  in  bondage."  Lessons  : — 1.  That  God  speaks  to  disappointed 
souls  in  prayer.  2.  That  the  Divine  comnmninffs  with  a  disappointed  soul  have 
an  uplifting  tendency.  3.  That  Qod  deals  compassionately  with  the  weakness  oi 
Christian  worlcers. 

A  Teue  Patteen  ov  Gospel  Eedemi'tion.    Verses  4  to  8. 

I.  That  Gospel  Redemption  conies  to  the  soul  after  a  period  of  moral  bondage 
and  distress.  1.  It  finds  the  soul  in  a  condition  of  moral  bondaye.  "  Whom  the 
Egyptians  keep  in  bondage."  The  bondage  is  most  severe.  It  is  the  bondage 
of  sin.  It  has  been  long  continued,  through  many  years  of  our  lives.  It  has 
been  degrading.  It  has  been  fruitless  to  ourselves.  We  have  all  the  time  been 
working  for  another  master,  from  whom  we  have  received  no  good  reward. 
124. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  n. 


The  bondage  seems  almost  hopeless  to  us.  We  have  no  token  of  moral  liberty. 
Our  thoughts,  emotions,  and  energies  are  all  in  the  slavery  of  sin.  In  this 
condition  the  Gospel  of  Christ  finds  the  soul.  2.  It  finds  the  soul  in  a  condition 
of  anxious  grief.  "  And  I  have  also  heard  the  groauings  of  the  children  of 
Israel."  The  soul  is  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  bondnge  and  consequent 
degradation  ;  and  eagerly  awaits  the  freedom  of  the  Gospel,  Its  tears  are  those 
of  repentance.  Its  cries  are  those  for  pardon.  Its  looks  are  toward  the  cross. 
In  this  condition  the  Gospel  of  redemption  comes  in  all  its  mercy  to  the  believing 
soul.  3.  It  is  gpnernlly  preceded  hy  some  Christian  agency.  Moses  had  been  to 
the  Israelites  in  their  bondage,  and  had  instrumentally  awakened  their  desire  for 
freedom.  So  the  souls  of  men  are  often  influenced  by  Christian  agencies  prior 
to  their  cry  for  the  redemption  of  the  cross.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Christian 
ministry  to  awaken  within  men  the  desire  for  moral  freedom. 

II.  That  Gospel  Redemption  conies  to  the  soul  by  virtue  of  a  Divine 
covenant  and  promise.  "  And  I  have  remembered  my  promise,"  verse  6. 
1.  God  through  Christ  has  made  a  covenant  of  salvation  with  all  icho  trust  in 
the  atonement.  There  has  been  the  covenant  of  works.  That  is  no  longer 
possible  to  man.  By  the  works  of  the  law  there  shall  no  flesh  living  be  justified. 
We  are  under  the  covenant  of  grace.  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus.  By  virtue  of  this  covenant  all  contrite  and  believing  souls  may 
find  rest  in,  and  pardon  from,  God.  There  is  no  other  covenant  that  can  confer 
these  blessings.  (1)  This  covenant  is  unique.  (2)  This  covenant  is  merciful. 
(3)  This  covenant  is  of  long  standing.  There  is  none  other  like  it.  It  is  the 
hope  of  man.  It  was  made  with  the  oldest  saints,  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob. 

III.  That  Gospel  Redemption  brings  the  soul  into  holy  and  responsible 
relationship  to  God.  "And  I  will  take  you  to  me  for  a  people,  and  I  will  be  to 
you  a  God,"  verse  7.  1.  /if  constitutes  the  soul  a  Divine  possession.  It  then 
belongs  to  God,  its  rightful  owner.  All  its  thoughts  and  affections  are  to  be  His. 
Thus  the  redemption  of  the  Gospel  brings  back  our  moral  manhood  to  God, 
brings  us  into  sympathy  with  all  that  is  divine  and  heavenly.  It  places  the 
soul  under  the  peculiar  guardianship  of  the  Infinite.  God  will  then  guard  the 
soul.  Aid  it  in  its  struggles.  Open  up  its  future.  He  will  be  its  sun  and 
shield.     Oh!  blessed  redemption. 

IV.  That  Gospel  Redemption  leads  the  faithful  unto  the  inheritance  of  Canaan. 
"  To  give  them  the  land  of  Canaan."  Thus  what  a  change  this  redemption 
works,  from  slaves  to  freemen,  from  servitude  to  an  inheritance.  The  redeemed 
are  the  inheritors  of  the  universe.     All  things  are  yours. 

Reasons  foe  Human  Redemptioit, 

I.  The  Burden  of  Man  is  a  reason  for  human  Redemption.  "  The  burdens 
of  the  Egyptians,"  verse  G.  Sin  is  a  burden.  It  presses  heavily  on  man.  No 
human  hand  can  remove  it.  Only  Christ  can.  He  says,  "  Come  unto  me  all 
ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  His  burden  ia 
light.  The  pain  occasioned  by  man's  burden  of  sin  is  a  reason  for  its  removal 
by  Christ. 

II.  The  Lordship  of  Christ  is  a  reason  for  human  Redemption.    "  I  am  the 

Lord."  Only  the  Supreme  Euler  of  the  universe  could  achieve  the  redemption 
of  man.  He  only  could  fulfil  the  violated  law.  He  only  could  forgive  the  past 
neglect  of  it.  He  only  could  enable  us  to  keep  it  in  the  future.  Only  the  God 
of  the  soul  can  redeem  it. 

III.  The  Covenant  of  God  is  a  reason  for  human  Redemption.    "  I  have 

126 


CUAP.  VI.  UOMILETIC  CoMMENTALiY'.  EXODUS. 


remembered  my  covenant."  God  desires  the  salvation  of  men.  Promise — 
Type — Symbol.  On  Calvary  the  covenant  was  fully  and  eternally  signed. 
The  world  was  redeemed  by  price,  only  they  are  redeemed  by  power  who  believe 
in  Christ. 

DlSCOURAGEMEKT   IN   EeLTGION  PfiODTJCTITE   OP   TJnBELTEF   IN  THE   PROMISES 

OF  God. 

The  school  of  experience  is  'he  only  state  of  moral  discipline  in  which  a  Christian  can  learn 
ihe  nature  of  his  warfare  with  the  powers  of  darkness.  When  Brut  convinced  of  spiritual 
cantivity,  he  rises  np  to  escape  from  it  with  an  alacrity  derived  from  much  ignorance  of  the 
difficulties  that  await  him  in  the  road  to  heaven;  not  less  than  f'orn  a  sense  of  peril  by  which 
he  is  surrounded.  En^irossed  by  one  idea,  he  overlooks  the  triils  of  his  approaching  conflict. 
The  Israelites  were  anxious  for  deliverance.  They  were  defenceless.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
escape.  The  loss  which  God  permitted  threw  them  into  despondency.  There  came  an  increase 
of  burdens.  They  taunt  Moses.  He  prays  to  God.  A  pattern  of  the  Christian  life.  I.  The 
promise  made  hy  God  to  His  afflicted  children  1.  He  again  declared  Jlis  purpose  of  redeeming 
th/'m  from  their  captivity.  Pharaoh  upun  his  throne  was  mighty,  Israel  was  feeble.  God  had 
pledged  Himself  for  their  deliverance.  The  ransom  He  was  about  to  effect  was  to  be  attended 
with  a  manifestation  of  Almighty  power  the  most  unquestionable.  Ihfj  were  not  to  go  forth 
as  fugitives,  but  as  conquerors.  Such  an  engagement  has  G(^d,  in  spontaneous  mercy,  made 
with  you.  Are  you  seeking  deliverance.  It  is  promised.  2.  The  3fost  High  declared  that  I»rael 
should  he  adopted  as  His pectdiar  inheritance.  Separated  by  customs,  institutions,  by  temporal 
privileges,  and  spiritual  distinctions,  they  were  to  become  the  family  of  Jehovah,  and  not  to  be 
reckoned  amongst  nations  estranged  from  Him.  A  like  declaration  is  made  to  all  who  wish  to 
quit  the  state  in  which  they  are  enslaved.  "  Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,"  &c.  3.  God  also 
condescended  to  reiterate  His  promise  of  giving  the  possession  of  Canaan  to  Israel.  Little  would  it 
have  availed  that  the  Israelites  were  to  be  redeemed  fiom  bondage,  if  the  help  had  ended  there. 
We  should  be  ineffectually  called  from  the  death  of  sin,  unless  we  are  led  on  to  eternal  rest. 
II.  The  unworthy  manner  in  which  these  promises  were  received.  It  is  comparativt^ly  easy  to 
repote  in  Gud  in  the  sunshine  of  peace.  But  when  He  comesim-orrow  wecry  out  for  fear.  We 
refuse  to  walk  any  longer  by  faith.  The  word  has  declared,  "  That  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return,  and  come  with  singing  unto  Zion."  Yet  how  often  has  God  to  remonstrate  with 
us  when  He  sees  us  sinking  into  doubt.  Events  appear  to  frustrate  the  pr.  mise.  The  burdens 
are  increased.  Satan  taken  advantage  of  this  severe  discipline.  He  endeavours  to  make  us 
repine.  If  you  would  resist, rest  not  till  yehaveoV>tained  practical  acquaintance  with  God  your 
Saviour,  under  the  titles  by  which  He  revealed  Himself  to  His  ancient  people.  (1 )  Knrw  him 
as  El  Sfuiddai,  all  sitfficient  to  bless  and  save  yon.  7rithapresent  and  everlasting  salvation.  (2,) 
Knen'  Him.  a*  Jehwah,  the  glorious  name  hy  which  He  was  revc'dcd  to  Israel.  He  is  the  same 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever. — {Buddieom's  Christian  Exodus), 

SUGGESTIFE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
The  Judgments   or   God   upon  Wicked  Men. 

Verse  1,     I,  That  God  sends  severe  his  despotism.     The  despot  must  yield 

judgments   on  men  who   reject   His  to  the  sceptre  of  God.     He  may  defy 

Commands.    "  Now  shalt  thou  see  what  the  vast  nation  Israel,  but  now  he  is 

I  will  do  to  Pharaoh": —  in  conflict  with   One  who  will  defeat 

1.  Nbtwithsfandinff  his  kinffship.  The  his  armies, 
judgments  of  God  are  not  averted  by 

the  exalted  social  position  or  great         II.  That  these  judgments  are  often 

power  of  kings.     The  proud  monarch  witnessed  by  Christian  people.    "Now 

of  Egypt  cannot  exempt  himself  from  shalt  thou  see." 

the  retributions  of  heaven.     There  are  1.    Thej/    are    seen    clearly.     These 

none  to  deliver  him      2.  Nofwifhstand-  judgments  are  seen  in  all  their  terrible 

ing   his    obstinacy.      Moral    obstinacy  force.    In  all  their  meaning.    The  dead 

cannot  shield  men  from  the  judgments  king  and  his  drowned  army  are  washed 

of  God.  He  can  subdue  the  man  of  iron  upon  the  banks  of  the  great  waters, 

will.     Suffering  has  a  great  effect  upon  lietributiou  is  clearly  visible  in  their 

obstinate   souls.     3.   Notwithstanding  ruin.     2.   They  are  seen  retributively. 
126 


nOMtLEflC  COMMLlNTARr:  BlODUS. 


CllAf.  Vf. 


The  overthrow  of  Pharaoh  and  his  host 
was  no  vat-re  accident.  It  was  not  the 
outcome  of  Divine  caprice.  It  was  not 
designed  merely  to  vindicate  the  pro- 
phecy of  Moses.  It  was  punitive.  3. 
Tket/  are  seen  solemnly.  These  judg- 
tneiits  are  sad.  They  awaken  thought 
and  moral  reflection.  We  dare  not 
smile  at  the  overthrow  of  the  tyrant. 
His  destiny  makes  us  weep. 

The  good  Lord  sometimes  proraiseth 
sight  of  Hia  great  works,  when  His 
servants  scarce  believe  Him. 

In  granting  them  sight  God  reproves 
the  unbelief  of  His  servants. 

God's  strong  hand  is  doubly  engaged 
to  work  deliverance  for  His  Church. 

God  chooseth  to  force  deliverance 
from  tyrants,  to  make  His  work  con- 
spicuous. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between 
looking  at  things  from  a  distance,  and 
seeing  them  drawing  close  upon  us,  or 
actually  beginning. 

Verse  2.  1.  God  speaking  to  man. 
2.  God  speaking  to  man  a  condescen- 
sion. 3.  God  speaking  to  man  a  judg- 
ment. 4.  God  speaking  to  man  an 
instruction. 

God  usually  joineth  the  promise  of 
grace  unto  His  people  with  that  of 
force  upon  His  enemies. 

God's  promise  of  grace  is  plainly 
declared  and  revealed  to  His  servants. 

God  useth  to  convey  these  promises 
of  grace  by  a  mediator  to  His  people. 

The  highest  promise  of  grace  is  that 
God  will  be  Jehovah  to  His  people. 

Where  God  is  Jehovah,  all  His  pro- 
mises are  put  into  effect. 

Verse  3.  It  is  not  merely  in  the 
actings  of  God  that  He  would  cause 
the  heart  to  find  rest,  but  in  Himself — 
in  His  name  and  character. 

God  joins  one  encouragement  to 
another  to  help  the  weak  in  faith. 

God's  appearances  are  designed  to 
work  faith  in  creatures. 

God's  appearances  have  been  gradual 
in  manner  and  measure  till  now. 

Fullest  discoveries  of  God  require 


the  greatest  faith,  and  aggravate  the 
sin  of  unbelief. 

E^nowledge  of  God's  name  is  needful 
to  make  souls  trust  it. 

God's  name: — 1.  Not  a  mere  word. 
2.  Not  an  abstraction.  3.  But  a  power. 
4.  A  tower  of  strength.  5.  A  shield 
of  protection.  6.  The  hope  of  the 
soul. 

Verse  4.  God's  covenant  to  His 
people:  —  !.  Stated.  2.  Settled.  3. 
Kept.     4.  Happy.     5.  Eestful. 

How  much  the  Lord  says  of  His 
covenant  and  His  oath ;  and  if  you 
consider,  there  was  something  in  this 
more  suited  to  encourage  hope  and 
trust,  than  in  any  other  ground  for  it 
He  could  have  mentioned.  When  you 
are  in  distress,  if  you  are  told  of  a  man 
who  is  kind  and  liberal,  it  gives  you 
hope  of  relief.  If  you  hear,  moreover, 
that  he  has  assisted  many  poor  afflicted 
creatures  exactly  in  your  situation, 
your  hopes  are  raised  still  more  ;  and 
if,  besides,  you  know  he  has  promised 
help  to  all  the  needy  who  apply  to 
him,  that  is  better  still ;  yet  even  that 
would  not  give  you  so  much  confidence 
as  if  you  had  it  under  his  hand  that 
he  would  help  you,  and  you  knew  he 
had  taken  a  solemn  oath  that  he  would 
give  you  all  you  stand  in  need  of.  He 
would  then  have  bound  himself,  and 
his  honour  would  be  so  engaged  that 
he  could  not  draw  back.  Nuw  this  is 
exactly  what  God  had  done  to  Israel ; 
and  by  reminding  Moses  of  it,  He 
showed  He  did  not  mean  one  jot  or 
tittle  should  pass  from  His  covenant 
till  all  was  fulfilled.  And  believers 
have  the  same  security  now.  In  His 
new  covenant  He  has  pledged  Himself 
to  thosewho  have  the  faith  of  Abraham. 
In  this  covenant  He  has  assured  His 
people  of  pardon.     (Anon.) 

Verse  5.  God  hears  the  groans  of 
His  people. 

God  remembers  the  cruelty  of  the 
oppressor. 

God  remembers  the  covenant  of  Hia 
grace. 

Verse  6.     God's  appearance  to  His 
127 


CDAP.  VI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


Ministers  is  in  order  that  He  may- 
make  himself  known  to  the  Church. 

Ministers  must  speak  to  the  Church 
all  that  God  reveals  to  them. 

The  main  matter  that  must  be  re- 
revealed  to  tiie  Clmrch  is  that  God  is 
Jehovah. 

God's  being  Jehovah  seta  His  Israel 
free  from  all  Ei^yi^tian  burdens. 

The  meaiiinii;  of  Jehovah  is  to  rid  the 
Church  from  bondage,  temporal  and 
eternal. 

The  redemption  of  Israel  is  Jehovah's 
work. 

Verses  7 — 8.  Adoption  of  Israel  to 
Himself  is  Jehovah's  work  next  to 
redemption. 

Souls  are  adopted  when  they  are 
God's,  and  God  is  theirs.  Jehovah 
does  all  this  that  Israel  may  acknow- 
ledge his  saving  power. 

God's  people  : — 1.  Taken  by  God. 
2.  Knowing  God.  3.  Serving  God. 
4.  Redeemed  by  God.  5.  Happy  in 
God.  6.  Will  live  Avith  God. 

God's  oath  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  is  in  order  to  successive  genera- 
tions. 

Introduction  into  such  signal  privi- 
leges is  a  good  step  to  the  full  blessing. 


Jehovah's  donation  of  the  inheritance 
promised  surely  foUoweth  this  intro- 
duction. 

"  I  will  take  you  to  Me  for  a  people, 
and  I  will  be  to  you  a  God."  What 
follows  is  only  one  advantage  among 
many,  flowing  from  that  blessed  rela- 
tion. The  yoke  of  the  oppressor  shall 
be  broken  otf  your  necks,  for  My 
people  must  not  serve  another  master; 
freedom,  protection,  guidance,  victory, 
wise  laws,  liberty  to  make  known  your 
requests  to  Me  at  all  times,  are  among 
the  many  blessings  of  the  people  whom 
I  take  for  My  peculiar  heritage  ;  and 
then,  "  I  will  be  to  you  a  God."  This 
is  better  still ;  for  in  these  words  God 
gives  Himself  to  them.  His  favours 
are  precious.  His  gifts  are  valuable. 
He  excels  them  all.  Power,  wisdom, 
patience,  faithfulness,  love  infinite  and 
everlasting,  are  all  in  Him  ;  and  those 
who  have  Him  for  their  God,  have  all 
these  for  their  portion.  Well  might 
David  say,  "  My  soul  shall  make  her 
boast  in  the  Lord." 

"  I  will  be  to  you  a  God."  1.  Then 
my  life  should  be  devout.  2.  Then 
my  heart  should  be  grateful.  3.  Then 
my  tongue  shall  be  tuneful. 


MAIN   HOMILETICS   OF  THE   PARAGRAPH.— Verse  9. 


PnrsiCAi  Destitution  SiirLiifa  Spiritual  Life. 

This  fact  has  long  since  passed  away  ;  but  its  lesson  remains  ever  new.  Its  body  is 
dead,  and  has  returned  to  the  dust ;  but  its  spirit  survives  immortal.  God  gave  it  a  body  in 
the  actual  history  of  the  Hebrews,  that  its  meaning  might  become  articulate  to  human  ears. 
A  permanent  principle  of  our  nature,  and  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  Divine  government  are 
here  embodied  in  an  example. 

I.  The  Fact  which  embodies  the  Principle.  1.  The  message  addressed  to  Israel.  "  Moses  so 
spake  unio  the  Children  of  I-^rael  "(ver.  1 — 8).  This  message,  in  its  substance  and  in  its 
circumstances,  was  fitted  to  arrest  the  people's  attention  and  win  their  love.  In  that  messaKe, 
whether  you  regard  its  author,  its  bearer,  or  its  nature,  everything  tended  to  eatice  ;  nothing 
to  repel  them.  The  time  was  also  fitting,  when  their  burdens  were  unbearable.  Before  the 
Blare  a  pospect  of  liberty  in  opened  ;  befo'e  the  weary  a  prospect  of  re^t.  Will  the  drooping 
spirits  of  the  multitude  revive  at  this  intelligence?  2.  Tlie  neglect  of  tlw  message.  No;  the 
prumise.  although  it  was  rich  and  precious,  stirred  not  the  slug^iish  mass.  It  ^-ras  a  spark  of 
lite  that  fell,  but  it  fell  on  wetted  wood,  and  kindled  therefore  no  flame.  "  They  hearfteiied  not 
umo  Moses."  Why?  No  peopl<i  could  be  in  deeper  affliction,  no  kind  message  could  be  better 
authenticated.  They  neither  denied  the  truth  <i  the  message,  nor  injure!  the  perfon  who  bore 
it.  When  G<jd's  great  salvation  was  provided,  the  people  neglected  it.  This  the  head  and  front 
of  their  offending.  They  said  nothintr  against  it,  but  they  let  it  alone.  3.  Examine  the  specific 
reason  of  their  apathy.  The  cause  of  i  heir  ind  iflerence  to  liberty  was  the  extreme  severity  of  their 
bondage.  They  hearkened  not  "for  anguish  of  spirit  and  for  cruel  bondage. ''  Here  is  a  paradox; 
the  slavery  exces-ively  severe,  and  therefore  the  slave  does  not  care  for  freedom.  One  would  say, 
tbe  toiot  of  the  reason  goes  all  the  other  way.  We  would  rather  expect  that  in  proportion  to 
128 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  vi 


the  cruelty  of  the  yoke  would  be  the  alacrity  of  the  captives  in  rising  at  the  Kedeemer's  calL 
Ead  Pharaoh  lavished  kindness  and  luxury  upon  Josejili's  kindred,  this  might  have  been  a 
reason  why  they  treated  with  indifference  the  proffered  method  of  escape.  But  because  prosperity 
makes  people  callous  to  the  voice  of  freedom,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  extreme  of  adversity 
will  put  courage  into  their  hearts.  Extremes  meet.  Both  great  prosperity  and  great  distress 
often  crush  every  aspiration  of  freedom.  Plenty  extinguished  the  desire,  and  oppression  the 
hope  of  freedom.  Afterwards  the  same  Hebrews  shook  off  the  iron  yoke  that  had  lain  so  long 
upon  their  bodies,  and  sunk  so  deeply  into  their  souls.     A  door  of  hope  was  oiDened  to  them. 

n.  The  principle  embodied  in  the  fact.  The  story  of  this  ancient  incident  may  seem  to  have  no 
more  affinity  with  modem  character  than  the  mummies  which  travellers  dig  from  the  tombs  in 
Egypt  have  with  the  living  men  of  to-day.  Speaks  to  all.  1.  The  message.  To  us,  as  to  them, 
it  is  a  message  of  mercy.  Specifically,  it  proclaims  deliverance  to  the  captive.  God  recognises 
all  men  as  slaves,  and  sends  an  offer  for  freedom.  Christ  is  the  messenger  of  the  covenant.  A 
greater  than  Moses  is  here,  pubHshing  a  greater  salvation.  We  are  redeemed  from  one  master 
to  serve  another.  "  Let  my  people  go  that  they  may  serve  me."  He  allures  them  into  the 
wilderness,  and  abides  with  them  there.  The  glory  of  the  Lord  goes  before  them  during  the 
journey,  and  settles  on  the  mercy  seat  when  they  reach  the  promised  land.  2.  Such  is  the 
proposal,  hut  it  is  not  heeded.  But  few  disbelieve  or  revile  the  messenger.  They  neglect  him. 
3.  The  reason  of  this  neglect.  Ajiguish  and  cruel  bondage.  Let  us  beware  of  mistake  here. 
Both  with  them  and  us  the  true  cause  of  the  listlessness  is  the  carnal  mind.  The  evil  is  in  the 
heart,  but  outward  things  become  the  occasions  of  specific  disloyalties.  Learn  : — (L)  The  duty 
of  Christ's  dis^ples  to  a  careless  neighbourhood.  Abject  poverty  in  these  favoured  exacts  a  heavy 
task  from  many.  Bad  dwellings.  Hunger.  Oppression.  Their  souls  are  soured  to  the  bottom, 
and  they  care  neither  for  God  nor  man.  They  are  reckless.  They  are  destitute  of  fear  and  of 
hope.  They  care  not  for  the  future.  I  am  not  palliating  sin.  A  fact.  What  shall  be  done  ? 
Disciples  of  Christ  should  not  give  less  attention  to  spiritual  teaching,  but  more  to  the  material 
well-being  of  fallen  brothers.  (2.)  The  second  lesson  applies  more  directly  to  ourselves.  Anguish 
of  spirit,  whether  it  comes  from  God's  hand  in  the  form  of  personal  affliction,  or  from  man's  hand 
in  the  form  of  unjust  oppression,  may  become  the  occasion  of  neglecting  the  salvation  of  Christ. 
We  regard  sorrow  as  a  time  of  spiritual  revival.  Thanks  to  God,  it  often  is.  But  the  day  of  anguish 
is  not  the  sinner's  best  day  for  seeking  the  Saviour.  Sorrow  is  not  seed  ;  it  may  conspire  with 
other  means  to  make  the  seed  grow.  Beware  of  neglecting  your  spuitual  state  while  you  are 
welL     (Hev.  W.  Amot.) 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  9.     God's  faithful  messengers  mands  perverse  spirits  may  refuse  to 

do  speak  His  will  speedily  and  fully  hear  or  believe. 

to  whom  God  sends  it.  God's   message  to    people  in  such 

Former  discouragements  from  men  straits  is  to  ease  their  pain  and  enlarge 

must  not  hinder  God's  ministers  fur-  their  spirits, 

ther  to  declare  His  will.  Sense  of  pain  makes  some  souls  un- 

After  all  God's  promises  and  com-  reasonable,  even  to  reject  their  mercies. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versta  10— la 

The  Successive  Services  of  the  Christian  Lieb. 

I.  That  the  successive  services  of  the  Christian  life  are  required  notwithstand- 
ing the  apparent  failure  of  past  efforts.  (Ver.  10-11.)  Moses  and  Aaron  had  so 
far  failed  to  induce  Pharaoh  to  release  Israel.  But  the  service  did  not  terminate 
here.  The  commission  of  Moses  is  again  renewed.  Failure  never  does  remove 
men  from  the  obligation  of  a  divinely-imposed  task,  but  must  only  be 
regarded  as  an  incentive  to  new  courage  and  effort.  If  Christian  service  were 
to  yield  to  transient  failure,  there  would  be  little  of  it  remaining  in  the  world 
to-day.  There  is  not  a  church  but  has,  one  time  or  other,  been  defeated  in 
Christian  enterprise.  There  is  not  an  individual  but  has  experienced  the  dis- 
appointment and  grief  of  failure.  It  is  the  dark  heritage  of  man  in  this  life. 
How  many  nights  have  Christian  workers  spent  in  their  boats,  upon  the  waters, 
with  outspread  nets,  and  have  caught  nothing !    Christ  only  can  relieve  our 

0  129 


CHAP.  VL  HOMILBTIQ  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


moral  service  from  such  disappointment.  He  alone  can  fill  our  empty  neta. 
1.  This  service  must  be  continued  by  Moses  and  Aaron  because  the  command  of 
God  has  not  yet  been  executed.  INIen  can  never  leave  moral  service  until  the 
command  of  God  has  been  completely  fulfilled.  His  entire  will  must  be  accom- 
plished. God  has  issued  many  commands  in  reference  to  those  in  the  slavery 
of  sin.  Christian  workers  cannot  regard  their  toil  as  ended  till  they  are  all 
fulfilled.  2.  This  service  must  be  continued  by  Moses  and  Aaron  because  their 
duty  has  not  been  accomplished.  Christian  service  is  not  merely  a  command,  it 
is  likewise  a  holy  duty.  It  is  an  unchanging  and  imperative  duty,  and  there- 
fore admits  of  no  cessation  until  it  is  entirely  achieved.  A  sense  of  duty  should 
be  the  great  impulse  of  Christian  work.  It  is  your  duty  to  seek  the  liberty  of 
the  slave.  3.  This  service  must  be  continued  by  Moses  and  Aaron  because  the 
slaves  must  be  freed.  The  Israelites  must  be  liberated  from  the  bondage  of 
Pharaoh.  God  could  achieve  it  by  one  blast  of  death  which  should  send  the 
tyrant  and  his  hosts  into  the  grave.  This  is  not  His  method  of  working.  He 
employs  human  instrumentality.  That  instrumentality  must  not  stay  its  effort 
while  the  fetters  of  one  slave  are  left  unbroken.  The  Christian  worker  may  not 
cease  his  toil  while  one  sinner  remains  in  the  bondage  of  Satan.  The  entire 
freedom  of  humanity  is  the  destiny  of  Christian  efi"ort.  We  fitid  that  Moses 
and  Aaron  were  sent  on  exactly  the  same  work  as  before.  It  is  not  the  Divine 
plan  to  greatly  vary  the  Christian  service  of  men.  When  God  calls  a  man  to 
a  particular  work  He  generally  expects  him  to  spend  his  life  in  its  execution. 
Each  man  has  his  own  sphere  of  labour,  and  it  is  best  for  him  to  remain  in  it. 
There  is  much  waste  of  effort  in  the  Church,  because  men  are  so  restless  and 
changeful  in  their  toils.  We  need  determination,  concentration,  and  patience  in 
our  effort  to  free  the  slave.  A  nobler  sphere  for  the  energy  of  man  cannot 
be  found.     Failure  is  no  excuse  for  fickleness  in  Christian  service. 

II.  That  the  successive  services  of  the  Christian  life  are  more  difficult  in 
their  requirements.  The  first  injunction  given  to  Moses  was  to  call  the  elders 
of  Israel  together  that  he  might  communicate  to  them  the  Divine  will  in 
reference  to  their  nation.  Now  he  is  told  to  go  direct  to  Pharaoh.  The 
language  of  the  12th  verse  shows  that  Moses  regarded  the  service  as  increased 
in  rigour.  1.  This  increased  rigour  of  service  is  surprising.  Moses  had  failed  in 
the  lower  and  easier  realm  of  service.  He  bad  exhibited  despairing  temper. 
Israel  had  reproached  him.  He  had  reproached  God.  If,  then,  he  was  unequal 
to  the  smaller  service,  is  it  not  surprising  that  he  should  be  called  to  the 
greater  ?  Must  the  scholar  who  has  failed  in  the  alphabet  be  put  to  the 
declensions  of  service.  2.  This  increased  rigour  of  service  is  disheartening. 
It  was  to  Moses.  He  knew  the  difficulties  he  had  to  encounter  in  reference  to 
Israel.  But  he  felt  that  greater  would  meet  him  now  that  he  must  go  direct 
to  Pharaoh.  If  men  would  regard  things  in  a  right  light  the  greater  service  is 
in  reality  the  easier.  It  gives  a  greater  inspiration.  It  excites  brighter  hope. 
It  brings  diviner  help.  Failure  ought  not  to  occasion  retrogression  in  Christian 
service,  but  advancement.  Christian  service  is  a  progress  even  to  the  weak. 
3.  This  increased  rigour  of  service  is  a  discipline.  It  would  show  Moses  that 
he  still  retained  the  call  and' confidence  of  God.  It  had  not  been  forfeited  by 
his  failure.  It  would  test  his  moral  energy  for  the  work  to  which  he  was  sent. 
It  would  be  a  prophecy  of  future  hardship.  The  successive  services  of  the 
Christian  life  are  a  heavenly  discipline  to  our  souls.  Increased  work  has  often 
made  a  bad  workman  into  a  good  one.  It  has  increased  his  responsibihty.  It 
has  awakened  him  to  reflection. 

III.  That  the  successive  services  of  the  Christian  life  sometimes  awaken 
the  expostulations  of  men.  (Ver.  12.)  1.  These  expostulatio?is  make  mention 
«(f  natural   infirmities.     "  Who    am  of   uncircumcised    lips."     Moses    again 

130 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTAR  Y :  EX0DU3.  Chap.  vi. 


pleads  his  unfitness  for  the  task  assigned  to  him.  He  has  narrowed  the  mission 
down  to  his  own  ability  for  it.  It  is  unnecessary  that  men  should  inform  God 
of  their  natural  impediments  to  religious  service.  He  knows  them.  He  ia 
acquainted  with  those  whom  He  sends  on  His  errands,  with  their  weakness  and 
strength.  If  He  calls,  it  is  yours  to  obey.  2.  These  expostulations  make 
mention  of  past  difficulties  and  failure.  "Behold,  the  children  of  Israel  have 
not  hearkened  unto  me."  When  men  do  not  want  to  undertake  the  service  of 
God  they  will  keep  up  arguments  to  excuse  themselves.  If  one  will  not  answer, 
they  are  soon  ready  with  another.  In  this  attempt  the  logical  faculty  of  man 
exhibits  wonderful  acuteness  and  development.  Man  is  a  good  logician  in  this 
court.  3.  These  expostulations  are  presumptuous.  "  And  Moses  spake  before 
the  Lord  saying."  These  expostulations  were  made  to  the  Lord  !  Men,  and 
especially  Christian  workers,  ought  to  welcome  the  commands  of  God  without 
question.  He  is  all-powerful.  He  is  all-wise.  Before  Him  we  ought  to  stand 
in  awe  and  sin  not.  Lessons  : — 1.  Not  to  shrink  from  the  successive  services  of 
the  Christian  life.  2.  To  leave  all  the  moral  work  of  our  life  to  the  choice  of 
God.  3.  Not  to  imperil  our  welfare  by  expostulation  with  the  providence  of 
heaven.     4.  2b  concentrate  our  energies  patiently  on  one  Christian  enterprise. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  10— 11.   God  sometimes  join-  Powers    and    wickedness    together 

eth  harder  work  to  the  discouragement  make  the  greater  obstruction  against 

which  his  ministers  have  from  men.  hearing  God's  word. 

When  Israel  heareth  not,  God  will  Weakness  in  ministers  for  speaking, 

have  his  ambassadors  go  unto  Pharaoh,  may  discourage  them  from  speaking  to 

from  friends  to  enemies.  powers  beneath. 

God  will  have  his  messages  delivered  Good  men  are  apt  to  forget  that  God 

to  the  proudest  kings  that  dare  oppose  circumciseth  lips,  and  gives  a  tongue, 

Him.  to  do  his  message. 

Though  powers  oppress  God's  Church, 

He  makes  them  know  that  they  will  Verse  13.     Excuses  will  not  serve 

have  to  give  it  freedom.  God's  instruments,  for  God  will  have 

His  work  done. 

Verse  12.     Infirmity  of  faith  may  God  joins  instruments  under   His 

cause  God's  best  servants  to  plead  ex-  charge  to  encourage  unto  His  com- 

cuse  from  hard  work.  mands. 

The  refusal  of  the  Church  to  hear  Redemption  of  God's  Church  from 

and  believe  God's  message  is  a  remark-  bondage  is  the  end  of  all  his  revealed 

able  evil.  will. 

Israel's  unbelief  may  make   God's  The  recapitulation  of  moral  service : 

ministers  fear  that  strangers  will  much  1.  To  those  called  to  work.    2.  With 

more  refuse  His  will.  clearness.     3.  With  authority. 

MAIN    HOMILETICS    OF    THE   PARAGRAPH.— Vcrsea  14—30. 

The  Genealogy  of  the  Chujich. 

I.  That  it  was,  humanly  speaking,  of  very  unpretentiotis  origin.  The 
human  origin  of  the  Church  was  very  humble.  It  was  not  born  of  kings.  It 
was  not  the  conquest  of  a  renowned  warrior.  It  was  not  the  discovery  of  a 
bold  adventurer.  Its  primitive  social  position  was  poor.  Its  numbers  were 
few.  Its  ancestors  were  men  of  moral  greatness.  They  were  eminent  for  faith. 
Instance  Abraham.  These  men  are  now  the  rulers  of  the  world.  The  few  in 
the  days  of  the  old  patriarch  have  multiplied  as  the  stars  of  heaven. 


CHAP.  VI.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


II.  That  it  was,  morally  speaking,  of  a  very  miscellaneous  character.  We 
liciA'a  names  in  this  list  of  very  varied  moral  worth.  Some  noted  for  their  piety, 
others  remarkable  for  their  profanity.  At  this  time  the  Church  was  almost 
co-extensive  with  the  Jewish  nation.  Nominally  there  was  no  line  of  separation. 
The  religion  was  one  of  ceremony,  and  in  this  all  the  people  could  join.  There 
were  a  few  great  and  good  souls  who  obtained  a  deeper  insight  into  moral 
truth,  and  whose  lives  were  rendered  beautiful  and  powerful  by  an  anticipation 
of  some  all-sufficient  sacrifice  in  the  future  ages.  But  these  were  the  exception. 
The  spirit  of  the  common  multitude  was  confined  within  the  conventional 
system  of  their  grand  worship.  The  Church  has  now  a  mixed  genealogy.  All 
down  through  the  ages  the  tares  and  wheat  have  been  growing  together,  and 
they  will  do  so  until  the  harvest,  wliich  is  the  end  of  the  world.  The  mis- 
cellaneous character  of  the  Church  is  accounted  for  : — 1.  Bij  the  diversified 
temperaments  of  men.  2.  By  the  diversified  thinkii^gs  of  men.  3.  By  the 
diversified  character  of  men.     4.  By  the  dicersified  alliances  of  men. 

III.  That  it  was,  socially  speaking,  of  very  great  influence.  1.  It  had 
a  great  political  iniluence.  The  Jewish  nation  was  for  a  long  time  a  theocracy. 
God  was  its  king.  Heaven  was  its  parliament.  The  priests  were  of  supreme 
influence  in  the  nation.  The  community  was  eminently  religious  in  idea  and 
sentiment.  Hence  from  the  names  here  recorded  there  comes  out  a  great 
stream  of  social,  moral,  and  political  influence  upon  humanity  to-day. 

A  Panop.amic  Glance  at  History. 

I.  We  see  the  mass  of  li-ves  that  are  crowded  into  a  brief  era.    We 

have  here  a  great  mass  of  names,  each  representing  a  distinct  life  of 
peculiar  type  and  condition  ;  they  are  all  heaped  together  in  ten  or  fifteen 
verses.  Tliey  all  lived  within  a  comparatively  brief  period.  The  world  is 
crowded  with  life.  The  ages  are  crowded  with  men.  They  soon  empty  their 
contents  into  eternity. 

II.  We  see  how  the  minute  details  of  individual  life  are  lost  in  the  aggregate 
of  history.  There  is  very  little  recorded  of  the  many  lives  that  are  here 
mentioned.  In  a  few  ages  after  death,  the  lives  of  men  diminish  into  a  mere 
name.  The  heroes'  battles  are  forgotten.  The  remembrance  of  our  great 
calamities  is  no  more.  The  life  of  the  greatest  King  is  summed  up  into  a 
sentence  on  the  page  of  the  world's  history. 

III.  We  see  the  great  eflbrt  of  life  to  culminate  in,  and  give  prominence  to, 
the  birth  of  its  heroes  and  emancipators.  The  whole  of  these  lives  were  pre- 
paratory to  the  lives  of  Moses  and  Aaron.  All  before  them  were  introductory. 
There  is  a  gradual  process  in  life.  Life  is  ever  trying  to  find  emphatic  expression  in 
the  conduct  of  the  good.     History  makes  this  apparent. 

IV.  We  see  here  that  individual  lives  derive  their  greatness  from  the  call  ol 
God  to  service,  rather  than  from  social  considerations. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  14.    Sacred  genealogy  is  made  The  multitude  of  the  churches  seed 

by  God's  spirit  to  make  clear  the  line  did  arise  from  small  beginnings. 
of  His  Church. 

Natural  primogeniture  may  be  al-  Verse  15.      Order  in  genealogy  is 

lowed  to  such  to  whom  the  spiritual  useful  to  give  right  understanding  of 

may  be  denied.  the  line  of  the  Church. 
132 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  VI. 


Heads  of  families  in  the  Church 
have  been  too  prone  to  mingle  them- 
selves in  strange  marriages. 

Verse  16.  The  line  of  Levi  is  re- 
markable by  God's  spirit.  A  poor 
stock  may  yield  noble  instruments  for 
the  salvation  of  the  Church. 

The  fathers  who  lived  long  saw  not 
all  the  promises  fulfilled. 

Verse  17 — 19.  Gradually  God  in- 
creaseth  His  Church.  Third  genera- 
tions under  God  may  add  much  more 
seed  unto  His  Church. 

Verse  20.  Incestuous  marriages  are 
not  good,  though  by  God  sometimes 
passed  over. 

God  can  bring  out  His  instruments 
and  work  from  the  sins  of  men. 

Verse  20 — 25.  From  generation  to 
generation  God  continueth  the  succes- 
sion of  His  Church. 

God  hath  various  ends  in  recording 
the  good  and  bad  in  the  genealogy  of 
His  Church. 

Verse  26 — 27.  God  would  have  His 
Church  know  the  instruments,  whom 
He  calleth,  though  of  low  descent. 

God's  commission  maketh  poorest 
instruments  eminent  for  greatest  de- 
liverance of  His  people. 

It  is  God's  work  to  make  shepherds 
lead  armies. 

God  entitles  His  poorest  instruments 
to  honour,  even  to  face  kings  at  His 
pleasure. 

God  honours  His  weak  instruments 
to  deliver  His  Church  out  of  the  hands 
of  kings. 


In  God's  record,  and  at  His  pleasure, 
the  poorest  names  are  made  eminent. 

Verse  28—30.  In  the  day  of  in- 
struments drawing  back,  God  repeats 
His  charge  to  quicken  them. 

Place  as  well  as  time  for  duty  God 
orders  in  His  charge. 

The  name  of  Jehovah  carrieth 
enough  in  it  to  support  His  ministers. 

Weakness  of  faith  puts  God's  ser- 
vants sometimes  upon  their  shifts  to 
brave  His  work. 

Bodily  infirmities  may  discourage 
the  minds  of  God's  servants  from  their 
work. 

It  is  weakness  to  urge  infirmities 
against  God's  charge,  who  can  heal 
them. 

The  Minister  to  declare  the  whole 
Counsel  of  God. 

"  Speah  thou  unto  Pharaoh,  king  of 
Egypt,  all  that  I  say  iinto  thee." 
Ministers  mu«t  declare  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  : — 

I.  Notwithstanding  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  people  to  hear  it.  Pharaoh 
would  be  displeased  with  the  message 
that  jMoses  delivered.  It  would  excite 
his  royal  anger.  Yet  it  must  not  be 
withheld.  Prudence  must  be  respected. 
Courage  must  be  sought. 

II.  Notwithstanding  the  social  posi- 
tion of  those  who  hear  it.    Moses  was 

to  deliver  his  message  to  the  king  of 
Egypt.  Wealth,  fear  of  man,  wish  for 
fame,  must  not  deter  us  from  proclaim- 
ing the  entire  counsel  of  God. 

Excuses  : — 1.  I  am  slow  of  tongue. 
2.  I  am  low  in  purse.  3.  I  am  feeble 
in  energy. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  VI, 


REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 


Divine  Dependence!  Ver.  1.  Moses  and 
Aaron  had  made  an  alliance  with  God  ;  what, 
then,  had  they  to  fear  ?  If  God  be  for  us,  who 
can  be  against  us  ?  If  the  Lord  had  not  been 
on  their  side.  He  was  on  their  side.  He  had 
entered  into  covenant  with  them.  Three  him- 
Ured  years  ago,  says  history,  about  a  miUion  of 


people  in  Holland  were  fighting  for  freedom 
from  the  tyranny  of  Rome.  William,  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  a  man  who  feared  God,  was  the 
champion  of  the  righteous  cause.  In  the  heat 
of  the  struggle,  one  of  his  generals  sent  an 
urgent  despatch  to  know  if  he  had  succeeded 
in  forming  an  alliance  with  any  foreign  power 

133 


CHAP.  VI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


such  as  France  or  England.  The  brave  de- 
liverer's reply  thrilled  the  heart  of  the  general 
as  he  read  it:  You  ask  me  whether  I  have 
made  a  treaty  with  any  great  foreign  power. 
I  have.  When  I  undertook  to  achieve  the 
freedom  of  the  oppressed  Christians  in  these 
provinces,  I  made  a  close  alliance  with  the 
King  of  Kings,  and  I  doubt  not  that  He  will 
give  us  the  victory. 

"  For  who  that  leans  on  His  right  arm 

Was  ever  yet  forsaken  ? 
What  ri'jhteous  cause  can  suffer  harm 

If  He  its  part  has  taken." — W/iUtier. 

Appointed  Work!  Ver.  2.  Moses  would 
not  have  disliked  the  reaping,  but  to  plough. 
Plouc^hing  is  hard  work,  and,  to  our  notions, 
soiling  work  ;  and  so  we  vrill  not  plough  for 
Christ.  It  is  hard  work,  says  Power,  to  lift 
one  foot  in  the  heavy  clay — to  set  it  down 
often  only  to  lift  it  up  with  greater  difficulty 
still.  Even  that  would  perhaps  not  have  de- 
terred Moses ;  but  the  delay  was  trying.  If 
we  had  a  speedy  return  for  our  toil,  perhaps 
we  might  undertake  labours  for  Jehovah.  If 
in  the  fields  around  us,  as  we  tixmed  up  the 
furrow,  we  were  sure  of  finding  treasure — of 
the  reaper  overtaking  the  sower  ;  if,  as  we 
sweated  and  toiled  in  ploughing,  the  sprouts 
became  headed  with  grain,  and  our  fevered 
brows  were  cooled  with  the  breezes  which  un- 
dulated the  waving  com,  perhaps  we  would  be 
ready  to  plough  in  hope.  But  such  is  not 
earthly  ploughing,  and  such  is  not  that  of 
heaven.  Moses  had  to  plough  and  plough; 
and  we  have  to  labour  and  labour  in  hope,  for 
"  Work  without  hope  draws  nectar  in  a  sieve, 
And  hope  without  an  object  cannot  live." 
— Coleridge. 

Divine  Decision  1  Ver.  2.  Moses  forgot 
that  the  triumph  of  the  ^vicked  is  always  short 
— that  the  restrained  flood  is  sure  to  pour  forth 
with  force  proportionate  to  the  length  and 
strength  of  its  restraint — and  that  time  and 
tide  are  nowhere  before  the  word  of  God.  God 
had  said.  Each  hindrance,  therefore,  on  the 
part  of  Pharaoh — each  refusal  on  his  part  to 
let  Israel  go — each  ojipression  formed  to  in- 
tensify their  bondage,  and  certify  their  serf- 
dom to  himself  would  only  be  treasuring  up 
wrath.  The  waters  were  continually  rising  ; 
and,  just  as  with  the  great  Canadian  rivers, 
the  more  buttresses  men  expose  to  stem  its 
current  and  icefloes,  the  more  certainly  are 
they  bringing  ruin  upon  their  bridges  and 
banks  ;  so  the  hindrances  of  this  despot  were 
only  culminating  towards  destruction.  There- 
fore 

"  Let  not  guilt  presumptuous  rear  her  crest. 
Nor  virtue  droop  despondent ;  soon  these  clouds 
Scorning  eclijise  will  brighten  into  day, 
And  in  majestic  splendour  He  will  rise. 
With  healing  and  with  terror  on  His  wings." 

—Balli/. 

Groaningts  1  Ver.  4.  How  bitter  are  the 
tears  of  penitence  !     How  agonising  are  the 

134 


cries  for  pardon  !  It  la  with  conscience  then 
as  if  a  messenger  from  God,  as  Dr.  Todd  repre- 
sents, were  to  take  us  by  the  hand,  and  lead 
us  up  the  steps  of  a  great  building,  and,  as  we 
entered  the  porch,  it  should  begin  to  grow 
dark.  Suppose  he  should  then  open  a  door 
into  a  very  large  hall,  which  he  called  a 
"  picture  gallery."  As  we  enter,  we  find  it 
dark  as  night ;  but  as  the  angel  touches  a 
spring,  light  flashes  in  and  fills  the  room.  We 
now  see  that  the  walls  are  hung  with  pictures 
— so  many  and  so  large  that  they  cover  the 
walls.  On  these  are  painted  all  the  sins  that 
we  have  ever  committed.  What  pictures  of 
sins — open  sins — secret  sins — heart  sins — life- 
long sins  !  We  cannot  bear  to  look  at  them  ; 
they  fill  us  with  horror  and  anguish.  That 
picture  gallery  becomes  a  judgment  hall.  Con- 
viction of  sin  is  there — contrition  follows.  And 
from  contrition  must  spring  confession  and 
concision  ;  for  if  we  corifess  ovu:  sins,  God  is 
faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins. 

"  All  powerful  is  the  penitential  sigh 
Of  true  contrition  ;  like  the  placid  wreaths 
Of  incense,  wafted  from  the  righteous  shrine 
Where  Abel  ministered,  to  the  blest  seat 
Of  mercy,  an  accepted  sacrifice." — Hayes. 

Anxiety!  Ver.  5,  A  certain  man,  who 
had  been  listening  to  an  awaking  preacher 
during  a  season  of  revival,  was  heard  to  say 
with  emphasis  that  he  did  not  like  the  preachers 
of  the  present  day,  because  "  they  make  one 
feel  so  bad."  A  representative  of  many  sleep- 
ing in  the  chains  of  moral  bondage,  that  human 
slave  did  not  like  to  be  reminded  of  his  condi- 
tion. Whilst  the  preacher  dealt  in  beautiful 
things — dwelt  upon  the  beauties  of  Nature  and 
the  bounties  of  Providence,  all  went  well  ;  but 
so  soon  as  spiritual  servitude  was  brought  on 
the  arena,  the  listener  was  made  uneasy.  Con- 
science, that  witness  in  the  soul  which  never 
dies,  did  its  terrible  duty — and  the  bondsman 
began  to  feel  that  he  was  verily  g^uilty  concern- 
ing his  own  fetters.  He  began  to  see  that  he 
was  not  the  "  freedman  "  which  he  had  ima- 
gined himself  in  the  spirit  of  self-delusion  to 
be.  That  is  the  first  dawn  of  conviction  ;  but 
it  is  not  full  conviction.  It  may  be  stifled  ; 
and  no  groanings — no  anxiety  of  soul — follow 
upon  this  first  sensation.  That  emotion  may 
be  as  the  early  dew — as  the  foam  upon  a  billow 
— as  the  swift  glance  of  a  meteor — as  the  snow- 
flake  on  a  river.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Christian 
ministry,  says  Exell,  to  awaken  within  men  the 
desire  for  moral  freedom,  and  that  desire  is  the 
deepening  of  conviction — which  anxiety  ends 
in  conversion,  when  a  man  enjoys  the  liberty 
of  Christ.  Therefore,  the  ambassador  for 
Christ  desires  to  "  make  men  feel  so  bad " — 
to  arouse  them  to  the  consciousness  of  their 
pitiable  condition  as  bond-serfs  of  sin,  in  the 
hope  of  persuading  them  to  embrace  the  Divine 
overtures  of  liberation  from  satanic  thraldom, 
and  of  leading  them  out  of  the  Egyptian 
bondage  into  the  Land  of  Freedom — the 
Gospel  of  free  gr»ce> 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


CHAP.  VI, 


"The  listening  throng  there  feel  its  blessed 
effect, 
And  deep  conviction  glows  in  every  breast." 

Covenant  of  Grace!  Ver.  5.  It  is  of 
long-standing — going  back  not  merely  to  David, 
or  Moses,  or  Abraham — but  to  Adam.  And 
thus  the  New  Covenant  is  a  development  of 
the  Old.  The  seed  of  Adam  in  Genesis  be- 
came the  giant  Tree  of  Life  in  Revelation — 
while  the  bud  of  Sinai  appears  in  the  full-blown 
flower  of  Sion.  In  the  Law,  this  covenant  of 
grace  is  buried  as  the  coal  deposit  which  miners 
only  reach  by  piercing  the  various  intervening 
strata — or  as  the  pearls  of  great  price  which 
divers  only  secure  by  plunging  through  fathoms 
of  water.  In  the  Gospel,  this  covenant  of 
grace  lies  open — as  a  casket  of  gems  whose 
lustre  dazzles  the  natural  mind — or  as  a  par- 
terre of  flowers  whose  fragrance  charms  the 
sense.  The  covenant  of  the  Old  Dispensation 
is  as  real — because  it  is  the  same — as  that  of 
the  New  Dispensation ;  only  it  was  pavilioned 
round  with  clouds — wrapped  in  many  a  folded 
leaf.  In  the  Law  of  the  patriarchs,  priests 
and  prophets,  this  unique,  merciful,  and  ancient 
covenant  of  grace  was  like  the  secret  writing 
of  which  Stainforth  speaks,  and  which  is  in- 
visible to  the  reader  till  held  before  the  flame, 
when  it  gives  forth  the  precious  truth  for  which 
the  soul  was  longing.  The  Divine  fire  brings 
out  the  conditions  of  the  covenant  of  grace  as 
penned  by  God  in  invisible  but  indelible  and 
imperishable  ink  upon  the  pages  of  the  moral 
and  spiritual  history  of  Adam,  Enoch,  Noah, 
and  others. 

"  Across  the  ages  they 

Have  reached  us  from  afar, 
Than  the  bright  gold  more  golden  they, 
Purer  than  the  purest  star." — Bonar. 

Heirs  1  Ver.  6.  A  pious  man  was  one  day 
walking  to  the  sanctuary  with  a  New  Testa- 
ment in  his  hand,  when  a  friend  who  met  him 
said  Good  morning,  and  enquired  what  he  was 
reading  so  earnestly.  "  I  am  reading  my 
Father's  Will,"  was  the  prompt  response  ;  "and 
I  find  that  He  has  bequeathed  me  an  hundred- 
fold in  this  life,  and  in  the  world  to  come  life 
everlasting."  The  redeemed  are  the  inheritors 
of  the  universe,  1  Cor.  iii.  and  xxi.  : — 

"  Rise,  my  soul  !  and  stretch  thy  wings, 
Thy  better  portion  trace  ; 
Rise  from  transitory  things 

Towards  heaven  thy  native  place." 

—  Seayrave. 

Experience  1  Ver.  6.  The  old  saw  de- 
clares that  it  teaches  wisdom  ;  while  the  French 
have  a  proverb  that  the  ass  does  not  stumble 
twice  over  the  same  stone.  Sydney  asserts 
that  all  is  but  lip-wisdom  which  wants  expe- 
rience. Caussin  expresses  himself  that  a  hun- 
dred thousand  tongues  may  discourse  to  a  man 
about  the  sweetness  of  honey,  but  he  never  can 
have  such  knowledge  of  it  as  by  taste.  In 
spiritual  things,  experience  is   that  sense   of 


taste.  Carlyle  likens  experience  to  a  school- 
master—an excellent  schoolmaster,  who  charges 
dreadful  wages.  But  suppose  it  is  a  costly 
education,  only  think  of  the  future  benefits. 
Solomon  went  tlorough  a  peculiar  experience 
of  his  own — an  experience  which  many  of  us 
shudder  at — a  school  in  which  we  are  reluctant 
to  be  trained  :  and  this  is  the  very  man  whom 
God  chose  as  the  schoolmaster  to  teach  us  the 
vanity  of  the  world  when  it  is  made  the  por- 
tion of  a  soul.  A  smooth  sea,  so  runs  our 
English  proverb,  never  made  a  skilful  mariner. 
The  young  Christian  sets  sail  under  fair  balmy 
breeze  and  clear  sunny  skies  ;  but  soon  the 
clouds  gather — the  waves  foam — the  darkness 
deepens. 

"  And  these  vicissitudes  tell  best  in  youth  ; 
For  when  they  happen  at  a  riper  age. 
People  are  apt  to  blame  the  fates  forsooth. 
And  wonder  Providence  is  not  more  sage." 

Why  ?  Because  one  dram  of  experience  ia 
worth  a  whole  hogshead  of  "  dreams  that  wave 
before  the  half -shut  eye" — for,  as  Dr.  South 
says,  practical  sciences  are  not  to  be  learned 
but  in  the  way  of  action.  It  is  experience  that 
must  give  knowledge  in  the  Christian  profes- 
sion as  well  as  in  all  others.  Alas  !  to  most  of 
us  experience  is  like  the  stern-lights  of  a  vessel 
which  illumine  only  the  track  it  has  passed. 
God  would  have  them  to  be  the  bow-lights — 
for  adversity  is  the  first  path  to  truth. 

Rig:hteous  Retribution!      Ver.  7.      God's 

mills  grind  slowly,  but  they  grind  exceedingly 
small.  And  judgment  comes  at  last,  for  for- 
bearance has  an  end.  Then  these  judgments 
often  assume  the  form  of  retribution.  It  is 
recorded  in  ancient  oriental  history  that  an 
oppressor  introduced  a  company  of  elephants 
into  his  army,  whose  appearance  and  power 
were  expected  to  win  the  day.  But  the  huge 
animals  took  fright  when  the  opposing  forces 
approached  each  other,  turned  tail,  and,  plung- 
ing amid  their  own  ranks  of  infantry,  spread 
dismay  and  defeat  everywhere.  Very  similarly 
we  are  told  that  the  old  war  chariots,  whose 
wheels  were  armed  with  steel  scythes  to  mow 
down  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  instead  of 
bringing  destruction  upon  the  opposite  host, 
were  not  unfrequently  dragged  by  the  fiery, 
furious,  frightened  steeds  into  the  lines  of  their 
friends,  leaving  a  line  of  death  behind  them. 
Pharaoh's  oppressions  are  to  recoil  upon  him- 
self. 

"  In  the  corrupted  currents  of  this  world. 
Offence's  gilded  hand  may  shove  by  justice." 

Not  so  with  God.  His  sun  of  justice  may  with- 
draw its  beams  from  earthly  notice  for  awhile ; 
it  may,  as  it  were,  sit  concealed  in  a  dark 
recess,  pavilioned  round  witn  clouds.  But  it 
is  coming.  Dr.  Thomas  says  that  society  is 
like  the  echoing  hills — giving  back  to  the 
speaker  his  words,  groan  for  groan,  song  for 
song.  With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall 
be  measured  to  you  again.  God's  forbearance, 
says  Brooks,  is  no  (quittance.    He  hath  leaden 

13d 


CHAP.  VI. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


heels  but  iron  hands ;  and  the  further  He 
stretches  His  bow,  or  draws  His  arrow,  the 
deeper  will  He  wound.  Even  Anne  of  Austria, 
the  Queen  of  France,  could  express  as  much 
to  her  implacable  enemy,  Cardinal  Riclielieu, 
when  she  exclaimed  :  My  Lord  Cardinal,  God 
is  a  sure  paymaster ;  He  may  not  pay  at  the 
end  of  every  week,  month  or  year,  but  remem- 
ber that  He  does  pay  in  the  end.    In  all  time, 

"  All  circumstances,  all  state,  in  every  clime, 
He  holds  aloft  the  same  aven;jing  sword ; 

And  sitting  on  His  boundless  throne  ^niblime, 
The  vials  of  His  wrath,  with  justice  stored, 
Shall  in  His  own  good  hour  on  all  that's  ill 
be  poured." — Percival. 

Gtod's  Name  1  Ver.  3.  Swinnock  has  it 
that  travellers  who  are  at  the  top  of  the  Alps 
can  see  great  showers  of  rain  fall  under  them, 
but  not  one  drop  of  it  falls  on  them.  They 
who  trust  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  are  in  a 
high  tower,  and  thereby  safe  from  all  troubles 
and  showers.  With  such  confidence  in  Him, 
their  spiritual  life  is  like  the  deep  calm  which 
prevails  beneath,  while  above  the  waters  are 
lashed  into  a  foaming,  boiling  caldron.  They 
which  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  like  Mount 
Zion,  which  cannot  be  moved,  but  which 
standeth  fast  for  ever.  A  legend  says  that  a 
rich  and  powerful  king,  troubled  in  heart  in 
spite  of  all  his  possessions,  went  to  a  holy  der- 
vise  and  asked  him  for  the  secret  of  happiness. 
The  dervise  led  him  forth  in  front  of  a  high 
rock,  on  the  top  of  which  an  eagle  had  built 
her  nest.  Pointing  to  the  lofty  home  of  the 
king  of  birds,  the  aged  recluse  directed  the 
monarch  to  imitate  its  wisdom  by  building  on 
the  rock  of  heavenly  truth.  And  surely  if  a 
heathen  could  assure  the  terrified  bird  which 
flew  from  the  hawk  into  his  bosom  for  shelter 
that  he  would  neither  kill  nor  betray  it,  much 
less  will  God  either  slay  or  give  up  the  soul 
that  takes  sanctuary  in  His  name.  The 
righteous  runneth  into  this  strong  tower,  and 
is  safe. 

"  I  all  on  earth  forsake, 

Its  wisdom,  fame,  and  power. 
And  Him  my  only  portion  make. 
My  shield  and  tower." 

Ministers !  Ver.  6.  Ministers  must  speak 
to  the  Church  all  that  God  reveals  to  them. 
When  they  feel  it  their  duty  faithfully  to 
speak  pointedly  to  sinners,  and  to  expose  the 
hypocrisy  of  professors,  let  them  not  be  con- 
demned, even  though  their  words  condemn 
you.  The  pastor  is  God's  Moses  to  you,  and 
it  is  at  the  peril  of  his  soul  that  he  must  preach 
what  his  Master  bids  him.  Woe  is  unto  me, 
if  I  preach  not  the  gospel — i.e.,  the  good  news 
of  pardon  and  salvation.  But  the  bad  news 
of  guilt  and  damnation  precede — indeed  are 
wrapped  up  in — this  proclamation  of  glad  tid- 
ings of  great  joy.  Moses  must  arouse  Israel 
to  sense  of  their  bondasre.  before  the  clarion  of 
jubilee  could  ring  its  silver  tones  full  and  clear. 

136 


A  minister,  Dr.  Boyd  saj's,  was  once  asked  not 
to  preach  so  hard ;  for  if  he  did,  certain  persons 
would  leave  the  church.  "  Is  not  the  preach- 
ing true  ?"  responded  the  man  of  God.  "  It 
is."  "And  does  not  God  bless  it?"  "He  does." 
"  Well,  then,  the  devil  has  sent  you  to  me,  to 
get  me  to  let  down  the  tone  of  my  preaching, 
so  as  to  ease  the  minds  of  the  ungodly."  We 
must  speak  all  that  God  reveals  to  us.  As 
there  were  beUs  as  well  as  pomegranates  on 
Aaron's  robes,  so  must  the  ambassador  not 
only  speak  words  of  peace,  but  sound  the  bell 
of  alarm.  There  is  a  proverb  which  says  that 
more  flies  are  caught  with  sugar  than  vinegar  ; 
but  it  belongs  to  the  proverbial  philosophy  of 
the  three  authors — the  Woidd,  the  Flesh,  and 
the  Devil.  As  God  gives,  so  must  His  servants 
— the  vinegar  of  the  law  first,  and  then  the 
sweetnes3  of  the  gospel.    The  Almighty  thus 

"Makes  known  His  sacred  will,  and  shows  His 

power ; 
By  Him    inspired,   they  speak  with    urgent 

tongue 
Authoritative,  whilst  the  illumined  breast 
Heaves  with  unwonted  strength."  — Jenner. 

Tuneful  Tongues!    Ver.  7.     Philip  Henry 

says  that  thanksgiving  is  the  rent  which  the 
saints  owe  to  God.  And  if  Christ  dwell 
in  our  hearts  —  dwell,  we  say,  not  so- 
journ—  we  shall  always  be  glad  to  pay 
that  rent.  Our  praises  will  go  up,  writes 
Guthrie,  as  the  incense  continually.  It  was 
the  law  of  some  of  the  old  monasteries  to 
carry  out  this  idea  of  "  incense  continually 
floating  upwards  to  heaven,"  by  having  con- 
stant change  of  choir.  The  chanting  of  praise 
was  thus  never  interrupted  ;  for  as  soon  as  one 
set  of  monks  had  done  their  service  others  sup- 
plied their  place,  so  that,  as  Pilkington  ex- 
presses it,  both  by  day  and  night  an  endlesa 
hallelujah  went  up  to  God.  It  is  a  tradition 
of  St.  Francis  that  on  one  occasion  he  felt 
himseK  so  penetrated  with  joy  and  consolation 
by  the  song  of  a  nightingale  that  he  began  to 
sing,  whereupon  the  bird  of  music  stopped  its 
strains.  When  the  monk  ceased,  Philomela 
renewed  her  joyous  chant :  and  thus  they 
sang  alternately  until  St.  Francis  was  ex- 
hausted. So  ought  the  saints  to  rejoice  with 
them  that  do  rejoice,  when  they  themselves 
have  ajiparently  no  cause  to  rejoice  in  them- 
selves. Time  may  stop — the  world  may  stay 
— the  universe  may  cease  its  cycles ;  but 
Christians  ought  not  to  stop  their  songs— 
never  !  never  ! 

"He  that  to  praise  and  laud  Thee  doth 
refrain. 
Doth  not  refrain  unto  himself  alone. 
But  robs  a  thousand  who  would  praise 

Thee  fain. 
And  doth  commit  a  world  of  sin  in  one." — 

Herbert. 

Bondag-e  Effects!  Ver.  9.  Every  man 
has  a  I'isht  to  freedom.  Of  all  earth's  harless 
ones  we  pity  him  the  most  who  languishes  in 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  VL 


hopeless  bondage  until  he  has  lobt  all  note  of 
time,  and  looks  through  the  rayless  eyes  of 
idiocy  upon  any  change  that  gleams  through 
the  despairs  of  his  dungeon.  Very  near  to 
this  had  Israel  sunk.  They  had  a  right  to  be 
free,  but  long  oppression  had  sunk  them  into 
hugging  the  chains  that  fettered  them.  They 
were  slow  to  seize  the  offered  boon  of  freedom 
— so  slow  that  Pharaoh  was  emboldened  to 
resist  the  demand  of  Moses  and  Aaron  to 
give  liberty  to  the  slaves. 

"  Yet  while  he  deems  thee  bound, 
The  links  are  shivered,  and  the  prison  walls 
Fall  outward." — Bryant. 

Vitality !  Ver.  9.  The  sunbeam  shines 
upon  the  entombed  seed,  and  lo  !  a  flower  all 
beautiful  with  rainbow  bric;htness — all  fragrant 
with  spicy  perfumes  rises  from  the  grave.  The 
same  fight  wiU  shine  upon  a  rock,  and  leave  it 
stiU  a  rock  after  a  thousand  years.  Why  ? 
There  was  no  life.  The  Spirit  of  God  plants 
the  germ  of  life  in  the  softened  soul,  and  the 
sunlight  of  the  Saviour's  beaming  countenance 
energizes.  The  rock  remains  unaffected  by  all 
the  radiance  of  the  Gospel  until  affliction  pul- 
verizes its  hardness,  and  the  Spirit  implants 
the  germ  of  life. 

••  We  welcome  clouds  that  bring  the  former 

rain, 
Though  they  the  present  prospect  blacken 

round, 
And  shade  the  beauties  of  the  opening 

year, 
That,  by  their  stores  enriched,  the  earth 

may  yield, 
A  faithful  summer  and  a  plenteous  crop." 

— Swain. 

Working  for  God!  Ver.  10.  Moses  had 
looked  upon  the  work  as  hard,  but  when  his 
eyes  were  opened  to  perceive  what  a  privilege 
it  was  as  work  for  God,  then  he  not  only  went 
to  it  with  resolute  mind,  but  with  a  merry 
heart.  Christian  service  is  hard  for  flesh  and 
blood,  but  as  work  for  God  it  becomes  light. 
There  is  the  story  of  a  witty  American  who, 
after  his  men  had  been  working  all  day  build- 
ing a  house,  asked  them,  when  they  were  ex- 
tremely exhausted  with  their  labour,  to  come 
and  play  a  game  of  digging  the  cellar.  Readily 
they  went ;  but  if  tliey  had  looked  at  it  as 
hard  work  they  would  very  likely  have  directed 
their  steps  homeward.  So  with  labour  for 
Jesus.  Look  not  at  it  in  the  light  of  hard 
work,  but  look  at  it  as  a  delightful  thing — as 
a  privilege  to  be  allowed  to  do  it.  The  work 
will  be  diminished  of  its  toU. 

"  And  Truth  and  Love,  with  their  beauty  and 
might. 
Shall  banish  the  sombre-hued  shadows  of 
night." 

God's  Ways !  Ver.  11.  Though  all  the 
ways  of  God  are  ways  of  light,  yet  many  of 
them,  says  Caryl,  are  in  the  dark  to  man.  Oh  ! 
how  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His 
ways  past  finding  out. 


"  Reason's  brightest  spark, 
Though  kindled  by  His  light,  in  vain  would  try 
To  trace  His  counsels  infinite  and  dark." 

But  faith  understands  that  they  are  counsels 
of  love — ways  of  wisdom.  As  Dr.  Krum- 
macher  has  expressed  himself,  God's  dealings 
with  His  people  are  easily  discernible  with  the 
eye  of  faith.  He  often  lets  His  people  reach 
the  shore  as  on  the  planks  of  a  shipwrecked 
vessel.  He  deprives  us  of  the  cisterns,  in 
order  to  make  us  drink  of  the  fountains  of 
waters.  He  frequently  takes  away  our  sup- 
ports, not  that  we  may  fall  to  the  ground,  but 
that  He  may  Himself  become  our  staff  and 
rod.  The  embarrassments  of  His  people  are 
only  the  festive  scaffoldings  on  which  His 
might,  faithfulness,  and  mercy  celebrate  their 
triumphs.  To  this  God  was  bringing  Moses 
and  Israel.  Moses  was  hoping  partly  in  the 
enthusiasm  of  Israel — in  the  awakening  of  their 
feelings  of  patriotism  and  natural  love  of 
liberty.  He  is  soon  undeceived  :  soon  taught 
to  repose  wholly  in  God.  And  yet  the  way  of 
teaching  was  contrary  to  all  human  ideas,  and 
appears  wrong  ;  just  as  when  we  put  a  straight 
stick  into  the  water,  it  appears  crooked.  Why  ? 
Because  man  looks  at  God's  ways  through  two 
media — flesh  and  spirit. 

Church's  Redemption  !  Ver.  11.  On  this 
principle,  says  Wylie,  we  firmly  look  for  the 
Providence  of  God  culminating  in  a  grand  and 
universal  deliverance  of  the  Church.  Like 
some  mighty  Alp — some  monarch  of  moun- 
tains —  which  keeps  in  the  traveller's  eye 
after  every  surrounding  hiU  has  sunk  beneath 
the  horizon,  this  deliverance  will  be  seen  above 
the  Church's  horizon  through  all  coming  time. 
Every  one  of  her  former  deliverances  from 
Pharaoh  downwards  was  a  step  towards  this 
final  deliverance.  The  Truth  will  continue  in 
her  from  age  to  age  ;  and  as  the  night  cannot 
return  whUe  the  light  of  the  sun  continues,  so 
the  darkness  of  slavery  and  eri'or  cannot  be 
felt  while  Truth,  like  a  never-setting  sim, 
shines  within  her  and  around  her.  This  wiU 
be  the  great  Exodus  of  the  Church.  And 
when  on  this  day  she  ransoms  her  marshalled 
host,  and  begins  her  mighty  song,  she  will  find 
that  her  members  are  escaped  serfs  from  every 
land  on  earth,  and  that  her  triumphal  hymn  ia 
pealed  forth  by  every  tongue  and  kindred. 

"  Hallelujah  !  like  the  voice 
Of  the  mighty  thunder-roar ; 
Hallelujah  I  for  the  Lord 

Keigneth  now  from  shore  to  shore." — 
Bonar. 

Growth !  Ver.  14.  Earth  and  sea  and 
sky  fiumish  illustrations  of  the  growth  of 
Cliristianity.  1.  Earth  !  Go  forth  by  day, 
and  count  if  you  can  the  blades  of  grass  on  the 
surface  of  the  field,  their  bristling  spears  flash- 
ing back  the  gleam  of  heaven's  sunshiae  like 
swords  of  steel ;  converts  to  God  are  green  in 
the  city  as  grass  upon  the  earth.  2.  Sea ! 
How  do  the  waters  cover  the  sea  ?  Do  they 
not  flow  into  its  most  profound  caverns  and 

137 


CIUF.  VL 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


■ecret  recesses  T  And  so  the  earth  is  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea.  3.  yky  !  Go  forth  by  night,  and  gaze 
upon  the  jewelled  heavens,  whose  diamond 
pointlets  are  thickly  set  on  the  purple-lmed 
ring  that  wreathes  Jehovah's  finger  !  Attempt 
to  enumerate  those  constellations  rising  tier 
above  tier — vast  beyond  the  utmost  stretch  of 
imagination  !  Even  these  are  made  vritnesses 
to  us  of  the  growth  and  numbers  of  tlie  Church 
of  Christ,  who  are  to  become  as  innumerable 
and  glorious  as  the  stars  in  the  everlasting 
firmament. 

"  Yes  !  countless  as  the  stars  of  heaven, 

Or  as  the  early  dew. 
And  entering  the  eternal  haUs, 

In  robes  of  victory. 
That  mighty  multitude  shall  keep, 

The  joyous  Jubilee. 

Church  !  Ver.  14.  Very  humble  was  the 
origin  of  the  Church,  whether  we  look  at  "  the 
father  of  the  faithful  " — or  at  the  "  founder 
of  the  faith."  Abraham  was  a  cipher  till  God 
put  the  figure  one  before  him  :  Jesus  was  the 
child  of  a  village  maiden,  till  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  anointed  Him  ;  while  the  fishermen  of 
Galilee  were  ignorant  and  unlettered.  But 
how  gi-eat  has  been  the  influence  of  the  Church, 
which  humanly  speaking  was  of  very  unpre- 
tentious origin  '  Humble  as  is  the  sand-reetl 
which  grows  on  the  sandy  shores  of  Europe, 
how  great  is  its  influence  !  Its  roots  pene- 
trate to  a  considerable  depth,  and  spread  in 
all  directions,  writes  Hartwig,  forming  a  net- 
work which  binds  together  the  loosest  sands  ; 
while  its  strong,  tail  leaves  protect  the  surface 
from  draught,  and  afford  shelter  to  small 
plants,  which  soon  grow  between  the  reeds, 
and  gradually  form  a  new  green  surface  on  the 
bed  of  sand.  But  for  this  sand-reed,  the  sea 
wind  would  long  since  have  wafted  the  drift 
far  into  the  interior  of  the  country — convert- 
ing many  a  fruitful  acre  of  England  and  France 
into  a  waste.  Lowly  as  is  the  origin  of  the 
Christian  Church,  vast  have  been  its  influences 
in  preserving  society,  humanity,  and  morals 
from  desert  draught  and  wilderness  waste.  Its 
roots  have  penetrated  deep,  and  spread  far  and 
wide  into  the  civilization  of  every  country  ; 
and  in  the  great  blast  of  Satanic  wind  which 
Boon  will  endeavour  to  engulf  the  human 
race  beneath  the  drift-sand  of  infidelity  and 
godlessness,  the  Chm-ch  will  evidence  how 
woudrously  extensive  her  influence  is. 

*'  Nations  shall  seek  her  jiillar'd  shade, 
Httr  leaves  shall  for  their  healing  be  ; 


The  circling  flood  that  feeds  her  life, 
The  blood  that  crimson'd  Calvary." 

Gensalogries  I  Ver.  14.  Dr.  Hamilton  likens 
these  to  rugged  cliffs,  which  claim  more  than 
a  sterile  grandeur.  Bleak  and  barren  though 
they  seem,  there  is  a  well-spring  at  their  foot. 
It  is  from  these  dreary  crags  that  the  fountain 
of  Christ's  manhood  takes  its  rise.  And  aa 
you  follow  the  stream  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees 
to  the  manger  of  Bethlehem,  you  find  how 
faithful  the  promises— and  how  watchful  the 
Providence  which  through  all  the  eventful 
centuries  kept  afloat  and  guided  on  the  ark  of 
the  advent. 

"  For  that  wondrous  Ark 
Lived  in  the  safeguard  of  Jehovah's  eye  ; 
His  jjower  secured  it,  and  his  wisdom  guides." 

— Grant. 

Generations  I  Ver.  20.  This  successive  fl  jw 
and  swell  of  the  Church  in  her  generations  has 
been  likened  by  Miss  Cobbe  to  the  Nile. 
Doubtless  if  we  could  stand — as  so  many  brave 
hearts  have  striven  to  do — beside  the  fountain 
of  the  Nile,  it  would  be  hard  to  think  that 
little  trickhng  stream  was  actually  the  same 
as  the  great  river  of  Egjrpt ;  and  that  it  should 
grow  and  swell  deeper  and  stronger,  receiving 
the  floods  of  heaven  and  the  tributes  of  earth, 
till  at  last  it  roUs  in  resistless  seas  of  water, 
bearing  fertility  and  blessing  over  the  land. 
Were  a  being  from  some  far  stellar  world — un- 
familiar with  Nature's  growth — to  find  his  way 
to  earth,  how  hard  would  it  be  for  that 
visitant  to  realise  that  from  the  acorn  which 
you  held  in  your  hand  there  had  spnmg  that 
giant  oak  with  its  gnarled  trunk  of  a  thousand 
circles,  ten  thousand  boughs  andmillion-tongued 
leaves,  amid  which  the  birds  carolled  their  notes, 
and  beneath  whose  extensive  shade  man  and 
beast  found  shelter  and  repose.  Sp  with  the 
Church.  But  before  One  Eye,  both  river,  tree, 
and  church  were  self-evident.  Jehovah  sees 
them  all  mapped  out  from  their  soxu-ce  and 
entrance  in  weakness  to  their  summit  and  end 
in  power.  The  successive  generatii>ns  of  the 
Church  are  all  part  of  one  mighty  plan,  which 
has  its  climax  of  loftiness  and  acme  of  perfec- 
tion in  that  majestic  benediction  rising  on  the 
bosom  of  the  universe  of  eternity,  and  reflec- 
ting on  its  ever-swelling  surface  the  infinite 
glory  of  Jehovah,  who  says,  I  am  the  LoiiD. 

"  Let  us  then  rejoice  and  sing ; 

'Tis  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  ; 
And  the  Bride  is  ready  ;  raise — 
Eaise  the  everlasting  Psalm." 


138 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  vn. 


CHAPTER    VIL 

Cbitioal  Notes. — 3.  I  will  harden  Pharaoh's  heart.]— Elsewhere  also  is  the  act  of  hardening 
Pharaoh's  heart  attributed  to  Jehovah,  as  in  iv.  21  ;  ix.  12  ;  x.  1,  23,  27  ;  xi.  1 ;  xix.  4,  8  ;  so 
that  although  Pharaoh  is  in  several  places  said  to  have  hardened  his  oicn  heart — t.g.,  in  viii.  15, 
32  ;  ix.  34  ;  yet  we  cannot  well  deny  the  existence  of  a  difficulty.  The  ground  of  the  difficulty 
consists  in  the  glorious  truth  of  the  absolute  holiness  of  God,  in  virtue  of  which  he  so 
exclusively  loves  what  is  right  and  good,  and  so  sincerely  and  intensely  hates  aU  evQ,  that  he 
separates  himself  from  sin,  wholly,  everywhere,  always  ;  frowns  upon  it,  forbids  it,  denounces  it ; 
is  not  the  author  of  it,  and  never  can  be.  His  highest  praise,  with  those  who  are  nearest  to 
Him  and  know  Him  best,  is  that  He  is  holy — thrice  holy.  Hence  the  difficulty  created  by  any 
Btatement,  coming  to  us  as  authoritative,  which  seems  to  attribute  the  causation  of  sin  to  Him. 
Our  best  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  as  it  presents  itself  in  this  account  of  Pharaoh,  may  be  said 
to  depend  upon  the  settlement  of  a  single  question — Was  the  hardening  process  essentially  sinful 
on  Pharaoh's  part  ?  If  not,  Jehovah  may  have  positively  and  directly  caused  it ;  if  it  was,  then 
only  in  an  accommodated,  and,  in  fact,  a  figurative,  sense,  can  Jehovah  have  effected  it.  1)  We 
can  conceive  of  a  hardening  of  heart  which  involves  no  sin  in  its  subject — as  when  a  surgeon 
hardens  his  heart  against  such  an  influx  of  feeUng  as  would  unfit  him  for  his  stem  but  righteous 
and  even  benevolent  duties.  Was  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  of  this  nature  ?  Did  it  consist 
solely  in  such  an  accession  of  firmness,  of  courage,  as — without  being  in  itself  bad — allowed  him 
to  act  out  to  the  full  the  badness  that  was  otherwise  in  him,  such  as  his  despotic  cruelty,  his  self 
glorification,  etc.  ?  If  we  could  thus  conclude,  the  difficulty  would  be  at  an  end.  We  could 
then  say  :  The  badness  was  Pharaoh's  own ;  but  the  courage  to  act  it  out — a  quahty  morally 
indifferent — was  directly  given  him  by  God  for  ends  high  and  holy,  which  he  would  secure 
through  means  of  the  fully  developed  wickedness  of  this  wicked  king.  Something  may  be  said 
in  favom-  of  this  solution,  a.)  As  truly  as  life  is  from  God,  so  truly  are  health,  strength, 
coxu-age  from  him.  h.)  Many  evil  purposes  fail  of  accomplishment  solely  through  failure  of 
life,  of  health,  of  physical  courage  to  go  through  with  them.  A  man  may  in  heart  be  a  mur- 
derer, and  yet  simply  because  he  turns  coward  he  may  not  take  away  life.  Had  Pharaoh  thus 
failed,  Israel  would  have  more  easily  escaped,  and  the  power  of  God  been  less  signally 
displayed.  But  God  was  not  minded  that  the  king  should  so  fail,  and,  therefore,  gave 
him  courage  to  work  out  all  the  evil  that  was  in  him.  c)  The  Hebrew  tei-ms  employed 
to  express  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  denote,  primarily,  phj^sical  qualities  :  as 
chd-zaq,  "hold  fast,"  "be  firm,"  ("strong,"  2  Sam.  x.  11,  "strengthened,"  Jud.  iii.  12, 
"be  of  good  courage,"  2  Sam.  x.  12);  l&-bhidh,  "heavy,"  (1  Sam.  iv.  18;  v.  11;  Ex. 
xvii.  12  ;  "  slow,"  Ex.  iv.  10)  ;  q&  shak,  "  dry,  hard,  harsh,"  ("  roughly,"  Gen.  xliv, 
7,  30,  "  sorrowful,"  1  Sam.  L  15).  These  considerations  appear  to  us  to  have  so  much 
weight  that  they  ought  in  no  case  to  be  overlooked,  even  although  they  may  need  to  be  supple- 
mented. Nevertheless,  we  are  free  to  confess  an  absence  of  entire  confidence  in  them.  Were 
"  firmness  "  of  heart,  in  the  sense  of  "  courage  "  all,  no  more  might  reqviire  to  be  said  ;  but  it 
would  be  rather  venturous  to  affirm  that,  in  biblical  style,  either  "  heaviness  "  or  "  harshness  "  of 
HEABT  can  be  taken  as  free  from  moral  evU.  Hence  it  may  be  well  to  ask  (2.)  Whether  the  divine 
causation  may  not  to  some  extent  have  been  indirect  and  figurative — amounting  to  permission 
and  occasion,  rather  than  positive  cause  ?  And,  in  point  of  fact,  this  cannot  be  denied.  The 
respite  which  Jehovah  gave  to  the  Egyptian  king  became  an  occasion  of  the  further  hardening  of 
the  heart  of  the  latter.  (See  ch.  viii.  15  ;  ix.  34).  Here  we  get  a  glimpse  into  the  divine  pro- 
cedure much  fitted  to  satisfy.  Having  struck  a  blow,  Jehovah  pauses,  he  does  so  again  and 
again.  Is  this  unworthy  of  him  ?  Yet  Pharaoh  makes  these  divine  pauses  an  occasion  of  deeper 
sin.  We  cannot  blame  God  for  this  ;  and  yet  had  blow  followed  blow  in  quicker  succession 
Pharaoh  might  have  sooner  yielded.  Just  here  then  Jehovah  shews  His  holy  freedom. 
He  does  as  it  pleases  Him  ;  never  pleasing  to  do  wrong,  yet  pleasing,  for  reasons  which  as  yet 
we  may  not  always  comprehend,  to  permit  the  human  wrong  that  He  may  oveiTule  it  for  His 
own  glory  and  His  people's  weal.  We  conclude  then  that  only  thus  did  God  harden  Pharaoh's 
heart  :  He  gave  him  the  physical  courage  to  do  his  worst ;  and  He  gave  him — not  the  disposition 
but — the  permission,  the  opportunity,  the  occasion,  in  the  process  of  reaching  his  worst,  to  turn 
good  int  evil,  and  add  sin  to  sin.  This  is  what  God  did  ;  this  in  clear  foresight  of  how  Pharaoh 
would  act,  is  what  God  meant  to  do  ;  this  is  what  God,  for  Moses'  guidance  foretold  as  His 
intention.  9.  Miracle]  Asplcndidorconspicuousdecd  :  Sept.  "  sign  or  wonder;"  vulg.  "sign.'' 
Serp?nt]  Prob.  of  a  hirge  species  ;  and  iu  vv.  10,  13,  called  tanniii  (lit.  "  extended"  );  l)ut  v.  15. 
vd-chd  sh.  II.  Sorcerers]  Whisperers,  rautterers,  practisers  of  magic.  Magicians]  Sacred 
fccribes,  skilled  iu  sacred  writings  (hieroglyphics). 

139 


CHAP.  vn.  BOM  I LE  TIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


MAIN   HOMILETICS   OF   THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versa  1^2. 

The  Moral  Position  in  which  some  INIbn  stand  to  OTHERa 

God  made  Moses  to  be  a  god  to  Pharaoh,  and  Aaron  to  be  a  prophet.  There 
are  many  good  and  noble  men  in  the  world  to-day,  who  are  the  gods,  the 
instructors  and  rulers,  of  their  fellow-creatures. 

I.  This  exalted  moral  position  is  the  result  of  Divine  allotment.  "  And 
the  Lord  said  uuto  Moses,  see,  I  have  made  thee  a  god  to  Pharaoh."  1.  Men 
are  not  to  place  themselves  in  this  moral  position  to  others.  A  man  is  not  to 
make  himself  a  god  unto  his  fellows.  Some  ambitious  spirits  do  this,  and  in 
the  attempt  become  as  Satans  to  their  comrades.  They  become  imperious. 
They  make  unjust  demands  on  those  they  rule.  The  man  divinely  appointed 
to  this  position,  will  never  usurp  social  influence,  though  he  will  always  yield 
it,  because  it  will  be  the  natural  accompaniment  of  his  holy  life.  He  will  not 
pander  to  popular  sentiment.  He  will  speak  to  humanity  the  messages  of  God. 
2.  Men.  are  not  to  be  placed  in  this  moral  position,  merely  by  the  suffrages  of 
their  fdlow-creatures.  The  Israelites  did  not  call  Moses  to  the  work  of  their 
freedom.  Pharaoh  did  not  place  Moses  and  Aaron  in  these  relations  to  himself. 
The  appointment  was  of  God.  Society  determines  its  own  mental  and  social 
gods,  and  inshrines  its  men  of  wealth  and  genius  as  deities,  but  the  moral  gods 
of  the  universe  are  of  Divine  a])pointment.  Society  would  make  a  wrong 
selection  of  gods,  if  left  to  its  own  choice.  It  would  prefer  the  morally  indulgent 
to  the  heroic  and  the  true.  It  would  be  in  danger  of  making  a  mistake  and 
of  crowning  the  ambitious  rather  than  the  lowly.  Hence  the  selection  must 
be  Divine. 

II.  This  exalted  moral  position  involves  arduous  work  and  terrible  responsi- 
bility. 1.  The  true  gods  of  society  have  something  more  to  do  than  amuse  it.  The 
visit  of  Moses  to  Pharaoh  would  be  no  great  source  of  amusement  to  either 
party.  The  gods  of  humanity  are  comparatively  withdrawn  from  the  vulgar 
and  secular  matters  of  life,  the  bearing  of  their  efforts  is  eminently  moral.  It 
has  reference  to  souls,  to  man's  life  in  its  relation  to  the  Infinite.  A  man 
whose  highest  aim  is  to  excite  the  merriment  of  society,  is  too  far  removed  from 
divinity  to  be  mistaken  for  a  God.  2.  llie  true  gods  of  society  find  their 
employment  in  communicating  to  men  the  messages  of  God.  Moses  and  Aaron 
were  to  communicate  God's  message  to  Pharaoh.  God  frequently  has  distinct 
messages  for  individual  men  in  reference  to  their  moral  conduct.  These  are 
carried  by  the  divinely-appointed  prophets  of  society.  They  come  to  teach  us. 
To  awaken  us.  To  enable  us  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God.  Hence  their  work  is 
arduous  and  responsible. 

III.  This  exalted  moral  position  is  the  most  efficiently  employed  in  seeking 
the  freedom  of  men.  But  for  the  slavery  of  Israel  Moses  would  not  have  been  a 
god  unto  Pharaoh.  The  position  is  the  outcome  of  a  condition  of  things  it  ought 
to  remove.  It  is  not  for  self-aggrandizement.  It  is  to  give  men  the  freedom  of 
a  divine  salvation. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  1 — 2.  In  the  Hebrew  Scrip-  commonly  applied  to  those  who  were 

tures,   magistrates,    as  representing  a  possessed  of  dignity  or  official  power, 

portion  of  the  jurisdiction  of  God,  are  "Ye   are  gods;"   and  in  this   sense 

called  gods.     The  expression  was  very  Moses  is  said  to  have  been  made  a  god 

140 


EOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  vn. 


unto  Pharaoh  ;  and  Aaron  his  brother 
was  to  be  his  prophet.  You  are  already 
aware  of  the  reason  of  this  distinction 
between  the  two  brethren.  Moses  com- 
plained that  he  had  no  power  of  elo- 
quence, or  was  of  uncircumcised  lip  ; 
and  God's  reply  to  that  was,  "  You, 
Moses,  shall  be  the  oracle  or  depository 
of  truth  ;  and  Aaron,  who  has  the  gift 
of  eloquence,  shall  unfold  and  express 
it,"  God  did  not  alter  their  constitu- 
tional characteristics  ;  but  he  made 
use  of  their  existing  constitutional 
peculiarities  to  do  his  great  work.  So, 
still,  when  God  employs  men  to  execute 
His  purposes,  He  does  not  re-create 
them,  but  He  sanctifies  theni,  He  uses 
them  as  they  are.  Any  body  reading 
the  New  Testament,  will  see  that  each 
writer  has  a  style  of  his  own  ;  so  much 
so,  that  if  you  were  to  read  a  few 
verses  from  one  or  the  other  of  the 
writers,  I  should  be  able  to  say  whether 
they  were  written  by  Matthew,  or  Paul, 
or  Peter.  God  did  not  destroy  the 
idiosyncracies  of  the  sacred  penman, 
but  he  retained  their  variety  of  style, 
and  consecrated  that  variety  to  be  the 
more  elegant  vehicle  of  important  and 
precious  truth.  So,  when  God  sent 
Moses  and  Aaron  to  do  his  work  in 
Egypt,  He  did  not  make  Moses  elo- 
quent, which  he  was  not,  nor  did  he 
make  Aaron  learned,  which  he  was 


not  ;  but  he  made  Aaron  the  eloquent 
man,  draw  upon  the  stores  of  iVloses, 
the  learned  man,  and  thus  each  did 
efficiently  and  naturally  the  work  that 
God  had  assigned  them.  So,  at  th© 
era  of  the  Reformation,  Luther's  elo- 
quence and  energy  would  have  been 
extremely  defective,  if  he  could  not 
have  fallen  back  upon  the  rich  stores 
of  Melancthon's  learning.  So  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  energy  and 
boldness  of  Peter  were  shown  in  his 
speaking ;  and  the  love,  patience,  and 
piety  of  John,  were  shown  in  his  keep- 
ing silence.  God  thus  takes  different 
men  of  different  constitutional  pecu- 
liarities for  different  purposes. — (Dr. 
Gumming.) 

Great  is  God's  goodness  and  patience 
to  reason  with,  and  encourage  His  back- 
ward servants. 

Men  judging  themselves  as  uncir- 
cumcised, may  be  made  by  Jehovah  as 
gods. 

Prophets  are  merely  God's  mouth 
and  lips  to  His  Church. 

God  orders  one  instrument  from 
another  to  utter  His  mind  to  worldly 
powers. 

At  God's  word  poor  despicable  crea- 
tures command  oppressing  powers  to 
release  the  oppressed,  and  it  shall  be 
done  in  time. 


MAIN   HOMILETICS    OF    THE   PARAGRAPH.— Verses  3—7. 

Moral  Obstinacy  ;  or,  Pharaoh  the  type  of  an  Impenitent  Sinneb. 

I.  That  the  impenitent,  like  Pharaoh,  reject  the  Divine  command.  Moses  and 
Aaron  had  made  known  to  the  Egyptian  king  the  will  and  command  of  God  in 
reference  to  the  freedom  of  Israel.  But  he  refused  to  comply  with  that  com- 
mand. In  this  respect  he  is  a  type  of  the  impenitent  sinner.  God  has  revealed 
his  will  to  men  in  His  book.  He  has  commanded  men  everywhere  to  repent, 
and  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  the  sinner  refuses  to  do.  He 
continues  in  sin.  Heeds  not  the  law  of  God.  1.  Pharaoh  rejected  the  Divine 
command  with  contempt.  He  inquired,  "  Who  is  the  Lord  that  I  should  obey 
Him  ? "  So  many  impenitent  sinners  contemptuously  reject  the  Divine  claim  to 
their  life  and  service.  They  intimate  that  they  have  no  wish  to  enter  upon  the 
gloom  of  a  religious  life.  They  declare  themselves  happier  amid  the  sport  and 
passion  of  the  world.  They  are  in  good  social  position,  and  do  not  wish  to 
think  of  anything  beyond  the  present.  They  treat  the  messengers  of  God,  "Tho 
come  to  teach  them  better,  with  scorn,  and  reject  all  their  offers  of  salvation. 
How  often  have  we  treated  the  spirit  of  God  with  contempt.     2.  Pharaoh 

141 


OHAP. -m.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


rejected  ike  Divine  command  in  a  spirit  of  proud  self-sufficiency.  He  thought 
of  himself  as  the  King  of  Egypt,  as  liaving  at  command  vast  resources  of  mea 
and  money,  of  luxury  and  pleasure.  He  imagined  himself  able  to  defy 
Jehovah,  and  that  no  one  would  be  able  to  injure  him.  And,  in  this  respect, 
Pharaoh  is  a  type  of  many  impenitent  sinners.  They  pride  themselves  on  their 
fancied  security.  They  think  that  their  temporal  prosperity  will  shield  them 
from  future  terror.  Pride  haughtily  dismisses  the  conviction  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

II.  That  the  impenitent,  like  Pharaoh,  though  rejecting  the  Divine  commanda 
become  obstinate  in  disposition.  We  find  throughout  this  narrative  that 
the  longer  Pharaoh  resisted  the  Divine  command,  the  more  determined 
became  iiis  resistance.  And  so  is  it  with  the  impenitent  sinner.  He  rejects 
the  command  of  the  scriptures,  the  ministry  of  the  pulpit,  the  solicitations  of 
friends,  and  the  strivings  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  every  time  he  does  so,  he 
becomes  more  obdurate  in  soul.  He  gets  less  susceptible  of  heavenly  influence, 
until  ultimately  he  is  given  up  to  the  hardness  of  his  heart.  This  is  a  terri'ule 
condition  to  be  in.  1.  An  obstinate  disposition  is  opposed  to  the  good  of  the 
soul  itself.  It  prevents  the  shining  of  heavenly  light  upon  the  soul.  It  renders 
cold  the  emotions  that  once  were  fervent.  It  destroys  all  the  vitality  of  the 
moral  nature.  Obstinacy  will  ruin  the  soul  eternally.  2.  An  obstinate  dis- 
position is  antagonistic  to  the  purposes  of  redemption.  The  object  of  redemption, 
of  the  Church  and  all  its  agencies,  is  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men.  This  is 
frustrated  by  moral  obstinacy.  Men  say  that  they  have  not  the  power  to  be 
saved.  The  hinderance  is  not  in  any  heavenly  decree,  it  is  in  their  own 
unwillingness  to  give  up  sin.  3.  An  obstinate  disposition  is  insensible  to  all  the 
appeals  of  heaven. 

III.  That  the  impenitent,  like  Pharaoh,  obstinate  in  disposition,  invite  the 
Divine  anger.  1.  This  anger  is  manifested  in  the  exhibition  of  Divine 
power.  "  That  I  may  lay  my  hand  upon  Egypt."  When  God  lays  his  hand 
upon  a  nation  wlio  can  predict  the  result.  The  plagues  of  Egypt  are  but  the 
sequel  of  this.  The  hand  that  created  and  upholds  the  world,  can  inflict 
terrible  woe  upon  the  impenitent.  2.  This  anger  is  manifested  by  causing  the 
tyrant  to  liberate  his  slaves.  Pharaoh  now  loses  all  his  profitable  slaves. 
This  would  be  a  terrible  blow  to  his  covetous  spirit.  He  would  have  to 
acknowledge  Jehovah  as  conqueror.  The  impenitent  have  ultimately  to  give 
up  their  wicked  pleasures.  3.  lyiis  anger  is  manifested  by  the  destruction  of 
the  king  and  his  army.  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  were  drowned  in  the  raging 
billows  of  the  Red  Sea.  So  the  finally  impenitent  will  be  lost  in  the  eternal 
fires  of  hell.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  God  sends  many  ministries  to  invite  us  to 
obey  his  commands.  2.  That  our  truest  wisdom  and  safety  consist  in  a  penitent 
condition  of  soul.  3.  That  the  final  doom  of  impenitence  is  the  abiding  wrath 
of  God. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  3.     A  hardened   heart : — 1.  do  things  directly,  when  the  context 

Permitted  by  God.    2.  EiTected  by  sin.  shows   that   He  did   them  indirectly. 

3.  Cruel  to  the   slave.     4.  Unmoved  To  be  the  occasion  of  a  thing,  is  totally 

by  signs.     5.  Smitten  by  heaven.  distinct  from   being   the   cause  of    a 

God  instructs  Moses  and  Anron  as  thing.     I  build  an  hospital  for  the  cure 

to  what  they  shall  do  ;  but  He  adds,  of  the  sick ;  but  in  the  course  of  its 

"I  will  harden  Pharaoh's  heart."     I  erection,  a  scaffolding  gives  way,  and 

explained  to  you  on  a  former  occasion,  a  workman  is   killed.     The    hospital 

that  God  is  often  said  in  Scripture  to  was  not  the  cause,  but  the  occasion  of 
142 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


that  death  Jesus  came  into  the  world, 
not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  Pie 
came  directly  to  send  peace  ;  but  He 
came  indirectly  and  incidentally  to 
send  war.  The  gospel  is  not  the  cause 
of  war,  but  the  occasion  of  it.  And  so 
when  God  said,  "  I  will  harden  Phar- 
aoh's heart,"  it  implied,  "  I  will  show 
such  signs,  and  bring  to  his  conscience 
such  motives  that  if  he  is  not  moved, 
melted,  and  subdued,  the  reaction  of 
that  influence  will  end  in  his  being 
hardened  more  and  more."  Nothing 
can  be  so  absurd  as  to  say  that  God 
showed  to  Pharaoh  reasons  for  repent- 
ance, which  He  prevented  him  by 
physical  power  from  accepting. — Dr. 
Cumming. 

Signs:— 1.  Multipled.  2.  Penal. 
3.  Rejected. 

Verse  4.  "  But  Pharaoh  shall  not 
hearken  unto  you :" — 

1.  Because  he  is  proud,  and  will 
reject  a  lowly  shepherd.  2.  Because 
he  is  cruel,  and  will  not  free  the  slave. 

3.  Because  he  is  obstinate,  and  will  not 
yield  to  Spiritual  influence. 

God  knows  those  who  will  not  hearken 
to  His  word  : — 1.  To  tell  His  servants 
about  them.  2.  To  send  judgments 
upon  them.  3.  To  entice  them  by 
loving  discipline. 

" Aly  people:" — 1.  Because  God 
knows  them.  2.  Because  He  saves 
them.     3.  Because  He  redeems  them. 

4.  Because  He  guards  their  welfare. 

"  3Jy  people:" — 1.  Therefore  He 
will  hear  their  prayers.  2.  Therefore 
He  will  relieve  their  sorrows.  3.  There- 
fore He  will  free  their  souls.  4.  There- 
fore He  will  vindicate  their  rights. 

A  Knowledge  of  God. 

Verse  5.  "  And  the  Egyptians  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I 
stretch  forth  mine  hand  upon  Egypt." 

I.  That  the  worst  of  men  will  one 
day  have  to  recognize  the  reality  of 
the  Divine  Existence.  —  "  And  the 
Egyptians  shall  know,"  &c. — 1.  Men 
of  bad  moral  character  shall  know 
this.  Men  whose  lives  are  now 
spent  ift  utter  disregard  of  the  Di- 


vine Being  shall  one  day  awake  to 
the  fact  of  His  awful  existence.  This 
awakening  will  be  the  end  of  their 
pleasure  ;  the  commencement  of  a  new 
and  unalterable  life.  In  hell  the 
wicked  will  know  that  God  is  the  Lord. 
2.  Men  of  sceptical  dispositions  shall 
know  this.  Some  men  profess  to  dis- 
believe in  the  existence  of  God.  They 
call  it  a  philosophical  absurdity.  They 
say  in  their  hearts  that  there  is  not. 
The  wish  is  father  to  the  thought.  In 
another  life  the  sceptic  will  know  that 
God  is  the  Lord. 

II.  That  they  will  be  brought  to  a 
recognition  of  the  Divine  Existence 
by  severe  judgments. — 1.  Some  men 
will  listen  to  the  voice  of  reason. 
The  Egyptians  would  not.  They 
would  not  learn  the  reality  of  the 
Divine  existence  from  the  mouth  of 
Moses.  They  would  not  be  gently  led 
to  behold  the  Great  Parent  of  the 
universe.  They  are  like  men  to-day. 
They  will  not  give  heed  to  the  mes- 
sengers that  proclaim  the  Being  of  God. 
They  reject  them.  They  neglect  the 
Bible.  They  interpret  nature  on 
atheistic  principles.  2.  Such  will  learn 
the  existence  of  God  by  judgment. 
Some  men  will  never  learn  anything 
while  life  goes  well  with  them  ;  they 
will  only  study  heavenly  themes  when 
they  are  in  sorrow  and  perplexity. 
They  will  one  day  be  visited  with 
overwhelming  judgments,  which  will 
demonstrate  the  existence,  and  moral 
government  of  God,  but  which  will 
be  no  time  for  repentance. 

III.  That  the  existence  of  God  is  a 
guarantee  for  the  safety  of  the  good. 
"  And  bring  the  children  from  among 
them."  As  truly  as  God  exists  shall 
all  good  men  be  finally  brought  out 
from  moral  and  temporal  bondage 
into  the  Canaan  of  peace  and  quiet. 

Obedience  ro  God. 

Verse  6.  I.  It  must  be  rendered 
by  the  servants  of  God.  "  Moses  and 
Aaron."  All  men  who  are  called  to 
moral  service  by  God  must  obey  Him  : 
1.  Because  Re  gives  them  their  com- 

143 


OHAF.  vn. 


nOMILETia  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


mands.  2.  Because  lie  gives  them  the 
power  to  do  so.  3.  Because  He  rewards 
obedience. 

II.  It  must  be  co-extensive  with 
their  mission.     1.  It  must  be  entire. 

2.  It  must  be  cheerful.  3.  It  must  be 
holy. 

III.  It  will  render  their  mission 
effective.  1.  Because  it  will  lead  to 
the  best  mode  of  service.  2.  Because 
God  will  delight  to  honour  it.  The 
Divine  commauds  :  —  1.  Rightfully 
given.     2.  To  be  faithfully  executed. 

3.  To  be  diligently  obeyed.  To  be 
supremely  regarded. 

Verse  7.  The  bearing  of  a  man's  age 
upon  his  work. 

We  are  here  informed  that  Moses 
was  at  this  time  eighty  years  of  age, 
and  that  Aaron  was  eighty-three. 
Their  ages  would  have  an  important 
bearing  toward  the  work  of  these  two 
men. 

I.  Their  ages  would  indicate  that 
they  were  not  likely  to  be  misled 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  youth.     The 

Israelites  would  probably  not  have 
placed  much  confidence  in  the  state- 
ment of  a  very  young  man  had  he 
gone  to  them  with  the  message  of 
their  freedom.  They  would  have 
doubted  his  word.  They  would  have 
imagined  him  a  wild  dreamer,  or  a 
mistaken  enthusiast.  Hence,  the  ma- 
turer  years  of  Moses  and  Aaron  would 
prevent  such  an  interpretation  being 
put  upen  their  prophecy.  The  world 
is  slow  to  take  young  men  into  its 
confidence.  It  soon  smiles  at  their 
visions,  and  laughs  at  their  enthu- 
siastic hopes. 

II.  Their  ages  would  be  likely  to 
command  the  respect  of  those  with 
whom  they  had  to  do.  Had  they 
been  more  youthful  they  would  have 
awakened  the  merriment  of  Pharaoh. 
Egypt's  king  would  not  have  given  up 
his  slaves  at  the  reiincst  of  two  boys. 
Heaven  is  always  judicious  in  the  se- 


lection of  its  messengers.  The  Church 
ought  to  be  likewise.  It  should  look 
even  for  incidental  qualifications,  as 
well  as  the  primary  and  the  moral. 
Youthhood  would  not  have  had  much 
influence  with  the  slaves  of  Israel. 
The  world  wants  men  of  tried  energy 
and  long  experience  to  achieve  its 
moral  emancipation ;  men  in  whom 
hot  passion  has  calmed  into  a  settled 
force. 

III.  Their  ages  would  be  an  in- 
centive to  fidelity,  as  they  had  spent 
the  younger  part  of  life,  and  would 
be  forcefully  reminded  of  the  future. 
After  men  pass  the  meridian  of  life, 
they  begin  to  regard  life  as  a  stern 
and  solemn  reality,  if  they  have  any 
pious  sentiment  within  them  at  all. 
The  past  has  gone  like  a  dream.  The 
brief  future  is  before  them.  They 
wish  it  to  be  characterized  by  fidelity. 

At  this  time,  we  are  told,  Moses  was 
eighty  years  of  age,  and  Aaron  eighty- 
three.  This  was  not  old  age.  Moses 
lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
He  was,  therefore,  now  just  at  the  close 
of  the  meridian  of  life.  I  mentioned 
also  before,  that  there  is  no  evidence 
in  the  Bible  that  man's  life  has  been 
shortened  since  Moses'  death ;  and  that, 
as  far  as  we  can  gather  from  Divine 
interposition,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
is  the  proper  age  of  man.  The  90th 
Psalm  describes  an  abnormal  state  of 
life  in  the  wilderness.  There  Moses 
himself  complains  that  their  life  was 
shortened  to  threescore  and  ten,  by 
the  existing  severity  and  pressure  of- 
their  circumstances,  not  by  the  ordi- 
nance of  God.  And  it  remains  a 
problem,  whether,  if  men  were  not 
less  oppressed  by  anxious  cares  and 
thoughts,  ambition,  vainglory,  and 
pride,  and  ^vrath,  they  would  not  live 
to  a  much  gi'eater  age  ;  and  whether 
it  be  not  true,  that  in  proportion  aa 
Christianity  gains  in  its  sanctifying 
influence  on  the  soul,  the  whole  social 
and  physical  system  will  but  be  cor- 
respondingly elevated  and  amehorated 
also. — Dr.  Cuniming. 


144 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY    EXODUS.  CHAP.  vtt. 


MAIN  HOMILETIOS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  8—18. 

Man's  Effort  to  Repudiate  the  Message  of  God  by  an  Imitation  op  its 
Miraculous  Credentials. 

I.  That  man  has  a  right  to  expect  that  any  special  revelation  from  God 
should  be  accompanied  by  infallible  and  unimpeachable  credentials.  "  When 
Pharaoh  shall  speak  unto  you,  saying,  Shew  a  miracle  for  you  ;  then  thou  shalt 
say  unto  Aaron,  Take  thy  rod,  and  cast  it  before  Pharaoh,  and  it  shall  become 
a  serpent."  When  men  come  and  present  Divine  messages  to  us,  we  have  a 
right  to  expect  that  they  will  produce  something  more  than  their  own  mere  word 
for  the  divinity  of  their  mission  ;  they  make  great  demands  upon  our  conduct, 
they  appeal  to  us  in  the  supreme  realm  of  our  life,  and  the  greatest  results  are 
dependant  upon  the  manner  in  which  we  welcome  them,  hence  we  may 
expect  substantial  proof  that  they  are  sent  from  God.  God  never  expects 
men  to  credit  any  mission  that  is  not  authenticated  by  sufficient  evidence, 
he  does  not  require  that  they  should  do  such  violence  to  their  intellectual 
manhood.  Hence  when  any  claims  are  presented  as  from  heaven,  we  are 
justified  in  demanding  sufficient  proof  of  their  holy  origin.  1,  We  require 
these  credentials  to  vindicate  the  authority  of  the  speaker.  Who  were 
Moses  and  Aaron  to  Pharaoh  ?  They  had  no  human  accidents  connected 
with  them  to  gain  his  attention  and  obedience.  Socially  they  were  greatly 
inferior  to  him.  Probably  they  were  almost  unknown  to  him.  They  had 
no  armies  to  enforce  their  request.  Their  request  was  great,  and  of  im- 
portance to  his  nation.  He  might  regard  these  two  men  as  enthusiasts  or 
impostors.  It  is  natural  that  he  should  immediately  seek  to  know  by  what 
authority  they  were  sent  to  him.  He  would  have  acted  the  part  of  a  lunatic 
had  he  not  done  so,  as  no  wise  man  will  heed  all  the  claims  which  are  urged 
upon  him  by  those  by  whom  he  may  be  surrounded.  Hence  Moses  and  Aaron 
wrought  a  miracle  before  him,  to  convince  him  of  the  divinity  of  their  re- 
markable mission.  And  this  was  evidence  sufficient  to  the  belief  required, 
and  the  conduct  solicited.  Now  humanity  has  a  Divine  message  sent  to  it, 
not  brought  in  exactly  the  same  method  as  was  that  to  Pharaoh  ;  it  is  contained 
in  a  remarkable  book,  the  Bible,  it  asks  men,  not  to  give  up  their  slaves,  but 
their  sins,  and  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  book  has  been  given 
to  the  world,  and  requires  the  world's  credence  and  obedience.  We  at  once 
require  to  know  by  what  authority  this  volume  comes,  why  it  makes  a  greater 
claim  to  attention  than  any  other,  and  what  right  it  has  to  control  our  actions 
These  questions  are  natural,  and  they  are  wise.  No  sensible  man  would  receive 
the  book,  as  it  requires,  without  making  them.  We  search  this  book  and  find 
that  as  Moses  and  Aaron  carried  their  Divine  credentials  in  their  hand,  so  it 
contains  the  evidences  of  its  Divine  origin  on  its  own  pages,  for  on  every  page 
we  see  the  miracle  repeated,  the  rod  is  turned  into  a  serpent.  And  the  miracles 
which  the  book  contains,  and  the  miracle  which  it  is  in  itself,  are  sufficient  token 
to  the  honest  mind  that  it  comes  from  God.  This  evidence  is  equal  to  the  case 
It  leaves  disobedience  without  excuse.  It  is  adequate  to  its  Divine  authority. 
2.  We  require  these  credentials  to  vindicate  the  credibility  of  the  speaker. 
Pharaoh  might  even  believe  that  Moses  and  Aaron  were  divinely  sent  to  him  ; 
but  the  question  would  arise  in  his  mind,  whether  they  were  uttering  their 
message  without  falsehood  or  mistake.  Were  they  not  making  too  great  a 
demand  upon  him,  had  not  these  Israelitish  slaves  been  of  great  service  to  his 
nation,  and  was  it  likely  that  God  would  require  their  freedom  ?    No  doubt 

»  145 


ru>p.  vit  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 

much  objection  to  the  statement  of  these  two  men  would  arise  to  his  mental 
vision,  and  therefore  he  required  it  to  be  certified  that  they  were  speaking  the 
truth.  And  we  conceive  that  the  miracle  they  wrought  would  cover  the  whole 
case,  the  entirety  of  his  request.  Because  God  would  never  give  men  power  to 
work  a  miracle  to  authenticate  a  lie.  The  miracle  not  only  demonstrated  the 
authority  of  these  men,  but  also  the  unimpeachable  honesty  and  verity  of  their 
statements.  And  so  men  take  the  Bible  to-day,  they  perhai).s  say  that  in 
general  terms  the  book  has  come  from  God,  and  has  His  authority,  and  yet 
how  many  question  the  verit)'-  of  much  of  its  contents.  They  call  one  part  of 
the  message  a  myth,  another  part  a  fable,  until,  indeed,  there  is  very  little 
remaining  as  true.  We  need  scarcely  say  that  this  method  of  criticism  is 
contradictory,  for  if  men  once  admit  the  Divine  authority  of  the  book,  they 
cannot  but  accept  its  contents  as  veritable,  for  the  same  miracle  that 
demonstrates  its  heavenly  origin,  likewise  demonstrates  its  moral  truthfulness, 
that  the  Bible  is  not  merely  from  God,  but  that  it  speaks  the  word  of 
God.  Of  this  the  world  has  sufficient  evidence.  3.  That  God  anticipates 
these  requests  on  the  part  of  man,  and  provides  Ms  messengers  with  the 
needed  credentials.  The  Divine  Being  did  not  send  Moses  and  Aaron  to 
Pharaoh  without  the  credentials  necessary  to  sustain  their  authority,  and 
their  veracity.  We  may  reverently  say  that  He  could  not  rightfully  have 
done  so,  as  it  would  have  left  unbelief  on  the  part  of  the  king  quite 
excusable,  and  it  would  have  exposed  these  men  of  God  to  certain  and 
needless  scorn.  And  so  in  reference  to  the  Bible,  which  is  God's  message  to 
the  race,  its  Divine  Author  has  condescendingly  anticipated  the  mental  and 
moral  requirements  of  man  in  accepting  it.  He  did  not  send  it  forth  without 
sufficient  credentials  to  commend  itself  to  human  reason,  He  did  not 
permit  it  to  appeal  to  men  as  other  books  have  done ;  it  differed  from  them 
in  contents  and  claims,  and  therefore  needed  a  correspondingly  higher  vindi- 
cation. Had  any  man  gone  to  Pharaoh  on  the  ordinary  business  of  life,  he 
would  have  needed  no  miracle  to  commend  him  to  that  monarch.  But  when 
Moses  and  Aaron  go  to  him  with  a  Divine  command,  their  different  and  higher 
position  requires  the  higher  credential.  And  so  with  the  Bible,  it  does  not 
merely  come  to  men  with  a  message  about  the  common  affairs  of  human  life,  it 
speaks  about  the  duties  and  destinies  of  their  soul,  and  needs  a  vindication 
equal  to  its  dignified  claims.  The  revelations  of  God  do  not  do  violence  to  the 
mental  habitudes  of  man.  The  Being  who  has  made  man,  conforms  to  the  mental 
laws  under  which  He  has  placed  him,  one  of  which  is  that  he  cannot  believe  a 
statement  without  sufficient  evidence.  Hence,  prior  to  any  cry  on  the  part  of 
man  for  evidence  of  the  Divine  origin  of  the  Bible,  God  provided  and  made  it 
clear  to  all  who  sought  it.  They  were  there  in  all  their  possibility,  only 
awaiting  the  interrogation  of  the  human  mind,  upon  which  the  rod  would  be 
transformed  into  a  serpent,  and  demonstrate  beyond  doubt  the  divinity  of  the 
book.  Hence  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  win  the  credence  of  men  to  his  book  by 
convincing  evidence,  not  by  arbitrary  command,  and  any  man  who  rejects  the 
claims  of  the  Bible  rejects  the  highest  proof,  the  most  reliable  evidence,  hence 
his  condemnation  will  be  awful  as  that  of  the  rebellious  king.  4.  The  spirit  in 
which  these  credentials  should  he  investigated  and  received  How  did  Pharaoh 
receive  the  credentials  which  were  presented  to  him  by  Moses  and  Aaron  in 
reference  to  the  divinity  of  their  mission  ;  he  received  them  with  unbelieving 
heart.  He  was  antecedently  prepared  to  denounce  them  as  untrue,  and  to 
reject  them.  He  did  not  come  to  the  investigation  of  them  with  un- 
prejudiced mind,  but  with  a  bias  against  them.  And  no  doubt  his  moral  con- 
duct induced  within  him  this  mental  bias  ;  he  did  not  wish  to  give  up  his 
profitable  slaves,  hence  he  tried  to  disprove  the  credentials  of  these  holy  men. 
And  in  this  we  have  a  pattern  of  tlie  way  in  which  multitudes  approach  the 
146 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  tni/^.  vir. 

investigation  of  the  Divine  credentials  of  the  Bible,  they  have  no  wish  to  find 
them  true,  rather,  the  moral  character  and  habit  uf  their  life  awaken  within  them 
a  desii-e  to  find  them  false.  Hence  we  believe  that  much  of  the  scepticism  of 
men  in  reference  to  the  Bible  as  a  divine  revelation  arises  from  moral  con- 
siderations rather  than  mental.  The  probabilities  are  that  if  Pharaoh  had  had 
no  slaves,  supposing  Moses  and  Aaron  to  have  been  sent  to  him,  he  would  have 
believed  their  miracle.  And  if  men  had  no  sins  to  charm  them  they  would 
welcome  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God.  They  are  not  disposed  to  give  up 
their  sins,  and  so  they  are  not  inclined  to  receive  the  truth  sent  to  them. 
(1)  These  credentials  should  be  thoughtfully  received.  (2)  These  credentials 
should  be  devoutly  received.  (3)  Never  receive  them  in  sceptical  mood. 
4  We  must  remember  that  the  messengers  of  God  can  only  offer  the  cre- 
dentials divinely  permitted  to  them.  Moses  and  Aaron  could  not  work  any 
miracle  they  liked  to  the  astonished  gaze  of  the  Egyptian  king ;  they  could 
only  cast  down  the  rod  as  God  had  told  them  to  do.  Men  cannot  decide  upon, 
nor  can  they  make  of  their  own  device  or  ingenuity,  the  credentials  of  their 
heaven-given  mission.  Nor  does  the  Bible,  in  its  credentials,  conform  to  all 
the  arbitrary  and  vain  requests  of  the  sceptical  mind,  it  does  not  work  one 
miracle  after  another  only  to  awaken  yet  further  demands,  and  continued  in- 
credulity. Its  credentials  are  divinely  arranged.  They  are  the  outcome  ot 
the  will  and  permission  of  God.  They  are  clear  as  a  fact.  They  are  em- 
phatic as  a  claim.  They  can  be  investigated  by  men.  The  credentials  of  the 
Bible  are  such  as  God  has  permitted.  The  minister  of  the  gospel  has  no  right 
to  present  or  enforce  any  other  in  his  sacred  embassy.  If  the  legitimate 
credentials  of  truth  will  not  gain  the  credence  of  men,  we  may  rely  upon  it 
that  no  others  will. 

II.  That  men  have  recourse  to  many  devices  to  weaken  and  nullify  the 
credentials  which  are  presented  to  them  in  token  and  support  of  a  Divine 
message  and  claim.  "  Then  Pharaoh  also  called  the  wise  men  and  the  sorcerers : 
now  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  they  also  did  in  like  manner  with  their  enchant- 
ments." 1.  We  find  that  men  in  the  investigation  of  a  Divine  message  are  not 
satisfied  with  the  evidence  they  themselves  propose.  It  would  appear  from  the 
Divine  statement  and  prediction  made  to  Moses  and  Aaron,  although  we  do  not 
find  the  definite  words  used  by  Pharaoh,  that  the  king  wanted  a  miracle  to  confirm 
their  request ;  and  yet  when  it  was  wrought  he  rejected  and  refused  to  believe  it. 
And  this  is  just  what  men  do  in  reference  to  the  Divine  credentials  of  the  Bible  ; 
they  enquire  for  certain  evidences  of  its  Divine  authority,  and  when  presented, 
they  disbelieve  and  reject  them.  Men  ask  us  to  show  them  the  internal  harmony 
of  the  Bible,  although  it  is  written  by  so  many  men  of  varied  mental  type,  and 
when  we  shew  it  them  in  incident  after  incident,  they  commence  at  once  to 
weaken  our  evidence  by  suppositions  of  collusion  between  the  authors,  or  of 
plagiarism.  It  is  little  use  complying  with  their  request  for  credentials,  they 
seek  them  not  to  believe,  but  to  cavil.  A  sceptical  mind  will  not  yield  even 
when  it  has  attained  evidence  for  the  truth  of  its  own  seeking.  It  is  most 
criminal  in  its  unbelief  2.  We  find  that  men  in  the  invest lgatlo7i  of  a  Divine 
message  often  seek  others  to  supply  them  with  sceptical  arguments  they  are  not 
clever  enough  to  produce  themselves.  It  would  appear  that  Pharaoh  was  not 
able  of  himself  to  refute  the  miraculous  logic  and  credential  of  Moses  and 
Aaron.  Kings  are  not  always  gifted  with  the  logical  faculty,  they  are  not 
generally  remarkable  for  brain-power ;  nor  are  they  in  need  of  much,  as  the 
abilities  of  others  are  readily  at  their  command.  If  a  king  wants  an  argument 
to  disprove  a  divine  message,  there  are  always  plenty  of  logicians  in  the  realm 
ready  to  furnish  him  with  it.  And  some  men  have  the  happy  art  of  making 
logic  prove  anything  to  suit  the  craving  of  regal  desires.  Hence  as  Pharaoh  could 

147 


UOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


not  refute  the  miraculous  evidence  of  tliese  two  holy^  men,  he  sent  for  the 
"  wise  men  and  sorcerers,"  and  it  would  seeiu  that  the  niayiciaus  of  Egypt  in  some 
way  imitated  the  miracle  of  the  transformed  rod.  And  so  it  is  in  reference  to  the 
credentials  of  the  Bible  ;  when  one  man  cannot  disprove  them,  he  will  get  some 
one  else  to  help  him,  and  perhaps  the  two  together  may  succeed  in  hardening 
each  otiier  in  their  sin.  How  one  man  may  confirm  another  in  scepticism 
to  the  rejection  of  the  plain  message  of  God.  But  though  hand  join  in  hand, 
he  wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished.  It  is  a  pity  that  men  of  good  mental 
ability  should  aid  men  of  inferior  brain  in  their  sceptical  effort ;  they  might  find 
better  employment  for  their  genius  3.  We  find  that  men  endeavour  to 
confirm  their  comrades  in  scepticism  by  imitating  the  credentials  of  the  messengers 
of  God.  Moses  and  Aaron  had  turned  their  rods  into  serpents  ;  when  the 
magicians  of  Egypt  were  called  they  to  all  appearances  did  the  same.  Very 
likely  they  did  it  by  cunning  trickery  with  their  enchantments,  and  they  may 
have  been  assisted  by  the  devil.  He  is  a  willing  ally  to  all  who  wish  to  refute 
the  credentials  "of  heavenly  messengers.  And  has  it  not  been  so  with  the  Bible  ? 
Men  have  cast  down  their  own  rods,  and  they  have  produced  their  own  books, 
and  apparently  there  has  been  but  little  difference  between  the  human  production 
and  the  divine.  The  Bible  is  very  much  like  all  other  books,  is  printed  with  the 
same  tjrpe,  on  like  paper,  in  the  same  language,  and  is  bound  in  the  same 
material,  and  it  is  only  on  looking  inside  and  reading  the  contents  that 
we  can  announce  the  difference.  Man's  genius  endeavours  to  rival  God's 
power.  But  in  vain.  The  truth-seeker  can  distinguish  between  the  productions 
of  the  two  ;  he  never  mistakes  the  enchantment  of  the  Egyptian  for  the  miracle 
of  Moses.  4.  That  the  men  who  endeavour  to  confirm  their  comrades  in 
scepticism  respecting  the  Divine  credentials  are  subject  to  the  truth.  The  rods  of 
the  Egyptian  magicians  were  swallowed  up  by  Aaron's  rod.  And  so  in  reference 
to  the'Bible.  All  who  reject  its  claims  will  one  day  be  swallowed  up  by  the 
retribution  it  proclaims.  Truth  has  power  over  error.  Pharaoh  would  not 
attach  much  significance  to  the  fact  that  Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  the  rest ; 
he  would  merely  attach  importance  to  the  fact  that  his  own  conjurors  ha,d  done 
the  same  as  had  Moses  and  Aaron.  In  the  arguments  of  life  men  will  only 
allow  their  minds  to  be  impressed  by  those  the  most  favourable  to  their 
case. 

III.  That  fhe  men  who  reject  the  credentials  of  Divine  messengers  commence 
a  conflict  which  will  be  productive  of  great  woe  and  of  final  overthrow  to 
them.  "  And  he  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart  that  he  hearkened  not  unto  them  ; 
as  the  Lord  had  said."  This  was  notably  the  case  witli  the  king  of  Egypt. 
The  plagues  which  follow  are  but  the  outcome  of  this  rejection  of  the  Divine 
message  ;  and  the  destruction  of  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  in  the  Red  Sea  was  but 
the  end  of  the  struggle,  the  victory  of  an  alarming  Providence.  And  men  who 
oppose  the  credentials  of  the  Bible,  who  cultivate  a  sceptical  habit  of  mind  in 
reference  thereto,  and  who  seek  others  to  confirm  them  in  their  rejection  of  the 
truth  of  God,  commence  a  conflict  which  will  be  most  destructive  in  its  issue. 
Tiie  truth  must  conquer,  and  if  men  will  not  accept  its  credentials,  they  must 
fall  beneath  its  power.  It  is  vain  for  man,  however  he  may  be  aided  by  human 
art  or  cunning,  to  contend  with  the  messenger  of  heaven.  Lessons  : 
1.  That  the  messengers  of  God  can  ahoays  produce  Divine  credentials.  2.  That 
Divine  credentials  are  often  rejected  by  men  of  high  social  position.  3.  That  a 
continued  rejection  of  Divine  credentials  will  end  in  destruction.  ^  4.  That^  the 
servants  of  God  are  ojten  perplexed  by  the  coiiduct  of  men  in  rejecting  Divine 
claims. 


148 


UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CBXe.YZL 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses  8 — 9.  After  God  has  won 
His  servants  to  willing  obedience,  He 
commands  them  to  duty. 

God  forewarned  His  servants  that 
worldly  men  would  investigate  their 
authority. 

Wicked  men  generally  expect  the 
ministers  of  God  to  work  miracles  be- 
fore they  believe  the  truth. 

One  instrument  may  God  set  over 
another  to  do  his  purpose. 

A  miracle  has  always  been  regarded 
as  the  evidence  of  a  revelation  from  on 
high.  It  is  not  itself  the  revelation, 
but  the  evidence  of  it.  The  wax 
upon  the  deed,  and  the  seal  of  one  of 
the  parties,  is  not  the  deed  ;  but  it  is 
the  evidence  that  that  deed  is  accepted 
and  identified  by  the  party  whose  seal 
is  attached  to  it. — Dr.  Gumming. 

Verse  10.  When  God  enjoineth  his 
servants  to  work  wonders,  He  is  sure 
to  effect  them. 

Dead  sticks  become  dragons  at  the 
word  of  God,  to  awaken  sinners. 

God  by  His  word  and  work  leave 
sinners  without  excuse. 

The  poorest  workers  animated  by 
God,  dare  face  oppressing  kings. 

It  is  only  safe  for  the  servants  of 
God  to  do  as  he  commands  them. 

Small  actions  in  obedience  are  or- 
dered by  God  to  great  issues,  though 
despicable  to  men. 

Not  a  word  of  God  shall  fail,  but 
the  very  nature  of  creatures  shall 
chauge  to  verify  the  same. 

God's  miracles  are  in  truth,  to  con- 
firm His  authority  among  men. 

Verses  11 — 13.  Miracles  from  God 
will  not  persuade  wicked  hearts  to  be- 
lieve. 

Unbelieving  sinners  are  apt  to  call 
in  all  instruments  of  Satan  to  gainsay 
God. 

Providence  has  of  old  suffered  wis- 
dom to  be  abased  to  pernicious 
acts. 


Under  God's  permission  Satan  may 
work  strange  changes  in  creatures  ; 
but  not  miracles. 

God's  true  miracles  devour  all  the 
lying  wonders  of  Satan. 

Clirist  hath  swallowed  up  death  in 
victory. 

Unworthy  Imitations  op  the  Good. 

Verse  11.  "  7/iei/  also  did  in  like 
manner  with  their  enchantments." 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  imitation  in 
the  world.  It  is  found  in  all  spheres 
of  life  and  employment.  It  especially 
obtains  in  the  moral  realm  of  life. 
And  in  some  cases  it  may  be  com- 
mendable, the  effort  of  a  true  soul  to 
emulate  the  character  and  zeal  of  some 
godly  neighbour  whose  life  inspires 
with  holy  aspirations  after  something 
better.  But  in  many  cases  it  is  a 
mockery,  sometimes  the  homage  which 
vice  pays  to  virtue,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  the  daring  effort  of  the  natural 
mind  to  rival  its  divine  results.  In 
the  incident  before  us  the  imitation  of 
the  work  of  Moses  and  Aaron  by  these 
Egyptian  magicians  was  inspired  by 
this  latter  motive. 

I.  This  imitation  of  the  good  was  by 
men  of  high  social  rank.  The  miracle 
wrought  by  Moses  and  Aaron  was  not 
imitated  by  the  lower  orders  of 
Egyptian  society,  but  by  men  in  the 
highest  rank  of  the  nation,  and  in  the 
presence  of  their  king.  And  so  it 
sometimes  happens  that  men  of  intellect 
and  learning,  that  men  of  high  social 
standing,  that  men  in  important  occu- 
pations, find  it  necessary  and  remune- 
rative to  imitate  the  actions  of  the  good 
to  serve  their  own  impious  purpose. 
It  is  probable  that  had  those  magicians 
refused,  or  had  they  announced  them- 
selves unable  to  imitate  the  miracle 
of  the  two  servants  of  God,  they  would 
have  been  displaced  in  their  art,  and 
banished  from  the  presence  of  the  king. 
It  is  ill  to  be  employed  in  a  bad  occu- 
pation. A  man  who  is  a  sorcerer  by 
profession,   may  at  any  moment  be 

149 


CHAP.  vn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENT AR  Y :  EXOD  USL 


called  to  compete  with  divine  pheno-  nation  as  the  after  history  abundantly 

mena,  and  to  involve  himself  in  conliict  demonstrates. 

with  God.     A  man's  known  character         m.  This  imitation  of  the  good  was 

has  much  to  do  with  his  temptations,  productive  of  dire  result.     It  caused 

borne  men  are  too   pure  to  be  asked  i>haraoh  to  discredit   the  message  of 

to  do  an  unholy  deed.  Moses  and  Aaron  ;    still  to  retain  his 

II.  This  imitation  of  the  good  oc-  ^^^^^^  5.  and  it  was  instrumental  in  the 

curred  at  a  most  solemn  crisis.     It  oc-  hardeniugof  his  heart.  Andso  those  who 

curred    at    a    crisis    in    the    life    of  seek  to  imitate  the  good  in  order  to  nul- 

Pharaoh.     If  he    had    now   felt    the  ^^^  ^^^^  claims  of  God  upon  men,  bring 

reality  of   the  appeal  of   Moses  and  woe  upon  all  who  credit  their  agency. 
Aaron,    had    he    recognized    it     as         IV.  The  imitation  of  the  good  is 

from   God,    and    yielded  to    it,    his  always  discernable.     The  rods  of  the 

life  and    futurity   might    have   been  magicians  were  swallowed  up  by  the 

very    different    from    what     it    was,  rod  of  Moses  and  Aaron.     The  imita- 

And  men  who  give  themselves  up  to  tion  is  not  so  good,  so  true,  so  beauti- 

an    unworthy  imitation   of  the  good,  ful,  so  spontaneous  as  the  reality,  hence 

often  cause  those  who  trust  to  them  all  intelligent  and  conscientious  men 

to  miss  the  most  favourable  opportu-  are  able  to  detect  it,  and  need  not  be 

nity  of  moral  welfare.     It  was  also  a  deceived  by  it.     If  men  are  deceived 

crisis  of  great  importance  to  the  entire  by  it,  it  is  because  they  wish  to  be. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses   14—25. 

The  River  turned  into  blood  ;  or,  Man's  Chief  Pleasure  and  Pride  made 
THE  Medium  of  Divine  Retribution. 

I.  That  Divine  Retributions  are  sent  when  other  and  merciful  measures 
have  failed  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of  God  in  man.  Moses  and  Aaron  had 
now  more  than  once  coniinunicated  the  Divine  will  to  the  impious  monarch 
of  Egypt,  and  had  met  with  stern  and  determined  rejection,  he  would  not 
heed  their  message.  The  gradation  in  the  appeal  of  these  servants  of  God  is 
worthy  of  observation  : — 1.  Moses  and  Aaron  appealed  to  Pharaoh  as  men  of 
noble  heart  and  purpose.  They  came  bravely  and  without  ostentation  to  the 
king  and  asked  him  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  to  give  freedom  to  the  Israelitish 
slaves.  They  urged  the  plea  of  right  and  manhood.  They  simply  mentioned 
the  name  of  Jehovah.  Tliey  wrought  the  miracle.  There  are  some  messages 
which  need  no  miraculous  evidence  to  confirm  them,  they  are  so  in  harmony 
with  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened  conscience,  and  the  sympathies  of  a  true 
soul.  When  we  ask  for  the  liberty  of  the  slaves,  we  make  a  request  which 
should  win  a  ready  response  from  the  instinctive  pity  of  the  human  heart. 
Such  was  the  first  appeal  made  to  the  King  of  Egypt.  It  was  an  appeal  to  the 
natural  sentiments  of  his  manhood.  It  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  be  generous, 
and  to  announce  the  freedom  of  the  slave  without  any  coercive  measures  being 
brought  to  bear  upon  him.  And  so  it  is,  generally,  the  messaijes  of  God 
appeal  first  to  the  natural  instincts  of  the  human  heart,  to  our  pity,  we  are 
inspired  to  duty  by  the  sheer  force  of  natural  manhood,  awakened  by  the 
common  ministries  around  us.  2.  Moses  and  Aaron  appealed  to  Pharaoh 
with  the  credentia.3  of  heaven  to  sustain  the  message.  These  two  men 
now  advance  a  stage  in  the  method  of  their  address  to  the  Egyptian  king, 
they  do  not  merely  try  to  reach  him  through  the  sympathy  of  Ids  own  heart, 
or  by  the  mere  announcement  of  the  Divine  will,  this  has  failed,  they  now 
render  their  demand  apparent  to  his  reason  and  judgment,  so  that  escape  from 
it  may  be  intellectually  impossible.  They  wrought  a  miracle  in  support  of 
150 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  Ohap.vu. 

their  mission.  This  ought  to  have  convinced  the  mind  of  Pharaoh  that  they 
were  uttering  the  Word  of  God.  And  so  it  is  now,  the  human  soul  has  given 
to  it  unmistakable  proof  of  all  the  heavenly  messages  which  come  to  it,  and 
of  all  the  duties  which  require  its  attention.  God  often  strengthens  the 
credential  in  proportion  to  the  unwillingness  of  men  to  accept  it.  kSuch  is  His 
merciful  condescension.  Man  has  no  excuse  for  rejecting  the  service  of 
heaven.  3.  Moses  and  Aaron  now  appeal  to  Pharaoh  with  the  retributive 
anger  of  God.  They  had  presented  the  Divine  claim  in  reference  to  Israel,  to 
his  pity,  to  his  judgment,  and  now  with  terrible  retribution.  And  hence  when 
the  credentials  of  heaven  are  wilfully  and  continuously  rejected,  they  are 
not  altogether  withdrawn,  but  they  become  retributive.  Thus  the  retributions  of 
heaven  are  not  wilful,  they  are  for  the  combined  purpose  of  convincing  and 
punishing  the  unbelief  of  men.  They  are  not  sent  until  every  other  method  of 
appeal  has  been  exhausted. 

II.  Divine  Retributions  often  consist  in  making  the  source  of  man's  truest 
pleasure  into  the  cause  of  his  greatest  misery.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses,  say  unto  Aaron,  Take  thy  rod,  and  stretch  out  thine  hand  upon  the 
waters  of  Egypt,  upon  their  streams,  upon  their  rivers,  and  upon  their  ponds, 
and  upon  all  their  pools  of  water,  that  they  may  become  blood  ;  and  that  there 
may  be  blood  throughout  all  the  laud  of  Egypt,  both  in  vessels  of  wood,  and 
in  vessels  of  stone."  Thus  the  principal  subject  of  the  first  great  judgment 
was  the  river  Nile.  "  The  River,"  as  it  was  emphatically  called,  or  "  the  River 
of  Egypt,"  for  the  name  Nile  is  not  to  be  found  in  Holy  Scriptures,  was  the 
chief  source  of  wealth  and  prosperity  to  the  Egyptians,  by  whom  it  was  re- 
garded with  superstitious  reverence  as  the  birthplace  of  the  gods.  Let  us 
endeavour  to  form  some  idea  of  the  appearance  it  presented  in  the  days  of  the 
Pharaohs.  The  source  of  the  Nile  was,  even  at  that  early  period,  the  subject 
of  much  speculation  and  adventure,  and  it  is  only  within  the  last  few  years 
that  it  has  been  ascertained.  It  takes  its  rise  from  a  great  lake  or  basin  in 
central  Africa,  and  traverses  a  rich  and  beautiful  country  on  its  way  north- 
ward to  the  sea.  It  is  the  largest  river  in  the  world.  In  some  parts  of  its 
course  it  flows  gently  and  peacefully,  fertilizing  the  land  upon  its  banks  ;  at 
others  it  rushes  with  great  swiftness  between  lofty  and  precipitous  rocks  ;  broken 
here  and  there  by  mighty  cataracts,  or  by  a  series  of  rapids  extending  over 
many  miles.  In  lower  Egypt,  the  Nile  flowed  through  a  rich  plain,  bordered 
by  the  desert  and  extending  to  the  sea.  On  either  side,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  luxurious  crops  of  corn  or  barley  grew,  and  ripened  in  the 
sun.  Groves  of  sycamore  and  palm  trees  cast  their  grateful  shade  over  the 
banks  and  paths  ;  high  rocks  or  hillocks  rising  from  the  plain  were  crowned 
with  ancient  cities,  villages  or  temples,  of  which  a  few  crumbling  ruins  alone 
remain,  or  whose  memorial  is  altogether  perished.  Broad  dykes,  with  roads 
running  along  them,  served  to  connect  those  towns  or  hamlets  at  all 
seasons,  even  when  the  fields  were  overflowed.  The  less  frequented  parts  of 
the  river  were  lined  with  reeds  and  flags,  and  the  far-famed  papyrus,  while  the 
richly  scented  and  variegated  flowers  of  the  sacred  lotus  floated  upon  the  sur- 
face. The  waters  abounded  in  fish,  some  of  which  were  regarded  with  super- 
stitious awe,  while  others  were  in  estimation  only  as  articles  of  food 
(Num.  xi. — 5).  There  are  but  few  fish  in  the  river  now,  and  the  lotus  and 
papyrus  are  scarce  (Gen.  xix.  6).  In  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs,  the  River  of 
Egypt  presented  a  gay  and  animated  scene.  Boats,  formed  for  the  most  part 
of  reeds,  "  arks  of  bulrushes,"  were  continually  passing  over  its  waters,  some  of 
them  carrying  anglers,  or  groups  of  sportsmen  armed  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  in 
pursuit  of  wild  fowl ;  others  laden  with  merchandise.  About  the  middle  of 
August,  the  river,  after  a  gradual  rise  of  many  weeks,  poured  forth  through  the 

151 


CHAP.  VII,  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


channels  prepared  for  it,  and  covered  the  lowlands  with  broad  sheets  of  water, 
depositing  upon  them  the  rich  alluvial  soil  brought  down  in  its  course  from 
upper  Egypt.  As  soon  as  the  river  has  spread  itself  over  the  lands,  and  re- 
turned to  its  bed,  each  man  scatters  the  seed  over  his  ground,  and  waits 
for  the  harvest.  It  is  not  surprising  that  a  river  which  was  the  source  of  such 
incalculable  benefits  to  the  Egyptians,  should  become  an  object  of  their  religious 
veneration.  By  the  miraculous  change  of  the  waters  into  blood,  a  practical 
rebuke  was  given  to  these  superstitions.  This  sacred  and  beautiful  river,  this 
benefactor  of  their  country,  this  birthplace  of  their  chief  gods,  the  abode  of 
the  lesser  deities,  this  source  of  all  their  prosperity,  this  centre  of  all  their 
devotion  is  turned  into  blood.  The  Nile,  according  to  Pliny,  was  the  only 
source  from  whence  the  Egyptians  obtained  water  for  drinking.  This  water 
was  considered  particularly  sweet  and  refreshing  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  people 
were  in  the  habit  of  provoking  thirst  in  order  that  they  might  partake  more 
freely  of  its  soft  and  pleasant  draught.  Now  it  was  become  abominable  to 
them,  and  they  loathed  to  drink  it.  Apart  from  the  suffering  occasioned  by 
this  plague,  there  was  something  awful  in  the  very  nature  of  the  miracle  :  it 
was  not  merely  a  "  wonder,"  but  a  "  sign."  Prodigies  of  this  kind  were  always 
looked  upon  as  very  fearful,  and  the  Egyptians  were  addicted,  more  than  any 
other  people,  to  observing  omens.  It  would  remind  them  of  their  cruelty  in 
casting  their  infants  into  the  river  (Ex.  i.)  {See  Plagues  of  Egypt  by  Millington). 
Here  we  see  the  method  of  the  Divine  retribution  which  is  to  make  the  things 
to  which  men  obey,  and  from  whence  they  derive  their  enterprise  and  pleasure 
the  channel  and  medium  of  pain.  1.  Sometimes  the  religious  notions  of  men  are 
made  the  medium  of  retributive  pain.  It  was  so  in  the  case  of  this  miracle,  when 
the  river  regarded  with  such  superstitious  reverence  was  turned  into  blood. 
What  a  shock  this  would  give  to  the  devout  sentiments  of  the  Egyptians. 
Their  gods  were  desecrated,  and  were  unable  to  vindicate  their  supremacy. 
The  people  were  shown  that  there  was  a  Supreme  Being  of  whom  they  were 
ignorant,  but  with  whom  they  were  in  conflict.  They  felt  themselves  in 
circumstances  in  which  their  fancied  religion  was  of  no  avail  to  them. 
Truly,  then,  their  religious  ideas  were  made  the  medium  of  severe  pain,  yea 
•of  terrible  retribution  to  them.  And  so  when  men  rebel  against  God,  He 
can  make  their  religious  notions  the  channel  throiigh  which  to  pour  grief  into 
their  hearts.  And  this  occasions  pain  of  the  most  unbearable  character,  as  it 
touches  man  in  the  most  sensitive  part  of  his  soul.  2.  Sometimes  the  com- 
mercial enterprises  of  men  are  made  the  medium  of  retributive  pain.  The 
river  Nile  was  the  chief  strength  of  Egypt's  commerce,  and  when  its 
waters  were  turned  into  blood,  the  enterprise  of  the  nation  would  be  largely 
suspended.  It  never  pays  men  in  a  commercial  point  of  view  to  reject 
the  commands  of  God,  for  they  are  enriched  by  unwilling  slaves,  they  are 
impoverished  by  the  river  unfit  for  use,  and  the  river  will  be  of  greater 
service  than  all  the  slaves  they  can  possess.  But  men  dare  the  Divine  Being, 
and  so  invite  His  retributions,  and  how  often  do  these  retributions  flash 
their  messages  of  grief  along  the  wires  of  a  man's  business  or  trade.  And  he 
who  miglit  have  been  prosperous  if  he  would  have  obeyed  the  behest  of  God,  is 
ruined  by  his  folly.  If  men  will  not  obey  God,  He  will  turn  their  rivers  of 
enterprise  into  blood.  3.  Sometimes  all  the  spheres  oj  a  man's  life  are  made 
the  medium  of  retributive  pain.  It  was  so  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptians,  when 
their  river  was  turned  into  blood  ;  not  merely  was  this  river  affected,  but  their 
religion  was  outraged,  their  commerce  was  suspended,  and  a  hundred  little 
inconveniences  were  the  result.  And  so  it  is  with  human  life  to-day.  If 
man  gets  wrong  with  God,  it  affects  the  entirety  of  his  life.  Moral  questions 
penetrate  into  ever}-  realm  and  department  of  being,  and  affect  the  whole 
of  them,  either  gladly  or  woefully,  all  being  dependant  upon  the  attitude 
152 


MOMILETW  COMMENTARY  :  EKODU a.  OHAP.vn. 


of  the  soul  toward  the  Eternal.  Hence  it  is  wise  for  men  to  obey  the  command 
of  God  if  they  would  be  prosperous.  4.  Thus  we  see  how  easily  and  completely 
God  can  make  human  life  a  retribution  to  the  evil  doer.  God  lias  access  to 
every  avenue  of  life,  and  can  soon  start  a  messenger  of  pain  along  any  of  them. 
His  word  or  touch  can  turn  all  our  rivers  of  enjoyment,  happiness,  prosperity, 
ind  peace  into  blood.  He  can  make  our  chief  delights  unwelcome.  He 
lan  turn  our  glory  into  shame.  One  wicked  ruler  may  bring  a  plague  upon  a 
mst  nation.  Eighteousness  is  the  exaltation  of  national  life.  Let  men  not 
sin  against  God,  for  retribution  will  be  certain.  He  can  make  the  pleasure  of 
men  to  be  bitter  to  the  taste,  undesirable  to  the  eye,  and  offensive  to  the  smell. 
Thus  the  retributions  of  God  are  effective. 

III.  That  the  Divine  retributions  are  extensive  in  their  effect*  and  are  operative 
before  the  impotent  presence  of  the  socially  Great.  "  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did 
so,  as  the  Lord  commanded ;  and  he  lifted  up  the  rod,  and  smote  the  waters  that 
were  in  the  river,  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  sight  of  his  servants  ;  and 
all  the  waters  that  were  in  the  river  were  turned  to  blood."  1.  Thus  the 
Divine  retribution  extended  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  Perhaps  some 
may  imagine  this  somewhat  unfair,  and  a  token  of  injustice  on  the  part  of  God, 
a-nd  that  it  was  making  the  nation  suffer  for  the  disobedience  of  the  king,  in  which 
they  had  taken  no  active  and  immediate  part.  But  the  whole  nation  of  Egypt 
were  a  consenting  party  to  the  slavery  of  the  Israelites,  and  were  to  a  certain 
extent  reaping  tlie  temporal  advantage  of  it.  And  besides  if  they  were  not 
guilty  on  this  score,  they  were  guilty ^of  idolatry,  and  so  were  justly  punished  by 
tlie  change  which  had  come  over  their  idol.  Proud  men  in  a  nation  often 
attract  the  retribution  of  heaven  towards  a  wicked  people,  they  are  the  con- 
necting links  between  heaven's  wrath  and  man's  sin.  They  get  our  national 
rivers  turned  into  blood.  2.  21iis  Divine  retribution,  in  the  act  of  infliction, 
was  witnessed  by  Pharaoh,  and  he  ivas^unable  to  prevent  it.  The  proud 
Monarch  beheld  these  two  men  before  him,  and  saw  his  beautiful  river  as  it 
changed  into  blood.  What  a  spectacle  it  would  appear  to  him.  He  was 
impotent.  He  could  not  prevent  it  by  any  means.  He  could  not  alter  it  by  any 
strategy.  And  so  wicked  men  stand  in  the  very  presence  of  the  ills  which 
occasion  tlieir  retributive  pain,  and  are  unable  to  remove  or  mitigate  them. 
At  such  a  time  the  king  is  one  with  the  pauper  in  his  woe.  Men  axe  never 
more  weak  than  in  the  presence  of  the  Divine  retribution. 

IV.  That  the  Divine  retributions  are  not  always  effectual  to  the  subjug;atioii 
of  the  wicked  heart.  "  And  the  magicians  of  Egypt  did  so  with  their  enchant- 
ments ;  and  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened,  neither  did  he  hearken  unto  them  : 
as  the  Lord  had  said.  And  Pharaoh  turned  and  went  into  his  house,  neither 
did  he  set  his  heart  to  this  also."  1.  Thus  we  see  the  hardihood  of  a  disobedient 
soul.  The  entire  land  of  Egypt  was  stricken  with  one  common  woe,  which  it 
was  in  the  power  of  Pharaoh  by  repentance,  to  have  removed.  He  prefers 
that  it  should  remain  rather  than  that  he  should  yield  to  the  command  of  God. 
He  was  indeed  a  man  of  hardy  soul.  2.  Thus  we  see  the  resistance  of  a  tyrannic 
will.  The  will  of  Pharaoh's  was  as  iron.  It  was  not  influenced  by  a  trifle. 
It  could  resist  the  utmost  moral  energy.  It  was  not  to  be  coerced.  Even  a  national 
woe  could  not  make  it  yield  its  pride.  It  could  repel  the  most  awful  suffering. 
Truly  man  is  capable  of  moral  freedom.  3.  'Thus  we  see  the  effort  of  men  to 
mitigate  the  retribution  of  God.  "  And  all  the  Egyptians  digged  round  about 
the  river  for  water  to  drink."  Vain  is  the  effort  of  men  to  attain  relief  from 
the  retribution  of  God,  they  may  dig  their  holes,  but  they  cannot  long  fill  them 
with  pure  water. 

V.  That  Divine  retributions  sometimes  evoke  presumptive  conduct  on  the 
part  of  the  wicked.     The  Egyptians  endeavoured  to  imitate  the  miracle  wrought 

153 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


by  the  servants  of  God  ;  this  was  the  greatest  presumption  on  their  part ;  it 
would  have  been  more  to  their  credit  if  they  had  removed  the  blood  from  the 
river.  Sometimes  men  grow  desperate.  They  are  hardened  beyond  recovery. 
They  work  the  moral  destruction  of  otliers.  Lessons  :  1.  That  Divine  retri- 
butions are  often  merited  by  men.  2.  That  God  can  soon  turn  our  joy  into  pain. 
3.  I'hat  obedience  is  the  wisdom,  of  man. 


SUGGESTIVE   COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  14.  God  quickly  observes  what 
effect  His  word  and  work  have  upon  the 
hearts  of  men. 

God  shows  the  unbelief  of  men  to 
His  servants. 

Unbelief  renders  the  hearts  of  men 
unwilling  to  duty,  and  hastens  judg- 
ment. 

Man  has  the  ability  to  reject  the 
commands  of  God  : — 1.  Mysterious.  2. 
Responsible.    3.  Influential  to  destiny. 

Moral  obstinacy : — 1.  Known  to  God. 
2.  Unsubdued  by  reason.  3.  Averse 
to  the  purpose  of  God.  4.  Prejudicial 
to  the  true  welfare  of  man. 

Opportunity  in  Christian  Service. 

Verse.  15.  Get  thee  unto  Pharaoh 
in  the  morning ;  lo,  he  goeth  out  unto 
the  water,"  &c. 

I.  That  there  are  favourable  times 
at  which  to  approach  men  with  the 
messages  of  God.  "  Get  thee  unto 
Pharaoh  in  the  morning."  There  are 
times  when  Christian  service  can  be 
more  readily  accomplished,  and  when 
it  is  more  likely  to  be  successful,  when 
opportunity  is  favourable,  and  gives  it 
an  advantage.  Many  ministers  would 
be  much  more  effective  in  their  holy 
work  if  they  would  only  be  more  timely 
in  their  appeals  to  men,  and  if  they 
would  judiciously  seek  the  best  time  in 
which  to  announce  the  message  of  God. 
To  everything  there  is  a  time.  The 
true  worker  for  the  moral  good  of  men 
will  endeavour  to  render  circumstances 
favourable  to  his  toils.  He  will  be  an 
early  riser.  He  will  be  always  on  the 
outlook  for  those  to  whom  His  mission 
is  addressed. 

II.  That  there  are  favourable  places 
in  which  to  approach  men  with  the 
messages  of  God.     "  And  thou  shalt 

154 


stand  by  the  river's  brink."  As  there 
is  a  favourable  time  for  Christian  ser- 
vice, so  there  are  places  where  it  may 
best  be  accomplished.  A  wise  minister 
will  carefully  select  the  place  in  which 
he  declares  to  individuals  the  message 
of  God.  Moses  met  Pharaoh  near  the 
river,  alone,  and  in  case  the  proud 
monarch  should  refuse  obedience  to  the 
will  of  heaven,  he  would  be  able  at  once 
to  turn  the  river  into  blood.  His  posi- 
tion was  favourable  to  the  retribution 
to  be  inflicted.  It  is  well  to  speak  to 
men  alone  about  their  sins. 

III.  That  the  servants  of  God  are 
often  divinely  instructed  as  to  the 
best  opportunity  of  Christian  service 
"  Get  thee  unto  Pharaoh  in  the  morn- 
ing." By  a  deep  conviction,  by  a  holy 
impression,  and  by  keen  moral  vision, 
God  unfolds  to  good  men  the  most 
favourable  opportunity  in  which  to 
declare  His  message  to  the  wicked. 
The  Divine  voice  within  us,  prompting 
to  duty,  should  always  be  carefully 
heeded,  and  the  opportunity  willingly 
embraced. 

Verses  16 — 18.  Hard  hearts  shut 
all  ears  against  the  message  of  God. 

Sinners  offended  with  God's  word  and 
judgment  turn  from  Him  unto  their 
own  ways. 

Unbelief  will  not  allow  a  man  to  heed 
either  miracles,  persuasion,  or  vindi- 
cation. 

The  River  changed  into  Blood. 

Verses  19 — 25.  I.  That  God  can 
change  the  scene  of  life  into  death. 
The  great  river  of  Eg}T3t  was  considered 
as  the  giver  of  life  to  the  people,  its 
waters  were  life-preserving  and  fer- 
tilizing.    Yet  it  was  turned  into  blood 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP    VII. 


by  the  stretching  out  of  a  rod.  The 
fish  died.  God  can  soon  and  easily 
change  all  our  life-inspiring  energies 
and  joys  into  the  current  of  death. 

II.  That  God  can  change  useful  things 
into  useless.  The  river  was  in  manifold 
ways  useful  to  Egypt.  It  was  refresh- 
ing to  the  taste,  and  would  be  used  for 
domestic  purposes.  It  was  also  the 
centre  of  the  nation's  commerce.  By 
the  rod  of  God  the  most  useful  things 
we  possess,  as  nations  and  individuals, 
are  deprived  of  their  utility.  Hence 
all  life  is  dependant  upon  the  Divine 
will 


III.  That  God  can  change  beautiful 
thinjs  into  loathsome.  Tlie  river  (jt 
Egypt,  so  beautiful  to  the  eye,  was 
turned  into  blood.  And  so  the  most 
beautiful  things  of  country,  of  home, 
of  person,  may  by  the  outstretching  oi 
the  Divine  rod  be  rendered  unlovel)' 
and  hateful. 

When  necessity  comes  upon  sinners 
they  would  rather  dig  for  relief  than 
ask  God  for  it. 

The  devil  may  delude  into  difficulty, 
but  cannot  help  men  out  of  it. 

Moses  and  Aaron  may  smite  with  the 
rod,  but  God  effects  it. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  VII. 

BY   THE 

REV.  WM.  ADAMSOK 


Divine  Favour  I  "Ver.  2.  If  we  saved, 
remarks  Faber,  the  life  of  the  queen's  child, 
we  would  not  easily  forget  the  grateful  look  of 
the  royal  mother's  face.  It  would  be  long 
before  her  burning  words  of  thanks  died  away 
in  our  ears — a  sovereign's  tears,  and  those 
tears  of  joy,  are  not  things  to  be  readily  for- 
gotten. But  what  a  very  unimportant  thing 
this  is  compared  with  being  allowed  to  please 
God  by  obedience  to  His  commands.  There 
need  therefore  be  no  reluctance  on  our  part. 
Let  us  not  be  backward  servants.  Well 
may  we  adopt  as  our  own  the  dying  prayer  of 
Usher,  "  0  Lord,  forgive  me  my  sins,  especially 
my  sins  of  omission." — By  such  omission 
we  become  the  losers — we  lose  the  sweet 
approving  smile  of  God. 

I'm  sure  it  makes  a  happy  day, 

When  I  can  please  Him  any  way. — Hewitt. 

Insensibility !  Ver.  3.  "  As  hard  as  a 
stone,"  says  the  adage. — Yet  the  hardest  stones 
submit  to  be  smoothed  and  rounded  under  the 
soft  friction  of  water.  Ask  the  myi-iads  of 
stones  on  the  seashore  what  has  become  of  all 
their  angles,  once  so  sharp,  and  of  the  rougli- 
ness  and  uncouthness  of  their  whole  appearance. 
— "  Water  wrought  with  us,  and  none  re- 
sisted."— The  very  stones  cry  out  against  the 
obstinate  disposition,  which  is  insensible  to  all 
the  appeals  of  heaven. 

You  may  as  well  bid  the  mountain  pines 
To  wag  their  his^h  tops,  and  make  no  noise, 
When  they  are  fretted  by  the  gusts  of  heaven, 
As  seek  to  soften  that  sinner's  heart. 

-  Shakespeare. 

Hardened  Heart !  Ver.  3.  A  scholar 
once  inquired  of  his  teacher  whether  it  was 
not  wicked  to  punish  Pharaoh  and  Judas  for 


what  God  knew  they  would  do.  A  bright 
thought  struck  the  perplexed  teacher  :  "  When 
you  were  born,  your  papa  looked  at  you  and 
loved  you,  but  he  knew  that  bye  and  bye  you 
would  sin,  and  have  to  be  punished  :  he  did 
not  make  you  naughty,  but  he  knew  that  you 
would  be." — God  did  not  make  Pharaoh  sin, 
but  he  had  to  punish  him  for  it.  From  righteous 
retribution  for  obdurate  impenitence  there 
is  no  escape. 

Aye !  when  thou  hast  drained  a  swallow's 
milk,  and 

Seen  rocks  bear  olive  nuts,  the  sand  pome- 
granates yield  : 

A  harder  task  to  try  thy  vaunted  force  re- 
mains— 

To  shield  a  wicked  man  from  retributions 
pains. — Oriental. 

Kemorse!  Ver.  4.  In  the  early  part  of  this 
century  Pomare  reigned  as  king  in  the  islands  of 
Tahiti  and  Eimeo.  Many  of  his  subjects  were 
enraged  at  his  recognition  of  Christ.  Among 
them  was  a  man  called  Upufara,  who  was  re- 
garded as  the  chief  of  the  kings  foes.  He  had 
often  heard  of  the  true  God,  but  would  not 
believe  in  him.  One  night  he  had  a  dream, 
in  which  he  saw  an  immense  oven  with  a  very 
great  fire,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  a  large  fish, 
twisting  itself  in  agony,  and  trying  to  get  out, 
yet  though  in  the  fire,  not  consumed  but  still 
living.  Such  will  be  the  guilty  conscience, — 
the  fires  of  remorse  will  scorch  it  and  make  it 
writhe  in  pang  and  anguish,  without  destroying 
its  sensitiveness.  In  another  life,  and  to  his 
cost,  the  sceptic  will  know  that  God  is  the 
Lord,  as  scorched  within 

The  fury  round  his  torrid  temples  flaps 
Her  fiery  wings,  and  breathes  upon  his  lips 
And  parched  tongue  the  withered  blasts  of  hell. 

—Pollah. 

155 


OHAP.  vn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Visitations!  Ver.  5.  A  man  was  confined 
in  a  cell  witli  seven  windows,  and  the  only  fur- 
niture a  pallet  of  straw.  Each  morning  he 
found  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  jug  of  water  by 
his  side.  He  was  relieved  from  the  fear  of 
starvation  ;  but  when  liis  eyes  sought  the  win- 
dows, he  counted  one  less.  The  fearful  truth 
fl;vshed  upon  him  that  the  floor  and  wall  of  his 
cell  were  being  pressed  together  slowly  and 
surely,  and  that  he  would  be  crushed  to  death. 
The  sinner  like  Pharaoh  is  inclosed  in  the 
earth-cell  of  impenitency,  and  the  hour  ap- 
proaches when  his  last  hope  will  be  cioished  and 
mangled  in  the  ever-narrowing  entombment. 
He  wiU  then  learn  how  real  is  the  moral 
government  of  God — only  too  late  to  repent — 

As  when  a  fire  has  raged,  the  smokes  that  rise 
In  useless  lamentations  drape  the  skies. — Alger. 

Obedient  Service!  Ver.  6.  In  evil  times 
it  fares  best  with  them  that  are  most  careful 
about  duty,  least  concerned  about  safety. 
Many  a  general,  whilst  discharging  his  duty 
in  the  battle,  has  borne  a  charmed  life.  Moses 
was  preserved  whilst  pursuing  the  path  of 
Providence.  The  author  of  "  From  Dawn  to 
Dark  in  Italy,"  contrasts  the  constant  harassing 
perils  of  Montalto,  a  timid,  compromising 
Lutheran,  with  the  freedom  from  persecution 
of  Old  Clarice,  a  fruitseller  at  Naples.  The 
one  was  continually  in  tumult  and  danger — 
the  other  kept  on  the  even  course  of  her 
Christian  profession  in  the  very  jaws  of  the 
lion  for  thirty  years.  Many  a  hunted  Pro- 
testant found  shelter  in  her  house  excavated 
from  the  precipitous  rock.  Many  a  wave  of 
bitter  papal  persecution  swept  over  Naples, 
but  old  Clarice,  who  never  sheltered  herself 
beneath  any  compliances,  seemed  to  prosper  in 
her  very  fearlessness.  The  bold  policy  is  not 
always  the  worst,  and  Moses  was  no  loser  by 
the  unflinching  courage  with  which  he  con- 
fronted Pharaoh  in  obedience  to  the  Divine 
command.  Luther  lived,  whilst  some  who 
temporized  were  lost.  And  of  John  Knox 
who  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  it  was  said, "  Here 
lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man." 

So  we  would  bravely  live  for  Thee, 
And  Thy  bold  and  faithful  servants.  Saviour, 
we  would  henceforth  be. — Huvcf/al. 

Serpents !  Ver.  9.  Among  the  Egyptians 
and  also  the  Phoenicians,  the  serpent  was  an 
emblem  of  Divine  wisdom  and  power,  and  aa 
such  it  was  reverenced.  The  asp  was  sacred 
to  Neph,  and  is  often  represented  upon  the 
head  of  that  deity.  The  asp  is  represented  in 
the  tombs  of  Thebes  guarding  the  winepresses 
and  granaries  of  Egyi)t.  Herodotus  speaks  of 
a  species  of  .snake  in  the  same  neighbourhood 
with  two  horns  upon  its  head,  and  says,  when 
it  dies  it  is  buried  in  tlie  temple  of  Jupiter,  to 
whom  it  is  said  to  belong.  The  transforma- 
tion of  Aaron's  rod  into  a  serpent,  and  the 
Bwallowing  up  of  all  the  other  serpents  by 
it  was  therefore  calculated  to  impress  the 
Egyptians  with  the  greatness  and  supremacy 

156 


of  the  God  of  Israel.  But  Pharaoh  did  not 
concern  himself  about  the  Ivod  of  Moses,  and 
it  was  enough  for  him  that  his  sorcerers  had 
been  able  to  imitate  the  miracle. 

"  To  steal  the  livery  of  the  court  of  heaven 
To  serve  the  devil  in." — FoLlok. 

Truth- Light!     Ver.  9.     When  Alexander 

the  Great  visited  Diogenes  the  cynic,  he  asked 
whether  there  was  any  favour  or  gift,  which 
the  Grecian  philosopher  would  wish  to  receive 
at  his  hands.  To  this,  the  philosopher  curtly 
responded  that  he  wished  for  nothing,  but  that 
the  monarch  should  stand  from  between  him 
and  the  sun.  A  very  similar  answer  might 
with  more  justice  and  propriety  be  given  by 
devout  Christians  to  the  sceptic — placing  him- 
self between  the  Bible  and  man,  and  seeking  to 
hide  the  truth  behind  error  :  "  Let  me  see  the 
Sun  of  Pevelation,  for  his  beams  alone  have 
given  light  and  life  and  warmth.  The  cre- 
dentials of  the  Divinity  of  the  Bible  are  as 
fuU  of  moral  and  spiritual  light  and  life  and 
warmth  as 

"  Yon  dazzling  sun,  at  noontide  hour. 
Forth  from  his  flaming  vase. 
Flinging  o'er  earth  the  golden  shower, 
Till  vale  and  mountain  blaze." — 

Moses  and  Aaron !  Ver.  10.  The  history 
of  Moses  and  Aaron,  appearing  thus  together 
at  the  Covirt  of  Pharaoh,  may  have  given  rise 
to  the  traditions  of  the  Greeks  and  Komans, 
in  which  Jupiter  and  Mercury — both  of  them 
Egyptian  deities  worshipped  as  Hammon  and 
Thoth — are  described  visiting  the  earth  in  a 
similar  relationship.  The  latter  was  repre- 
ented  with  the  caduceus,  a  rod  twisted  abouts 
with  serpents,  and  was  the  god  of  speech  or 
eloquence 

"  That  with    the  strong  rein  of  commanding 

words, 
Doth  manage,  guide,  and  master  th'eminence 
Of    men's    affections,    more   than    all    their 

swords." 

— Dantd. 

Bible!  Ver.  10.  Suppose  that  you  have 
been  sick  for  years  and  yeara,  and  all  medical 
treatment  had  failed  in  your  case,  and  some 
skilful  one  should  come  along  and  examine  the 
symptoms  of  your  disease,  and  write  a  pre- 
scription, saying :  "  I  am  going  into  a  far 
country,  and  you  will  never  see  me  again. 
But  do  not  lose  this  prescription  ;  for  if  j  on 
take  the  medicine  which  it  prescribes  all  will 
be  well."  Would  you  not  preserve  the  docu- 
ment ?  Would  you  not  be  careful  to  have  it 
made  up  in  the  right  shape,  and  to  take  it  as 
ordered  ?  But  suppose  you  had  misgivings  ; 
and  at  the  time  of  receiving  the  prescription 
inquired  as  to  the  physician's  credentials.  He 
would  take  you  to  one  patient  after  another — 
all  of  whom  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  good 
health — and  all  of  whom  acknowledged  their 
indebtedness  to  the  prescription  and  its  pre* 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OBAP.  vn. 


Bcriber.  When  we  question  the  eflBciency  of 
God's  remedy  for  sin,  He  takes  us  to  the  crowd 
of  credentials  in  the  Word  of  God.  You  may 
be  justified  in  demanding  the  proofs,  but  not 
in  refusing  to  accept  the  evidence,  which  is 
adequate  to  the  Divine  authority.     Here 

Thy  goodness,  glory,  ■wisdom,  strength 

and  power 
Shine  clear  as  stars  in  frosty  skies. 

PrejudgTnent !  Ver.  11.  A  gentleman 
was  one  day  stoutly  asserting  that  there  were 
no  goldfields  except  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  A 
nugget  dug  up  in  California  was  presented  to 
him  as  evidence  against  his  positive  assertion. 
He  was  not  in  the  least  disconcerted,  but  per- 
sisted that  the  metal  was  not  gold.  "It 
cannot  be  gold,  because  gold  comes  only  from 
Mexico  and  Peru."  He  had  fixed  in  his  mind 
that  gold  existed  only  in  those  countries ;  and 
from  it,  he  would  not  swerve.  So  with  a  cer- 
tain class  of  sceptics.  They  have,  to  borrow 
Newton's  figure,  placed  an  extinguisher  upon 
the  candle  of  their  judgment ;  so  that  when 
the  light  of  convincing  evidence  is  placed 
before  them,  all  is  in  vain.  They  are  not 
honest  doubters,  like  Lord  Lyttleton,  the  his- 
torian, and  his  friend  Gilbert  West.  Agreeing 
to  write  something  in  favourof  infidelity,  they 
determined  to  study  through  the  sacred  records. 
Being  honest  in  their  studies,  these  ended  in 
conviction.  Both  took  up  their  pens  and 
became  its  champions.  How  different  the 
malevolent  spirit  of  Strauss — the  mocking  tone 
of  Darwin  and  Spencer.  These  act  the  part 
of  the  owlet  atheism,  who 

"  Sailing  on  obscure  wings  across  the  moon, 
Drops  his  blue-fringed  lids  and  shuts  them 

close, 
And,  hooting  at  the  glorious  sun  in  heaven, 
Cries  out  :  "  Where  is  it  V — Coleridge. 

Adaptability!     Ver.   11.     We  say :    "If 

the  cap  fits,  wear  it.  Hence  admirably  does 
the  Bible  fit  our  case !  It  is  so  framed  as  to 
be  adapted  to  us  entirely.  Thus  when  a 
Dutch  farmer  in  South  Africa  told  a  poor 
Hottentot  that  the  Bible  was  not  meant  for 
such  creatures  as  blacks,  the  simple  minded 
native  replied  that  he  was  sure  that  it  was. 
"  Why  are  you  sure,"  jeeringly  inquired  the 
selfish  white  man  ?  "  Because  it  fits  me 
exactly."  "  And  how  so  ?"  Opening  his  Bible 
the  humble  soul  placed  his  finger  on  the  de- 
scription of  what  a  sinner  is,  and  exclaimed  : 
"  There  !  sinners !  that's  my  name."  A  similar 
illustration  of  the  perfect  adaptation  of  the 
Bible  to  all  cases  is  furnished  of  a  missionary, 
who  records  that,  after  reading  the  first  chapter 
of  Romans  to  a  heathen  congrei^ation,  they 
gathered  round  him  saying  that  he  himself 
had  written  that  part  for  them.  And  from 
Dr.  Dean  of  China  we  learn  that,  after  con- 
versing with  a  very  intelligent  Chinaman  upon 
onr  Bible  as  being  of  great  antiquity,  he  gave 
tiis  listener  a  copy  to  take  away  for  perusal. 
But  not  long  after  the  inquirer  returned,  and 
with  a  look  of   triumph   and  accusation  ex- 


claimed, "You  told  me  that  your  book  was 
very  ancient,  but  that  chapter  (pointing  to 
Rom.  I.)  you  have  written  with  yoiur  own 
hand  since  you  lived  among  us  Chinese." 
Thus  conscience  does  her  work 

"  And  to  the  mind  holds  up  reflection's  glass — 
The  mind,  which  starting,  heaves  the  heart- 
felt groan. 
And  hates  that  form  she  knows  to  be  her 
own.' ' —  Churchill. 

Magricians  I  Ver.  11.  Pliny  the  historian 
speaks  of  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  and  numbers 
Moses  among  them.  In  one  of  Lucian's  stories 
he  introduces  a  man  of  Memphis — a  person  of 
amazing  wisdom — and  a  real  adept  in  all  the 
learning  of  the  Egyptians.  It  was  reputed 
that  he  had  lived  no  less  than  three  and  twenty 
years  in  a  cave  underground,  and  during  that 
time  was  instructed  by  Isis  herself  in  magic. 
There  were  jugglers  in  those  days,  as  there  are 
now.  It  is  a  common  trick  with  them  to 
produce  living  serpents  from  the  cornices,  or 
other  parts  of  the  rooms,  which  by  handling 
they  cause  to  become  stiff  and  lifeless — restor- 
ing them  again  to  animation  at  their  pleasure. 
Witchcraft  and  sorcery  were,  however,  possible 
crimes,  and  prevailed  among  the  Gentiles,  so 
that  it  is  possible  that  these  wizards  looked 
upon  Moses  as  an  adept  in  the  black  art  greater 
and  more  skilful  than  themselves  : — 

"  You  have  by  Fortvme  and  your  own  skill's 

favours, 
Gone  slightly  o'er  low  steps,  and  now  are 

mounted. 
Where  powers   are  your  retainers    more 

than  us." — Shakspeare. 

Imitation !  Ver.  11.  Folly  is  as  living  as 
wisdom,  and  the  human  mind  produces  its  fan- 
tasies from  age  to  age  as  naturally  and  rifely  as 
the  earth  produces  its  thistles.  So  that  we  find 
omrselves  often  perplexed  with  fragments  of 
exploded  notions,  which  keep  buzzing  in  our 
ears  like  the  sounds  of  insects  on  a  summer's 
evening,  and  it  is  hard  to  get  rid  of  them. 
Yet  just  as  Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  the  rods 
of  the  Egptian  magicians,  so  does  wisdom  in 
the  end  devour  the  multiform  and  multiplied 
developments  of  folly,  as  imitations  of  Divine 
truth.     Lo  i  they  are  no  more  : 

They  pass  away,  like  wax  in  the  fierce  flame, 
Or  to  the  thick  mists  that  frown  upon  the  sun, 
Which  he  but  glances  at,  and  they  are  gone. — 

Borov. 

Human  Theories  1  Ver.  12.  The  wizards 
of  Pharaoh's  court  produced  what  to  all  ap- 
pearance were  serpents — as  grand  and  graceful 
as  that  of  Moses.  The  speculations  of  Tyndal 
are  in  a  sense  grand  and  graceful — grand  and 
graceful  as  those  cumulous  clouds  that  are 
piled  above  a  mountain  range  in  the  far  West. 
There  is  hardly  anything  in  nature,  art,  or 
imagination,  that  may  not  be  found  among 
them.  They  assume  the  appearance  of  moun- 
tains and  rocks — peaks  and  precipices.  Castles 
and  cities  spring  up  as  if  by  magic  on  th« 

157 


CHAP.  vn. 


nOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


aerial  plain  f3 — torrents  and  waterfalls  pour 
down  their  sublime  heights — far  perspectives 
of  unknown  shores  open  up  through  vistas 
within  the  withdrawing  jiortals.  The  Genesis 
and  apocalypse  of  scepticism  resemble — and  at 
first  sight  appear  to  be  as  real  as  the  Genesis 
and  Apocalypse  of  Revelation.  Even  the  very 
bodies  seems  to  have  the  same  brilliant  and 
varied  hues  and  stripes.  Thus  man's  genius 
has  endeavoured  to  rival  God's  power  ;  but  in 
vain.  The  magnificent  spectacle  melts  before 
the  mighty  influence  of  the  sun.  The  gorgeous 
day-dreams  of  the  students  of  scepticism  vanish 
like  the  rods  of  the  soothsayers  before  that  of 
Aaron.  Of  that  apparently  solid  mass  of  gor- 
geous splendour  not  a  vestige  remains  ;  and 
the  Word  of  God  stands  alone  as  the  rod  of 
Moses  stood. 

"  It  standeth,  and  will  stand, 

Without  e'er  change  or  age, 
The  Word  of  Majesty  and  Light, 

The  Church's  heritage." — Bonar. 

Biblical  Evidences !  Ver.  12.  On  board 
the  ship  which  carried  the  great  Napoleon  to  his 
campaign  in  Egypt  there  were  French  savants, 
who  had  convinced  themselves,  and  thought 
they  could  convince  others  that  there  is  no  God. 
The  great  commander  found  them  discoursing 
boastfully  on  their  favourite  theme,  and, 
calling  them  upon  deck,  while  the  heavens 
above  were  bright  vdth  innumerable  stars,  he 
said  to  them  :  "  Tell  me  who  made  these  ?" 
Napoleon  was  no  pliilosopher,  and  it  may  be 
said,  no  metaphysician,  no  theologian.  But  he 
was  a  man  of  great  common  sense.  He  knew 
well  enough  that  none  of  the  boasters,  whom 
he  was  so  effectually  rebuking,  could  place 
those  stars  in  the  firmament.  They  might 
send  up  rockets  to  imitate  the  stars,  but  the 
mimic  pageant  would  fade,  leaving  the  stars 
still  to  shine.  Just  so  with  the  firmament  of 
the  Bible.  It  is  crowded  with  the  stars  of 
truth — miracles — credentials  of  Divine  crea- 
tion. Atheists  may  send  up  rockets  and 
Roman  candles,  as  if  to  rival  and  outshine 
them,  but  in  vain.  All  human  miraculous 
imitations  explode  and  .disappear  ;  while  the 
stars  of  Truth  abide.     O  ever  stedfast  stars  1 

"  Unchanging  in  their  light, 
Unfaltering  in  their  race, 
Unswerving  in  their  round."— 

Calls !  Ver.  1 3.  Did  you  ever  try  to  awaken 
a  sleeper?  At  first  perhaps  you  spoke  softly — 
then  as  you  failed  to  arouse  him,  you  called 
louder — and  when  calling  was  all  in  vain,  you 
seized  and  shook  the  sleejier  to  attain  your 
object.  God  calls  many  times  to  men.  At 
first  His  Voice  is  gentle,  but  when  they  refuse 
to  listen  His  appeals  becomes  more  startling 
painful.  Pharaoh  had  thus  been  urged  by 
Jehovah  softly  and  gently  ;  now  He  is  speak- 
in  louder  and  more  urgent  t<ines.  So  that  the 
ruin,  which  adviinced  upon  him  with  successive 
strokes,  and  which  fin.ally  destroyed  him,  was 
nothing  more  than  he  had  meiited  a  thousand 

158 


times  over  before  God  hardened  him,  and  he 
himself  became 

"  The  man  whom  Fortune  and  the  Fates 
betray. 
Predestined  to  precipitate  decay." — 

Theogni$. 

Precursors!  Ver.  14.  Away  amid  the 
lovely  tropical  forests  at  the  foot  of  the 
Andes  lives  a  cinnamon  brown  bird,  with 
head  and  neck  of  dark  olive.  No  feathered 
songster  gives  forth  more  sweet  and  harmonious 
strains,  yet  those  delicious  notes  forebode  a 
coming  storm.  When  the  traveller,  who  has 
amid  the  excitementof  the  scene  forgotten  all 
about  time,,  is  suddenly  aroused  to  reflection  by 
the  bird-music  of  the  Orr/anista,  he  at  once 
looks  up  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  sky  between 
the  trees.  He  sees  there  signs  of  the  coming 
storm — hurries  on  !  Soon  it  bursts — the  wind 
roars — the  mighty  trees  rock  to  and  fro,  as  if 
they  were  but  reeds — the  thunder  rattles  in 
deafening  peals,  and  the  lightning  flashes 
vividly  in  every  direction.  Hark  !  what  a 
tremendous  crash  !  There  goes  a  tall  tree — 
one  of  the  giants  of  the  forest — riven  from 
crown  to  roots.  These  merciful  miracles 
wrought  by  Moses  and  Aaron  were  so  many 
liquid- voices  monishing  Pharaoh  to  hasten  on 
to  repentence,  before  the  retributive  tempest 
burst  overhead.  Their  warblings  ought  to  have 
induced  the  heedless  monarch  to  look  up  to 
the  sky  of  Justice,  and  mark  the  dark  clouds 
gathering. 

"  And  what  if  all  of  animated  nature 
Be  but  organic  harps  diversely  framed, 
That  tremble  into  thought. — Coleridge. 

Omniscience !     Ver.   14.     When  Pharaoh 

turned  away  into  his  palace,  Moses  could  guess 
from  the  frown  upon  his  brow  that  the  monarch's 
heart  was  set  against  the  request ;  but  he  could 
not  see  it.  God  alone  could  gaze  upon  the  dark- 
est, innermost  recesses  of  that  despot's  stubborn 
will.  Had  Pharaoh  forgotten  what  even  his 
idol-faith  taught  him,  that  the  gods  know  what 
is  in  the  heart  ?  God's  eye,  as  a  flame  of  fire, 
lights  up  a  clear  and  searching  day  in  his  soul, 
and  around  his  steps  ;  and  shows  in  sunbeams 
the  iniquities  he  devises,  utters,  perpetrates. 
He  unfolds  the  whole  state  of  the  despot's 
mind  to  Moses,  and  enjoins  on  him  the  further 
execution  of  judgments.     Moses  obeys  I 

"  The  mystic  mazes  of  Thy  will, 
The  sliadows  of  celestial  light. 
Are  past  the  power  of  hinnan  skill — • 
But  what  the  Eternal  acts  is  right." 

Retributive  Justice!  Ver.  15.  As  that 
storm  roars  the  loudest  which  has  been  the 
longest  gathering,  so  God's  reckoning  day  with 
rebellious  sinnei-s,  by  being  long,  coming,  wUl 
be  the  more  terrible  when  it  comes  Upon  the 
beach,  the  pilot  often  pauses — with  glance  turned 
upward  to  that  vast  expanse,  which  is  slowly 
darkening  into  gloom  intense — because  well  he 
knows  the  ominous  si^rn  of  the  terrible  tornado 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


soon  to  burst.  So  Moses  often  paused — fully 
conscious  that  the  steadily  gathering  storm  of 
f  etributive  justice  would  soon  melt  down  the 
verge  of  heaven.  But  Pharaoh  saw  not  the 
approaching  tempest  of  successive  jiidgments. 

"  On  earth  'twas  yet  all  calm  around, 
A  pulseless  silence — dread — profound, 
More  awful  than  the  tempest's  sound." — 

Moore. 

Obduracy!  Vers.  16  and  23.  Sinners  of- 
fended with  God's  Word  and  its  requirementa 
betake  themselves  to  their  follies.  The  Indians 
of  South  America  told  the  missionaries  who 
went  among  them  proclaiming  the  truths  of 
the  Christian  Religion :  "  You  say  that  the 
God  of  the  Christians  knows  everything,  that 
nothing  is  hidden  from  Him,  that  He  is  of 
almighty  power,  and  can  see  all  that  is  done  ; 
but  we  do  not  desire  a  God  so  mighty  and 
sharpsighted ;  we  choose  to  be  our  own  masters, 
to  live  with  freedom  in  our  woods,  without 
having  a  perpetual  observer  of  our  actions 
over  our  heads."  Men  may  disown  the  Divine 
Being,  but  they  cannot  destroy  His  attributes. 
He  still  rules  over  them,  and  still  marks  out 
all  their  ways.  This  was  what  Jehovah  was 
teaching  the  proud  and  obdurate  oppressor  in 
his  Egyptian  palace,  but  in  vain. 

"  Yon  massive  mountain-peak 
The  lightning  rends  at  wiU  ; 
The  rock  can  melt  or  break — 
I  am  unbroken  still." — Bonar. 

Nile-God !  Ver.  1 7.  This  river  was  one  of 
the  principal  Egyptian  deities,  and  was  wor- 
shipped under  the  name  of  "  Hapi  Mou." 
There  waa  a  temple  to  this  deity ;  who  is 
generally  represented  as  a  fat  man,  of  blue 
colour,  with  water-plants  growing  on  his  head. 
A  festival  was  held  at  the  commencement  of 
the  rise  of  the  Nile  in  the  middle  of  June.  It 
was  probably  on  this  occasion,  when  a  solemn 
sacrifice  was  to  be  offered  by  the  Egyptian 
priests  that  Moses  stood  by  the  brink  ;  and  as 
he  smote  the  sacred  waters  with  his  mighty 
rod,  so  did  Jehovah  smite 

"  The  prince  of  darkness,  couch'd 
In  symbol  of  the  great  leviathan. 
The  dragon  of  the  river-floods  of  Nile." — 
Bichersteth 

Judgments  Ver.  18.  The  Eg3T)tians  sub- 
sisted, says  Cook,  to  a  great  extent  on  the  fish 
of  the  Nile,  though  saltwater  fish  was  regarded 
as  impure.  A  mortality  among  fish  was  a 
plague  much  dreaded.  In  a  hymn  to  the  Nile, 
written  by  the  scribe  Enmer,  it  is  said  that 
the  wrath  of  Hapi,  the  Nile-god,  is  a  calamity 
for  the  fishes.  By  Moses'  avenging  rod,  this 
food  supply  is  cut  off.     And  how  often  does 


Jehovah  turn  the  very  necessaries  of  life  into 
putridity  and  death — that  the  sense  of  our 
want  may  humble  us  under  the  sense  of  our 
forgetfulness  of  Him  from  whom  aU  goodness 
flows.  When,  therefore,  we  are  the  subjects  of 
His  correcting  providence,  we  must  acknow- 
ledge the  necessity  and  wisdom. 

"  If  in  this  bosom  aught  but  Thee, 

Encroaching,  sought  a  boundless  sway. 
Omniscience  could  the  danger  see. 
And  mercy  took  the  cause  away." 

— Chatterton. 

Divine  Transformings  I  Vers.  19 — 21.  A 
man  idolizes  his  wife.  He  is  proud  of  her 
beauty ;  and  when  at  the  ball  she  is  the  ad- 
miration of  both  sexes,  his  heart  overflows 
with  self-gratulation.  As  she  stood  in  the 
centre  of  the  floor,  her  beautiful  face  flushed 
with  a  rosy  colour,  her  trlossy  hair  twined  with 
delicate  pearls,  her  tall  figure  enhanced  in  its 
gracefulness  by  the  rich  folds  of  drapery  which 
fell  softly  round  her,  more  than  one  admiring 
voice  complimented  him  upon  the  beauty  of 
his  wiie,  and  pronounced  her  the  loveliest 
woman,  fairest  of  the  fair  in  aU.  that  lovely 
throng.  She  was  his  idol.  A  few  days  after, 
she  lies  upon  her  bed,  with  blotted  and  dis- 
figured features,  loathsome  and  repulsive  as 
the  Syrian  leper,  for  small-pox  has  swept  all 
trace  of  beauty  from  her  face — as  Moses'  rod 
brushed  all  beauty  from  the  clear,  glassy 
countenance  of  Nile.  The  Divine  rod  had 
rendered  unlovely  and  loathsome  his  "goddess" 
— the  only  and  supreme  object  of  his  adoration. 
And  just  as  the  river  was  all  the  more  re- 
pulsive from  its  previous  loveliness,  so 

"Lilies  that  fester  smell  far  worse  than  weeds." 

Shakespeare. 

Vain  Effort!  Ver.  24.  As  you  stood,  re- 
marks Guthrie,  some  stormy  day  upon  a  sea 
cliff,  and  marked  the  giant  billow  rise  from  the 
deep  to  rush  on  with  foaming  crest,  and  throw 
itself  thundering  on  the  trembling  shore,  did 
you  ever  fancy  that  you  could  stay  its  course, 
and  hurl  it  back  to  the  depths  of  ocean  ?  Did 
you  ever  stand  beneath  the  leaden,  louring 
cloud,  and  mark  the  lightning's  leap,  as  it  shot 
and  flashed,  dazzling  athwart  the  gloom  ;  and 
think  that  you  could  grasp  the  bolt,  and  change 
its  path  ?  Still  more  foolish  and  vain  hia 
thought,  who  fancies  that  he  can  arrest  or  turn 
aside  the  purpose  of  God.  Pharaoh's  folly  was 
the  essence  of  madness.  He  thought  to  coun- 
teract the  retributive  agency  of  God — heedless 
of  the  truth  taught  by  hia  own  Egyptian  creed 
that 

"  No  wrath  of  men  or  rage  of  seas 
Can  shake  Jehovah's  purposes." — Merrick, 


159 


CHAP.  vm.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Criticai.  Notes. — 2.  Frogs]  Heb.  D'Vl"^i3^  "marsh-leapers"  (Cresenias)  :  "marsh- 
croakers"  (Ewald,  Fiii-st,  Davies).  9.  Glory  over  uie]  Or,  "  Explain  thyself."  So  Gesenius 
and  Flirst :  similarly,  Sept.  and  Vulg.  14.  Upon  Heaps]  Lit.  "heaps,  heaps," — with  beautiful 
simplicity  and  expressiveness.  15.  Eespite]  Lit.  "breatliing"="breathing  time."  16.  Lice] 
"Gnats"— Ges.  Fu.  Dav.  24.  Swarms]  Heb.  ^"^Vli  "^  species  of  fly,  the  gad-fly"  (Ges.) 
"a  scorpion -like  and  stinging"  animal,  "a  beetle,  scarabaeus "  (FvL)  ;  "  prob.  the  gad-fly, 
so  called  from  its  sucking  the  blood"  (Dav.)  26.  Not  meet  ■  •  •  the  abomination  of  the 
Tgyptians]  Those  who  can  consult  the  original  should  mark  the  vigour  thrown  into  it  by  the 
incisive  way  in  which  the  words  here  quoted  are  placed  first  in  their  respective  clauses  :  "  THE 
ABOMINATION  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS  we  shall  sacrifice,"  &c.  He  takes  for  granted  it  vdll  be  so  ; 
and  vigorously  asserting  this,  paves  the  way  for  the  question  that  foUows  : — Lo,  shall  we 
sacrifice]  This  is  scarcely  an  easy  rendering.  The  imperfect  tense  (happily  now  seldom  called 
the  "  future  " — better  still  could  it  be  called,  unambig-uously,  the  incomplete  tense  !)  readily  lenda 
itself  to  the  expression  of  the  subjunctive  and  potential  moods  (Ges.  Gnam.,  §  127,  3,  a,  d  ; 
Ewald,  §  136,  ii.  2  ;  A.  B.  Davidson,  §  46,  4)  :  hence  we  may  more  tersely  bind  together  the 
crowning  question  thus  : — "  Lo  !  can  we  sacrifice  the  abomination  of  the  Egyptians  before  their 
eyes,  and  they  not  stone  us  ?"  27.  Shall  command  us]  "  May  say  unto  us."  See  previous  note, 
on  the  imperfect  tense. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAOR APE.— Vents  1—7. 

The  Plague  of  Frogs  ;  or,  The  Socially  Great  Smitten  with  the  Supremely 

Contemptible. 

The  great  River  of  Egypt  has  now  been  smitten  for  seven  days,  and  has  rolled 
in  one  vast  torrent  of  blood,  indicative  of  the  wrath  of  God  against  an  impious 
king.  But  this  did  not  move  the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  as  probably  a  sufficient 
supply  of  wholesome  water  was  obtained  for  him  by  digging  round  about  the 
river,  and  as  long  as  this  might  be  the  case,  he  cared  not  for  the  affliction  of 
his  nation.  But  God  was  more  merciful  than  the  king,  and  caused  the  river  to 
return  to  its  usual  pure  and  welcome  condition.  But  though  this  judgment 
was  removed,  the  Divine  requirement  was  not  withdrawn,  the  freedom  of  Israel 
was  still  demanded.  And  to  urge  this,  the  messengers  of  God  are  sent  again  to 
the  king  with  the  threat  of  new  penalty  if  he  refuse.  Now  the  plague  of  frogs 
is  sent,  and  the  sacred  river  is  again  the  scene  of  dire  retribution.  Out  of  its 
bed  and  numerous  water-courses,  Moses  called  up  an  overwhelming  swarm  of 
frogs,  and  upon  the  stretching  forth  of  Aaron's  rod  these  creatures  issued  forth 
in  such  numbers  that  the  land  was  full  of  them.  Tliis  was  evidently  a  miracle, 
for  they  came  and  departed  suddenly  at  the  command  of  Moses  and  Aaron, 
and  their  advent  in  such  numbers  could  not  be  accounted  for  on  any  other 
supposition.  It  is  evident  that  Pharaoh  regarded  it  as  such,  for  he  besought  its 
removal  from  the  servant  of  God.  The  Egyptians  considered  it  a  necessary  part 
of  their  religion  to  purify  themselves  by  frequent  washings  in  the  river.  But 
now  these  ablutions  would  be  rendered  impossible.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
frogs  were  in  Egypt  the  objects  of  superstitious  regard  ;  they  were  numbered 
among  the  sacred  animals  of  the  Egyptians.  They  were  often  regarded  as 
omens  of  evil.  This  punishment  v/as  not  a  mere  inconvenience,  it  was  & 
destruction.     (Ps.  Ixxviii.  45.) 

I.  That  the  socially  great  sometimes  provoke  the  judgments  of  God.  1.  TJiat 
the  socially  great  provoke  the  judgments  of  God  by  i-ejecting  His  claims. 
Pharaoh  had  held  Israel  in  dire  bondage  for  a  long  time,  when  God  had  com- 
manded their  freedom.  He  had  refused  to  heed  the  Divine  voice  in  this 
matter     And  all  the  great  potentates  of  the  earth  who  hearken  not  to  the 

160 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


requests  of  heaven,  as  they  are  from  time  to  time  made  known,  are  involving, 
and  will  bring  unweicome  retribution  upon  themselves  and  the  people  they 
govern.  And  not  only  kings,  but  all,  whatever  their  social  rank,  who  slight  the 
claims  of  God,  either  in  reference  to  themselves  or  their  companions,  will  ba 
visited  with  pmiishnient.  2.  That  the  socially  great  provoke  thp  judgments  of  God 
hy  slighting  His  servants.  The  king  of  Egypt  had  slighted  Moses  and  Aaron, 
had  rejected  their  word,  had  derided  their  mission,  had  disobeyed  their  God, 
and  had  doubted  their  unmistakable  credentials.  He  will  not  be  held  guiltless 
for  so  doing.  Men  cannot  illtreat  the  messengers  of  God  and  be  blameless. 
He  will  defend  the  rights,  and  give  emphasis  to  the  message  of  those  who  speak 
in  His  name,  and  by  His  authority.  He  will  not  allow,  even  the  socially  Great 
to  illtreat  his  ministers  ;  they  are  the  representatives  of  heaven's  King,  and 
must  be  received  as  such.  Nations  and  individuals  have  brought  severe  retribu- 
tion upon  themselves  by  their  wicked  persecution  of  the  messengers  of  God. 
3.  That  the  socially  Great  provoke  the  judgments  of  God  by  rejecting  His 
credentials  of  truth  ajid  duty.  Pharaoh  had  not  merely  slighted  the  message 
of  God,  and  the  servants  of  God,  but  had  done  so  after  the  clearest  evidence 
of  Divine  authority  and  duty.  And  all  those  who  neglect  the  inspired  word  and 
its  holy  teaching,  the  providence  of  God  and  its  sacred  indications  of  duty, 
are  likely  to  be  visited  with  dire  retributions. 

II.  That  the  socially  Great  have  no  means  whereby  to  resist  the  judge- 
ments of  God.  Pharaoh  had  no  means  whereby  to  resist  the  inroad  and  march 
of  these  slimy  and  croaking  frogs.  They  came  into  all  his  borders,  into  his 
house,  and  into  his  bedchamber;  his  food  was  not  free  from  their  intrusion. 
He  could  not  protect  himself  from  these  contemptible  creatures.  In  this  service 
his  army  was  useless,  and  strategem  was  without  avail.  Hence  this  judgment 
was  (1)  afflictive,  (2)  loathsome,  (3)  extensive,  (4)  irresistible.  Pharaoh  was  a 
proud  man,  but  now  his  pride  is  humbled.  His  armaments  are  great  and 
numerous,  but  the  armaments  of  God  are  seen  to  be  far  more  numerous,  more 
capable  of  woe,  and  more  readily  at  command.  And  so  there  are  times  when 
God  afflicts  men  with  judgments  that  are  the  result  of  contemptible  agencies, 
and  even  the  greatest  kings  are  thus  visited  and  tormented.  Their  power  is 
defeated  by  frogs ;  not  by  lions.  They  are  the  prey  of  the  worthless  and 
despicable.  They  are  not  stricken  by  an  overwhelming  pestilence  ;  they  are 
troubled  by  some  trivial  malady  which  under  ordinary  circumstances  would 
yield  to  easy  remedy  ;  but  which  now  defies  all  skill.  God  can  soon  humble 
the  sinner,  even  though  it  be  the  proud  monarch  of  Egypt.  These  judgments 
yield  (1)  not  to  social  position,  (2)  not  to  wealth,  (3)  not  to  authority.  (4)  not  to 
force.  If  the  frogs  are  to  depart  from  the  land  of  Pharaoh,  it  must  be  upon 
the  exj)ress  command  of  God ;  until  this  is  uttered  they  must  remain  as  a 
plague. 

III.  That  the  socially  Great  often  involve  others  less  guilty*  in  the  retri- 
butions they  invite.  These  frogs  came  not  merely  upon  Pharaoh,  buV  upon 
his  people  and  nation.  The  socially  Great  are  seldom  alone  in  their  retributions, 
they  have  so  many  dependants,  and  sustain  so  many  relations  to  those  by  whom 
they  are  surrounded,  that  they  generally  involve  a  multitude  in  their  sins  and 
condemnation.  The  frogs  covered  the  land  of  Egypt.  Every  ftome  was 
afflicted  by  them,  and  every  individual  was  annoyed  by  them,  tind  so,  the 
socially  Great  who  are  guilty  of  disobedience  to  the  claims  of  God,  bring  suf- 
fering upon  multitudes. 

IV.  That  the  socially  Great  are  always  surrounded  by  those  who  are  willing 
to  strengthen  them  in  opposition  to  the  Divine  claims.  The  magicians  were 
called   and  by  their  enchantments  brought  up  frogs  upon  the  land  of  Egypt* 

Q  161 


CHAP.  riii. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


It  would  have  been  far  more  to  the  point  if  these  sorcerers  had  done  soraethincj 
to  remove  tlie  fro^s,  but  in  this  they  were  utterly  impotent.  There  are  always 
those  who  are  willintr  to  strengthen  the  wicked  in  their  evil  doings.  Lessons  : — 

1.  That  the  sociaU/i  Great  ought  to  be  in  si/n/pathi/tvith  the  requirements  of  God. 

2.  That  the  socialli/  G?'eat  oiujht  to  knoin  better  than  provoke  the  wrath  of  the 
Great  King.     3.   2  hat  social  position  will  not  avert  the  retributions  of  God. 


SmOESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses  1,  2.  Jehovah  orders  new 
dispatches  unto  his  enemies  upon  their 
obstinacy. 

God  doubles  and  trebles  His  de- 
mands upon  His  enemies  to  persuade 
them. 

God  warns  His  adversaries  against 
refusing  His  message. 

God's  goodness  warns  sinners  before 
He  brings  vengeance  on  them. 

It  is  God's  work  to  smite  with 
frogs  and  plague  sinners  by  His  crea- 
tures. 

Verses  3,  4.  At  God's  word  the 
waters  which  produce  creatures  to 
nourish,  abound  with  creatures  to 
destroy. 

Prodigious  are  the  armies  of  frogs 
when  God  raiseth  them. 

Houses  and  persons  are  easily  over- 
come by  poor  frogs  when  God  com- 
mands them. 

But  it  strikes  one  as  a  strange  thing 
to  speak  of  frogs  going  into  ovens.  As 
our  ovens  are,  of  course,  the  approach 
of  a  frog  would  be  impossible  from  the 
intensity  of  the  heat  with  which  the 


oven  is  charged,  and  its  height  from 
the  ground.  But  an  Egyptian  oven 
was  a  hole  in  the  earth,  in  which  they 
put  wood  for  fire,  over  which  they  put 
an  earthen  pitcher,  and  the  bread  was 
placed  inside  that,  and  baked  by  the 
action  of  the  fire  in  the  hole  beneath. 
It  seems  to  us  a  barbarous  mode, 
but  it  was  the  Egyptian  one.  And 
you  can  conceive  that  when  this 
hole  was  filled  with  frogs,  the  pre- 
paration of  bread  would  thereby 
become  utterly  impracticable.— f -Dr. 
Gumming.) 

Verses  5 — 7.  God's  command  for 
execution  surely  follows  that  of  Hia 
threatening. 

God's  word  of  execution  has  its  ex- 
tent and  bounds. 

God's  executioners  are  ready  and 
obedient. 

Aaron's  arm  stretched  out  with  God's 
word  works  mighty  plagues. 

The  devil  by  his  instruments  may 
find  frogs,  but  can  make  none. 

God  makes  magicians  to  afflict  His 
enemies,  but  not  to  ease  them. 


MAIN   EOMILETICS    OF    THE   PARAGRAPH.— Verses  8—15. 

The  Transient  Repentance  of  a  Wicked  Soul. 

I.  That  moods  of  transient  repentance  are  sometimes  awakened  by  the 
retributive  judgments  of  God.  "And  J*luiraoh  called  for  Moses  and  Aaron, 
and  said,  Intreat  the  Lord,  that  he  may  take  away  tiie  frogs  from  me,  and  from 
my  people."  From  this  speech  of  Pliaraoh  we  should  imagine,  either  that  the 
plague  of  frogs  did  only  afflict  his  own  people,  or  that  he  cared  not  for  its 
removal  from  Israel.  He  is,  however,  now  in  deeply  penitent  mood.  But  it  is  the 
penitence  of  the  hypocrite  and  not  a  godly  sorrow.  It  was  induced  within  his 
iieart  by  the  infliction  of  retribution  rather  than  by  the  gentle  convictions  of 
the  Divine  spirit.  It  was  sehish.  It  desired  not  a  new  life,  but  simply  the 
162 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  viil 


renioval  of  tlie  judgments  that  had  come  upon  the  nation.  Why  did  not 
Pharaoh  manifest  repentance  before  this  ?  Probably  because  this  plague  was 
more  severe  than  any  that  had  preceded  it,  and  there  was  no  escape  from  it  as 
from  the  first,  wiien  the  people  obtained  water  by  digging  near  the  river.  Some 
men  will  never  repent  of  sin  while  they  have  any  mitigation  of  its  woe,  they 
are  only  subdued  by  the  utmost  extremity.  How  many  sinners  act  as  did 
Pharaoh  in  this  incident.  They  are  obstinate  in  their  evil  practices  ;  they 
resist  the  word  of  God,  the  messages  of  God,  and  many  of  the  milder  retribu- 
tions of  God,  and  are  only  touched  into  transient  contrition  of  soul  by  the 
harsher  judgments  of  life.  Many  repent  when  in  sorrow,  and  amidst  the 
solemnities  of  a  sick  room.  In  this  way  they  seek  to  get  rid  of  the  consequences 
of  wrong  doing.  A  repentance  inspired  by  the  dread  of  penalty  is  but  of 
momentary  duration,  and  is  generally  of  but  little  worth.  True  repentance  will 
have  reference  to  God  and  to  the  violated  law,  rather  than  to  self  comfort  and 
immunity  from  pain. 

II.  That  in  moods  of  transient  repentance  men  call  for  the  ministers  of 
God  whom  they  have  previously  despised.  "Then  Pharaoh  called  Moses  and 
Aaron."  As  we  know,  Moses  and  Aaron  had  interviewed  the  proud  monarch 
of  Egypt  several  times  before,  they  had  presented  to  him  most  faithfully  the 
claims  of  God,  and  had  met  with  defiance  and  contempt ;  but  now,  when  the 
soul  of  Pharaoh  is  subdued  by  the  retribution  of  the  hour,  he  sends  for  these 
two  servants  of  God,  and  asks  them  to  pray  for  him.  This  is  an  every  day 
picture.  Men  reject  the  claims  of  God,  they  neglect  his  word,  they  pay  no 
heed  to  his  ministers,  but  in  the  experiences  of  trouble  they  immediately  send 
for  those  whom  they  have  formerly  disregarded.  We  read  that  Moses  and 
Aaron  yielded  to  the  request  of  Pharaoh,  they  went  to  him  and  prayed  for  the 
removal  of  the  plague  by  which  he  was  tormented.  They  were  true  ministers 
of  heaven.  They  might  have  treated  the  call  of  the  monarch  with  contempt, 
they  might  have  left  him  to  the  agony  of  his  own  mind.  They  might  have 
asserted  their  independence.  They  might  have  exhibited  an  unforgiving  dis- 
position. But  no,  they  seek  to  aid  him  in  his  perplexity.  Ministers  must  be 
forbearing  toward  their  people,  and  embrace  any  opportunity  of  leading  them 
to  the  mercy  of  God.  But  the  repentance  that  sends  for  the  minister  under  the 
impulse  of  fear,  will  be  likely  to  dismiss  him  when  the  plague  is  removed.  It 
is  well  to  heed  the  voice  of  the  servant  of  God  before  the  hour  of  retribution. 

III.  That  in  moods  of  transient  repentance  men  make  promises  of 
amendment  they  will  never  perform.  "  And  I  will  let  the  people  go,  that  they 
may  do  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord."  It  is  hard  to  determine  whether  Pharaoh 
was  sincere  when  he  made  this  promise.  He  was  probably  driven  to  despair, 
and  was  prepared  to  make  any  immediate  concession  if  only  the  plague  might 
be  removed.  As  to  the  redeeming  of  any  pledge  he  might  give  under  the 
pressure  of  these  circumstances,  that  was  altogether  an  after  consideration. 
The  word  of  Pharaoh  was  worth  but  little,  and  this  Moses  knew  right  well. 
But  we  must  give  the  worst  of  men  credit  for  any  tokens  of  repentance  they 
may  show,  as  at  this  stage  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  false  from  the  real. 
How  many  men  have  made  the  promise  of  moral  amendment  in  time  of  trial,  on 
beds  of  sickness  ;  they  have  said  that  if  their  lives  were  spared  they  would  yield  to 
the  claims  of  God,  but  the  sequel  has  proved  the  futility  of  their  vow.  We 
should  remember  in  joy  the  vows  made  in  sorrow,  in  health,  those  made  in 
sickness,  and  then  painful  discipline  will  become  happy  and  glorious. 

IV.  That  in  moods  of  transient  repentance  men  will  acknowledge  that 
prayer  to  God  for  mercy  is  their  only  method  of  help.  "  Entreat  the  Lord 
that  he  take  the   frogs  from  me."     Thus  it  would  seem  that  the  proudest 

163 


OHAP.  VIII. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


monarclis  know  the  value  of  humility  and  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  Pharaoh 
does  not  now  send  for  the  magicians.  He  forsakes  all  human  methods  of  escape 
from  his  perplexity,  and  seeks  the  merciful  aid  of  heaven.  In  this  he  was  right. 
He  appears  now  to  be  entering  upon  a  better  manhood.  But  ahis,  the  propliecy 
of  this  penitent  mood  was  never  fulfilled.  Men  of  to-day  may  learn  a  lesson 
from  the  conduct  of  this  heathen  king,  that  prayer  to  God  is  tlie  best  method 
of  escape  from  trouble. 

V.  That  in  moods  of  transient  repentance  men  sometimes  obtain  the 
removal  of  the  judgments  of  God.  "  And  the  Lord  did  according  to  the  word 
of  Moses  ;  and  the  frogs  died  out  ot  the  houses,  out  of  the  villages,  and  out  of 
the  fields."  This  shows  the  inliuence  upon  life  and  circumstances  of  even  a 
transient  repentance.  But  did  not  God  know  that  the  contrition  of  Pharaoh 
was  only  for  the  hour  ?  He  did.  But  the  removal  of  the  plague  was  a  token 
of  mercy  toward  him,  was  a  discipline  of  love  calculated  to  lead  him  to  duty, 
and  which  being  ultimately  despised  enhanced  his  condemnation. 

Lessons  : — 1.  J'hat  trials  are  calculated  to  lead  the  soul  to  repentance. 
2.  That  under  trials  the  repentance  of  men  may  be  transient.  3.  That  the 
mercy  of  God  is  rich  to  the  proudest  sinner.  4.  That  the  servants  of  God  should 
he  helpful  to  penitent  souls.  (1.)  By  fidelity.  (2.)  By  sympathy.  (3.)  By 
vrayer. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  8.  When  the  first  judgment 
has  no  effect,  the  second  may  make 
sinners  yield. 

The  judgments  of  God  make  the 
proudest  potentates  acknowledge  Him. 

In  the  confession  of  the  wicked  God 
only  can  remove  their  judgments. 

Verses  9,  10.  God's  servants  are 
ready  to  help  their  oppressors  in  their 
misery. 

Great  sinners  will  have  their  b<^ast- 
ing  turned  into  reproach. 

God  in  His  providence  may  offer  time 
and  means  of  deliverance  to  his  enemies. 

In  removal  of  plagues  from  the 
wicked  God  makes  His  own  limitations. 

Under  Providence  wicked  men  may 
choose  such  time  of  mercy  that  may 
justify  God  and  condemn  themelves. 

God  condescends  sometimes  to  give 
the  wicked  their  desires,  in  order  that 
they  may  glorify  Him. 

God  enables  ministers  to  assure  souls 
of  the  certainty  of  His  promise. 

Procrastination. 

"  And  he  said  to-morrow."  Pharaoh 
had  sought  Moses  to  come  to  his  aid, 
to  ask  God  to  remove  the  plague  of 
164 


frogs.  Moses,  guided  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  had  promised  that  the  monarch's 
desire  should  be  granted.  "  Glory  over 
me."  You  have  now  forsaken  the  ma- 
gicians, command  me,  I  only  wish  your 
good.  Thus  in  effect  did  Moses  ad- 
dress the  king.  But  Pharaoh  delayed 
the  removal  of  the  plague  until  the 
morrow.  In  this  incident  we  see  the 
reluctance  that  there  is  on  the  part  of 
men  to  yield  to  the  claims  of  God,  and 
to  bid  adieu  to  their  sins.  Why  did 
Pharaoh  delay  ?  The  king  hoped  that 
by  the  morrow  the  plague  might  dis- 
appear by  natural  means.  He  had  a 
latent  feeling  that  after  all  this  miracle 
of  frogs  was  a  natural  phenomenon, 
and  might  be  removed  by  a  favourable 
wind. 

I.  By  delay  the  sinner  prolong^s  his 
moral  suffering.  The  king  of  Egypt 
might  have  had  the  frogs  removed 
from  himself  and  people  at  once  ;  "but 
on  account  of  his  delay  they  remained 
to  torment  him  longer.  God's  mercy 
offers  the  wicked  immediate  relief  from 
sin  and  its  painful  consequences  ;  but 
they  i)refer  to  retain  their  woe  rather 
than  to  accept  immediate  release  upon 
the  moral  conditions  imposed. 


EOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  vm. 


II.  By  delay  the  sinner  abuses  Divine 
mercy.  Pharaoh  had  no  claim  to  the 
mercy  of  God.  Yet  it  was  shewn  him. 
Had  he  at  once  embraced  it,  he  would 
have  proved  himself  more  worthy  of  it. 
He  continued  in  self-sufficiency.  Men 
who  neglect  the  mercy  of  God  for  a 
single  day  abuse  it,  and  deserve  it  to 
be  withdrawn  from  them. 

III.  By  delay  the  sinner  can  obtain 
no  other  method  of  help.  Pharaoh 
might  delay  the  removal  of  the  plague 
in  the  hope  that  it  would  pass  away 
without  the  Divine  intervention  ;  but 
in  vain.  Only  the  word  of  God  could 
remove  it.  Men  may  anticipate  salva- 
tion in  some  other  way  than  through 
Christ ;  but  they  are  deluded  by  a 
talse  hope.  Christ  only  can  pardon 
their  sins. 

IV.  By  delay  the  sinner  may  be  eter- 
nally lost.  Delay  is  dangerous.  To 
neglect  salvation  for  a  day  may  be  fatal 
to  the  eternal  welftire  of  the  soul.  We 
are  asked  when  we  would  like  to  be  rid 


of  our  moral  plagues.  Let  us  respond 
promptly  to  the  question  of  God's  ser- 
vants. Lessons:  \.  Delay  is  unneces- 
sary. 2.  Delay  is  common.  3.  Delay 
is  criminal.     4.  Delay  is  fatal. 


Verses  11 — 15.  Deliverance  for  ex- 
tent and  limitation  must  be  according 
to  the  promise  of  God. 

Listruments  seeking  God  for  the 
wicked  had  need  to  depart  from  them. 

Prayer  may  be  made  for  those  who 
are  wickedly  laent  against  the  Church. 

Good  men  do  faithfully  entreat  for 
sinners  that  their  judgments  may  be 
removed. 

God  hears  the  prayer  of  His  servants 
for  the  good  ot  men. 

The  death  as  well  as  life  of  judgments 
are  at  God's  disposal. 

Heaps  of  memorials  may  be  left  to 
sinners  after  plagues  are  removed. 

Respite  from  judgment. — 1.  Marked 
by  memorials.  2.  Allowed  to  the  worst 
of  men.  3.  Abused  by  sinners.  4. 
Hardening  of  heart. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  16—19. 

The  Plaque  of  Lice,  or,  an  Enforced  Recognition  of  a  Supreme  Power 
IN  THE  Dire  Retributions  of  Human  Life. 

The  third  plague  was  now  sent  upon  the  land  without  any  warning.  The 
two  previous  plagues  arose  from  the  river,  this  arises  from  the  dust  of  the 
earth  which  was  quickened  into  life,  by  a  miraculous  power.  Here  was  another 
blow  aimed  at  the  false  deities  of  Egypt.  The  priests  were  very  particular  not 
to  harbour  vermin,  and  considered  it  a  profanation  of  their  temples  if  any 
animalcule  were  carried  into  them.  This  plague  was  general  (Ps.  cv.  81). 
The  Egyptians  were  accustomed  to  humble  themselves  in  many  of  their  religious 
ceremonies,  and  especially  in  their  acts  of  mourning,  by  throwing  dust  upon 
their  heads.  This  plague  was  a  rebuke  to  their  superstition.  The  magicians 
were  baffled  by  this  retributioa.  The  finger  of  God  was  sufficient  to  cm-b  the 
power  of  Satan. 

I.  That  men  are  slow  to  recognize  the  Supreme  Power  in  the  retributions 
of  human  life.  As  we  read  the  history  of  those  plagues  we  cannot  but  wonder 
that  Pharaoh  and  his  people  should  have  been  so  long  in  recognizing  the  finger 
of  God.  The  first  plague  was  enough  to  subdue  their  haughty  spirit,  and  to 
give  them  to  see  that  they  were  in  conflict  with  the  power  of  the  Most  High. 
They  ought  to  have  recognized  the  hand  of  God  in  these  retributions : — 1.  Because 
of  the  warnings  given  by  the  servants  of  God.  Moses  and  Aaron  had  warned 
the  king  that  if  he  did  not  give  Israel  their  freedom,  he  and  his  nation  would 
be  smitten  with  sore  plagues.     But  these  indications  of  woe  were  neglected  and 

165 


CHAP.  vin.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


despised,  and  in  no  way  rendered  Pharaoh  sensitive  to  the  claims  of  duty. 
And  there  are  multitudes  in  our  own  day  warned  by  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
of  dire  retribution  to  come  upon  them  if  they  give  no  beed  to  the  commands  of 
God,  to  repent  and  believe  in  Christ,  and  even  when  the  sorrows  of  life  come 
upon  them  they  see  not  the  finger  of  God.  There  are  many  warnings  of  retri- 
bution in  this  life  to  those  who  persists  in  doing  evil.  But  men  see  them  not. 
2.  Because  of  the  miraculous  element  in  the  i-etribution  they  were  called  to 
experience.  The  great  River  of  Egypt  was  turned  into  blood.  Their  homes 
were  filled  with  croaking  frogs.  The  dnst  of  their  laud  was  smitten  into  lice. 
True  these  occurrences  were  apparently  brought  about  by  the  effort  of  Moses 
and  Aaron,  but  the  Egyptians  must  have  seen  that  these  two  men  were  but 
the  agents  of  a  higher  Power.  But  even  when  the  events  of  life  are  striking 
and  evidently  the  outcome  of  Divine  intervention,  men  will  not  behold  in 
them  the  finger  of  God.  3.  Because  of  the  suffering  through  ichich  they  were 
called  to  pass.  We  should  have  tiiought  that  the  suffering  through  which  tlie 
Egyptians  were  called  to  pass  would  have  made  them  readily  acknowledge  the 
finger  of  God.  In  the  hour  of  pain  men  generally  turn  their  souls  to  heaven. 
But  in  affliction  men  will  not  always  see  the  retribution  of  God.  Why  are 
men  so  slow  to  recognize  the  hand  of  God  in  the  retributions  of  human  life  ? 
1.  Because  they  have  not  right  views  of  the  character  of  God.  They  may 
have  theoretical  notions  of  the  Divine  character,  correct  and  true,  but  not 
Buch  as  to  influence  moral  conduct.  Men  want  not  merely  to  know  that 
God  is  just  in  His  method  of  government,  but  to  feel  that  He  is.  If  they  were 
deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  Divine  justice  they  would  see  retribution 
written  in  large  letters  upon  many  of  the  circumstances  of  life,  which  now 
they  regard  with  complacency.  2.  Because  they  have  not  a  due  consciousness 
of  sin  and  its  demerit.  Men  know  that  they  have  sinned  against  God  and 
against  the  moral  good  of  the  community,  but  they  contemplate  not  the  great 
injury  they  have  done,  the  offence  of  which  they  are  guilty.  They  have  no 
deep  consciousness  of  personal  sin.  Hence  they  do  not  regard  the  events  of 
life  as  a  rebuke  to  them.  They  link  not  the  pain  of  society  to  their  own 
demerit.  Hence  when  the  retributions  of  heaven  come  upon  them,  they  are 
more  ready  to  acknowledge  their  own  improvidence  or  indiscretion,  the 
unfavourable  working  of  natural  law,  the  fortuitous  combination  of  circum- 
stances, rather  than  the  finger  of  God.  In  this  we  see  the  moral  blindness 
of  the  unregenerate  soul. 

II.  That  wicked  men  are  made  by  continuous  retributions  ultimately  to 
recognize  the  Supreme  Power  against  them.  "  Then  the  magicians  said  unto 
Pharaoh,  this  is  the  finger  of  God."  These  sorcerers  endeavoured  to  imitate  the 
retribution  of  heaven.  In  so  doing  they  were  prompted  and  aided  by  Satan. 
But  the  power  of  Satan  is  limited  by  the  Divine  will.  Heaven  can  show  men 
the  delusions  of  hell.  Hence  the  deluded  are  without  excuse.  Sometimes  the 
servants  of  the  devil  are  made  unconsciously  to  minister  to  the  truth.  The 
sorcerer  may  announce  to  his  dupe  that  the  hand  of  God  is  against  him.  It  may- 
be asked,  how  came  these  magicians  to  make  this  confession  to  Pharaoh  ?  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  they  made  it  upon  a  sudden  im])ulse,  prompted  by  the  Holy 
Si)irit.  And  so  there  will  come  a  time  when  all  the  artifices  which  bind  men, 
and  prevent  them  from  seeing  the  retributive  hand  of  God,  will  be  made  known, 
defeated,  and  brought  to  an  open  shame.  God  sometimes  plagues  men  until 
they  acknowledge  Him.  The  events  of  life  are  charged  with  retributions  which 
cannot  be  hidden  by  the  art  of  the  sorcerer. 

III.  That  when  wicked  men  are  made  to  acknowledge  the  Supreme  Power 
in  the  retributions  of  life  they  may  nevertheless  continue  in  open  opposition 
to  it.    "And  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened."     The  magicians  by  their  recogni- 

166 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :   EXODUS.  chap.  viiL 


tion  of  the  finger  of  God  did  not  wish  to  undo  the  moral  injury  they  had  done 
to  Pharaoh.  They  had  estabUshed  him  in  obstinate  rebelHou  against  God,  and 
they  had  no  wish  that  his  obstinacy  should  cease.  Tlie  agents  of  Satan  do  not 
wish  to  nulHfy  the  evil  iuHuence  of  their  hellish  art.  Unbelief  remains  when 
the  lies  that  wrought  it  are  made  known.  The  magicians  here  refer  this  calamity 
to  a  Providence  of  God  altogether  beyond  their  control.  They  regard  it  as 
the  outcome  of  Divine  power.  They  did  not  intend  by  this  confession  to  give 
glory  to  the  God  of  Moses,  but  simply  to  protect  their  own  honour.  Lessons  : 
1.  That  the  retributions  of  life  are  designed  to  lead  men  to  the  performance  of 
moral  duty.  2.  That  there  are  many  dec«-ptions  calculated  to  blind  men  to  the 
hand  of  God  in  the  events  of  life.  3.  That  wicked  men  are  not  able  to  contend 
with  God.  and  are  at  times  brought  to  acknowledge  His  supremacy.  Many 
commentators  think  that  the  magicians  referred  to  the  gods  of  Egypt  when  they 
made  mention  of  the  "  finger  of  God."  But  we  cannot  accept  this  interpreta- 
tion, as  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  defeated  by  this  retribution  ;  and,  moreover, 
Pharaoh  had  previously  identified  Moses  with  the  God  of  Israel  in  asking  him  to 
seek  the  removal  of  the  plagues. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  16 — 19.     At  God's  word  dust  The  devil  will  try  his  utmost  to  coun- 

shall   become   lice  to   torment  proud  terwork  God. 

sinners.  The  devil  is  impotent  upon  the  least 

God's  servants  are  obedient  in  exe-  check  from  God. 

cuting  His  commands  for  vengeance.  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  the 

All  creatures  are  at  God's  command  creatures  here  named  is  the  mosquito 

to  plague  His  enemies."  gnat.     In   the   Greek   Septuagint  the 

The  poorest  creatures  armed  by  God  word  is  o-Kvt^€9,  which  denotes  gnats. 

hath  power   enough   against  greatest  And  in  a  warm  climate  we  can  imagine 

kings.  what  a  terrible  infliction  this  would  be. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  20—24. 

The    Plague    of    Flies  ;    or,    an    Exceptional    Method    of   the   Divine 
Administration  in  the  Affairs  of  this  Life. 

It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  ascertain  in  what  this  plague  consisted.  The  Hebrew 
word  is  very  indefinite  ;  but  the  Septuagint  gives  it  as  the  KwofMvia,  or  dog-fly. 
This  insect  is,  in  some  seasons,  a  far  worse  plague  in  Egypt  than  even  the 
mosquito.  Its  bite  is  sharp  and  painful,  causing  severe  inflammation.  Some 
consider  that  the  beetle  is  the  insect  signified  ;  in  which  case  the  plague  could 
hardly  fail  to  be  a  rebuke  of  the  reverence  paid  by  the  Egyptians  to  that  creature. 
To  make  this  retribution  more  apparent  to  Egypt,  in  the  land  of  Goshen  there 
were  no  flies.  In  this  we  have  an  exceptional  metliod  of  the  Divine  administra 
tion  in  the  aff'airs  of  this  world,  in  that  protection  from  injury  was  given  to  good 
moral  characters. 

I.  It  is  a  general  rule  of  the  Divine  administration  that  the  good  and  bad 
shall  alike  participate  in  the  painful  dispensations  of  this  probationary  life. 
If  we  look  out  upon  the  world  we  find  that  the  good  and  the  bad  suff"er  alike, 
that  both  are  liable  to  the  discipline  of  pain.  In  this  life  nothing  is  more 
evident  than  that  one  event  hai)penetii  to  all,  and  that  moral  character  is  not 
exempt  from  ills  often  retributive  in  design.     1.  2 he  good  and  bad  suffer  alike 

167 


CHAP.  vnL  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


because  both  are  guilty  of  sin.  Tlie  unholy  sin  wilfully  and  tlionj^litlessly. 
They  almost  ref^^ard  sin  as  no  sin.  They  understand  not  its  turpitude.  Even 
the  good  sin.  The  enmity  of  the  carnal  mind  is  not  subdued.  They  are  not 
always  pure  in  the  springs  of  thought  and  action.  The  race  has  only  known  one 
sinless  man.  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves  and  the  truth 
is  not  in  us.  Hence  the  retributive  events  of  life  happen  to  those  who  are 
striving  to  be  pure  in  heart  a-;  well  as  to  those  who  are  content  to  remain  unholy. 
2.  T/ie  good  and  bad  suffer  alike  because  both  need  correction  and  improvement  in 
moral  character.  The  retributions  of  God  are  corrective.  They  are  designed 
to  turn  sinner  into  saint,  and  to  transform  the  earthly  into  the  image  of  the 
heavenly.  They  are  intended  to  make  the  sinful  penitent  and  the  converted  all 
beauteous  in  Christ.  Hence  they  happen  alike  to  both.  3.  The  good  and  bad 
suffer  alike  because  life  is  a  probation  and  a  discipline.  The  worst  characters 
are  on  probation  ;  equally  so  are  the  best.  Probation  is  co-extensive  with  the 
mundane  life,  and  is  designed  to  prepare  men  for  immortality.  Hence  pain 
will  improve  character,  when  accompanied  by  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit ; 
it  is  well  that  all  men  should  be  tried  by  it,  and  be  subject  to  it.  The  dispositions 
we  manifest  under  the  judgments  of  God  will  determine  our  destiny. 

II.  It  is  an  exceptional  method  of  the  Divine  administration  to  exempt  the 
good  from  the  trials  and  retributions  of  this  life.  "  And  I  will  put  a  division 
between  my  people  and  thy  people."  1.  Thus  we  see  that  there  are  times  in 
this  life  when  moral  character  gives  exemption  from  severe  retribution.  Swarms 
of  flies  were  sent  upon  Egypt.  No  place  was  free  from  them.  But  from  this 
plague  the  land  of  Goshen  was  exempt.  This  was  a  marked  interposition  of 
God.  No  one  could  refuse  to  observe  it,  not  even  the  king  himself.  And  so  in 
this  life  good  men  often  have  an  advantage  in  certain  events  and  circumstances, 
over  those  who  reject  the  claims  of  God.  The  former  are  free  from  pain  while 
the  latter  know  not  how  to  rid  themselves  of  it.  This  is  the  honour  God  places 
upon  true  moral  goodness.  In  this  way  He  occasionally  shows  His  approval  of 
it.     Piety  shields  the  house.     It  will  protect  a  nation  from  the  plague  of  God. 

2.  Thus  we  see  that  there  are  times  in  this  life  when  God  manifests  to  men  Bis 
care  for  the  good.  God  showed  Egypt  that  he  cared  for  Israel,  and  that  He 
was  able  to  protect  His  people.  The  world  has  an  idea  that  heaven  has  but 
little  regard  for  the  good,  and  that  it  is  but  little  advantage  to  be  a  christian  ; 
but  in  this  incident  we  see  that  God  will  protect  those  who  put  their  trust  in 
Him,  and  that  He  will  ultimately  deliver  them  from  the  peril  of  His  anger. 

3.  Thus  ivesee  that  there  are  times  in  this  life  when  God  gives  men  a  prophecy 
of  the  social  equity  in  the  world  to  come.  In  this  life  men  are  sometimes  given 
to  see  that  the  good  are  delivered  from  sorrow  and  retribution  ;  and  in  this  they 
have  a  prophecy  of  the  eternal  adaptation  of  circumstances  to  moral  character 
in  the  life  to  come.  Then  Egypt  will  be  ever  separate  from  Goshen  in  character, 
as  in  retribution  and  reward.  Heaven  will  adjust  the  moral  relations  of  the 
universe.  Lessons:  1.  That  continued  sin  must  be  visited  by  continued  retri- 
bution. 2.  That  the  providence  of  God  is  over  the  good  to  save  them  from  pain. 
3.  lliat  the  wicked  must  see  the  worth  of  goodness. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES, 

Verse  23.      Reiterated  unbelief  and         IMultiplied  demands  does  God  make 

hardening,    is    followed    by    renewed  of  his  right  to  the  church. 

plagues.  Kings  and  people,  houses  and  lands 

God  will  have  all  His  ministers  early  shall  suff"er  in  rebellion  against  God. 

striving  to  meet  His  adversaries.  It  is  God's  own  prerogative  in  pour- 
God  fits  time  and  place  best  to  deal  ing  out  payments  to  discriminate  be- 

with  and  reprove  his  enemies.  tween  man  and  man. 
168 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  CHAP.  vin. 

The  habitation  of  the  first  is  pre-         God's   goodness    may  give  to  the 

served  by  God.  worst  of  sinners  time  to  repent. 

Neither  fly  nor  creature  shall  touch         Verse  24.  ^   Jehovah  himself  pleads 

them  for  harm  whom  God  secures.  sometimes    in  vengeance   against   his 

In  the  day  of  God's  discrimination,  enemies, 
redemption  shall  be  for  His  people,  and         It  is  a  grievous  plague  when  God 

distraction  for  His  enemies.  arms  flies  against  kings. 

There  is  a  great  distinction  between  Corruption  and  destruction  accom- 

the  people  of  God,  and  the  people  of  pany  the  wroth  of  God  upon  wicked 

an  earthly  king.  men. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS    OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verm  25—32. 

The  Impossibility  of  Compromise  in  a  Religious  Lifb. 

It  would  appear  that  the  plagues  with  which  Pharaoh  was  smitten  were  pro- 
gressive in  severity,  and  that  he  could  endure  them  no  longer,  hence  he  sug- 
gests a  partial  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God.  The  king  says  that  he  will 
allow  Israel  to  sacrifice  providing  that  they  will  do  so  in  Egypt.  Moses  shows 
the  impossibility  of  this,  by  stating  that  if  they  sacrificed  in  Egypt  they  would 
have  to  do  it  after  the  manner  of  the  Israelites  or  the  Egyptians,  if  after  the 
manner  of  the  latter  it  would  be  an  abomination  to  God  ;  if  after  the  manner 
of  the  former,  it  would  be  an  abomination  to  Egypt.  Here  was  a  dilemma 
which  the  suggestion  of  Pharaoh  would  involve.  Moses  told  him  that  he  could 
not  thus  compromise  the  claims  and  worship  of  God. 

I.  That  there  can  be  no  compromise  in  Christian  morality*  "  And  ]\'Ioses  said 
it  is  not  meet  to  do  so."  Moses  had  been  sent  by  God  to  make  known  to  the 
king  of  Egypt  the  Divine  will  in  reference  to  the  freedom  of  Israel.  Pharaoh 
was  told  his  duty.  He  ought  to  have  understood  it.  Moses  as  the  servant  of 
God  can  admit  of  no  compromise.  The  claims  of  God  upon  moral  conduct  are 
supreme  and  unalterable.  They  yield  to  none  other.  They  yield  not  to 
policy.  They  yield  not  to  self  interest.  They  yield  not  to  social  position. 
They  are  divinely  royal.  They  are  immutable.  How  many  people  suggest  to 
the  servants  of  God  a  compromise  in  the  mortality  of  the  Christian  life.  They 
are  convinced  of  their  duty  to  God,  and  wish  to  combine  it  with  the  service  of 
Satan.  And  why?  1.  Because  they  do  not  like  to  give  up  their  sins. 
Pharaoh  did  not  like  the  idea  of  giving  up  his  bondmen.  They  had  formed 
part  of  his  nation  for  many  years.  They  were  profitable  to  him.  Hence  he 
did  not  wish  to  give  them  freedom.  And  how  many  people  are  kept  from 
entering  into  the  complete  morality  and  duty  of  the  christian  life  by  an  un- 
willingness to  give  up  the  pleasures  and  fancied  emoluments  of  sin.  2.  Because 
they  will  not  summon  resolution  enough  to  breah  the  force  of  old  and  continued 
habit.  Piiaraoh  had  long  resisted  the  claims  of  God  upon  him,  and  every 
successive  judgment  had  had  a  hardening  effect  upon  his  heart.  It  would 
require  some  energy  on  his  part  to  subdue  the  sinful  habit  of  his  life.  And 
there  are  multitudes  who  have  the  convictions  of  duty,  who  do  not  work  them 
out  in  character  because  they  do  not  in  prayer  seek  strength  to  overcome  the 
enervating  habits  of  the  past.  An  uncompromising  attention  to  Christian  duty 
requires  great  power  of  soul,  and  great  courage.  3.  Because  they  do  not  e7iter 
into  the  complete  and  lofty  idea  of  the  Christian  life.  Pharaoh  had  no  idea  of 
the  dignity  and  enjoyment  of  a  complete  surrender  of  himself,  in  all  his  re- 
lations, to  God.  He  simply  regarded  it  as  a  deprivation.  And  if  men  would 
only  have  enlarged  views  of  Christian  morality,  if  they  would  only  see  that  in 

169 


CHAP.  viil.  EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 

giving  up  all  they  truly  gain  all,  that  by  obedience  to  the  law  of  God  and  tho 
claims  of  duty,  they  realised  the  perfection  of  character  and  enjoyment,  then 
there  would  be  but  little  attempt  at  compromise  in  the  Christian  life. 

II.  That  there  can  be  no  compromise  in  Christian  worship.  "  We  wiU  go 
three  days'  journey  into  the  wilderness,  and  sacritice  to  the  Lord  our  God,  as 
He  shall  commaud  us."  Pharaoh  wanted  ]\Ioses  to  worship  in  Egypt  rather  than 
go  into  the  wilderness  for  that  purpose.  It  is  not  enough  to  worsliip  God  ;  we 
must  worsliip  Him  in  the  manner  He  has  made  known.  We  must  not  worship 
God  in  Egypt,  or  we  shall  be  likely  to  otler  a  sacritice  that  shall  be  an  abomina- 
tion to  Him,  Men  should  not  place  themselves  in  temptation  by  going  to 
unhallowed  sanctuaries.  The  temples  of  Egypt  are  unworthy  the  presence  of 
the  good.  1.  Christian  worship  must  not  be  compromised  by  idolatry.  Pharaoh 
asked  Moses  to  sacritice  in  Egypt.  No  doubt  the  king  would  have  ])laced 
magnificent  temples  at  the  disposal  of  Israel  if  they  would  have  consented  to 
worship  God  in  the  land  of  bondage.  But  Moses  refused.  He  preferred  the 
wilderness  as  his  sanctuary.  It  is  better  to  worship  God  in  the  wilderness  than 
in  the  heathen  temple.  Prayer  is  independent  of  locality.  Men  cannot  worship 
God  and  Baal  at  the  same  time.  2.  Christian  worship  must  not  be  compromised 
by  Bitualism.  We  must  not  compromise  the  externalism  of  worship,  and 
especially  not  the  spirituality  of  devotion.  It  is  possible  that  the  rising 
incense  may  hide  God  from  the  eye  of  the  contrite  soul.  The  worship  of  God 
should  be  simple  as  life  in  the  wilderness  can  make  it.  3.  Christian  worship 
must  not  be  compromised  by  levity.  The  worship  of  God  must  be  reverent.  The 
frivolities  of  life  must  be  hushed  in  the  presence  of  the  Eternal.  Secular  thought 
must  be  banished.     Prayer  must  be  the  dominant  impulse  of  the  soul. 

III.  That  the  servants  of  God  must  reject  all  attempts  at  religious 
compromise.  1.  Because  religious  compromise  brings  contempt  upon  the 
Christian  lije.  The  world  watches  the  Christian  with  vigilant  eye,  and  soon 
detects  any  inconsistency  of  conduct.  And  when  it  sees  the  good  faltering  in 
their  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God,  it  is  tempted  to  ridicule  the  Christian  life. 
2.  Because  religious  compromise  brings  contempt  upon  Christian  worship,  l^he 
world  knows  that  Israel  has  no  right  to  worship  God  in  the  temples  of  Egypt ; 
and  eagerly  watches  the  devotion  of  those  who  sacrifice  to  the  true  Deity,  and 
wiU  only  admire  it  when  simple  and  devout.  Tlie  servant  of  God  must  defend 
the  worship  of  the  sanctuary  from  the  evils  of  compromise,  even  though  he 
oppose  a  king. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  25.     Plagues  upon  the  wicked  Idolaters  abominate  the  true  worship 

from  God  make  them  hastily  call  to  of  God,  and  persecute  those  who  engage 

God's  servants  for  help.  in  it. 

Men  yielding  to  God    under  His  Justly  do  God's  servants  refuse  to 

plagues  are  unwilling  to  give  Him  all  expose  His  worship  to  the  scorn  of  mem 
His  desire. 

Persecutions  in  giving  liberty  to  the  Verse  27.  It  becomes  God's  ministers 

Church  try  to  impose  restrictions.  to  be  resolute  for  His  worship  after  His 

It  is  iniquity  to  act  (lod's  worship  in  mind, 

place  or  manner  inconsistent  with  Cod's  Cud's  word  and  command  is  the  only 

will,  rule  of  worship,  not  the  will  of  powers 

on  earth. 

Verse  26.    God's  worship  must  not  IMiuisters  must  be  bold  to  state  and 

savour  of  the  abomination  of  idolaters.  faithful  to  maintain  the  claims  of  God. 
170 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   VIII. 


Verse  28.  In  God's  over-powering 
plagues,  yet  the  wicked  would  limit 
His  demands. 

Persecutors  do  not  like  the  Church 
to  go  far  out  of  their  power. 


Plagues  make  the  wicked  ask  the 
prayers  of  God's  servants  whom  they 
oppress. 

Eeinoval  of  plagues  and  not  of  sins 
is  the  desire  of  the  wicked. 


The  Caution  and  Restriction  op  Sm. 
"Only  ye  shall  not  go  very  far  away." 

I.  There  are  times  when  men  wish  to  get  away  from  the  tjrranny  of  sin 

Even  wicked  men  have  moments  of  reflection,  when  they  long  to  get  away 
from  Satan,  and  to  cast  off  the  pain  of  sin.  They  are  awakened  by  the  truth 
to  a  consciousness  of  their  depraved  condition,  and  they  wish  to  go  and 
sacrifice  to  God.  Satan  is  loth  to  lose  them.  They  grow  impatient.  He 
yields,  but  with  cautious  reservation. 

II.  That  Satan  is  anxious  to  retain  men  in  his  power.  Satan  knows  the 
better  moods  of  the  soul,  and  endeavours  to  prevent  the  freedom  sought.  He 
will  not  allow  the  sinner  to  go  far  away,  1.  Lest  he  should  feel  the  joy  of  free- 
dom and  never  return.  How  glad  the  moment  when  the  slave  is  free.  How 
welcome  the  time  when  the  soul's  bondage  is  at  an  end.  And  Satan  fears  that 
if  men  once  experience  the  impulse  of  moral  freedom  they  will  not  return  to 
him.  2.  Lest  he  should  see  the  beauty  of  religion  and  never  return.  Sin  is  a 
deformity.  Piety  is  beautiful.  Its  truths  are  flowers.  Its  character  is  pure. 
Its  visions  are  heavenly.  And  if  the  awakened  sinner  sees  the  worth  of  religion 
he  will  not  return  to  the  devil.  Hence  Satan  does  not  like  him  to  go  far  away. 
3.  Lest  he  should  seek  protection  from  Satan  in  the  cross  of  Christ.  Christ  can 
bring  the  sinner  out  of  bondage,  and  give  a  freedom  Satan  cannot  touch. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  29.  God's  servants  are  ready 
to  help  persecutors  in  misery. 

Prayers  do  the  righteous  make  for 
the  removal  of  plagues  from  the  wicked. 

God's  faithful  ministers  do  not  only 
pray  for  the  wicked,  but  warn  them 
against  sin. 

Where  prayers  are  heard  warnings 
against  sin  must  be  observed. 

Verses  30 — 32.  God's  servants  not 
only  promise,  but  perform  to  the  worst 
of  men. 

God  fails  not  to  do  what  His  ser- 
Tants  speak  horn.  Him. 


God  removes  swarms  of  judgment 
when  His  servants  pray  to  Him. 

Princes  and  people  are  healed  as  well 
as  plagued  together. 

The  Removal  of  Penalties. 
"  There  remained  not  one.'* 

I,  They  are  removed  in  answer  to 
prayer. 

II,  They  are  effectually  removed. 

III,  Their  removal  is  often  followed 
by  renewed  sin. 


171 


CHAP.  VIIL 


nOMILETlC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  VIIL 

BY   THE 

KEV.  WM.  ADAIMSON 


Frogrs!  "Ver.  2.  A  frOf  sitting  upon  the 
Bacrcd  lotus  was  symbolical,  says  JNlillington, 
of  the  return  of  the  IS  ile  to  its  bed  after  the 
ininidations.  Seated  ujiou  a  date  stone,  with  a 
young  palm  leaf  rising  from  its  back,  it  was  a 
tyjie  of  man  in  embryo.  Mungo  Park  des- 
ciibes  the  lively  sensations  of  gratitude  and 
joy  with  which  he  was  affected  during  one  of 
his  excursions  in  the  desert,  on  hearing  the 
croaking  of  innumerable  frogs  at  a  short  dis- 
tance from  him.  By  such  sounds  the  traveller, 
when  nearly  perishing  with  thirst,  was  guided 
to  the  spot  where  the  life-restoring  water  was 
to  be  found  : — 

'  For  as  he  wandered  in  the  burning  plain 
Tainting,  he  heard  a  low  amphibious  strain, 
And  guided  by  the  hoarse  refreshing  sound, 
Came  to  the  place  where,  from  the  reedy 

ground, 
The  cooling  waters  spread  their  life  around." 
— Anthol  Grec. 

Divine  Finger !  Ver.  3.  The  plagues  have 
an  Egyptian  groundwork.  They  present  to 
Pharaoh  no  utterly  new  and  unknown  phe- 
nomena, but  show  the  obstinate  despot  that 
the  various  natural  agencies  at  work  in  the 
land  were  under  the  sole  and  entire  con- 
trol of  Jehovah,  and  that  He  was  as  much  the 
God  of  Egypt  as  of  Israel.  The  low,  marshy 
ground  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Nile 
naturally  abounds  in  frogs,  and  at  the  time  of 
the  inundation  in  September,  their  numbers 
become  formidable.  These  leave  their  haunts 
at  God's  command,  and  swarm  over  the  land  a 
great  army.  Pompey  boasted  that,  with  one 
stamp  of  his  foot,  he  could  rouse  all  Italy  to 
arms  ;  but  God,  by  one  word  of  His  mouth, 
can  summon  the  creatures  of  the  earth  and  sea 
and  sky  to  do  His  strange  work  of  judg- 
ment.— Therefore 

"  Let  not  guilt  presumptuous  rear  her  crest. 
Nor  virtue  droop  despondent."— 5a//y. 

Trog-symbols  I  Ver.  5.  On  the  ancient 
coat-of-arms  of  the  French  kings  was  a  curious 
heraldic  device  of  three  frogs  from  the  Gallic 
Bwamps.  In  Kev.  16,  v.  13,  we  have  three 
frogs,  the  unclean  tenants  of  fenny  ground, 
those  vermin  which  love  the  glimmering  twi- 
light, coming  forth  from  the  marshy  lands 
bordering  the  great  river  of  spiritual  Eome. 
Those  loathsome  frog-demons  are  represented 
as  tormenting  and  disturbing  the  "  despotic 
autocracy  of  Christendom.  But,  they  are  the 
judgment  of  God  upon  the  tyrant-spirit  of 
absolutism  ;  and  His  servant  summons  them 
fearlessly. — 

"  Such  is  the  fearless  confidence  of  love. 
And  such  amazement  fearless  love  compels  — 
So  Moses  stood   xmmoved   'fore  Pharaoh's 
face." 
172 


Pharaoh !  "Ver.  8.  A  child  watches  with 
observant  delight  the  tlmuder-cloud  rising  in 
tumultuous  silence : — but  no  sooner  do  the 
clouds  open,  the  peals  rattle,  and  the  flashes 
burst  forth,  than  it  screams  and  hides.  At  a 
distance,  this  haughty  monarch  could  survey 
the  threatened  judgment  philosophically  ;  but 
no  sooner  was  it  outjioured  than  fear  takes 
hold  upon  him,  and  like  a  child  calling  for  its 
mother,  Pharaoh  summoned  Moses  and  Aaron 
to  his  help.  The  requisite  deliverance  was 
secured,  yet 

"  His  inmost  soul  seemed  steel'd. 
Cold  and  immovable." 

Pharaoh's  Penitence!  Ver.  9.  A  little 
girl  sat  at  twilight  in  her  sick  mother's  room, 
busily  thinking.  All  the  day  she  had  been 
noisy  and  troublesome,  and  had  many  times 
worried  her  poor  tired  mother.  At  length  she 
asked  her  parent  what  it  was  that  made  her 
begin  to  be  good  just  about  dark  each  day, 
adding :  "  I  think  it  must  be  the  dark  ;  I  am 
afraid  of  it ;  I  begin  to  recal  all  the  naughty 
things  that  I  have  done  to  grieve  you,  and  so 
am  good  till  daylight."  How  many  are  like 
this  child.  Pharaoh  was  good  when  the  dark 
came  in  the  form  of  suffering  and  trouble  ;  but 
no  sooner  did  the  daylight  come  than  he  was 
as  bad  as  ever. — 

"  And  wilt  thou,  now,  that  God  hath  raised 

thee  up. 
The  vows — the  promises  thy  conscience  made, 
Wilt  thou  in  health  forget  ? — Mant." 

Procrastination!  Ver.  9.  Among  other 
inscriptions  on  the  walls  of  the  temjile  of  Del« 
phos  were  these  two,  of  both  of  which  Pharaoh 
was  entirely  ignorant :  "  Know  thyself,"  and 
"  Know  thy  opportvmity."  The  opportunity 
was  now  given  him  for  yielding  obedience  to 
the  Divine  Purpose  of  Freedom  ;  but  he  said  : 
"  To-morrow."  How  many  characters,  says  a 
living  divine,  seem  to  float  before  our  eyes  in 
Scripture,  as  having  been  visited  with  opportu- 
nities for  repentance ;  but  who  alas  !  have  only 
been  like  ships  which,  when  night  is  spread 
over  the  sea,  emerge  for  a  moment  from  the 
darkness  as  they  cross  the  pathway  of  the  moon- 
beams, and  then  are  lost  again  in  gloom. 
Among  these,  stands  in  the  foreground  the 
figure  of  the  king  of  Egypt — now  in  the  moon- 
light of  partial  penitence — anon  flitting  into 
the  gloom  of  lost  opportunities. 

"  Ah  I  we  must  take  the  cmrent  when  it  serves, 
Or  lose  our  ventures." — Shakespeare. 

Convictions!  Ver.  10.  I  have  reclined  on 
a  bank  by  the  river  on  a  day  when  its  waters 
were  half  in  shadow  and  half  in  sunshine; 
and  when  the  whole  surface  has  been  ruffled 
by  the    summer    breeze.      A  leaf  has  falleo 


BO  MILE  TIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  vin. 


from  some  tree,  and  tliere  it  floated  tipon  the 
Burface — now  seeming  to  hasten  out  to  the 
broad  land  of  sunlight  which  lay  wannly 
across  the  brook — and  anon  drawn  to  some 
little  cataract  on  the  shadow  which  threatened 
to  bury  it.  Would  the  deep  pool  draw  it 
down — down  to  its  dark  depths  ?  Or  would 
the  pure  sweet  stream  move  it  on  little 
by  little  to  the  bright  sunny  sheen  beyond  ? 
To  and  fro — to  and  fro — first  subject  to  one 
force,  then  to  the  other.  Would  the  slight 
breeze  ruffling  the  stream  be  victor,  or  the 
sucking  cataract  ?  Such  was  Pharaoh's  heart 
under  the  contending  influences  of  the  breath 
of  Divine  forbearance  and  the  shaded  whirl- 
pool of  human  impenitency.  To  and  fro 
that  heart  moved — now  apparently  wafted 
to  the  glorious  shining  band  of  gold  which 
sjuanned  the  stream  of  life — anon  drawn  to- 
wards the  cataract  within  the  shadow,  until 
it  grew  like  adamant, 

*'  And  led  him  to  assay  the  ocean  depths, 

And  satisfy  his  lust  on  Israel  there." — 

Bickersteth. 

Fatal  Delay!  Ver.  10.  The  ill-fated  Cen- 
tral America  was  descried  one  niglit  in  a 
crippled  state.  The  night  was  closing  in — the 
sea  was  rolling  high  ;  but  the  captain  of  the 
other  vessel  hailed  and  lay  to  by  the  sinking 
ship.  "  I  am  in  a  sinking  condition,"  shouted 
the  America's  skipper ;  whereupon  the  other 
urged  him  to  send  the  passengers  on  board 
directly.  To  this  reasonable  request  the  foolish 
sailor  demurred — requesting  the  other  ship  to 
lie  by  him  till  morning.  This  was  at  once  and 
readily  yielded,  with  a  still  more  urgent  solici- 
tation to  send  the  passengers  on  board  at  once 
in  case  of  contingencies  during  the  night  storm. 
But  all  in  vain  !  The  captain  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  wait  till  to-morrow  before  putting  his 
passengers  in  safety.  During  the  next  hour  the 
■wind  increased  to  a  furious  gale — the  sea  swelled 
into  a  heavy  roll,  which  compelled  the  sound 
vessel  to  move  away  to  a  distance  ;  and  shortly 
after,  the  vessel  with  its  living  freight  went 
down.  All  found  a  grave  in  the  great  deep. 
The  cax^tain's  delay  was  fatal  to  himself  and  to 
others  ;  and  so  was  that  of  Pharaoh. 

"  Delay  not  !  delay  not !  The  Spirit  of  Grace 

Long  grieved  and  resisted  may  take  his 

sad  flight  : 

And  leave  thee  in  darkness  to  finish  thy  race, 

And  sink  in  the  vale  of  eternity's  night." 

— Hastings. 

Self- Will!  Ver.  13  Without  the  cross- 
piece,  the  longer  piece  is  not  a  cross.  It  is 
only  when  the  cross-piece  is  added  that  a  cross 
is  formed.  The  longer  piece  represents  God's 
will.  Our  will,  which  always  desires  to  cross 
God's  will,  is  rejiresented  by  the  shorter  piece. 
Pharaoh  placed  the  short  piece  of  his  own  self- 
will  athwart  the  Divine  purpose,  and  so  made  a 
cross  for  himself  ;  but  when  he  removed  the 
cross-piece,  there  was  no  cross.    The  plague 


was  stayed.     Even  so  is  it  with  many  a  man. 
Nothing  but  self  thyself  from  Him  divides. 

"  Ask  ye  how  I  o'er  passed  the  dreary  gulf  ? 
One  step  beyond  myself,  and  nought  besides." 

— Alyer, 

Prudence  versus  Penitence  !  Ver.  15.  Some 
years  ago,  a  captain,  notorious  in  South  Seas 
for  kidnajiping  the  natives  was  led  to  see  the 
folly  of  his  ways — to  renounce  the  paths  of  sin, 
and  to  give  himself  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  He 
at  once  evidenced  the  sincerity  of  his  repen- 
tance by  resigning  the  command  of  his  ship, 
and  betaking  himself  to  a  more  humane  and 
honourable  employment  than  the  Australian 
traffic  in  human  flesh  Last  year,  a  captain, 
hearing  that  it  was  the  Queen's  determination 
to  put  down  the  iniquitous  trade,  by  placing 
men  of  war  in  those  seas,  gave  up  his  em- 
ployment, and  resorted  to  commercial  pursuits. 
Was  this  repentance  ?  Would  not  this  man 
return  to  his  old  nefarious  practices  if  the 
English  Government  witlidrew  their  sur- 
veillance ?  So  was  it  with  Pharaoh,  he  har- 
dened his  heart,  and  returned  to  his  folly,  aa 
soon  as  the  restrictions  were  removed. 

"  All  treasures  did  the  Lord  impart 
To  Pharaoh,  save  a  contrite  heart." — French. 

liice!  Ver.  16.  Travellers  speak  of  the 
dust  of  Egypt  as  in  itself  almost  a  plague.  Yet 
the  soil  of  Egyj^t  was  worshipped.  The 
black  mud  of  the  Nile  was  especially  an  ob- 
ject of  superstitious  veneration  ;  and  to  throw 
this  dust  over  them  was  to  give  a  special 
sanctity  to  their  fasting  and  mourning.  When 
it  became  dry  under  the  rays  of  the  sun,  it 
generated  this  vermin,  concerning  which  Mr. 
Lane  says  in  very  thrilling  terms  that  they  are 
a  sort  of  tick,  not  larger  than  a  grain  of  sand 
which,  when  filled  with  blood,  expands  to  the 
size  of  a  hazel  nut.  Sir  Samuel  Baker  says 
that  at  certain  seasons  these  prevail  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  is  as  though  the  very  dust  were 
turned  into  lice.  Oftentimes  God  sends  in- 
numerable minute  sufferings  before  He  sends 
greater  ones  ;  but  great  and  small  are  alike 
designed  to  lead  us  to  repentence. 

"  Oh  !  let  me  suffer,  till  I  find 

What  plants  of  sorrow  can  impart, 
Some  gift,  some  triumph  of  the  mind, 
Some  flower,  some  fruitage  of  the  heart." 
—  Vphan. 

Finger  of  God  !  Ver.  19.  At  the  time  of 
the  battle  of  Waterloo,  the  Iron  Duke  was 
still  without  an  experimental  knowledge  of 
true  religion.  Yet  God  prompted  him— upon 
a  sudden  impulse,  perhaps  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
to  pen  a  few  brief  words,  which  have  come 
down  to  posterity.  When  the  dreadful  fight 
was  over,  the  Duke's  feelings,  kept  so  long  at 
the  highest  tension,  gave  way.  As  he  rode 
among  the  dying  and  wounded  on  the  field  of 
battle — saw  the  reeking  carnage — and  heard 
the  shout  of  conquerors  and  vanquished  fainter 
and  fainter  through  the  gloom  of  night,   he 

173 


IIOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


wept.  Soon  after  he  wrote  these  words  :  "  I 
have  escaped  unhurt ;  the  Finger  of  God  waa 
on  me."  Alike  are  the  preserving  mercies  and 
judicial  visitations  the  Fmger  of  Jehovah.  It 
is  in  such  seasons  that  even  the  most  godless 
feel  their  frail  mortality,  and  acknowledge  that 
a  Supreme  Being  guides  and  governs  all 
things : — and 

"  That  man,  who  madly  deems  himself  the  lord 
Of    all,   is  naught   but   weakness    and  de- 
pendence."— Thomson. 

Struggle  1  Ver.  20.  At  sea,  when  the 
enemy's  ship  is  sighted  in  full  flight,  a  gun 
loaded  with  powder  only  is  fired  by  the  pursuer 
to  bring  the  fugitive  to.  When  this  fails,  the 
cannon  is  charged  with  a  ball,  but  it  is  de- 
signedly fired  so  as  not  to  strike  the  vessel,  in 
the  hope  of  inducing  it  to  furl  the  sails.  But 
when  this  attempt  has  failed,  then  the  captain 
of  the  pursuer  orders  the  gun  to  be  fired  straight 
at  the  ship  attempting  to  escape.  It  mav  be 
that  many  shots  liave  taken  effect  in  her  rigging 
and  hull  before  she  ceases  her  flight.  Such, 
too,  is  the  forbearance  of  God.  The  first 
miracle  of  IMoses  was  harmless — the  second 
came  nearer  home,  in  expectation  of  the  stub- 
born despot's  compliance.  When  this  stern 
Bimimons  proved  ineffectual,  God's  dread  artil- 
lery fired  volley  after  volley,  until  nolens  vohns 
Pharaoh  haiiled  down  his  flaunting  flag  of  piide, 
and  acknowledged  that  the  Will  of  Jehovah 
had  conquered. 

**  Ye  nations,  bend — in  reverence  bend ; 
Ye  monarchs,  wait  His  nod, 
And  bid  the  choral  song  ascend 
To  celebrate  your  God." —  White. 

Fly-gods!  Ver.  21.  The  Egyptians  wor- 
sliipped  the  four  elements  ;  Water,  Earth,  Air, 
and  Fire.  From  the  water  came  the  frogs — 
from  the  earth  came  the  lice — and  now  from 
the  air  came  the  fly-gods.  These  came  at  a 
time  of  the  year  when  they  were  least  ex- 
pected, viz.,  the  cold  season.  The  fly-god  was 
a  special  favourite  with  the  Egyjitian  devotees, 
and  was  known  in  Bible  times  by  the  name  of 
"  Baalsebub."  Elijah  reproved  King  Ahaziah 
for  sending  to  enquire  of  this  deity — the  god 
Acchor.  MUlington  says  that  there  was  in 
Egypt,  near  the  liake  Moeris,  a  city  called 
Achoris,  where  the  fly-god  temple  stood.  Lucian 
mentions  a  priest  of  the  same  name  at  Mem- 
phis : — 

"  The  chief  in  honour,  and  the  best, 
Was  old  Achoreus,  the  Memi^hian  priest." — 
Pharsalia. 

Superstition  I  Ver.  24.  TJpon  a  part  of  the 
shore  of  llurutu,  an  island  in  the  region  of  the 
Southern  Cross,  knelt  a  few  native  servants  of 
God.  The  spot  was  sacred  to  the  great  idol  of 
that  island  ;  and  the  natives  gathered  round 
expecting  that  the  desecrators  of  their  holy 
place  would  be  struck  Ufeless.  The  Kiuiitans 
loolced  earnestly  at  them — as  the  barbarians  of 
Melita  did  at  St.  Paul — anticipating  some 
174 


dreadful  calamity — that  the  bodies  of  the  pro- 
faners  would  swell,  or  fall  down  dead  suddenly. 
But  no  harm  came  to  them.  Still  they  felt 
sure  that  in  the  night  the  gods  would  come  and 
kill  them.  In  the  morning  they  found  the 
new-comers  all  well  and  safe  ;  whereupon  they 
began  to  suspect  that  their  gods  were  deceivers. 
They  were  accordingly  given  up  for  destruc- 
tion. But  we  have  no  record  that  the  Egyptians 
gave  Tip  the  worship  of  the  scarabosus.  On  the 
contrary,  we  find  from  monuments  erected  sub- 
sequent to  this  visitation  that  the  Egyptians 
continued  to  worship  the  sacred  beetle,  in  spite 
of  the  exposure  of  its  utter  helplessness.  This 
pitiable  worthlessness  of  their  fly-god  was  all 
the  more  conspicuous  from  the  fact  that  it  waa 
kept  far  away  from  the  children  of  Israel.  The 
Egyptian  gods  plagued  their  own  worshippers, 
and  spared  their  enemies, 

"  Gods  of  the  ruined  temples,  where,  0  where 
are  ye  ?" — Bethune. 

Compromise!  Ver.  25.  As  Hitchcock  re- 
marks, objects  may  be  seen  through  a  semi- 
transparent  mineral.  But  there  is  no  distinct- 
ness of  outline,  as  in  gypsum,  selemite,  and 
quartz.  This  half-clear,  half-cloudy  character, 
is  no  uncommon  one,  Pharaoh  admired  it, 
and  advised  Moses  to  practise  it.  Everything 
about  such  persons  is  indistinct  and  cloudy. 
They  have  no  clear  and  definite  ideas  about 
the  Christian  religion  or  its  duties  and  princi- 
ples. They  conform  very  much  to  worldly 
maxims  and  practices,  and  yet  they  cordially 
unite  in  every  good  work.  They  see  very 
great  convenience  in  harmonizing — as  they 
imagine — the  church  and  the  world.  Moses 
would  have  none  of  it.  Any  such  compromise 
would  only  evidence  insincerity  of  heart — 
would  only  betoken  a  mere  outward  religious 
profession.  Such  compromises  are  often  like 
irised  minerals,  which  give  a  splendid  exhi- 
bition of  most  of  the  colomrs  of  the  spectrum. 
But  this  is  produced  by  a  mere  superficial  film, 
while  all  beneath  is  opaque,  as  in  a  specimen 
of  anthracite  coal.  The  religion  of  Moses 
was  something  deeper — something  that  would 
admit  of  no  conceivable  compromise  between 
Christ  and  BeliaL 

"  Thou  must  be  true  thyself, 
If  thou  the  truth  wovild'st  back."— 

Opportunity  t  Ver.  25.  Trench  says  of  the 
Spanish  proveib  :  That  which  the  fool  does 
in  the  end,  the  -wise  man  does  in  the  beginning. 
The  wise  man  does  with  a  good  grace  what  the 
fool  has  to  do  with  an  ill.  This  was  a  hint  which 
Pharaoh  might  have  laid  to  heart.  The  fami- 
liar story  of  the  Sibylline  books  offered  to  the 
Koman  emperor  illustrates  to  perfection  the 
case  of  the  Egyptian  monarch.  The  same 
thing  to  be  done  in  the  end — the  same  price  to 
be  paid  at  the  last ;  with  only  this  difference, 
that  much  of  the  advantage — as  well  as  the 
grace — of  an  earlier  compliance  has  passed 
away.  The  nine  precious  volumes  have  shrunk 
to  six — and  these  dwindle  to  three,  while  th« 


HOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  Vlll. 


eame  price  is  demanded  for  the  few  as  the 
many.  Pharaoh  had  successive  opportunities 
of  doing  the  will  of  God ;  but  each  day  it  was 
put  off — only  at  last  to  be  forced  to  do  with  an 
ill  grace  what  he  might  have  done  with  a  good 
one. 

"  After- wits  are  dearly  bought, 
Let  thy  fore- wit  guide  thy  thought." — 
Southwell. 

Inconsistency!  Ver.  26.  The  world  ia 
lynx-eyed  enough  to  detect  any  compromise  of 
religious  principle  in  the  course  or  conduct  of 
Christian  professors.  A  Christian  when  he 
makes  a  good  profession  should  be  sure  to 
make  his  profession  good.  No  doubt  Pharaoh 
and  his  subjects  would  have  been  the  first 
afterwards  to  taunt  Moses  for  his  compromise. 
The  worldling  is  inconsistent,  yet  loves  to  see, 
and  insists  on  seeing  consistency  in  Christians. 
Christ's  soldiers  need  to  be  consistent,  to  hold 
fast  the  profession  of  their  faith  without 
wavering.  As  Jay  says,  the  whole  complexion 
of  a  negro  is  less  noticed  than  a  single  stain 
on  the  features  of  a  white  countenance. 
Pharaoh  would  very  soon  have  reminded 
Moses  of  the  "  blot  of  compromise"  on  his  re- 
ligious profession  of  devotedness  to  Jehovah. 
This  Moses  did  not  forget,  conscious  that  he 
who  cleanses  a  blot  with  blurred  fingers  wlU 
make  a  greater  blot.  To  him  the  maxim  was 
not  unknown:— 


"  Live  truly,  and  thy  life  shall  bo 
A  great  and  noble  cieed." 

Pharaoh's  Penitence  !  Ver.  28.  In  some 
rural  districts,  when  the  winter  frost  has  been 
long  and  severe,  the  little  pools  are  sheathed  in 
ice  until  the  spring.  When  the  aun  has  gained 
power  its  beams  dissolve  the  hard,  thick  coat- 
ing of  ice — but  only  to  expose  the  loathsome, 
stagnant,  miry  waters.  God's  judgments  melted 
the  icy  crust  of  self-will  upon  the  heart  of 
Pharaoh — only  to  disclose  the  mass  of  floating 
corruption,  which  it  had  hitherto  concealed  :— 

"  What  seest  thou  here  ?   what  marks't  % 

observe  it  well — 
Will,  passion,  reason,  hopes,  fears,  joya, 

distress, 
Peace,  turbulence,  simplicity,  deceit, 
Good,  ill,  corruption." — Polloh. 

Delay !  Ver.  32,  It  is  always  easy,  writes 
Smith,  to  obey  God  at  the  very  first  moment 
of  apprehension  of  duty.  A  moment  after- 
wards it  becomes  less  easy  ;  and  the  longer 
that  obedience  is  deferred,  the  more  difficult  it 
becomes.  Pharaoh  would  have  found  it  no 
very  difficult  matter  to  let  Israel  go  at  the  out- 
set ;  but  each  delay  increased  the  difficulties 
of  yielding  obedience  to  the  Divine  command : 

**  Works  adjourned  have  many  stays, 
Long  demurs  breed  new  delays." — 

Southwell. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Chitioai.    Notes. — 8.  Murrain.]  Lit.   destruction.    8.  Ftimace]  "For   burning    lime    or 

smelting  metals,  and  for  the  preparation  of  glass,  out  of  which,  while  it  is  heated,  a  thick  smoke 
ascends  (Gen.  xix.  2S)  and  in  which  ashes  and  soot  rest." — Fiirst.  9.  A  boil  breaking:  forth 
•with  blains]  Or,  "  A  bm-ning  sore  breaking  out  in  pustules."  10.  Raised  thee  up]  Not 
necessarily  —  "  Brought  thee  into  being"  ;  but  much  rather,  judging  from  the  tenor  of  the  entire 
narrative, — "  Raised  thee  to  the  throne,  given  thee  sovereign  power  in  Egypt ;"  or,  better  still, 
— "Enabled  thee  to  stand  firm."  This  indeed  is  the  most  literal  meaning  of  n^m/^J/n> 
the  causative  form  (Hiphil)  of  "IJ^V'  *°  stand.  How  entirely  this  rendering  accords  vdth 
the  observations  on  the  hardening  oi  Pharaoh's  heart  offered  under  chap.  vii.  3,  may  be  seen  by 
a  reference  to  what  is  there  said. — This  seems  the  place  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  care  dis- 
played by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his  commentrf  on  cases  like  Pharaoh's,  in  Rom.  ix.  22  :  "  What  if 
God,  willing  to  shew  his  wrath,  and  to  make  his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long-suffering 
the  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  for  destruction  :" — i.e.  already  fitted., previously  fitted  (KxryipTitrf/i.ivx),  as 
the  perfect  participle  implies.  The  Greek  word,  indeed,  is  indifferently  either  middle  or  passive 
voice  ;  and  so  is  quite  consistent  with  the  idea  that  the  vessels  of  wrath  had  fitted  themselves 
for  destruction,  or  had  given  themselves  over  to  Satan,  and  had  been  by  him,  as  the  result  of 
their  own  guilty  surrender,  fitted  for  destruction.  In  any  case,  the  Apostle  does  not  say  that 
God  had  fitted  them  for  destruction  ;  which  is  all  the  more  satisfactory  when  we  notice  how,  in 
everything  else,  the  Divine  activity  reigns  throughout  the  passage  ;  and  most  satisfying  of  all 
when  we  observe  that  in  the  following  ver.  (23)  it  is  God  who  is  expressly  said  to  have  "  afore 
prepared  the  vessels  of  mercy  unto  glory."  God,  in  certain  cases,  endures  (not  takes  delight  in) 
the  vessels  of  wrath  ;  endures  them  for  a  while  longer,  permitting  them  to  mvdtiply  their 
acts  of  tyranny  or  other  wickedness,  instead  of  at  once  smiting  them  down  in  death,  and  so  pre- 
venting their  doing  any  more  wrong  and  harm  ; — when  they  have  already  become  vessels  of  wrath, 
and  are  ripe  for  their  doom.  23.  The  fire  ran  along'  upon  the  ground]  Rather  :  "  Then 
came  fire  towards  the  earth."  24.  Fire  mingled  with  the  hail]  More  exactly  :  "  Eire  catching 
hold  of  itself  in  the  midst  of  the  bail."    31.  BoUed]  "  In  flower." 

175 


CHAP.  IX.  BOM ILETIC  COMMENTARY:    EXODUS. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1—7. 

The  Murrain  of  Beasts  ;  or,  the  Suffering  that  comes  upon  the  Brute 
Creation  in  consequence  of  the  Sin  of  Man. 

This  plague  was  upon  tlie  cattle  of  Egypt,  They  were  smitten  with  "a 
grievous  murrain,"  which  was  a  consumptive  disease.  Our  English  word  murrain 
is  derived  from  the  Greek  [xapaLvw,  which  means  to  wither  and  fade  away  ;  or  it 
may  be  derived  from  the  French  word  moiirir — to  die  or  perish.  The  Egyptians 
venerated  a  great  variety  of  animals  ;  but  oxen  were  among  their  chief  deities. 
Hence  the  grievous  murrain  which  now  fell  upon  all  the  cattle  of  the  Egyptians 
was  another  and  more  direct  blow  aimed  at  the  monstrous  idolatries  of  that 
benighted  people.  In  modern  times  murrain  is  a  not  unfrequent  visitation  in 
Eg>'pt ;  but  the  disease  in  Pharaoh's  day  was  different  from  every  other  mani- 
festation of  it,  as  well  in  the  extent  as  in  the  suddenness  and  swiftness  of  its 
effects.  In  one  day  all  the  cattle  in  the  field  died.  This  disease  was  not  con- 
fined, as  murrain  usually  is,  to  one  species  of  animal  ;  it  destroyed  alike  the 
oxen  and  the  sheep,  the  asses,  and  the  camels.  Thus  their  beasts  of  burden, 
and  the  only  animals  they  had  for  locomotion,  were  cut  off.  It  has  no  parallel. 
It  was  a  mark  of  the  special  displeasure  of  God. 

I.  That  wicked  men  often  act  in  reference  to  the  claims  of  God  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  provoke  His  judgments.  In  this  plague  the  rod  of  Moses  was 
not  used.  It  was  accomplished  without  luiman  intervention.  This  would  show 
Pharaoh  and  his  magicians  that  these  calamities  were  not  produced  by  magic,  or 
by  human  ingenuity.  God  can  flash  His  judgments  direct  from  heaven  upon 
the  wicked.  I^his  plague  upon  the  cattle  would  be  a  just  punishment  for  the 
over-loading  of  the  Hebrews  with  burdens  and  tasks.  Thus  we  see  how  wicked 
men  provoke  the  judgments  of  God.  1.  That  men  are  disobedient  to  the  claims 
of  God.  This  is  seen  in  the  case  of  Pharaoh.  He  would  not  obey  the  Divine 
command.  And  disobedience  to  the  law  of  God  is  common  amongst  men,  and 
always  invites  the  retribution  of  heaven.  God  has  claims  upon  the  race.  He 
is  Creator.  He  is  Preserver.  He  is  Moral  Ruler.  He  is  merciful.  He  has 
revealed  His  will.  But  men  regard  it  not.  Hence  they  invite  Divine  retribu- 
tion. 2.  That  men  are  obstinate  in  their  rejection  of  the  claims  of  God.  This 
is  evident  in  the  case  of  Pharaoh.  He  did  not  merely  manifest  a  temporary 
disobedience  to  the  Divine  command,  but  a  continueti  and  wilful  rejection  of 
them.  And  in  this  respect  he  is  typical  of  n.en  in  our  own  age.  They  are 
morally  hardened.  Their  souls  are  in  determined  opposition  to  God.  They 
invite  the  retribution  of  heaven.  3.  That  men  are  hiipocritical  in  their 
rejection  of  the  claims  of  God.  Pharaoh  was  so.  He  pretended  to  Moses  that 
if  he  would  entreat  the  Lord  to  remove  the  plagues  by  which  he  was  afflicted, 
that  he  would  yield  to  the  Divine  commands.  But  this  was  only  a  pretence. 
The  promise  was  not  redeemed.  And  so  men  in  our  own  age,  in  moments  of 
retributive  pain,  deceive  the  servants  of  God  with  the  pretence  of  amendment. 
They  cannot  thus  deceive  God.  He  sees  their  subterfuge.  4.  That  men  are 
presumptuous  in  their  rejection  of  the  claims  of  God.  It  is  impossible  to  find 
words  in  which  to  express  the  presumption  of  Pharaoh  in  his  opposition  to 
Jehovah.  Kings  have  not  the  weapons  wherewith  to  resist  the  great  God. 
Heaven  could  have  smitten  Egypt  with  a  stroke,  and  have  prevented  continued 
opposition  ;  but  the  methods  of  the  Divine  government  are  patient  and 
merciful.  Hence  we  see  that  the  way  in  which  men  treat  the  claims  of  God 
provoke  His  judgments. 
176 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  Chap.  ix. 


II.  That  men  who  thus  rej  ect  the  cl  aims  of  God  often  involve  the  brute  creation 
in  pain  and  woe.  Man  has  in  his  keeping  the  welfare  of  the  entire  universe, 
with  all  contained  therein.  The  world  was  made  for  man,  and.  it  depends  for 
its  welfare  upon  his  rule.  It  is  affected  by  his  moral  conduct.  It  is  unseparably 
connected  with  him.  God  has  ordained  it  so.  When  man  was  driven  out  of 
Paradise,  the  brute  creation  followed  him.  If  man  sins  he  involves  all  those 
below  him  in  disorder  and  pain.  Here  is  a  mystery.  The  infidel  regards  it 
with  scorn.  Scripture  proves  its  certainty.  The  sin  of  Pharaoh  and  the 
Egyptians  was  visited  upon  the  brute  creation.  Here  we  see  that  these  retri- 
butions were  coming  nearer  and  nearer  to  those  who  had  invited  them.  They 
have  passed  from  the  river  and  the  land  to  the  animals.  And  thus  the  sin  of 
man  affects  all  nature,  animate  and  inanimate.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the 
history  of  these  plagues,  the  pain  in  which  the  brute  creation  is  involved  by 
the  sin  of  man  : — 1.  It  is  Divinehj  inflicted.  "  Behold  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
is  upon  the  cattle."  Thus  the  brute  creation  is  not  directly  stricken  by  the 
hand  of  man,  but  its  pain  is  the  consequence  of  his  sin.  The  hand  of  God  is 
potent  both  to  afflict  and  to  heal  the  cattle.  The  beasts  of  the  field  are  under 
a  Divine  providence.  2.  It  is  grievously  effective.  3.  It  is  sadhj  coinprehe7isive. 
4.  It  is  proudly  certified.  "  And  Pharaoh  sent  and  behold  there  was  not  one 
of  the  cattle  of  the  Israelites  dead."  He  was  anxious  to  disprove  the  word  of 
Moses. 

III.  That  the  men  who  thus  involve  the  brute  creation  in  pain  and  suffering, 
are  often  unmoved  by  the  devastation  they  occasion.  "  And  the  heart  of 
Pharaoh  was  hardened."  He  knew  the  suffering  and  loss  his  conduct  had 
wrought  amongst  the  cattle,  yet  he  was  not  moved  to  pity  or  regret.  Some 
men  are  never  influenced  by  the  pain  they  observe  in  the  brute  world.  They 
regard  not  the  suffering  of  animals  as  worthy  of  momentary  thought.  Pharaoh 
did  not  ask  Moses  to  remove  this  plague,  because  it  did  not  affect  himself  as 
the  former  ones  had  done.  Tyrants  are  only  moved  by  personal  inconvenience, 
and  then  only  for  a  time.  Wicked  men  littfe  know  the  elements  of  pain  they 
introduce  into  the  imiverse,  and  perhaps  if  they  did  they  would  be  but  little 
affected  by  the  knowledge.  Lessons  :  1;  That  the  retribution  of  sin  does  not 
end  with  those  ivho  occasion  it.  2.  That  the  brute  world  is  affected  by  the  con- 
duct of  man.  3.  That  men  should  endeavour  to  banish  pain  from  the  universe 
by  attention  to  the  commands  of  heaven. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  1.     God  follows  the  proudest         God  declares  to  the  wicked  the  evil 

sinners  with  new  messages  when  they  they  must  expect  if  they  persist  in  ob- 

br'^ak  faith  with  Him.  stinacy. 

God's  powerful  work  gives  entrance  ^    God's  hand  is  immediately  put  forth 

unto  kings.  in  vengeance  to  terrify  enemies. 

God  still  owns  His  despised  Church. 

God  demands  His  right  in  His  Church 
as  often  as  persecutors  deny  it.  Verse  4.     Signal  judgments  of  God 

to  the  wicked  are  set  with  discrimina- 

Verses  2,  3.  God's  goodness  abounds  tion  to  the  good. 
in  letting  obstinate  sinners  know  the  God  works  wonderfully  sometimes  to 

danger  of  keeping  sin.  secure   the  good  from  the  plagues  of 

God's  severity  is  great,  threatening  the  wicked. 
Buch  as  refuse  His  word  and  hold  their         Life  and  death  of  all  creatures  is  in 

Bin.  the  hand  of  God, 

E  177 


CH.vP.  IX.  BOMILETW  COMMENTAMY  :  EXODUS. 

Not  the  life  of  a  beast  is  in  danger         God  faileth  not  to  execute  judgment 
when  God  takes  the  protection  of  it.         as  well  as  mercy  as  He  hath  spoken. 

Verse  7.     Providence  orders  wicked 
men  to  inquire  whether  God's  word  be 

Verses  5,  6.     The  patient  God  at     true  in  judgment  and  mercy, 
last  sets  a  time  for  sinners,  when  Pie         Providence  answers  the   inquiry  of 
ivill^  bear  no  longer  with  them.  men  that  the  Divine  word  shall  stand 

The  morrow  has  been  God's  time  of    in  life  or  death, 
reckoning  with  sinners  and   may  be        Aggravated  rebellion  follows  such 
flow.  heart-hardening  in  wicked  men. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Versa  8—12. 

The  Plague  of  Boils  ;  or,  the  Physical  Suffeeinq  brought  upon 

Men  by  Sin. 

Now  the  plagues  of  Egypt  begin  to  assume  a  more  serious  character.  Hitherto 
they  had  been  an  annoyance.  Now  they  are  an  affliction  threatening  life.  This 
sixth  plague  is  ushered  in  with  a  peculiar  ceremony.  Moses  appears  before 
Pharaoh  with  a  censor  in  his  hand,  filled  with  ashes  from  the  furnace.  He 
scatters  the  ashes  and  they  are  carried  by  the  wind  in  all  directions.  They  become 
small  dust  and  afflict  the  Egyptians  with  boils.  This  ceremony  was  well  calculated 
to  remind  Pharaoh  that  this  plague  was  retributive.  He  had  compelled  the 
Israelites  to  labour  in  the  brick-kilns,  and  had  made  their  lives  bitter  with  hard 
bondage  in  the  heat  of  the  furnace.  Hence  the  ashes  now  smite  the  oppressor. 
Even  the  beasts  of  the  Egyptians  were  thus  afflicted  ;  even  those  that  escaped 
the  previous  plague.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  when  men  injure  others, 
they  are  injured  some  time  or  other  in  the  same  way  themselves.  This  is  the 
abundant  teaching  of  history.  In  the  first  three  plagues  the  natural  resources 
of  the  land  were  made  the  medium  of  retribution  ;  but  in  the  sixth  God  showed 
Pharaoh  that  He  could  bring  ruin  upon  him  from  the  very  workshops  which  had 
been  used  in  the  erection  of  his  splendid  edifices. 

I.  That  there  is  much  physical  suffering  hrought  upon  men  by  sin  and 
disobedience.  Through  the  disobedience  of  Pharaoh  and  his  people  they  were 
smitten  with  boils.  Their  suffering  was  directly  traceable  to  their  sins.  Had 
they  been  obedient  to  the  commands  of  God,  as  uttered  by  Moses  and  Aaron, 
they  would  have  been  spared  this  affliction.  And  the  commands  of  God  come 
to  men  in  our  own  day.  They  are  uttered  distinctly  in  the  Bible.  They  are 
made  known  faithfully  from  the  pulpit.  They  are  silently  made  known  by  many 
pious  lives.  But  they  are  disobeyed.  And  in  this  we  find  the  true  explanation 
of  much  of  the  pain  and  physical  suffering  that  comes  upon  men.  Their 
ailments  are  the  outcome  of  their  sins.  And  thus  bodily  pain  is  given  to 
punish  and  correct  moral  transgression.  There  are  multitudes  in  our  land  in 
continued  suliering  who  would  be  healthy  if  they  would  be  good.  Moral  con- 
siderations are  at  the  basis  of  health.  If  men  would  be  physically _well  they 
should  obey  the  laws  of  God  as  revealed  in  His  Book,  and  recognize  all  His 
claims  upon  them.  Sin  will  always  make  a  man  want  medicine.  The  body  is 
influenced  by  the  moods  of  the  soul.     Piety  is  restorative.     It  gives  eternal  life. 

II.  That  the  physical  suffering  consequent  upon  sin  comes  upon  men  indepen- 
dent of  their  social  position,  or  of  their  scientific  attainments.  The  king,  the 
magicians,  and  all  the  people  of  Egj'pt  were  smitten  by  the  pestilence.  None 
were  exempt.  1.  Hence  we  see  that  social  position  does  not  exempt  men  from 
the  physical  suffering  consequent  upon  sin.     Men  who  occupy  high  station  in 

178 


BOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  ix. 


society,  have  frequently  every  facility  for  sin.  They  have  time.  They  have 
money.  They  have  every  opportunity  of  concealment.  But  there  are  times 
when  the  sins  of  the  monarch  are  made  known  in  his  physical  manhood,  and 
when  nature  speaks  to  him  in  retributive  voice.  Royalty  is  subject  to  the  same 
laws  of  physical  life  as  the  pauper,  and  must  equally  pay  the  penalty  of  trans- 
gression. The  purple  and  fine  linen  are  not  proof  against  pain.  Suffering  is 
not  bribed  by  money.  2.  Hence  we  see  that  scientific  attainment  does  not 
exempt  men  from  the  physical  suffering  consequent  upon  sin.  The  boils  were 
upon  the  magicians.  These  magicians  were  men  of  scientific  knowledge. 
They  were  the  king's  advisers.  Their  position  in  the  nation  was  dependent 
upon  their  e<lucation  and  skill.  Hence  their  trickery.  But  the  suffering  con- 
sequent upon  sin,  is  not  to  be  warded  off  by  scientific  prescriptions  ;  nor  is  it 
to  be  deluded  by  cunning.  Thus  men  who  have  strengthened  others  in  sin 
are  themselves  overtaken  with  the  retributions  of  heaven.  All  men  are  in  the 
hand  of  God. 

III.  That  the  physical  suffering'  consequent  upon  sin  does  not  always  lead 
men  to  moral  reformation.  This  terrible  pestilence  did  not  work  repentance  in 
the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  but  only  rendered  him  more  wilful  in  his  obstinacy. 
And  so  men  are  often  unsubdued  by  the  most  alarming  consequences  of  their 
conduct.  They  are  afilicted.  Their  families  are  ruined.  Their  reputation  is 
gone.  Yet  they  show  no  token  of  penitence.  Their  calamities  only  appear  to 
harden  them.  In  this  mood  of  soul  they  are  taken  on  to  destruction,  to 
eternity.  Pain  is  not  necessarily  regenerative  in  its  influence.  It  does  not 
always  humble  the  spirit.  It  does  not  always  conquer  the  tyrant.  Man  has  a 
wonderous  power  of  moral  resistance.  He  can  reject  the  severe  discipline  of 
God.  Lessons  :  1.  That  God  permits  suffering  to  come  upon  wicked  men  to 
reprove  and  correct  their  moral  character.  2.  That  the  laws  of  physical  manhood 
are  in  harmony  with  true  well-being  of  the  soul.  3.  That  pain  should  lead  us 
to  review  the  meaning  of  our  lives. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  8,  9.     Upon  former  warnings  of  His  word  upon  the  obedience  of  His 

despised  God  falls  suddenly  upon  the  servants  in  plaguing  His  enemies, 

wicked.  Man  and  beast  in  Egypt  are  the 

Though  God  can  plague  His  enemies  memorials  of  God's  faithfulness  in  His 

without  instruments,  yet  sometimes  He  vengeance, 
will  use  them. 

God  gives  command  out  of  ashes  to  The  Insignificant  Commencement  op 

bring  fiery  plagues  on  the  wicked.  Great  Calamities. 

Handfuls  of  ashes  are  to  note  full  I.  That  great  calamities  are  often 

measure  of  vengeance  on  God's  enemies,  insignificant  in  their  commencement. 

Signal  actions  God  sometimes  uses  Tliis  plague  was  caused  by  the  sprink- 

for  men  to  see  and  fear  ling  of  a  few  handfuls  of  ashes.    None 

God  can  make  aslies  dust,  and  dust  of  those  who  witnessed  the  performance 

boils,  to  plague  His  enemies.  of  this  ceremony  by  Moses  and  Aaron 

Divme   retributions ;— 1.    Transfor-  would  imagine  that  so  great  a  calamity 

mative.    2.  Diflusive.     3.  Afilictive.  could  have  proceeded  from  so  trivial  a 

cause.     But  in  reality  there  is  no  such 

Verse    10.     Exact   obedience   must  thing  in  the  universe  as  a  trivial  cause  ; 

God's  instruments  give  as  to  matters  all  causes  are  potent  to  great  effects, 

and  actions  in  executing  God's  plagues.  A  trivial  ailment  may  work  death.     A 

Exact  performance  does  God  make  little  misunderstanding  may  break  up  a 

179 


CHAP.  IX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


church.  A  little  sin  may  ruin  a  soul. 
Let  us  remember  that  a  few  liandfuls 
of  ashes  are  productive  of  great  woe. 
A  little  anger  breaks  into  a  great  fire, 
and  may  end  in  murder.  A  little 
slander  spreads  a  long  way,  and  may 
injure  the  best  reputation  in  the  world, 
and  nullify  the  toil  of  the  best  Christian 
worker, 

II.  That  great  calamities  are  often 
mysterious  in  their  infliction.  Moses 
and  Aaron  simply  sprinkled  the  ashes 
in  the  air,  and  they  became  afflictive 
with  this  sore  pestilence.  How  was  this 
accomplished  ?  What  was  the  method 
of  its  working?  The  result  would 
astonish  Pharaoh  and  his  magicians. 
And  so  it  is  astonishing  how  apparently 
trivial  causes  are  intluential  to  such 
great  results.  Men  are  at  a  loss  to  ex- 
plain how  little  sins  are  so  far-reaching 
in  their  effects.  'Ihis  cannot  be  ex- 
plained on  any  principle  of  science.  It 
must  be  recognized  as  the  wondrous 
ordination  of  God,  and  as  the  efficient 
law  of  moral  life,  designed  to  keep  men 
right. 

III.  That  great  calamities  are  often 
irrepressille  in  their  progress.  These 
ashes  were  sprinkled  in  the  sight  of 
Pharaoh  and  his  magicians  ;  but  the 
proud  monarch  was  impotent  to  pre- 
vent or  stay  the  curse.  And  so  when 
the  judgments  of  God  are  abroad  in  the 
earth,  and  when  little  causes  are  work- 
ing out  their  punitive  issue  in  the  lives 
of  men  and  nations,  they  cannot  be 
restrained  by  pride  or  power.  And  thus 
we  see  how  the  smallest  ashes  in  the 
hand  of  God  may  become  afflictive  to 
a  vast  nation. 

The  Helplessness  of  Wicked  Men 
IN  THE  HouK  or  Divine  Retribu- 
tion. 

Verses  11,  12.  Men  exhibit  their 
principles  in  the  hour  of  retribution 
and  pain  ;  then  it  is  that  character  is 
made  manifest.  In  this  verse  we  see 
how  helpless  were  the  magicians  under 
the  retributions  of  heaven. 
180 


I.  They  are  helpless  because  they 
have  not  the  ability  to  avert  the  retri- 
butions of  God.  These  magicians  had 
not  the  ability  to  avert  the  pain  with 
which  they  were  afflicted.  They  had 
not  the  power  to  contend  with  God. 
Nor  could  Satan  throw  around  them  a 
shield  to  quench  the  darts  of  a  retri- 
butive Pz'ovidence.  The  devil  gets 
men  into  trouble,  and  then  leaves  them 
in  it  without  help.  The  sinner  is 
helpless  before  the  anger  of  God.  In 
the  Great  Judgment  he  will  be  unable 
to  avert  the  sentence  of  the  Judge. 
Sin  ever  makes  men  helpless. 

II.  They  are  helpless  because  they 
have  not  the  courage  to  endure  the 
retributions  of  God.  These  magicians 
had  not  bold  manhood  enough  to  bear 
the  plague  defiantly,  and  to  shake  off 
its  pain  by  apparent  insensibility. 
Sinners  are  generally  the  most  sensi- 
tive to  the  judgments  of  God.  Sin 
makes  men  cowardly.  Hell  cannot 
inspire  the  wicked  heart  with  courage 
in  the  hour  of  trial. 

III.  They  are  helpless  because  they 
lack  those  moral  qualities  which  alone 
can  aid  men  in  the  hour  of  retribu- 
tion. If  man  is  to  stand  in  the 
presence  of  God  during  the  time  of 
pain,  he  must  be  strong  in  faith,  in 
prayer,  and  hope,  and  in  a  desire  to 
work  the  Divine  will.  But  of  this 
strength,  the  sinner  is  destitute,  and 
he  is  therefore  given  over  to  the  weak- 
ness of  the  moment.  Lessons:  1.  71iat 
though  men  have  experience  of  Satan's 
inabilitj  to  help  them  in  their  trouble 
consequent  upon  sin,  they  will  not 
desist  from  it.  2.  That  all  Satan's 
instrume?its  are  vanquished  by  the 
plague  of  God. 

Heart-Obdueact. 

I.  It  is  permitted  by  God. 

II.  It  renders  men  deaf  to  the  voice 
of  God. 

III.  It  calls  for  the  continued  retri- 
bution of  heaven. 


UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap  ix. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  \Z—IQ. 

The  Divine  Name  as  manifested  in  the  History  of  a  Wicked  and 

Rebellious  Soul. 

We  must  clearly  understand  the  teaching  of  the  sixteenth  verse  of  this 
paragraph,  or  we  shall  be  apt  to  have  a  wrong  view  of  the  character  of  God,  and 
to  indulge  unholy  thoughts  in  reference  to  the  method  of  the  Divine  administra- 
tion over  the  human  soul.  We  must  not  imagine  that  God  made  Pharaoh 
obstinate  on  purpose  that  He  might  show  His  power  on  him,  and  thereby  get 
glory  to  Himself ;  for  God  needs  not  man's  malice  for  the  setting  forth  of  His 
glory.  We  must  not  understand  by  it  that  God  decreed  Pharaoh  to  be  rebel- 
lious, and  that  it  was  therefore  impossible  for  the  proud  monarch  to  be  otherwise. 
The  verse  does  not  mean  that  God  created  Pharaoh  for  the  purpose  of  mani- 
festing His  power  in  him.  The  king  of  Egypt  had  been  passing  through  great 
afflictions,  which  were  enough  to  be  the  death  of  him,  and  from  these  God  had 
raised  him  up  to  manifest  His  power  and  mercy.  The  same  word  occurs  in 
James  v.  15.  We  have  here  the  jjrinciple  clearly  established — viz.,  that  God 
reveals  His  name,  character,  and  method  of  moral  government,  in  the  lives  oj 
individual  men.  God  not  only  reveals  Himself  in  the  inspired  volume  which 
He  has  caused  to  be  written  ;  not  only  in  the  material  universe  around  us  ;  but 
also  in  the  experiences  and  soul-histories  of  the  race.  Human  society  gives  us 
an  insight  into  the  character  of  God,  and  enables  us  to  understand  the  method 
of  the  Divine  procedure.  We  see  the  laws  of  heaven  operating  in  the  lives  of 
men.     This  is  an  interesting  study.     It  is  likewise  admonitory. 

I.  From  the  history  of  Pharaoh  we  see  that  it  is  not  the  way  of  God  to 
remove  a  wicked  soul  by  the  immediate  stroke  of  power.  We  know  right 
well  that  the  Divine  Being  need  not  have  held  any  controversy  with  the  king  of 
Egypt  in  reference  to  the  freedom  of  Israel ;  as  far  as  power  was  concerned  He 
could  easily  have  stricken  Pharaoh  into  the  grave  at  the  outset.  But  this  would 
have  been  contrary  to  the  ordinary  method  of  the  Divine  government,  which  is 
not  to  subdue  men  by  power,  but  to  win  them  by  moral  considerations  and  by 
manifestation  of  Divine  mercy.  Force  is  a  token  of  weakness  in  the  moral 
sphere  of  life.  Hence  God  does  not  annihilate  the  sinner.  He  does  not  imme- 
diately inflict  death  upon  him,  but  mercifully  prolongs  his  life  through  many 
retributions,  until  mercy  is  useless  and  justice  is  imperative.  Then  the  sinner 
meets  his  just  doom,  which  he  might  have  averted  by  deep  and  true 
repentance.  We  sometimes  wonder  that  God  allows  the  criminally  sinful  to 
live,  to  reject  His  claims,  and  to  pollute  His  universe.  His  mercy  is  the  only 
explanation  that  can  be  given  of  their  continued  existence.  Hence  the  mercy 
of  the  Divine  name  is  declared  in  the  prolonged  life  of  the  sinner. 

II.  From  the  history  of  Pharaoh,  we  see  that  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  sur- 
round the  wicked  soul  by  many  ministries  of  salvation.  God  did  not  make 
known  His  will  to  Pharaoh  in  reference  to  the  freedom  of  Israel,  and  then  leave 
him  to  his  own  rebellious  inclination  without  further  warning.  But  he  sent 
rnessenger  alter  messenger  to  the  impious  monarch.  He  sent  Moses  and  Aaron 
time  after  time,  who  uttered  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  him.  He  authenticated 
the  word  they  uttered.  He  sent  plagues  to  enforce  it.  But  all  in  vain.  Hence 
we  behold  the  merciful  manner  in  which  God  deals  with  the  sinner.  How  many 
ministries  has  heaven  sent  to  lead  men  to  salvation  and  to  the  cross.     There  is 

181 


•XAF.  IX. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


the  ministry  of  truth,  the  ministry  of  the  pulpit,  the  ministry  of  conscience, 
and  the  ministry  of  daily  events  ;  the  sinner  is  indeed  surrounded  by  messen- 
gers who  would  lead  him  to  repentance. 

III.  From  the  history  of  Pharaoh,  we  see  that  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  fol- 
low the  wicked  soul  with  continued  judgments.  Pharaoh  was  followed  by  the 
judgments  of  heaven.  'J'hey  came  in  quick  succession.  They  were  grievous  in 
their  infliction,  and  awful  in  their  retribution.  The  sinner  cannot  be  happy. 
He  is  in  conflict  with  God.  All  nature  is  against  him.  He  is  exposed  to  in- 
numerable perils.  Sin  is  always  associated  with  plagues.  It  is  punished  in 
this  life.  But  this  is  ever  a  merciful  arrangement,  in  that  the  soul  may  be  led 
to  repentance,  and  thus  escape  the  retribution  of  the  life  to  come.  We  cannot 
but  see  in  the  entire  history  of  Pharaoh,  the  disasters  tliat  overtake  a  wicked 
life,  and  that  by  Divine  permission.  The  sorrows  of  the  wicked  are  not  for- 
tuitous or  casual,  but  Divinely  arranged  and  continuous.  No  man  need  envy 
the  penalties  that  follow  sin.  Hence  in  the  life  of  the  sinner  is  seen  the  power 
of  the  Divine  hand.  Lessons  :  1.  lliat  God  permits  wicked  men  to  live  in  the 
universe,  notwithstanding  the  continued  rebellion  against  Him.  2.  That  a  life 
of  sin  is  a  life  of  judgment.  3.  That  the  sovereignty,  mercy,  power^  and  justice 
of  God  are  seen  in  his  dealings  with  men. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses,  13,  14.  God  pursues  perse- 
cutors early  in  multiplying  His  plagues 
upon  them. 

Seven  times,  yea  and  seven,  will  God 
demand  His  church  out  of  the  hand  of 
oppressors,  until  he  deliver  them. 

God  has  a  time  of  mustering  up  all 
His  plagues  together,  when  single  ones 
are  despised. 

God  makes  hearts  sick  with  smiting, 
when  blows  will  do  no  good  upon  the 
outward  man. 

Heart-evils  are  more  grievous  plagues 
from  God  upon  men. 

Heart-plagues  are  signal  to  make 
proud  sinners  acknowledge  the  supre- 
macy of  God. 

God  will  be  known  by  His  judgments 
to  be  the  one  Lord  in  all  the  eartL 


are  indicative  of  the  soul's  ruin.  The 
time  of  their  advent  is  generally 
predicted. 

II.  In  what  they  consist.  They  con- 
sist in  the  inward  suffering  of  man's 
moral  nature.  Not  in  external  afilic- 
tion,  however  terrible,  but  in  the  inner 
agony  of  the  spirit.  It  is  better  to  be 
tormented  in  the  body  and  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  life  than  in  the  thoughts, 
sentiments,  and  atfections  of  the  soul. 

III.  For  what  they  are  sent.  They 
are  sent  to  teach  men  the  supremacy 
of  God,  and  their  duty  in  relation  to 
the  Supreme  Being.  How  many  are 
apparently  unmindful  of  the  only  true 
God,  and  are  only  brought  to  acknow- 
ledge Him  by  agony  of  soul. 


HEART-PLAGUEa 

I.  The  time  when  they  are  sent 
They  are  sent  when  the  soul  is  rebel- 
lious to  the  claims  of  God,  and  when 
those  claims  have  been  continuously 
rejected.  These  heart-plagues  follow 
other  judgments  less  severe.  They  are 
the  emphatic  voices  of  heaven.  They 
132 


Verses  15, 16.  Pestilence : — 1.  The 
outcome  of  Divine  power.  2.  The 
outcome  of  Divine  anger.  3.  The  in- 
dication of  final  destruction. 

Though  God  spares  sinners  a  time, 
he  will  manifest  His  power  in  them  at 
last. 

God  will  have  the  whole  earth  know 
His  name  in  his  judgments. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  ix. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAORAPH.— Vents  17—21. 

The  Plague  of  Hail  threatened;  or,  attention  to  the  Word  of  God 
THE  Condition  of  Safety  in  the  final  Judgment  of  Life, 

Here  is  a  particular  prediction  of  the  plague  of  hail,  and  a  gracious  advice  to 
Pharaoh  and  his  people,  to  send  for  their  servants  and  cattle  out  of  the  field, 
that  they  might  be  sheltered.  When  God's  justice  threatens  ruin,  His  mercy 
at  the  same  time  shews  men  a  way  of  escape  from  it,  so  unwilling  is  He  that 
any  should  perish.  We  take  this  threat,  the  mercy  by  which  it  was  accompanied, 
as  typical  of  the  final  judgment  of  life,  and  the  opportunity  given  to  men  to 
avert  its  awful  terrors. 

I.  That  there  is  a  great  and  awful  judgment  threatened  upon  man  in  the 
future.  The  plague  of  hail  was  to  come  upon  Egypt  on  the  morrow.  But  it 
is  not  made  known  when  the  final  judgment  will  dawn  upon  the  race.  That 
time  is  known  only  to  the  great  God  ;  and  it  does  not  become  the  human  mind 
to  be  inquisitive  on  the  subject.  The  fact  is  certain ;  and  that  is  enough  for 
all  the  varied  purposes  of  moral  conduct.  1.  That  as  the  plague  of  hail  was 
threatened  before  its  occurrence;  so  the  final  judgment  is  previously  made  known 
to  the  world.  The  plague  of  hail  was  threatened  upon  the  Egyptians  before  its 
descent,  in  all  its  severity.  It  was  made  known  to  Pharaoh  and  to  those  in 
league  with  him.  And  so  the  fact  of  the  future  judgment  is  made  known  to  the 
world.  It  is  revealed  clearly  in  the  inspired  volume.  It  is  enforced  by  the 
conscience.  It  is  prefigured  by  tribunals  of  earthly  justice,  A  day  is  ordained 
in  which  Christ  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness.  That  day  will  be  on  the 
morrowof  the  world's  history.  It  ought  not  to  take  men  by  surprise,  as  it  is  so 
emphatically  predicted.  2.  That  as  the  plague  of  hail  was  grievous  in  its 
i7iJiiction;  so  the  future  judgment  will  be  woful  to  the  wicked.  The  hail  was 
to  be  very  grievous.  We  read  that  it  smote  the  flax  and  the  barley.  And 
how  grievous  the  final  judgment  will  be  no  tongue  can  tell,  or  pen  describe. 
We  have  descriptions  of  it  in  the  Word  of  God,  but  only  the  dread  reahty  will 
disclose  to  the  soul  its  real  terrors.  Then  the  hope  and  joy  of  the  sinner  will  be 
smitten,  and  the  unholy  life  will  be  an  eternal  wreck.  3,  That  as  the  plague  of 
hail  was  unparalleled  in  severity ;  so  the  final  judgment  will  be  unique  in  its 
method  and  horror.  The  Egyptians  had  been  afflicted  with  many  plagues,  and 
had  passed  through  many  experiences  of  retribution,  but  none  more  grievous 
than  this._  This  was  unique  in  its  method  and  severity.  It  was  fatal  to  many. 
It  was_  injurious  to  national  prosperity.  And  so,  humanity  will  pass  through 
many  judgments  prior  to  the  final  one,  through  much  painful  discipline,  designed 
to  be  corrective,  but  none  will  be  equal  or  similar  to  that  of  the  last  great  day. 
It  will  be  unparalleled,  such  as  will  not  have  been  known  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world, 

II.  That  there  is  a  shelter  provided  from  the  final  judgment  of  the  future. 

1.  Divinely  rnade^  known.  When  the  plague  of  hail  was  threatened,  at  the  same 
time  the  possibility  of  safety  was  made  known.  And  so  when  the  danger  of 
man's  moral  condition  was  made  known  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  remedy  was 
immediately  announced.  The  shelter  of  the  soul  from  the  final  retribution  of 
life  is  the  one  great  theme  of  the  Bible,     Man  is  urged  to  flee  to  it  at  once. 

2.  Mercifully  sufficient.  All  those  who  heeded  the  word  of  God  in  reference  to 
the  plague  were  freed  from  its  alarming  consequences.     They  found  shelter  ia 

183 


CHAP  IX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


their  homes.  Christ  is  the  home  of  the  soul.  In  Him  it  is  secure.  In  Him  it 
will  rest  peacefully  amidst  the  final  judgment  of  the  universe.  3.  Gratefully 
welcomed.  We  can  imagine  how  welcome  to  the  Eg3'ptians  who  were  obedient 
to  the  word  of  God,  would  be  the  shelter  of  their  homes  during  this  terrible 
storm.  Much  more  welcome  will  be  Christ  as  the  refuge  of  the  soul  in  the  final 
hour  of  life. 

III.  That  only  those  who  heed  the  warning  of  God,  and  avail  themselves  of 
the  shelter  provided,  will  be  safe  in  the  final  judgment  of  life.  All  the 
Egyptians  who  remained  in  the  open  field  were  destroyed  by  the  hail.  And  all 
who  remain  in  the  open  field  of  sin,  of  carnal  pleasure,  and  of  wilful  scepticism 
will  be  awfully  smitten  by  the  final  judgment  of  God.  They  will  have  no 
mode  of  escape.  They  will  perish  in  their  disobedience.  Then  no  refuge  will 
be  available.  And  so  those  who  have  neglected  to  flee  to  Christ,  will  in  the 
last  day  have  no  mitigation  of  the  penalty  they  have  deserved.  Then  no  plea 
will  avail  them.     They  will  be  lost. 

IV.  That  many  through  unbelief  or  through  neglect  of  the  word  of  God, 
will  perish  in  the  final  judgment  of  Life.  Many  Egyptians  died  through  their 
unbelief  They  heeded  not  the  warning  of  God.  And  so,  many  at  the  last  day 
will  be  in  a  like  condition.  They  had  every  opportunity  of  salvation.  But 
unbelief  will  be  their  ruin.  Les-sons  :  1.  Believe  in  the  judgment  to  come. 
2.  Believe  in  the  mercy  of  Christ.     3,  Flee  from  the  wrath  to  come. 


SUGGESTIVE   COMMENTS   ON   THE    VEJtSES.— Verse  17, 


A  Self-Exalted  Man. 

I.  That  a  self-exalted  man  often 
treats  with  contempt  the  claims  of 
duty.  Pharaoh  was  commanded  to 
give  Israel  their  freedom.  This  was 
his  duty.  But  he  regarded  it  with 
great  contempt.  And  so  many  people, 
who  are  great  in  their  own  conceit, 
reject  the  claims  of  God  upon  them 
and  their  service.  They  imagine  them- 
selves above  all  morality,  and  as  supe- 
rior to  those  laws  and  principles  of 
conduct  which  more  humble  spirits  re- 
gard as  the  rule  of  life. 

II.  That  a  self-exalted  man  often 
treats  with  contempt  the  people  of  God. 
Pharaoh  treated  Israel  as  slaves,  and 
Moses  and  Aaron  as  vile  imposters, 
unworthy  his  notice.  And  how  often 
do  self-exalted  men  oppress  and  malign 
the  church,  and  how  often  do  they  ill- 
treat  the  ministers  of  God. 

III.  That  a  self-exalted  man  is  often 
humiliated  by  the  sad  discipline  of  life. 
Was  it  not  so  in  the  case  of  Pharaoh  ? 
Who  can  read  the  history  of  his  self- 
exaltation  without  seeing  his  self-de- 

184 


feat.  True  is  it  that  men  who  exalt 
themselves  shall  be  abased.  Self-con- 
ceit is  self-destruction.  Pride  invites 
a  severe  discipline.  The  plagues  of 
Egypt  are  evidence  of  this. 

Self-exaltation  : — 1.  In  what  it  con- 
sists.    2.  How  it  is  punished, 

God  expostulates  with  highest  powers 
on  earth  for  injuiy  done  to  His  church. 

Such  injury  draws  on  more  venge- 
ance upon  proud  persecutors. 

Verse  18.  God  demonstrates  judg- 
ments to  the  wicked  before  He  sends 
them. 

Jehovah  is  the  author  of  rain  in 
judgment  as  well  as  in  mercy. 

God  has  time  in  his  hand  to  de- 
termine events  of  judgment  at  His 
pleasure. 

The  morrow-events  for  judgment  are 
only  in  God's  hand,  unparalleled  judg- 
ments does  God  inflict  upon  unparal- 
leled sinners. 

Verse  19.  God's  advice  to  escape 
judgment  goes  along  with  threatenings 
of  it  to  the  sinner. 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS, 


OBJlP.  IX. 


God  teaches  men  providence  to  hide 
themselves  from  the  stroke  of  judg- 
ment. 

God  foretells  that  all  despisers  of 
providence,  and  presumers  on  God 
shall  perish. 

Salutary  Fear. 

Verse  20.  Threatened  judgments 
test  men.  There  was  a  dilference  even 
among  the  Egyptians :  some  would 
defy  (jiod  to  the  last,  others  were  ready 
to  yield  to  Him.  Men  in  all  conditions 
and  climes,  differ  much  with  respect 
to  their  measure  of  power  to  resist  God. 
Religious  impressionableness  varies. 
Some  are  more  susceptible  to  the 
presence  of  God  than  others. 

I.  These  men  feared  God's  threatened 

judgment.  They  had  seen  that  the 
Divine  words  spoken  by  Moses  had 
previously  come  to  pass,  and  believing 
his  words  now,  t/ie7/  feared.  Fear 
often  arises  from  faith  in  God's  word. 
If  sinners  believed  the  judgments 
threatened  against  them  they  would 
be  in  great  fear.  "  There  is  enough 
terror  in  the  Bible  to  make  the  sinner's 
hair  stand  on  end."  Fear  is  a  blessing 
to  the  sinner  and  often  serviceable  to 
the  saint ;  though  perfect  love  casteth 
out  fear.  If  we  are  His  children  we 
are  as  safe  in  times  of  judgment  as  in 
times  of  mercy.  Fear  is  the  alarum 
of  the  soul.  It  is  frequently  the  first 
emotion  in  a  new  life.  Bunyan  repre- 
sents his  pilgrim  starting  from  the 
"  City  of  Destruction"  because  he 
feared  its  overthrow.  Fear  often 
brings  in  love  "  as  the  needle  draws 
in  tlie  thread" — Adams.  God  often 
awakens  sinners  by  judgments,  before 
he  reveals  to  them  His  mercy.  Fear 
however  may  be  slavish,  and  not  lead 
to  higher  experiences.  When  calamities 
threaten,  such  as  famine,  war,  or  pesti- 
lence, how  the  sanctuaries  are  crowded ! 
Some  receive  life,  others  go  back  to 
death.  These  Egyptians  may  have 
been  led  by  their  fears  to  recognize 
the  claims  of  the  true  God,  and  to 
serve  Him.  They  might  have  been 
among  those  who  left  Egypt  with  the 
Israelites.     Their  goodness  also  may 


have  been  like  the  morning  cloud  on 
early  dew.  It  is  a  serious  hour  when 
men  are  awakened  out  of  the  sleep  of 
sin  by  fear.  They  may  then  take  the 
first  step  towards  heaven  or  increase 
the  condemnation  which  previously 
rested  upon  them. 

II.  Their  fear  led  to  appropriate  ac- 
tion. They  prepared  for  the  coming 
storm.  What  discussions  would  arise 
among  the  servants  of  Pharaoh  respect- 
ing this  overhanging  judgment !  Bidi- 
cule  might  have  been  heaped  upon  some 
for  their  faith  in  God's  word.  Some 
doubtless  acted  merely  to  secure  them- 
selves from  loss ;  others  because  they 
recognized  the  supremacy  of  Jehovah. 
Fear  often  leads  to  right  action.  There 
would  be  far  more  sin  in  the  world  if 
there  was  less  fear.  Men  remember  a 
coming  judgment,  and  turn  into  the 
ways  of  righteousness.  There  is  a  storm 
yet  to  break  upon  the  earth  far  more 
terrible  than  even  this  which  struck 
terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  Egyptians. 
"  Upon  the  wicked  He  shall  rain  snares, 

fire  and  brimstone,  and  an  horrible 
tempest,  this  shall  be  the  portion  of 
their  cup!'  Are  we  making  prepara- 
tions for  that  day  ?  Have  we  fled  for 
refuge,  and  laid  hold  on  the  hope  set 
before  us  in  the  gospel  ?  Christ  is  the 
hiding-place  from  this  coming  storm. 
There  is  shelter  for  all  in  Him.  The 
wise  are  warned  and  hide  themselves 
in  Him.  God''s  threatenings  are  sure 
to  be  fulfilled.  The  simple  neglect  the 
warning  and  are  destroyed. 

III.  Their  fear  led  to  welcome  safety. 

Obedience  brought  its  reward.  Men's 
property  would  be  safer  if  they  had 
greater  respect  for  the  word  of  God. 
God  cares  for  the  cattle.  The  animal 
creation  has  suffered  much  for  man's 
sins.  Religion  in  the  master  benefits 
the  whole  circle  of  the  home.  God- 
fearing masters  are  a  great  blessing  to 
their  servants.  No  one  liveth  to  him- 
self. Our  influence  is  the  boundary 
line  of  our  responsibility.  The  actions 
of  masters  often  affect  the  eternal 
welfare  of  their  dependents.  Masters 
should  use  loving  constraint.  They 
should  seek  to  make  their  households 

185 


CHAP.  IX.  HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


flee  into  Christ  the  house  of  refuge  Verse  21.     Belief  of  the  Word  of 

to  escape  the  coming   storm.     Many  God :— 1.    Makes    men    tremble.     2. 

masters  are   guilty  of  great  neglect.  Makes  men  wise.     3.  Makes  men  safe. 

Well  may  they  ask  in  the  trenchant  4.  Makes  men  singular. 

words  of  Wesley  Wicked  mon  through  fear  may  flee 

«  Shall  I  through  indolence  repine  from  temporal  plagues  but  not  eternal. 

Neglect,  betray,  my  charge  Divine,  Disregard     ot     ijrOd  : — 1.     KumOUS. 

My  delegated  power  ?  2.      PreSUmptUOUS.         3.     Foolish.       4. 

The  souls  I  from  my  Lord  receive  Common.     5.  Inexcusable. 

Of  each  I  an  account  must  give 
At  that  tremendous  hour  !" 

W.  0.  Lilley. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.—  Vertet  22—28. 

The  Plague  of  Rain,  Hail  and  Fire;  or,  God's  Command  over  the 
Elements  of  the  Materla.l  Universe. 

Moses  had  uttered  the  solemn  warning,  and  now  goes  forth  into  the  fields, 
and  stretches  out  his  hand  toward  heaven ;  and  the  windows  of  heaven  are 
opened,  and  the  wrath  of  God  pours  down.  That  firmament  which  had  rained 
water  upon  the  old  world,  and  fire  upon  Sodom,  now  sends  forth  both  fire  and 
water  upon  the  land  of  Egypt  (Psalm  cxlviii.  8  ;  Job.  xxxviii.  22  ;  Psalm  cv.  32, 
Psalm  Ixxxviii.  47,  Psalm  xviii.  13).  A  plague  of  hail,  with  lightning  and 
thunder,  must  have  been  more  awful  and  portentuous  in  Egypt  than  in  any 
other  country ;  for  there  rain  was  almost  unknown,  thunderstorms  were  of  rare 
occurrence,  and  lightning,  when  it  appeared,  was  generally  of  a  harmless  kind. 
The  Egyptians  were  much  given  to  the  observance  of  all  unusual  piienomena, 
and  looked  upon  them  as  portentuous.  Fire  was  esteemed  a  mighty  deity. 
And  thus  we  see  here  these  plagues  were  directed  against  the  worship  of  Egypt. 
This  plague  was  evidently  miraculous.  It  fell  in  Egypt  which  was  not  a 
country  subject  to  tempests.  There  was  fire  and  water  together,  the  rain  not 
extinguishing  the  fire.  It  was  all  over  the  land  of  Egypt ;  yet  Goshen  was  free. 
Also  the  time  of  the  storm  was  predicted. 

I.  That  the  material  universe  is  gifted  with  numerous  and  contrary  agencies 
and  elements.  1.  The  elements  of  nature  called  into  exercise  by  this  plague 
u-ere  numerous.  There  was  rain,  hail,  fire  and  thunder.  These  are  a  necessity 
of  the  material  universe.  They  are  useful  and  beneficial ;  but  they  are  also 
capable  of  great  devastation  and  woe.  The  world  has  hidden  within  itself  the 
elements  of  its  own  well-being,  or  of  its  woe.  These  elements  of  nature  are 
often  symbolical.  The  rain,  of  heavenly  blessing  ;  the  fire,  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
the  thunder,  of  the  voice  of  God.  2.  The  elements  of  nature  called  into 
existence  by  this  plague  were  contrary.  The  rain  was  contrary  to  the  fire. 
There  are  very  opposite  elements  in  the  great  universe  around  us  ;  yet  all  exist 
in  harmony.  One  element  counteracts  and  yet  co-operates  with  another.  The 
elements  of  nature  blend  in  one  glorious  ministry  for  man  ;  though  sin  often 
turns  them  into  messengers  of  justice.  3.  The  elements  of  nature  called  into 
existence  by  this  plague  were  emphatic.  When  tbe  elements  of  the  material 
universe  are  arrayed  against  man  they  are  emphatic  in  their  message.  The 
thunder  spcak's  in  loud  voice.  It  has  a  message  to  the  soul.  There  is  a 
moral  significance  in  the  storm.  Jonah  in  the  tempest.  The  elements  of 
nature  are  sometimes  sent  after  men  to  bring  them  to  God.  God  speaks  to 
man  through  nature. 
186 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  ix. 


II.  That  God  has  complete  control  over  all  the  elements  of  the  material 
universe.  1.  ^'o  that  He  can  commission  His  servants  to  use  them  according  to 
His  will.  God  told  Moses  to  stretch  out  his  hand  toward  heaven,  and  there  should 
be  hail  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  And  so  the  Divine  Being  operates  upon  the 
laws  of  nature  by  the  intervention  of  man.  He  can  give  man  power  over  natural 
phenomenon.  Hence  we  see  that  not  merely  has  He  the  power  to  rule  nature 
Himself,  but  also  to  delegate  it  to  an  inferior  creature.  2.  So  that  He  can  make 
them  rebuke  the  sin  of  man.  The  elements  of  nature  frequently  rebuke  the  sins 
of  men  and  nations.  They  afflict  the  proud  monarch  and  his  people.  God  can 
arm  the  universe  against  a  wicked  soul.  He  can  torment  the  sinner  in  this 
life,  and  that  by  natural  phenomenon.  He  can  breathe  a  pestilence  into  the  air. 
He  can  plague  men  by  the  sometimes  refreshing  rain.  The  gentle  ministries  of 
nature  are  tierce  when  sent  on  warlike  errands  to  conquer  the  sin  of  man.  3. 
That  God  can  prevent  them  from  ivorking  injury  to  the  good.  "  Only  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,  where  the  children  of  Israel  were,  there  was  no  hail."  Moses 
would  be  out  in,  and  exposed  to,  this  terrible  storm,  as  the  lifting  up  of  his  hand 
had  instrumentally  brought  it  from  the  heavens.  But  good  men  are  safe  in 
tempests.  Nature  can  do  them  no  harm,  (iod  protects  them.  The  hairs  of 
their  head  are  all  numbered.  A  kind  Providence  watches  over  the  good.  And 
thus  we  see  how  God  governs  the  agencies  of  the  natural  world.  The  heathen 
imagined  that  divers  gods  were  over  divers  things  ;  some  ruling  the  air,  some 
the  tire,  some  the  water,  some  the  mountains,  and  some  the  plains.  But  God 
here  demonstrates  to  the  Eg3'^ptians  His  complete  authority  over  the  whole  of 
nature.     This  truth  is  consoling  to  the  good. 

III.  That  the  material  prosperity  of  a  nation  is  greatly  dependent  upon  the 
elements  of  nature,  and  that  therefore  God  alone  can  give  true  prosperity  to  a 
people.  1.  I'he  fields  and  gardens  of  Egypt  ivere  ruined.  "  And  the  hail 
smote  every  herb  of  the  field,  and  brake  every  tree  of  the  field."  The  Egyptians 
bestowed  great  care  upon  their  gardens,  which  were  ornamental,  and  were  very 
carefully  watered.  Flowers  and  fruits  were  presented  upon  the  altars  of  the 
gods.  Amongst  the  fruits  of  Egypt  were  the  date,  grape,  pomegranate,  olive, 
fig,  and  various  kinds  of  melons.  Gardens  and  fields  were  now  destroyed.  Tlie 
Egyptians  worshipped  the  produce  of  the  soil,  even  garlic  and  onions.  2.  The 
/law  and  barley  of  Egypt  were  ruined.  "  And  the  flax  and  the  barley  was 
smitten  :  for  the  barley  was  in  the  ear,  and  the  flax  was  boiled  "  (ver.  31).  The 
mention  of  these  productions  enables  us  to  ascertain  the  time  of  the  year  when 
the  storm  occurred — about  the  beginning  of  March.  This  would  be  a  great  blow 
to  the  commerce  of  the  country.  Egypt  had  always  been  famous  for  fine  linen 
(1  Kings  X.  28;  Prov.  vii.  16;  Ezek.  xxvii.  7).  The  destruction  of  the  flax 
deprived  the  people  of  the  material  for  their  chief  manufacture,  and  put  a  stop 
to  the  trade  which  they  carried  on  with  neighbouring  nations,  who  sent  their 
treasures  into  the  country  to  pay  for  it.  The  ruin  of  the  barley  was  equally 
injurious.  Egypt  was  from  early  times  the  granary  of  the  world  (Gen.  xli.  57). 
And  thus  we  see  how  the  prosperity  of  a  nation  is  dependent  upon  the  natural 
government  of  God  in  the  material  world.  Let  rulers  remember  this.  And  let 
not  the  people  forget  it.  Sin  is  a  curse  to  any  nation.  National  righteousness 
is  national  prosperity  and  elevation.  Lessons  :  1.  That  the  material  universe 
is  under  the  rule  of  God.  2.  That  the  good  are  divinely  protected  in  danger. 
3.  2'hat  national  prosperity  is  the  gift  of  heaven. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  22.  When  God's  warnings  To  encourage  faith,  God  calleth  His 
are  not  regarded  He  soon  gives  the  servants  to  assist  in  working  vengeance. 
command  for  execution.  God  makes  use  of  signals  to  induce 

187 


CHAP.  IX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


judgments  sometimes  by  the  hand  of 
ilis  instruments. 

God's  word  maketh  such  signs  effec- 
tual that  they  may  be  feared. 

God's  word  creates  hail  for  venge- 
ance, as  sometimes  in  mercy.  Man 
and  beast,  herbs  and  all  to  the  utmost 
extent,  are  subjected  to  God's  hail,  at 
His  command. 


Verses  23 — 26.  God's  servants  are 
ready  with  hand  and  sign  to  prosecute 
His  commands  exactly. 

God's  hand  is  with  the  hand  of  His 
servants  to  effect  the  work  which  they 
signify. 

Jehovah  alone  hath  thunder,  hail, 
and  fire  at  command  to  give,  and  send 
on  enemies  which  he  pleaseth. 

Showers  of  hail  and  fire  God  can 


command  to  come  and  run  upon  tha 
earth  at  His  pleasure. 

Contrary  elements  God  useth  to- 
gether to  make  His  judgments  more 
terrible.     Fire  and  hail. 

Most  grievous  and  unparalleled 
vengeance  God  hath  determined  on 
Egypt  literal  and  spiritual. 

The  posterity  of  sinful  nations,  may 
see  greater  plagues  than  all  their 
fathers  from  the  beginning  of  them. 

God's  avenging  hail  is  smiting  hail 
even  to  destruction.  Man,  beast,  herb, 
trees  shall  perish  by  hail  and  fire  when 
He  commands  it. 

Discrimination  of  persons  in  judg- 
ment is  God's  peculiar  prerogative. 

No  avenging  hail  or  fire  shall  burn 
God's  Israel.  God's  people  are  kept 
in  peace  and  safety,  when  His  hail  and 
fire  fall  upon  the  world. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Yenet  27,  21 

Repentance  inspired  by  Fear. 

We  now  see  Pharaoh  as  a  penitent.  The  proud  King  is  humbled.  He  con- 
fesses his  sin.  He  resolves  to  amend  his  conduct.  He  sends  for  the  ministers 
of  the  truth.  We  have  seen  him  in  this  mood  before,  and  we  thought  thai;  it 
was  a  hopeful  token.  But  the  repentance  then  manifested  passed  away  with 
the  pain  that  awakened  it.  How  frequently  do  moods  of  repentance  come  upon 
the  soul,  but  how  soon  are  they  over,  and  leave  no  lasting  benediction  behind. 
God  awakens  men  to  repentance  by  varied  agencies.  Sometimes  by  the  stroke 
of  retribution,  and  sometimes  by  the  look  of  love  and  compassion  ;  men  who 
repent  under  the  influence  of  fear  are  very  likely  to  relapse  into  sin  when  the 
fear  has  passed  away.     We  have  an  instance  of  this  in  the  incident  before  us. 

I.  That  repentance  inspired  by  fear  is  experienced  by  men  of  the 
proudest  moral  character.  Pharaoh,  the  proud  monarch  of  Egypt,  was 
overtaken  by  the  rejientauce  of  terror.  He  was  the  last  man  we  should 
have  expected  to  find  in  such  a  condition.  He  is  haughty,  he  will  not 
submit  to  God.  He  is  bold,  he  will  withstand  the  Divine  message  and 
plague.  But  no,  he  is  suppliant  before  the  servants  of  God.  And  so  it 
is,  the  worst  men,  the  most  stubborn,  the  proudest  and  the  most  unlikely, 
are  sometimes  rendered  penitent  by  the  discipline  of  life,  and  by  tiie 
corrective  judgments  of  God.  This  shows  the  all-conquering  power  of  the 
truth,  in  that  it  can  subdue  the  tyrant-heart.  It  also  shows  the  mercy 
of  God,  in  that  the  most  degenerate  life  is  blessed  with  the  refreshing 
mood  of  repentance.  No  heart  is  utterly  destitute  of  better  feelings.  The 
worst  men  are  often  on  the  borders  of  a  new  life,  but  even  then  they  are 
not  beyond  the  reach  of  Satan.  Bad  men  are  capable  of  good  emotions, 
and  of  open  confessions,  which  seem  well,  but  which  are  the  outcome  of 
unhallowed  motive. 

II.  That  repentance  inspired  by  fear  anxiously  seeks  the  aid  of  the 
servants  of  God.     Here  we    have   the   great    King   of   Egypt  sending   for 

188 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  ix. 


Moses  and  Aaron  the  despised  servants  of  God.  Moses  and  Aaron  have  no 
social  accidents  to  commend  them  to  Pharaoh,  but  they  are  known  to  be  the 
servants  of  heaven,  and  that  is  their  recommendation  to  him.  When  men 
are  in  moods  of  repentance  they  are  glad  to  hnd  the  poorest  child  of  God, 
and  to  obtain  any  help  he  can  render.  Deep  repentance  is  oblivious  of 
social  distinctions,  and  looks  only  at  moral  qualitications.  When  wicked 
men  are  in  trouble  they  generally  send  for  good  men  to  help  them  out  of  it, 
and  thus  render  an  unconscious  homage  to  the  worth  of  piety.  But  it  not 
unfrequently  happens  that  the  servants  of  God  are  called  to  aid  a  repentance 
inspired  by  fear  of  pain  rather  than  by  a  conviction  of  sin.  At  such  times 
they  need  true  wisdom  and  fidelity. 

III.  That  repentance  inspired  by  fear  is  just  in  its  condemnation  of  self, 
and  in  its  acknowledgment  of  sin.  "  I  have  sinned  this  time."  Thus  we  find 
that  Pharaoh  made  an  open  acknowledgment  of  his  sin.  This  was  right. 
This  was  humiliating  as  it  was  made  to  men  whom  he  had  previously  despised. 
Here  is  some  token  of  a  right  spirit.  And  wicked  men  in  the  agony  of 
repentance,  under  pain  and  calamity,  often  confess  their  wrong  doing.  Tiiey 
are  ])rompted  to  do  so  by  the  sheer  force  of  conscience,  they  hope  by  such 
a  confession  to  appease  the  anger  of  God,  and  to  avert  the  calamity  under 
which  they  suffer.  There  are  times  when  confession  is  a  necessity  of  the  soul. 
When  sin  is  as  a  fire,  which  must  burn  through  all  subterfuges  and  manifest 
itself  to  the  public  eye.  Hence  open  confession  of  sin  is  not  an  infallible  token 
of  repentance  ;  it  may  be  the  outcome  of  necessity  or  of  terror. 

IV.— That  repentance  inspired  by  fear  is  just  in  its  vindication  of  the 
Divine  character.  "  The  Lord  is  righteous."  This  was  the  acknowledgment  of 
Pharaoh  ;  and  certainly  it  appears  strange  language  for  him  to  utter,  as  he 
had  but  poor  notions  of  righteousness,  and  but  little  inclination  a  short  time 
ago  to  predicate  it  of  Jehovah.  But  wicked  men,  in  moments  of  repentance  are 
loud  in  their  talk  about  the  rectitude  of  the  Almighty.  But  the  words  spoken 
at  such  a  time  are  deeper  than  the  heart  imagines.  To  a  truly  penitent  soul 
the  righteousness  of  God  is  the  supreme  thought.  His  law  appears  righteous. 
His  government  is  righteous.  The  soul  is  unrighteous  and  is  consequently 
opposed  to  God.  It  is  possible  for  wicked  men  in  moments  of  repentance, 
inspired  by  fear,  to  utter  beautiful  words  about  the  great  God,  and  about 
sublime  truth  without  any  adequate  conception  of  their  meaning.  Repentance 
is  not  to  be  gauged  by  the  utterance  of  the  lips. 

V.  That  repentance  inspired  by  fear  promises  future  obedience  to  the  claims 
of  God.  "  And  I  will  let  you  go."  Thus  Pharaoh  promises  to  submit  to  the 
command  of  God  in  reference  to  the  freedom  of  Israel.  This  was  the  outcome 
of  self-conflict,  wicked  men  do  not  like  to  give  up  their  sins.  It  is  not  easy  for 
them.  But  in  moods  of  repentance  inspired  by  fear  they  promise  future  attention 
to  the  word  of  God.     Fair  promises  are  not  infallible  tokens  of  repentance. 

VI.  That  repentance  inspired  by  fear  is  much  more  anxious  for  the  removal 
of  a  calamity  than  for  the  removal  of  sin.  "  Intreat  the  Lord  (for  it  is  enough) 
that  there  be  no  more  mighty  thunderings  and  hail."  And  thus  we  see  that 
Pharaoh  was  much  more  anxious  that  the  temporal  perils  by  which  he  was 
afflicted  should  be  removed,  than  that  his  sin  and  guilt  should  be  pardoned. 
And  so  it  is  ever  with  those  whose  repentance  is  inspired  by  fear.  They  seek 
not  Jesus.  They  seek  exemption  from  pain.  True  repentance  is  not  generated 
by  thunder  and  hail.  It  is  produced  by  the  gentle  dew  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Lessons  :  1.  Hoiv  difficult  to  tell  true  repentance  from  false.  2.  How  wicked 
men  are  humbled  by  the  2>ower  of  God.  3.  How  promises  of  amendment  are 
broken  by  the  sinner. 

189 


oair.  IX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE    VERSES. 

Verses  27,  28.     God's    discriminat-  faithful    confession.      4.    A    welcome 

ing  vengeance  considered   makes  the  confession.      5.  Sometimes  an  unreal 

vilest  sinners  seek  help.  confession. 

The  most  cruel  persecutors  are  some-  "  77ie  Lord  is  righteous  " : — 1.  Then 

times  ohliged  to  call  in  the  persecuted  admire  His  administration.     2.  Then 

for  their  helpers.  worship  His  glory.     3.  Then  fear  His 

Justification  of  God  is  wrested  out  justice.     4.  Then  vindicate  His  opera- 

of  the  mouths  of  His  bitterest  ene-  tions.      5.   Then    make    known    His 

mies.  praise. 

Prayers  from  the  righteous  to  God  A    wicked    people    and  a    wicked 

may  be  desired  by  the  wicked  in  their  monarch  : — 1.  Sad.     2.  Afflicted.     3. 

difficulties.  Repentant'. 

The  liberty  of  the  Church  will  be  "  Intreat  the  Lord" :— 1.  For  He 
granted  when  God  oppresses  the  op-  hears  prayer.  2.  For  He  has  re- 
pressor, spect  to  the  good.      3.    For  wicked 

"  I  have  sinned"  : — 1.  A  good  con-  men  need  Divine  help.     4.  For  He  is 

fession.     2.  A  simple  confession.    3.  A  merciful. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  29—35. 

Wise  Ministerial  Treatment  of  an  Obstinate  Sinner. 

Moses  was  a  true  minister.  He  was  a  real  and  worthy  servant  of  God.  He 
had  to  deal  with  an  obstinate  sinner  in  Pharaoh.  We  see  in  these  verses  the 
manner  in  which  he  treated  him  when  he  pretended  to  be  sorry  for  his  rebellion 
against  God. 

I.  That  the  true  minister  is  willing  to  render  help  to  the  vilest  persecutor 
in  the  hour  of  imagined  repentance.  Moses  did  not  remain  away  from  Pharaoh 
in  the  hour  of  his  penitence.  He  did  not  treat  him  with  contempt,  as  unwortliy 
of  further  effort.  He  went  to  him  at  once.  INiiuisters  are  never  justified  in 
leaving  even  the  vilest  men  to  themselves  in  their  time  of  perplexity.  They 
should  visit  them  and  render  them  all  the  aid  in  their  power.  The  true 
minister  of  the  cross  will  be  generous  and  forbearing.  He  will  have  too  much 
sympathy  with  the  souls  of  men  ever  to  leave  them,  even  though  he  has  little 
faith  in  their  professed  repentance  or  their  final  salvation.  The  hypocrite 
must  never  be  forsaken  by  the  servant  of  God. 

II.  That  the  true  minister  will  pray  for  the  most  obstinate  sinner  in  the 
hour  of  distress.  "  As  soon  as  I  am  gone  out  of  the  city,  1  will  spread  abroad 
my  hands  unto  the  Lord."  1.  The  prayer  will  be  offered  in  private.  "  Out 
of  the  city."  Did  Moses  go  out  of  the  city  to  pray  because  it  was  idolatrous, 
and  because  he  would  not  mix  the  worship  of  God  with  the  profane  super- 
stitions of  the  Egyi)tians  ?  Moses  went  out  from  the  presence  of  Pharaoh  ; 
he  would  give  the  king  time  to  fully  consider  his  promise,  and  to  test  the 
motive  of  his  repentance.  Also  Moses  wanted  to  be  alone  with  God.  Solitude 
is  favourable  to  prayer.  The  minister  should  seek  solitude.  It  is  well  for  him 
to  go  outside  of  the  city  to  meditate  and  to  pray  about  obstinate  men.  2. 
It  u-ill  be  offered  with  earnestness.  "  I  will  sjireacl  abroad  my  hands  unto  the 
Lord."  The  ministers  of  God  should  employ  their  hands  and  hearts  in  prayer 
to  heaven  for  the  souls  of  wicked  men. 

190 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  ohap.  k. 

III.  That  the  true  minister  may  assure  the  most  obstinate  sinner  of  the 
mercy  of  God  toward  him.  "And  the  thunder  shall  cease,  neither  shall  there 
be  anymore  hail."  Thus  Moses  makes  known  to  Pharoah  the  abundant  mercy 
of  God.  And  this  should  be  the  method  of  a  true  minister  in  his  treatment 
of  wicked  men.  He  should  assure  them  of  the  compassion  of  the  Infinite 
Faflipr  for  the  truly  penitent.  A  contrite  heart  shall  not  hear  the  thunder  of 
retributive  judgment, 

IV.  That  the  true  minister  must  assert  the  unbending  Sovereignty  of  God 
to  the  most  obstinate  sinner.  "  That  thou  mayest  know  how  that  the  earth 
is  the  Lord's."  The  divine  sovereignty  must  be  asserted  to  the  most  obstinate 
man,  even  though  he  may  be  the  proud  Monarch  of  Egypt.  True  repentance 
will  be  led  to  acknowledge  the  royal  supremacy  of  God  in  the  material  as  well 
^s  in  the  moral  universe.  Ministers  must  seek  to  give  repentant  souls  rightful 
views  of  the  Character  and  Rulership  of  the  Eternal. 

V.  That  the  true  Minister  will  deal  faithfully  with  the  most  obstinate 
sinner  who  may  manifest  tokens  of  repentance.  "  But  as  for  thee  and  thy 
servants,  I  know  that  ye  will  not  yet  fear  the  Lord  God."  This  language  was 
most  faithful  on  the  part  of  Moses.  It  was  plain.  It  was  fearless.  He  knew 
Pharaoh  too  well  to  imagine  that  his  repentance  was  genuine.  He  knew  his 
reformation  would  not  be  permanent.  In  this  way  will  the  wise  and  true 
minister  deal  with  the  obstinate  sinner  who  manifests  repentance  and  seeks  the 
removal  of  woe.  Lessons:  1.  That  ministers  are  often  perplexed  as  to  the  best 
method  of  conduct  toward  obstinate  sinners.  2.  They  must  pray  for  them,  3. 
They  must  be  faithful  to  them. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  29,  30.    Under  God's  reve-  Verses  31,  32.      God  in  His  pre- 

lation  His  ministers  may  assure  the  rogative  determines  what  creatures  to 

wicked  of  His  mercy.  destroy  for  the  punishment  of  man. 

Such  discoveries  are  made  to  wicked  When  creatures  grow  nearest  for  man's 

men  that  they  may  acknowledge  the  comfort,  he  takes  them  away  for  man's 

sovereignty    and    ownership    of  God  sin. 

over  all.  The  smitings  of  God . — 1.  The  out- 

Though  God's  servants  know  how  come  of  Divine  anger.    2.  The  punish- 
the  wicked  will  afterwards  behave,  yet  ment  of  man's  sin.     3.   The  richest 
they  may  pray  for  them.  Wicked  men  growths   stricken.     4.  The   immature 
may    tremble    under  vengeance,   but  things  left  unhurt, 
never  fear   the  Lord  when  it  is  re- 
moved. Pharaoh's  Condugt  after  the 

"  The  earth  is  the  Lord's :" — 1.  Then  Storm. 
admire  its  beauty.     2.  Then  partici- 
pate in  its  bounty.     3.  Then  tread  it  Verse  34.     Mercy  makes  some  men 
reverently.   4.  Then  use  it  generously,  worse.     Let  the  rod  cease  to  strike  and 

"  /  know  that  ye  will  not  fear  the  they  will  rebel  the  more  basely.    Some 

Lord  God:" — 1.  Because  your  mind  need  judgments   continually  to  keep 

is  dark.     2.  Because    your    heart    is  them  from  sin.     Pharaoh's  vices  were 

hard.     3.  Because  your  conscience  is  only  kept  down  by  his  terrors,  as  soon 

seared.      4.    Because   your  will  is  re-  as  they  ceased    his   vices   sprang   up 

bellious.      5.  Because  your  sin  is  a  again  most  vigorously.   The  storm  over 

pleasure.  and  God  is  forgotten. 

191 


JHAP.  CL 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


I.  Pharaoh's  conduct  is  often  resem- 
bled by  men  of  our  day.  Tliere  was  a 
great  deal  of  common  human  nature 
in  Pharaoh.  Tliose  who  visit  men 
much  in  their  afflictions  know  how 
transitory  are  the  impressions  made 
upon  them  at  such  seasons.  Vows  made 
then  are  seldom  kept.  To  estimate 
men  by  tlieir  sayings  on  a  bed  of  suffer- 
ing, or  amid  the  crash  of  bankruptcy, 
or  under  the  bitterness  of  bereavement, 
is  altogether  misleading.  Men's  views 
of  themselves  and  life  change  as  the 
dark  clouds  roll  away,  and  the  sun 
breaks  forth  to  gild  their  path  again. 
This  has  become  proverbial.  How  often 
have  the  ironical  Avords  of  Rabelais 
been  quoted  concerning  men  ! 

"  The  devil  was  .sick,  the  devil  a  monk 
wotild  be : 
The  devil  was  well,  the  devil  a  monk 
was  he !" 

An  old  Puritan  relates  that,  "It  is 
storied  of  a  merchant,  that  in  «  great 
storm  at  sea,  vowed  to  Jupiter,  if  he 
would  save  him,  and  his  vessel,  he 
would  give  him  a  hecatomb.  The  storm 
ceaseth  and  he  bethinks  that  a  heca- 
tomb was  unreasonable  ;  he  resolves  on 
seven  oxen.  Another  tempest  comes 
and  now  he  vows  again  the  seven  at 
least.  Delivered  then  also,  he  tiiought 
that  seven  were  too  many,  and  one  ox 
would  serve  the  turn.  Yet  another 
peril  comes,  and  now  he  vows  solemnly 
to  fall  no  lower,  if  he  miglit  be  rescued 
an  ox  Jupiter  shall  have.  Again  freed, 
the  ox  appears  too  much,  and  he 
would  fain  draw  his  devotion  to  a 
lower  rate ;  a  sheep  was  sufficient. 
But  at  last  being  set  ashore,  he  thought 
a  sheep  too  much,  and  purposeth  to 
carry  to  the  altar  only  a  few  dates. 
But  by  the  way  he  eats  up  the  dates, 
and  lays  on  the  altar  only  the  shells." 
— Adams,  vol.  i.,  p.  112.  This  is  how 
many  act  towards  God.  Terrors  are 
soon  forgotten.  Virtues  begotten  in 
the  hourof  trouble  are  short-lived.  Men 
would  live  well  if  they  always  lived  as 
they  purposed  in  their  hours  of  sorrow. 

II.  Pharaoh's  conduct  reveals  that 
his  heart  had  been  unchanged.    Afflic- 
tions   do    change    some    sinners  into 
saints.    They  eifect  a  permanent  re- 
192 


formation.  Some  have  found  an  afflic- 
tion a  divine  epoch  in  tlieir  lives.  They 
have  come  out  of  the  storm  new  men. 
But  it  often  produces  no  radical  change. 
It  does  not  change  the  heart.  Unless 
men's  dispositions  towards  God  are  rec- 
tified in  the  hour  of  affliction  no  last- 
ing good  is  eff"ected.  Men  cannot 
change  their  own  hearts,  but  they  can 
give  them  up  into  the  hands  of  God  to 
be  changed.  Love  only  ensures  future 
allegiance.  Love  only  awakens  per- 
manent resistance  to  sin.  Pharaoh's 
heart  was  unrenewed  though  the  words 
of  penitence  had  been  upon  his  lips. 
Sin  had  been  checked,  but  it  was  still 
loved.  The  weeds  had  been  trampled 
down  for  a  moment,  but  not  uprooted  ; 
the  disease  was  controlled,  but  not 
cured  ;  the  fire  was  covered  over,  but 
it  yet  smouldered.  Men  reveal  what 
effects  have  been  produced  in  them 
during  the  storm  by  their  actions  in 
the  subsequent  calm. 

III.  Pharaoh's  conduct  manifested 
the  basest  ingratitude.  Sin  is  always 
lamentable,  but  more  so  in  the  face  of 
Divine  mercy.  As  God  had  heard  the 
prayers  of  Moses  on  Pharaoh's  behalf, 
and  had  withdrawn  the  fierceness  of 
His  anger ;  the  king  ought  to  have 
humbled  himself  by  obedience.  Common 
feelings  of  gratitude  would  have 
prompted  to  this.  But  Pharaoh  was 
so  hardened  that  he  could  find  in  God's 
goodness  a  fresh  incentive  to  sin.  The 
goodness  of  God  manifested  to  obdu- 
rate sinners  often  leads  them  to  further 
transgression  and  not  to  repentance. 
Such  insensibility  to  mercy  is  sure  to 
bring  another  judgment. 

IV.  Pharaoh's  conduct  was  most 
presumptuous.  He  had  again  and 
again  suffered  for  his  rebellion.  He 
ought  to  have  feared  the  consequences 
of  another  attempt  to  resist  the  will 
of  Jehovah.  Sin  thus  deludes.  It  in- 
fatuates him  so  that  he  runs  madly  upon 
the  "  thick  bosses  of  God's  buckler." 
Sin  after  both  judgment  and  mercy  is 
madness.  How  many  that  know  the 
judgment  of  God  against  their  sins,  yet 
sin  on,  because  they  will  not  see  the 
eternal  blackness  which  is  gathering 
around  them. 


nOMILETIO  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


V.  Pharaoh's  conduct  shows  the 
amount  of  depravity  that  may  lurk  in 
a  human  heart.  Pharaoh  had  a  stub- 
born nature.  All  have  not  the  same 
gigantic  lusts  to  evercome.  Every  man 
has  some  depravity.  God  estimates 
a  man's  nature  in  dealing  with  him. 
Every  man  may  overcome  the  evil 
within  him  if  he  will  seek  for  Divine 
help.  God's  grace  is  sufficient  for 
the  most  obdurate.  Wonderful  is 
the  power  of  some  men  to  resist 
God.  Neither  judgment  nor  mercy 
will  affect  them.  They  "sin  more 
and  more."  There  is  a  terrible 
momentum  in  evil.  Some  seem  driven 
by  their  own  evil  hearts  to  hell.  Our 
only  safety  is  in  humbling  ourselves 


before  the  Lord  and  seeking  for  his 
grace  to  overcome  our  own  stubborn- 
ness and  sins. — W.  Lilley. 

The  performance  of  ministerial 
duty  : — 1.  Immediate.  2.  According 
to  promise.  3.  Divinely  sanctioned. 
4.  Greatly  abused. 

The  cessation  of  penitential  sor- 
row : — 1.  When  calamity  was  removed. 
2.  When  mercy  was  bestowed.  3.  When 
gratitude  was  expected. 

God  spares  wicked  men  in  answer  to 
the  prayers  of  the  good. 

Mercy  may  prove  the  occasion  of 
hardening  to  wicked  souls. 

Heart-hardening  : — 1.  After  mercy 
given.  2.  After  promise  made.  3. 
After  prediction  uttered. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  IX, 

BY 

KEV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 


Sacred  Btills  i  Ver.  1.  The  Hindus  still  pay 
reverence  to  the  ox  as  a  sacred  animal.  One 
particular  kind  of  cattle,  having  a  hump  upon 
the  shoulders,  is  consecrated  to  Siva.  They 
are  allowed  to  roam  at  large,  and  may  destroy 
the  most  valuable  crops  with  impunity.  One 
day  an  Enghsh  gentleman  entered  one  of  their 
market  places,  and  saw  a  fat  bull  busily  em- 
ployed eating  up  the  rice,  fruit  and  sweetmeats, 
which  the  poor  women  had  been  trying  to  seU. 
None  of  them  durst  touch  the  sacred  animal ; 
but  the  Englishman  at  once  drove  him  away 
with  a  stick.  The  men,  who  crowded  the 
market,  looked  fiercely  at  the  insulter  of  their 
Bull-god,  and  enquired  of  him  what  he  meant. 
A  Brahmin  priest  came  up,  saying,  "  Do  you 
know  that  you  struck  a  god  ?"  To  this  the 
missionary  replied  that  he  had  understood 
from  their  own  Hindu  books  that  God  was 
honest  and  just ;  "  Was  it  honest  for  that  bull 
to  take  the  property  of  these  poor  women 
without  payment  ?"  The  Brahmin  was 
silenced  ;  whereupon  the  servant  of  Christ 
addressed  the  people  about  the  only  God  : — 

The  efiluence  of  whose  light  Divine 
Pervading  earth  from  England's  shores  shines 

where 
The  mighty  Indus  rolls  its  tide  of  wealth. 

Animal  Worship  I  Ver,  3.  The  priests  of 
Egypt  held  bulls  in  great  veneration,  and  re- 
newed their  mourning  for  Osiris  over  the  graves 
of  those  beasts.  When  Cambyses  the  Great  was 
at  Memphis,  Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  god 
Apis  (buU)  was  conducted  to  his  presence  with 
much  ceremony  by  the  priests,  the  Egyptians 
following  him,  clothed  in  their  richest  apparel, 


and  making  great  rejoicings.  Camtyses,  indig- 
nant at  their  folly,  inflicted  a  mortal  wound  upon 
the  beast  with  his  dagger.  Then  turning  to  the 
priests,  he  exclaimed,  "Wretches,  think  ye 
that  gods  are  formed  of  flesh  and  blood,  and 
thus  susceptible  of  wounds."  This  murrain 
was,  therefore,  another  and  more  direct  blow 
at  the  monstrous  idolatries  of  Pharaoh's  be- 
nighted people  ;  and  a  foreshadowing  of  the 
hour  when  all  the  idol-gods  of  earth  should  be 
cast  down,  and 

"  No  more  at  Delos  or  at  Delphi  now, 

Or  e'en    at  mighty  Amnion's  Lybian 
shrine, 
The  white-robed  priests  before  the  altar 
bow. — Bethune. 

Htimanenes8 1  Ver.  4.  The  regard  which  we 
pay  to  the  brute  creation  must  always  be  con- 
sidered a  test  of  disposition  and  character. 
The  wise  man  says  that  a  righteous  man 
regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast.  No  individual 
can  be  trusted  for  his  humane  feelings  to  his 
own  species,  who  is  tot  humane  in  his  feelings 
towards  the  brute  tribes.  It  is  recorded  that, 
when  an  ancient  senate  of  the  Areopagites 
were  assembled  in  the  open  air,  a  small  bird — 
to  escape  a  larger  one  of  prey — ^took  refuge  in 
the  bosom  of  one  of  the  senators,  who  being 
of  a  cruel  disposition  hurled  it  from  him  so 
rudely  that  he  killed  it.  The  senate  instantly 
banished  him  from  their  presence,  declaring 
that  he,  who  was  destitute  of  humanity  to  a 
helpless  and  confiding  bird,  was  unworthy  the 
honour  of  a  seat  in  their  body. 

"  Oh  I  do  not  lightly  take  away 
The  life  thou  canst  not  give." — OUhome, 

193 


OII.VP.    IX. 


nOMlLETIC  COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


Cruelty  !  Ver.  6.  An  indulged  propensity 
of  cruelty  to  insects  or  larger  animals — as 
Hogarth  has  finely  illustrated — has  often 
ended  in  the  perpetration  of  crimes  of  the 
deepest  dye.  Those  who  have  wantonly 
eported  with  life  in  inferior  creatures  have 
come  to  sport  with  life  in  beings  of  a  higher 
and  nobler  order.  There  was  a  lad  strolliiitj 
through  the  fields  with  his  sister  when  they 
found  a  nest  of  rabbits.  The  brother,  in  spite 
of  his  sister's  entreaties  and  tears,  flung  tbtm 
one  by  one  into  the  air,  laughing  as  each  fell 
dead  upon  the  stones.  Ten  years  after,  that 
sister  was  again  weeping  by  the  brother's  side, 
not  in  the  open  fields  with  the  golden  sun- 
shine making  balmy  the  spring  air,  but  in  a 
dungeon.  He  was  in  chains,  sentenced  to  be 
/lung  for  shooting  a  farmer  while  poaching  on 
his  preserves.  As  they  were  waiting  for  the 
awful  procession  to  knock  at  the  cell-door,  he 
confessed  to  her  that,  ever  since  the  wanton 
destruction  of  the  helpless  rabbits  God  had 
foiNaken  him,  and  left  him  to  follow  his  own 
inclinations. 

"  Yea,  all  the  pity  upon  earth  shall  call  down 
a  curse  upon  the  cruel ; 
Yea,  the  burning  malice  of  the  wicked  is  their 
own  exceeding  punishment." — Tupper. 

Ashes  !  Ver.  8.  At  one  time,  it  was  com- 
mon in  Egypt  to  burn  strangers  and  captives 
alive,  and  to  sprinkle  their  ashes  far  and  wide 
in  the  air.  As  the  little  ones  of  Israel  were 
cast  into  the  Nile-god,  a  cruel  holocaust ;  it  is 
as  likely  that  they  were  thrown  into  the  fur- 
naces, and  their  dust  scattered  to  the  winds  to 
invoke  blessings.  Moses  was  directed  to  take 
the  dust  of  the  brick-kilns,  and  throw  it  into 
the  air  for  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing.  The 
sprinkling  of  ashes  was  also  an  ancient  sign  of 
purification.  Its  meaning  was  now  reversed, 
and  it  became  the  instrument  of  corruption. 
Modern  science  has  taught  us  that  what  would 
have  formerly  seemed  only  a  figure  of  speech 
is  literally  possible ;  and  that  a  few  handfuls 
of  ashes  can  be  divided  into  particles  so  in- 
conceivably minute  as  to  fill  the  air  over  a 
whole  country.  Professor  Tyndal's  valuable 
experiments — as  well  as  those  of  other  scien- 
tists— iucontestably  shew  that  invisibly  small 
particles  may  be  poisonous  germs  of  infectious 
plagues.     Therefore 

**  Regard  no  vice  as  small, 
That  thou  mayest  brook  it." — Oriental. 

Boils  and  Blains  !  Ver.  9.  Boils  were  an 
inflamed  ulcer  ;  whilst  blains  were  an  angry 
tumour,  or  malignant  swelling  in  the  skin. 
The  one  was  an  aggravation  of  the  other  ;  for 
in  v.  9  the  expression  "  breaking  forth"  means 
literally  to  viydate — i.e.  to  put  forth  flowers 
like  a  plant  or  tree.  In  Deuteronomy  it  is 
called  the  "  botch  of  Egypt ;"  and  it  is  used 
in  Job  ii.  and  vii.  to  express  the  disease  with 
which  Satan  was  permitted  to  afHict  Job. 
Whether  this  plague  upon  the  Egyptians  was 

19i 


associated  with  habitual  uncleanness  cannot 
be  decided  ;  but  it  may  very  well  be  inferred 
that  Satan's  malignant  purpose  was  to  blacken 
the  pure  and  spotless  moral  life  of  the  Chaldean 
patriarch.  Smith  says  that  this  plague  was 
black  leprosy — a  fearful  kind  of  elephantiasis. 
Whatever  it  was  in  character,  it  was  evidently 
a  terrible  infliction  on  the  religious  purity  of 
the  people  ;  and  designed  to  teach  them  that 
the  heart  was  wholly  corrupt : — 

"  Idols  of  mind,  affection,  will, 
The  power  of  darkness  triumphs  there." — 
Montgomery, 

Little  Things!  Ver.  10.  A  small  flaw  in 
a  cable — a  slight  error  in  a  chart  may  cause 
the  loss  of  a  ship.  The  communication  of  a 
spark  led  to  the  burning  of  the  Goliath  training 
ship.  The  careless  handling  of  a  small  box 
led  to  the  disastrous  explosion  at  Bremerhaven. 
Only  a  few  ashes  led  to  the  wholesale  plague 
of  boils  !  As  Bishop  Hopkins  says,  it  is  not 
the  greatness  or  smallness  of  the  coin,  but  the 
royal  image  stamped  upon  it,  that  gives  it 
authority  and  power ;  so  truly,  the  stamp  of 
God  being  on  little  means  will  produce  resulta 
as  great,  as  though  mighty  means  were  em- 
ployed. Even  in  man's  hand,  the  tiny  keen- 
edged  axe  can  soon  demolish  what  it  has  taken 
the  springs  and  summers  and  showers  and 
snows  of  hundreds  of  years  to  raise.  As  has 
been  said,  it  is  but  the  littleness  of  man  that 
sees  no  greatness  in  a  trifle.  What  a  greatness 
there  was  in  the  Divinely-prepared  worm, 
which  laid  low  that  bowering  gourd,  beneath 
whose  green  and  grateful  shade  the  prophet  of 
Nineveh  sat.     Even 

"The  little  mountains,  humble  though  they  be. 
Make  the  mighty  ages  of  eternity." 

Boil-ssnnbolism :     Ver.  11.     In  Rev.  16  v. 

10,  we  find  that  the  Roman  Vatican,  while 
smarting  from  the  effects  of  the  extreme  casti- 
gacions  and  heavy  shocks  received  under  the 
preceding  four  vials  from  God's  righteous  in- 
dignation, are  visited  with  a  plague  of  boils 
and  blains.  They  gnawed  their  tongues  for 
pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven  be- 
cause of  their  pains  and  sores.  It  is  remarkable 
that  these  sores  are  associated  ^vith  spiritual 
adulteries,  with  the  harlot  of  fornications. 
They  can  signify  nothing  else  than  the  hideous 
blotch  of  infidelity  or  atheism,  which  has  spread 
with  infectious  virulence  to  the  ends  of  the 
Papal  earth.  As  vicious  humours  taint  the 
blood,  poison  the  body,  and  break  out  in  un- 
sightly and  ulcerous  sores  upon  the  skin ;  so 
with  the  principles  of  Roman  atheism.  This 
moral  ulcer  has  spread  far  and  wide — corrupt 
in  its  principles — vicious  in  its  manifestations 
— destructive  in  its  tendencies  :  if  we  are  to 
believe  the  Pontiff 's  own  confessions  as  to  the 
religious  sentiments  of  Papal  nations  :  — 

"  Withering  their  moral  faculties,  and  breaking 
The  boues  of  all  their  pride. — Lamit. 


\ 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  IX. 


Impenitence  1  Ver.  12.  Shakespeare  says  : 
"  Bow,  stubborn  knees  !  and  heart  with  strings 
of  steel,  be  soft  as  sinews  of  the  newborn  babe  ; 
all  may  be  well !"  But  Pharaoh  would  not 
bow.  Of  the  antitypical  Egypt,  it  is  also  said 
that  they  repented  not  of  their  deeds  :  Rev. 
xvi.  V.  1 0.  All  are  as  hardened  as  at  the  begin- 
ning, liike  Pharaoh  they  are  impenitent  to 
the  end.  The  cumulative  combination  of  retri- 
butive justice — so  far  from  inducing  repentance 
— only  raises  the  blasphemy  to  a  higher  pitch  : 

"  Egypt  forbear  !  no  more  blaspheme : 
God  has  a  thousand  terrors  in  His  name, 
A  thousand  armies  at  command. 
Waiting  the  signal  of  His  hand." — Watts. 

Smner'a  pelf- will  I  Verses  13 — 16.  It  is 
Dot  "  Raised  thee  up"' — but  "  made  thee  stand." 
The  meaning  is  that  Jehovah  permitted  him 
to  live  and  hold  out  until  His  own  purpose 
was  accomplished.  This  did  not  make  the 
monarch's  heart  any  worse.  He  might  have 
let  Israel  go  without  being  in  the  least  degree 
better.  The  soil  from  which  the  hardness 
sprang  would  have  been  just  the  same.  When 
the  clay  has  not  the  sunbeams  to  indurate,  it 
may  yet  be  hardened  quite  as  much  by  being 
placed  in  a  furnace.  Once  hardened,  it  is 
easier  to  break  than  to  soften  a  brick.  Pharaoh 
had  hardened  his  heart  in  the  fire  of  self-will, 
and  every  fresh  message  from  God — like  a 
warm  sunbeam- -only  made  it  harder.  Pharaoh 
afterwards  cauld  not  relent.  The  fakirs  of  India 
keep  their  arm  or  leg  stretched  out,  until  it 
becomes  stiff ;  and  they  are  unable  to  draw  it 
back  again.  The  Egyptian  tyrant  held  out  his 
heart  so  long  against  God  that  at  last  it  was 
unable  to  yield.  Standing  in  the  Divine  way, 
it  must  either  bend  or  break :  — 

"  The  whole  creation's  strange  and  endless 
dealing. 
In  spite  of  shields,  and  veils,  and  arts  con- 
cealing. 
Proclaims  that  whosoe'er  is  long  a  sinner, 
Can  only  be  by  it  of  woe  a  winner." — 

Oriental. 

Truth's  Power !  Ver.  14.  Wlien  Pilate 
was  brought  close  to  Incarnate  Truth,  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  momentary  giving  way 
of  his  former  scepticism.  The  personal  pre- 
sence of  the  Truth,  his  bearing  under  the  long 
and  terrible  trial — the  serenity  of  soul — the 
calm,  unwearying  patience  under  insult — all 
seem  to  have  awakened  in  Pilate  a  feeling  as 
though  he  was  dealing  with  a  Being  of  super- 
human powers.  It  was  but  a  flash  ;  for  when 
the  Truth  uttered  His  testimony,  the  sceptic 
had  gained  the  victory  over  the  rising  convic- 
tion, and  with  a  sneer  said  :  What  is  Truth  ? 
Equally  transient  were  the  emotions  of  con- 
viction aroused  in  the  heart  of  Pharaoh.  All 
the  miracles — convincing  thovigh  they  were  — 
could  not  effectually  satisfy  His  prejudiced 
mind  :  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey 
Him! 

"  I  feel  these  piercing  pains — 
Yet  still  I  Bin — I  sin." — Bonar, 


Divine  Power!  Ver.  17.  In  Canada  there 
are  times  when  the  mighty  St.  Lawrence 
sweeps  down  with  irresistible  might.  When 
the  vast  surface  of  ice  has  broken  up  before 
the  rushing  waters  and  beneath  the  spring 
sunbeams,  the  huge  floes  roll  down  the  stream, 
bearing  away  all  that  opposes.  If  a  bridge 
spans  the  river,  the  force  with  which  the  waters 
bring  the  massive  ice-blocks  against  the  arches 
and  piers  proves  overwhelming.  Pharaoh 
stood — set  himself  up  as  a  dam  or  mound  to 
resist  the  stream  of  Jehovah's  power  ;  and  was 
swept  away  by  its  omnipotent  tide.  None  can 
withstand  His  will ! 

"  Who  then  would  wish,  or  dare,  believing  this 
Against  His  purposes  to  shut  the  door  ?" 

Cattle!  Ver.  19.  When  the  Romans  were 
about  to  make  a  league  with  Ptolemy,  king  of 
Egvpt,  the  treaty  was  broken  ofiF  owing  to  a 
Roman  soldier  having  chanced  inadvertently  to 
kill  a  cat.  Although  the  Egyptians  were  them- 
selves most  anxious  to  have  the  treaty,  yet  so 
enraged  were  they  at  the  act  that  they  ran  in 
tumult  to  seize  the  offender  ;  and  in  spite  of 
the  persuasion  of  their  own  Princes  they  vented 
their  fury  upon  the  soldier.  Such  was  the 
superstitious  veneration  of  Egypt  for  their 
idol-beasts  that  Porphyry  declares,  they  would 
rather  feed  on  human  flesh  than  the  flesh  of  a 
heifer.  So  that  this  plague  of  hailstones  waa 
more  than  ever  a  direct  blow  aimed  at  the 
monstrous  idolatries  of  that  nation,  all  of  which 
are  discernible  upon  the  ruins, 

"  When  the  classic  pilgrim  sweeping  free 
From  fallen  architrave  the  desert  vine 
Reads  the  dim  names  of  their  divinities."— 
Bethune. 

Safety!  Ver.  19.  During  the  recent  Malay 
insurrection,  when  Mr.  Birch  had  been  savagely 
massacred,  his  companion,  Lieutenant  Abbott, 
made  his  escape  in  a  remarkable  manner. 
He  succeeded  in  reaching  a  boat — in  pushing 
it  out  into  the  Perak  river — and  in  steering 
it  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  towards 
the  residency.  The  banks  were  lined  with 
Malay  rebels — who  kept  up  an  incessant  fire 
upon  the  fugitive ;  but  their  efforts  to  kill 
proved  futile,  for  in  the  centre  of  the  river, 
the  gallant  sailor  was  beyond  gunshot.  He 
reached  the  Fort  in  safety.  Is  there  no  escape 
from  the  persistent  attacks  of  the  enemy  t 
Yonder  flows  the  river,  by  its  brink  rests  the 
canoe  :  launch  on  that  stream,  and  it  will  bear 
you  beyond  reach  of  foe.  You  will  be  borne 
safely  down  ;  though  fierce  savages  may  crowd 
the  bank,  and  shoot  their  poisoned  arrows  as  a 
thick  cloud.  The  stream  is  wide  :  steer  your 
barque  in  the  middle,  and  no  harm  can  be- 
tide : — 

"  Soon  shall  the  ark  in  safety  rest 
On  some  eternal  height ; 
The  hills  shall  be  with  verdure  drest» 
And  bathed  in  quenchless  light." 

195 


OHAT.  tL. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


Divine  Shelter!  Ver.  20.  When  travellers 
are  overtakuii  on  the  mountains  by  the  storms 
of  the  Cordilleras  of  South  America,  they  seek 
shelter  till  these  pass  away  in  caves  and  be- 
neath jutting  cliffs.  Dark  clouds  gather ;  dense 
mist  masses  float  about ;  flashes  of  forked  liglit- 
ning  dart  across  the  path,  jiloughing  up  the 
ground,  while  peals  of  thunder  seem  to  rend 
the  mountain  tops.  Flash  succeeds  flash,  the 
very  atmosphere  quivering  with  the  uninter- 
rupted peals,  repeated  a  thousand  fold  by  the 
mountain  echoes.  Rocks  and  earth  come  hurl- 
ing down  from  the  lofty  peaks.  Those  out  in 
the  forest  are  stricken  by  the  vivid  gleams  of 
fire,  or  smitten  by  the  massive  blocks  of  hail, 
or  crushed  beneath  falling  trees,  riven  by  the 
same  power.  But  those  in  the  shelter  of  caves 
and  crevices  are  safe  ;  and  when  the  storm  is 
over,  they  may  come  out  and  resume  their 
journey.  Those  who  shelter  beneath  the  Rock 
of  Ages,  amid  the  storms  of  life  are  safe  ;  and, 
like  Israel  leaving  Egypt,  they  get  beyond  the 
storm,  amid  the  sunlight  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Red  Sea. 
"  So  I,  by  faith,  with  sin  oppressed, 

Would  refuge  take,  0  Christ,  in  Thee ; 
Thou  art  my  hiding  place  and  rest, 

From  every  evil  shelter  me." 

Hail-plagTiel  Ver.  22.  The  Psalmist  says 
that  the  vines,  and  sycamores,  and  fig-trees — 
yea.  and  all  the  trees  in  their  coasts,  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  hailstones  and  coals  of  fire. 
Hail  was  an  unheard-of  thing  in  Eg}'pt,  while 
fire  was  esteemed  a  mighty  deity.  Porphyry 
declares  that  at  the  opening  of  the  Temple  of 
Serapis  the  worship  is  made  by  fire  and  water, 
for  they  reverence  fire  and  water  above  the 
elements.  Thus  the  deities  which  they  adored 
were  employed  by  Jehovah  to  destroy  the 
things  in  which  they  delighted.  Gardens  were 
a  source  of  pleasure  and  profit  Everywhere 
flowers  abounded,  and  every  visitor  received  a 
bouquet  of  real  flowers,  Wilkinson  asserts,  as 
token  of  welcome  on  entering  a  house.  The 
Egyptians  even  worshipped  the  green  herbs  of 
the  field,  if  we  are  to  believe  Plinj'- — an  author 
whose  assertion  in  this  instance  is  supported 
by  the  sarcasm  of  Juvenal,  when  he  says  of 
Egypt:— 

"  0  holy  nation,  sacro-sanct  abodes ! 
Where  every  garden  propagates  its  gods." 

Hail  Symbols !  Ver.  25.  The  invasion  of 
the  temporal  Roman  empire  by  Alaric  and  his 
Goths  is  likened  to  a  storm  of  hail  and  fire 
mingled  with  blood,  by  which  a  third  part  of 
the  power,  princes  and  populace  were  destroyed 
under  the  figure  of  earth,  trees  and  grass.  As 
Gibbon  says,  the  conquering  Alaric  m.ide 
three  descents  upon  Italy  urged  forward — 
according  to  his  ovm  assertion — by  a  secret 
preternatural  impulse.  He  and  his  hordes  came 
from  the  frozen  retrions  of  the  north  in  a 
winter  of  unvisual  severity  ;  and  many  years 
afterwards  tlie  deep  and  bloody  lines  of  tlieir 
march  could  be  traced  by  the  traveller.  They 
•pared  neither  feeble  a^e  nor  gentle  sex.     The 

196 


tall  sycamore  trees  of  pride,  grandeur  and 
nobility  were  overthrown ;  while  the  lowly 
and  tender  grass  of  the  commonalty  was 
beaten  down.  But  more  disastrous  were  the 
results  of  the  appalling  showers  of  hail  that 
began  to  fall  upon  the  spiritual  Roman  empire 
from  the  French  Revolution.  In  Rev.  xvi.  v.  21 
the  stones  are  represented  as  of  a  g^eat  weight, 
and  coming  once  more  from  the  frozen  regions 
of  the  north.  They  have  been  considered  to 
symbolize — (1)  The  enormous  cannon  balls  of 
modern  warfare,  or  —(2)  The  terrible  atheistic 
and  revolutionary  theorie'i  of  modern  times, 
or — (3)  The  oppressive  cruelties  to  be  inflicted 
by  Russia  and  her  dependencies  upon  Palestine 
or  Rome.  Because  of  these  men  are  repre- 
sented as  blaspheming  God  because  of  the 
plague  of  the  hail.  The  beast,  with  all  his 
confederates  and  sup])orters,  like  Pharaoh, 
dies  impenitent ;  and,  like  Pharaoh, — 

"  Sinks  as  sinks  a  millstone 
In  the  mighty  waters." — Bichersteth. 

Divine  Control !  Ver.  26.  The  present 
Emperor  of  Abyssinia,  Prince  Kassai,  is 
always  attended  by  tame  hons.  Wlien  he 
is  seated  upon  his  throne,  to  receive  foreign 
ambassadors  in  state,  these  unchained 
monarchs  of  the  wild  crouch  at  their  lord's 
feet.  No  courtier  or  guest  need  fear  these 
beasts,  so  long  as  the  king  restrains  them; 
but,  when  he  is  offended  with  prince  or 
visitor,  he  has  only  to  utter  the  word,  and  at 
once  the  quiet,  crouching  lions  spring  up  and 
devour  the  offender.  God's  judgments  are 
harmless  to  the  saints,  but  they  are  terrible  to 
the  wicked  rebels.  And  they  are  all  the  more 
terrible  because  they  are  not  the  outcome  of 
caprice  or  despotic  influence,  but  of  righteoui 
and  inflexible  justice  and  truth. 

"  Angels  of  life  and  death  alike  are  His  ; 
Without  His  leave  they  pass  no  threshold 
o'er. — Lowell. 

Retraction  I  Ver.  28.  A  great  prince  once 
had  a  sick  son.  He  was  the  only  child — a 
Benoni — the  offspring  of  his  father's  sorrow, 
for  his  beautiful  queen  had  died  in  giving  birth 
to  his  royal  heir.  When  the  physicians  from 
all  parts  pronounced  the  child's  recovery  hope- 
less, the  stricken  father  found  refuge  in  a 
solemn  vow,  that  if  God  spared  the  babe's  life, 
he  would  present  a  magnificent  golden  chalice 
adorned  and  tilled  with  dazzling  diamonds  to 
the  nciglibouring  church.  Gradually  day  by 
day,  the  son  gained  strength — in  spite  of  the 
medical  testimony  of  hopelessness,  and  by  the 
time  the  presentation-cup  arrived  from  the 
goldsmith,  there  was  no  longer  danger.  But 
the  gift  was  too  costly — with  its  rare  engraving 
and  its  glittering  gems  ;  so  that  tlie  father  had 
another  of  an  inferior  cliaracter  made  and  pre- 
sented. No  doubt  his  vow  was  so  far  sincere 
at  the  outset ;  and  probably  that  of  Pharaoh 
was  equally  so  :  "I  will  let  you  go."  But  the 
pressure  over,  the  man  died.  As  Matthew 
Henry  says,  there  was  a  mighty  struggle  be- 
tween Pharaoh's  convictions  and  oorruptioni» 


I 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  IZ. 


His  convictions  said  ;  Let  them  go.  His  cor- 
ruptions said  :  Not  very  far  away.  But  he 
sided  with  his  corraptions,  and  decided  not  to 
let  Israel  go. 

"  Said  I  not  so — that  I  would  sin  no  more ! 
Witness  my  God  I  did  ; 
Yet  I  am  run  again  upon  the  score." 

— Ilerhtrt. 

Ministerial  Pity  I  Ver.  29.  Very  recently 
off  our  south-eastern  shores,  a  German  ship 
collided  with  an  English  vessel  known  as  the 
Strathclyde.  This  collision  was  apparently 
done  of  set  purpose  and  deliberation.  But  the 
captain  of  the  Franconia  roused  a  storm  of  in- 
dignation against  him  in  Europe,  when  it  was 
discovered  from  the  evidence  that  he  had  re- 
lentlessly sailed  away,  and  left  the  sinking 
vessel  and  drowning  wretches  to  their  fate. 
No  such  reckless  want  of  feeling  do  Moses 
and  Aaron  display.  Of  set  purpose  had  they 
driven  the  prow  of  Judgment  sheer  into  the 
hull  of  Egypt's  national  life — cleaving  it  amid- 
ships ;  but  no  sooner  did  they  hear  the  cry  for 
help,  then  at  once  they  hurried  to  the  rescue. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  ambassadors  of  Christ  to 
collide  against  the  conscience  of  the  sinner ; 
but,  like  their  Divine  Master,  they  are  eager 
to  bind  up  and  to  heal.  They  crush  the  de- 
cayed timbers  of  the  sinner's  ship  of  self-de- 
ception and  indifference  ;  but  it  is  only  that 
they  may  receive  the  sinner's  soul  on  board 
that  noble  vessel — the  ark  of  Salvation — 
whuse  beams  never  decay,  and  whose  prow 
breasts  the  wildest  waves. 

"  High  biUows  are  upon  the  deep. 
And  all  the  sky  is  dark, 
But  faithfulness  and  mercy  keep 
The  covenanted  Ark." 

Contrast!  Ver.  30.  How  remarkable  the  dif- 
ference between  Pharaoh  and  Nebuchadnezzar, 
both  oppressors  of  Israel !  What  produced  this 
contrast  in  the  effects  of  the  Divine  chastenings 
on  these  two  monarchs  ?  A  surgeon  has  two 
patients  suffering  frem  the  same  disease,  and 
requiring  to  undergo  the  same  operation.  He 
performs  both  cases  with  the  same  surgical 
instruments,  and  with  an  equally  firm  hand 
and  admirable  sldll.  Yet  one  dies,  while  the 
other  lives  and  recovers.  How  is  this  ?  Their 
bodies  were  in  a  different  condition.  That  of 
the  one  was  highly  favourable ;  that  of  the 
other  was  full  of  gross  humours  from  self- 
indulgence.  The  heart  of  the  conqueror  of 
nations  was  wicked,  but  still  the  Divine  judg- 
ments wrought  a  successful  cure ;  while  the 


condition  of  Pharoah's  heart  was  so  corrupt 
and  perverse  that  Jehovah's  visitations  failed 
to  bring  him  to  a  saving  repentance.  He 
repented  not,  though — 

"  Deep  in  his  soul  conviction's  ploughshare 
rings, 
And  to  the  surface  his  corruption  brings." 

Holmex 

Divine  Care  I  Ver.  33  The  Lord  pre- 
serveth  the  souls  of  His  servants.  And  so, 
as  has  been  said,  this  man  of  God  went  forth 
into  the  field,  walking  without  fear  through 
the  storm  of  hail  and  tempest  of  fire.  Moses 
knew  that  he  was  safe — safe,  though  all  around 
might  be  destroyed.  Standing  then  under  the 
canopy  of  Jieaven,  bareheaded,  in  the  attitude 
of  prayer,  he  wrestled  until  the  hail  ceased. 
None  that  trust  in  Him  shall  be  laid  waste. 
The  just  man  fears  not  in  the  midst  of 
dangers. 

"  Let  God's  dread  arm  with  thunder  rend  the 
spheres, 
Amid  the   crash   of    worlds  undaunted  he 
appears. — Horace. 

Contrast  1  Ver.  34.  If  the  sea  has  ita 
sorrows,  the  llanos  have  their  sufferings. 
Nothing  can  be  more  remarkable  than  the 
contrast  between  the  immeasurable  plains  of 
Venezuela  and  New  Grenada  and  the  watery 
plains  of  the  sea.  Like  the  ocean,  their  limits 
melt  in  the  hazy  distance  with  those  of  the 
horizon  ;  but  here  the  resemblance  ceases,  for 
no  refreshing  breeze  wafts  coolness  over  the 
desert,  and  comforts  the  drooping  spirits  of  the 
wanderer.  It  is  true  that  the  llanos  have  their 
storms,  when  the  dust  of  the  savanah,  set  in 
motion  by  conflicting  winds,  ascends  in  mighty 
columns  and  glides  over  the  desert  plain  ;  as 
the  sea  has  its  tempests,  when  the  waterspout, 
raised  by  contending  air  currents,  rises  to  the 
clouds  and  sweeps  over  the  floods.  But  no 
cooling  zephyr  fans  the  burning  temples,  or 
allays  the  irritation  of  the  blistered  skin  of  the 
traveller  on  the  land — and  indeed,  the  glaring 
sand  suspended  in  the  air  only  increases  the 
sultriness  of  the  atmosphere.  Such  is  the  dif- 
ference between  the  repentance  of  the  good 
and  the  remorse  of  the  bad.  Pharaoh's  con- 
trition was  as  the  tropical  llanos— there  was 
no  water.  The  storms  swept  over  his  heart, 
but  it  remained  dry. 

"  What  time,  beneath  God's  chastening  rod 
afraid. 
He  di-ank  coercive  of  affliction's  cup." — 

Mani. 


197 


OHAP.X.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAPTER  X 

Critioal  Notes  — 2.  What  things  I  have  wrought]  A  special  word  is  here  used,  and  it  is 
used  in  a  special  conjugation,  and  both  circumstances  unite  to  give  life  and  beauty  to  the  expres- 
Bion  in  the  original.  The  verb  S^V  is  "  not  applied  to  working  off,  forming  or  doing  a  thing 
at  once,  but  to  constant,  repeated  turning  and  moving  about  in  work  or  action." — Fiirst. 
How  beautifully  this  suits  the  infliction  of  plar,Mie  after  plague  on  Egypt,  any  one  can  see  at  a 
glance.  And  then  the  form  of  the  word  ^n^SyHn  P^*^  ^*  ^^  *^®  reflexive  conjugation, 
one  of  the  uses  of  which  is  to  show  that  the  action  is  done  to  or  for  oneself ; — thus  keeping 
up  the  avowal  of  Jehovah  that  in  his  visitations  on  the  Egypt  he  sought  to  glorify  himself  in 
the  eyes  of  men.  It  is  difficult,  many  times,  to  translate  all  that  is  in  the  original  without 
resorting  to  paraphrase  ;  as,  here,  we  are  tempted  to  render  :  "  What  I  wrought  out  for  myself 
by  a  series  of  acts."  We  shall  be  glad  if,  by  these  notes,  we  can  kindle  in  some  minds  the 
determination  to  spare  no  pains  requisite  to  be  able  to  repair  to  the  fountain-head.  4.  Locusts] 
'Arbeh  (n^~|J^) :  prob.,  the  gryllus  gregarius — Ges.,  Dav.,  Fii.  ;  G.  &  D.  understanding  the 
word  to  mtati,  '-swarmers," — F.,  "browsers."  8.  But  who  are  they  that  shall  gol]  One  is  ready 
to  smile  at  the  simplicity  of  this  speech.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  conjunction  in  the  Heb. 
answering  to  our  "  but,"  thus  showing  an  almost  amusing  precipitancy  in  the  interrogatory,  as  if 
the  speaker  would  retract  his  permission  before  it  is  well  uttered:  mi'  wa-nii'  ka-ho-Ukldm' ,  "who 
and  who  are  the  going  ones  ?"  9.  We  will  go,  etc.]  Again  would  we  call  attention  to  the  style 
of  the  Hebrew  :  here  to  the  arrangement  of  the  words — to  the  vigourous  inversion  by  which  the 
full  demand  of  Moses  is  made  to  smite  the  ear  of  Pharaoh  with  the  utmost  force.     "  With  oor 

YOUNG  AND  WITH  ODR  OLD  wiU  We  go  :  WITH  OOR  SONS  AND  WITH  OUR  DAUGHTERS,  WITH  OUR 

FLOCKS  AND  WITH  OUR  HERDS,  will  we  go  ;  for  A  FESTIVAL  TO  Jehovah  [is]  ours  !"  10.  As  I 
iJC  you  go]  "  As  certainly  as  I  let  you  go ;"  or,  "  whenever  I  let  you  go."  It  is  clearly  the 
language  of  defiance.  11.  For  that  ye  did  desire]  It  is  necessary  to  lay  stress  on  "that"  and 
"  ye  "  successively,  to  bring  out  the  true  meaning  :  "  For — that— ye — did  desire  "=for  THAT  38 
what  YE  were  desiring."  21.  Darkness  which  may  he  felt]  Fiirst  takes  the  Heb.  to  mean  :  "  to 
grope  about  in  the  dark." 


MAIN  HOMILETIC S  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH— Terse  1. 
The  Hardening  of  Pharaoh's  Heart, 

Moses  and  Aaron  are  once  more  commanded  to  visit  Pharaoh,  even  though 
they  are  told  that  he  will  not  yield  to  their  entreaty.  This  is  the  method  of 
Heaven  to  render  rebellious  sinners  unexcusable.  The  ministers  of  God  are 
not  readily  to  abandon  a  wicked  soul.  It  is  here  said  that  God  hardened 
Pharaoh's  heart.     How  1 

I.  By  a  manifestation  of  rich  mercy  that  ought  to  have  melted  the  heart 
of  the  King.  God  had  indeed  manifested  great  mercy  and  forbearance  towards 
Pharaoh ;  He  had  spared  his  life  through  a  long  series  of  plagues,  and 
through  continued  sin.  The  King  had  no  claim  to  such  mercy.  Yet  it  was 
given  in  abundant  measure.  And  when  mercy  is  abused  by  the  sinner  it  has  a 
hardening  effect  upon  his  moral  nature.  No  man  can  reject  the  love  of  the 
great  Father,  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  warnings  of  the  pulpit,  without 
becoming  more  and  more  obdurate  in  heart.  This  is  a  natural  law  of  man's 
spiritual  life.  The  soul  of  man  is  so  constituted  that  the  rejected  mercies  of 
truth  leave  it  less  sensitive  to  them.  This  is  the  experience  of  men.  How 
many  who  have  sinned  through  a  long  life,  and  who  have  resisted  many  gospel 
appeals,  now  feel  they  are  less  sensitive  to  Divine  influences  than  ever  they 
were.  This  is  the  ordination  of  God,  and  hence  when  He  is  said  to  harden  the 
heart  of  man,  it  is  by  mercy  that  ought  to  have  produced  repentance,  and  not 
by  any  arbitrary  decree. 
198 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT AR  Y :  EXOD  US.  chap,  x 

II.  By  a  manifestation  of  great  power  that  ought  to  have  subdued  the 
heart  of  the  King.  The  Divine  Being  not  merely  brought  His  mercy  to  bear 
upon  the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  but  also  His  power.  Some  men  are  more  sensitive 
to  power  than  they  are  to  the  appeals  of  mercy.  They  are  not  likely  to  be 
touched  into  tears  by  compassion  ;  but  they  are  awed  by  the  exhibition  of 
power.  They  are  men  of  inferior  moral  temperament.  They  are  influenced 
by  the  lower  motives.  They  are  wrought  upon  by  fear.  Pharaoh  was  evidently 
a  man  of  this  kind.  A  plague  was  more  likely  to  subdue  him  than  a  word  of 
tender  pity,  than  a  message  of  love.  Hence,  God  tried  this  method,  but  it 
was  only  productive  of  a  temporary  repentance.  Frequently  is  the  soul  of 
man  brought  to  feel  the  power  of  God,  in  affliction  and  in  pain.  But  the 
power  of  God  ever  recognises  the  free  agency  of  man,  and  when  it  does  not 
conquer,  it  hardens  the  sinner. 

III.  By  a  manifestation  of  severe  justice  that  ought  to  have  rebuked 
the  heart  of  the  king.  God  had  shown  Pharaoh  that  Heaven  was  just  in  its 
demands,  and  that  it  would  come  to  the  relief  of  the  oppressed.  This  ought  to 
have  awakened  a  feeling  of  equity  within  his  own  heart,  which  should  have 
ended  in  the  freedom  of  Israel.  All  the  plagues  exhibited  the  justice  of  the 
Divine  rulership,  and  rebuked  the  cruelty  of  the  proud  king.  They  were 
calculated  to  humble  him.  God  does  sometimes  give  sinners  terrible  visions  of 
His  justice,  which  are  designed  to  lead  them  to  rectitude  of  life.  When  men 
resist  the  manifestations  of  Divine  justice,  they  are  correspondingly  hardened  in 
soul  to  the  rightful  claims  of  heaven. 

IV.  By  sending  his  servants  to  influence  the  heart  of  the  king  to  the  right. 

God  sent  Moses  and  Aaron  to  Pharaoh  to  influence  him  to  the  freedom  of 
Israel.  They  were  sent  continuously.  Moses  was  a  good  worker.  Aaron  was. 
a  good  speaker.  They  wrought  miracles.  But  wicked  men  will  not  yield  their 
unbelief,  their  sin,  to  the  best  Christian  talent,  to  the  most  faithful  Christian 
service  ;  but  by  rejecting  the  servants  of  God  they  become  hard  in  heart. 
Hence,  God  did  not  harden  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  by  a  sovereign  decree,  by 
omnipotence,  so  that  the  king  could  not  obey  His  command,  but  by  ministries 
appropriate  to  salvation,  which  were  calculated  to  induce  obedience,  and  the 
constant  neglect  of  which  was  the  efficient  cause  of  this  sad  moral  result.  There 
was  no  alternative  but  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart.  God  could  not 
withdraw  his  demand  for  the  freedom  of  Israel.  It  was  not  consistent  with  the 
ordinary  methods  of  the  Divine  government  to  remove  the  king  by  death  ;  nor 
would  this  have  answered  the  purpose,  for  probably  his  successor  would  have 
been  equally  rebellious.  Hence  there  was  none  other  course  open  than  the 
hardening  of  Pharaoh,  which  was  the  outcome  of  his  own  rebellion,  and  which 
would  prove  to  be  his  eternal  ruin.  Lessons  :  1.  That  man  has  the  ability  to 
resist  the  saving  ministries  of  heaven.  2.  That  when  man  resists  the  saving 
ministries  of  heaven  he  becomes  hard  in  heart.  3.  lliat  hardness  of  heart  is 
itself  a  natural  judgment  Jrom  God.  4.  That  hardness  of  heart  will  finally 
work  its  own  ruin. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  1.     God  sends  His  minister  to         Hardened  sinners  :  1.  In  companies, 

hardened  souls : — 1.  Often.     2.  Mer-  2.  Patterns  of  judgment.     3.   Tokens 

cifully.   3.  Uselessly.  4.  Significantly,  of    indignation.       4.     The   cause    of 

5.  Disastrously.  plagues.     5.  The  curse  of  the  world. 

The  means  which  God  sends  to  save  6.  Still  followed  by  the  minister  of 

wicked  men  aggravates  their  sin,  and  God. 
hardens  their  spirits. 

199 


CHAP.  X.  BOMILETIG  COMMENTART :  EXODUS, 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verte  2. 

The  Signs  of  God  to  the  Generations  of  the  Future. 

God  respects  the  general  good  of  the  race  in  multiplying  retributive  evils 
upon  individuals.  Hence  the  plagues  sent  upon  Pharaoh  and  his  nation  were 
calculated  to  instruct  the  generations  of  the  future,  as  well  as  to  punish  Pharaoh. 
Children  must  be  instructed  in  the  ways  of  God,  and  neglect  of  this  tuition  is 
sinful  and  contrary  to  the  Divine  command.  What  are  the  signs  of  God  made 
known  by  the  plagues  of  Egypt  for  the  moral  instruction  of  future  generations  ? 

I.  That  God  is  supreme  over  the  kingdom  of  nature.  The  plagues  that  came 
upon  Egypt  would  give  to  future  generations  abundant  demonstration  of  this 
fact,  that  the  rivers,  the  dust  of  the  ground,  the  atmosphere,  the  thunder, 
lightning  and  the  hail  are  all  at  the  immediate  control  of  God.  Man  may 
have  a  certain  power  over  nature,  but  it  is  limited,  and  subject  to  tlie  Divine. 
Science  places  the  natural  universe  under  the  command  of  man.  This  is  the 
Divine  ordination.  But  man's  power  over  nature  is  derived ;  God's  is  underived 
and  independent.  Hence,  1.  He  can  i7ijlict  pain  on  the  wicked.  2.  He  can 
protect  the  good  from  harm.  3.  He  can  send  famine  or  plenty. 

II.  That  God  is  supreme  over  the  cunning  and  power  of  the  Devil.  The  magi- 
cians of  Egypt  were  agents  of  the  Devil.  They  were  inspired  by  him  in  their 
opposition  to  Moses  and  Aaron.  They  were  aided  by  his  cunning.  Their 
defeat  was  his  defeat  also.  Satan  cannot  work  a  mira,cle.  _  He  may  perform 
a  marvel.  He  is  subject  to  the  control  of  God.  This  is  evident  in  the  history 
of  the  plagues.  If  he  could  have  resisted  the  power  of  heaven,  it  would  have 
been  to  his  interest  to  have  done  so,  and  he  would  have  done  so.  He  may 
deceive  men.  He  cannot  protect  them  from  the  wrath  of  God.  Hence ; 
1.  God  can  deliver  men  from  the  power  of  the  Devil  2.  God  can  destroy  the 
works  of  the  Devil.  3.  God  can  frustrate  the  designs  of  the  Devil.  Teach 
this  blessed  truth  and  glorious  fact  to  the  youthful ;  that  the  good  agencies  of 
the  universe  are  more  potent  than  the  bad.  This  will  lead  youthhood  to  con- 
fide in  God. 

III.  That  goodness  is  happiness,  and  that  conflict  with  God  is  the  misery  of 
man.  This  is  clearly  taught  by  the  plagues  of  Egypt.  In  thena  we  see  the 
history  of  a  man  in  conflict  with  God  ;  and  what  a  record  of  pain  and  woe  ! 
When  men  contend  with  God  they  are  sure  to  be  plagued.  Life  is  happy  in 
proportion  as  it  is  good,  and  as  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  Supreme  Being  of  the 
universe.  When  men  commit  sin  they  must  expect  to  be  plagued.  _  This  must 
be  taught  to  the  youthful,  that  purity  of  life  and  true  enjoyment  are  inseparably 
connected.    To  be  happy  we  must  be  at  peace  with  heaven.    The  Divine  supre- 

acy  over  nature,  the  Divine  power  over  Satan,  the  greatness  of  God,  the 
safety  of  the  good,  and  the  misery  of  sin,  are  God's  signs,  manifested  in  the 
history  of  Pharaoh  to  the  generations  of  the  future.  Lkssons  :  1.  That  in  the 
lives  of  individuals  we  have  signs  of  God.  2.  That  all  the  signs  of  God  in  human 
life  are  to  he  carefully  noted  and  taught  to  the  young.  3.  That  all  tJie  signs 
of  life  are  evidence  oft/ie  Divine  supremacy. 

The  Ministry  of  Sin. 

God  makes  Pharaoh  *'  to  stand  "  for  the  benefit  of  Israel,  and  in  them  for 
the  benefit  of  humanity.     It  was  for  Pharaoh  in  the  first  instance  to  resist 
200 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTA  R  Y :  EXODUS.  chap.  X. 

Divine  light  and  grace,  and  oppress  Israel, — it  was  then  for  God  to  economize 
the  tyrant  and  his  wrath.     Tlie  conduct  of  the  Egyptian  king  served — 

I.  To  reveal  God.  "  That  ye  may  know  how  that  I  am  the  Lord."  The 
cloud  of  evil  in  its  very  nature  is  calculated  to  eclipse  the  Divine  glory,  and 
hide  the  Divine  One  from  the  eyes  of  mankind,  but  as  the  sun  overmasters  the 
clouds  of  the  sky,  and  makes  them  to  enchance  his  splendour,  so  God  causes 
the  ckiud  of  evil  to  become  the  back  ground  on  which  His  glorious  shape  and 
infinite  perfections  are  tlie  more  clearly  and  forcibly  displayed.  Pharaoh's 
perverseness  revealed  all  the  more  fully.  1.  The  Divine  love.  The  more  the 
Children  of  Israel  were  wronged  the  more  God's  grace  and  kindness  were 
demonstrated  to  them.  2.  Divine  righteousness.  Each  successive  miracle 
exhibited  more  impressively  the  righteousness  of  God's  administration.  3.  The 
Divine  power.  Each  judgment,  rising  in  severity,  declared  the  more  unmistake- 
ably  the  absolute  sovereignty  and  awful  power  of  God.  And  so  throughout 
the  whole  world,  and  throughout  all  life,  sin  which  would  hide  God,  reveals 
Him,  sin  which  would  dethrone  God  only  shows  the  strength  and  splendour 
of  His  awful  throne.  Evil  was  not  necessary  for  the  revelation  of  the  Divine 
Being,  but  since  evil  has  invaded  the  universe,  such  is  the  perfection  of  God's 
wisdom  and  might,  that  devils  become  the  heralds  of  His  glory,  and  the  dis- 
sonant voice  of  evil  swells  into  fuller  power  the  poean  of  His  praise.  And  the 
perverse  conduct  of  the  Egyptian  king  serves — 

II.  To  further  the  interests  of  Israel.  Their  highest  interest  was  furthered 
by  their  attaining  a  fuller  knowledge  of  God,  and  their  permanent  interest 
was  secured  by  these  wonders  impressing  themselves  on  the  popular  mind. 
*'  And  that  thou  may  est  tell  in  the  ears  of  thy  son,  and  of  thy  son's  son, 
what  things  I  have  wrought  in  Egypt."  Sin  was  not  necessary  to  the  develop- 
ment of  mankind,  but  since  it  has  forced  its  way  into  the  universe,  God  over- 
rules it  to  high  and  happy  issues.  From  the  sin  of  Egypt  came  the  higher 
education  of  Israel,  and  through  them  the  higher  education  of  mankind  at 
large,  and  from  sectional  evil  God  still  educes  general  good.  God  reigns,  and 
confounds  evil,  making  that  serve  which  was  designed  only  to  blast  and  destroy. 
Bad  man  are  apostles,  missionaries,  martyrs,  redeemers  of  society  ;  but,  alas  ! 
apostles  whom  Christ  will  deny,  missionaries  without  Heaven's  smile,  martyrs 
without  the  palm,  redeemers  to  whom  pertains  the  cross  without  the  crown. 
Unconsciously,  unwillingly,  they  glorify  God,  and  serve  society.  Let  not  the 
Church  fear,  let  the  sinners  be  afraid.  He  "  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall 
laugh  :  the  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision.  Then  shall  he  speak  unto  them 
in  his  wrath  and  vex  tliem  in  his  sore  displeasure.  Yet  have  I  set  my  king 
upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion."     (Ps.  ii.  4 — 7.) — W.  L.  Watkinson. 


TRANSMITTINa  THE   KNOWLEDGE   OF  THE  TrUE   GoD. 

The  world  had  then  nearly  lost  the  knowledge  of  the  True  God.  The 
ordinary  operations  of  his  hands  did  not  reveal  him  to  men's  callous  hearts. 
Idols  usurped  his  throne.  He  therefore  manifested  himself  by  "  signs."  The 
silence  of  uniformity  was  broken.     He  wrought  wonders. 

I.  Jehovah  made  himself  known  to  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  as  the  only 
true  God  by  signs.  He  separated  Himself  form  the  idols  of  Egypt  by  over- 
throwing their  power  and  bringing  them  into  contempt.  His  wondrous  acts 
revealed  His  supremacy.  Miracles  manifest  the  presence  of  the  True  God. 
Acts  reveal  character.  The  Bible,  wliicli  contains  the  fullest  revelations  of 
God,  is  a  record  of  His  acts.  The  plagues  did  not  however  fully  reveal  the 
character  of  God.     Judgment  is  His  strange  work.     God  adapts  Himself  in  His 

201 


CHAP.  X.  EOMILETIC  GOMMENTART:  EXODUS. 

revelations  to  tlie  spiritual  condition  of  men.  The  Israelites  were  in  a  state  of 
of  spiritual  infancy.  God  revealed  to  them  his  power  and  faithfulness.  He 
asserted  His  supremacy  over  all  false  deities,  His  power  over  nature  and  ability 
to  protect  his  chosen  people,  and  His  trutli  in  "remembering  His  covenant'' 
with  their  forefathers.  He  revealed  himself  more  fully  in  after  years.  Ciirist 
is  the  fullest  revelation  of  the  true  God. 

II.  That  this  knowledge  is  to  be  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation. 
God  would  have  Himself  known.  He  delights  to  reveal  Himself  to  men.  He 
acts  in  one  age  for  all  time.  Divine  knowledge  must  not  be  hidden.  Men 
have  to  transmit  it.  Posterity  should  be  cared  for.  The  knowledge  of  useful 
inventions,  scientific  discoveries,  social  achievements  is  gladly  transmitted,  how 
much  more  this  which  is  far  more  valuable  !  The  young  should  be  instructed 
in  this  knowledge  above  everything  else.  This  is  a  public  duty.  Society 
should  make  pro\ision  for  the  transmission  of  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God. 
Especially  is  this  a  parental  duty.  Tell  it  "  in  the  ears  of  thy  son  and  of  thy 
son's  son."  Relationship,  peculiar  affection,  and  the  tender  solicitude  Avhich 
every  parent  feels  for  the  welfare  of  his  children  should  lead  him  to  instruct 
them  in  Divine  knowledge.  To  shew  them  His  acts  is  to  reveal  Him.  To  give 
to  them  a  clear  conception  of  the  true  God  is  to  bestow  upon  them  the  greatest 
of  all  blessings.  Parents  can  impart  no  higher  good.  It  is  eternal.  It  is 
greater  than  wealth,  or  rank,  or  any  other  temporal  advantage.  Parental 
influence  the  most  potent  in  telling  of  God's  acts.  No  lips  teach 
like  the  lips  of  loving  authority.  Some  parents  neglect  this  solemn 
duty.  Ever  ready  to  speak  about  worldly  enterprises,  the  acts  of  great 
men,  their  own,  but  they  are  silent  about  God's.  Such  neglect  is  ruinous  to 
their  children,  and  dishonouring  to  God. 

III.  In  the  transmission  of  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  is  the  hope  of  the 
world.  Wherever  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  prevails,  righteousness  and 
peace  are  found.  Idolatry  has  ever  been  the  bane  of  mankind.  A  false  con- 
ception of  God  debases.  Worship  becomes  a  degradation.  ]\Ien's  ideas  of  God 
affect  not  only  their  religious  views  but  their  moral  principles  and  social 
customs.  In  knowing  the  true  God  is  true  life.  "This  is  life  eternal,  to  know 
Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  has  seiit."  Just  as  men 
acknowledge  and  serve  the  God  that  revealed  himself  by  Moses  in  Egypt,  and 
afterwards  more  fully  by  Jesus  Christ  are  they  elevated,  saved,  and  blessed. 
In  the  spread  of  this  knowledge  is  every  uplifting  influence.  Superstition, 
violence  and  error  will  disappear.  The  Heavenly  Jerusalem  will  be  built  on 
earth.  God  being  known  will  be  loved  and  obeyed.  "  Men  rising  from  the 
ruin  of  the  fall "  will  be  "  one  with  God,  and  God  be  all  in  all."  For  the  sake 
of  future  ages  God's  mighty  acts  should  be  told  in  "  the  ears  of  thy  son  and  of 
thy  son's  son."  In  the  instruction  of  the  young  is  the  truest  hope  of  the 
advancement  of  mankind.  The  future  of  the  world  depends  upon  how  much 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  is  possessed. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSE. 

Verse  2.  The  acknowledgment  of  The  Divine  supremacy:  —  1.  Re- 
God  in  His  Church  is  the  main  end  of  joctcd  by  the  proud.  2.  Received  by 
His  wonderful  plagues.  tiie  good.     3.  Revealed  by  the  works 

By  signs  : — 1.  Showing  the  woe  of  of  God.     4.  To  be  acknowledged  by 

sin.     2.   The  folly  of  human  malice,  all. 

3.  The  justice  of  God.     4.  The  safety  The  signs  :—l.    Their  nature.     2. 

of  the  Church.  Their  locahty.     3.  Their  design. 
:!()2 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  x. 


MAIN  HOMILETWS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  3. 

The  Delay  of  SouIt-Humility. 

1.  In  what  does  soul-humility  consist  ?  1.  Soul-humility  does  not  consist  in 
mournful  verbal  utterances.  Pharaoh  had  given  utterance  to  sad  and  mournful 
words.  He  had  spoken  in  doleful  language  of  his  afflictions  and  of  his  sin. 
But  he  was  at  the  same  time  far  from  being  humble  in  soul.  His  pride  was 
not  subdued.  Nor  was  he  willing  to  yield  to  the  demands  of  heaven.  And  so 
we  cannot  judge  the  temper  of  the  soul  from  the  utterance  of  the  lips.  A 
humble  word  may  conceal  a  proud  spirit.  And  it  often  happens  that  those 
who  talk  the  most  about  humility  have  the  least  of  it. 

2.  Soul-humility  does  not  consist  in  the  outward  manifestations  of  repentance. 
Pharaoh  had,  to  all  outward  appearance,  been  a  true  penitent.  But  humility 
of  soul  does  not  consist  in  loud  confessions  of  evil,  or  in  sending  for  the 
minister  of  God  in  the  hour  of  peril.  It  is  rather  evinced  in  calm  resignation 
to  the  will  of  God  as  revealed  in  His  Word,  and  as  made  known  in  the  con- 
science by  the  Holy  Spirit.  True  humility  of  soul  is  unpretentious.  It  is 
modest.  It  seldom  speaks  of  self.  It  does  not  parade  its  religion.  It  yields 
implicitly  to  the  will  of  heaven. 

II.  How  is  soul- humility  to  be  obtained  ?  \.  By  having  a  clear  conception  of 
the  will  of  God  and  of  the  beauty  of  truth.  Those  who  see  clearly  the  will  of  God 
in  reference  to  their  life  and  being  will  have  a  real  incentive  to  humility.  They 
will  view  the  power  of  God  as  contrasted  with  their  own  weakness ;  the  wisdom 
of  God  as  contrasted  with  their  own  ignorance ;  and  the  littleness  of  their  life 
will  indeed  beget  a  proper  spirit  of  humility.  And  let  men  get  but  a  clear 
vision  of  the  unveiled  Truth,  and  they  must  be  humble.  A  proud  soul  cannot 
have  beheld  the  inner  glory  of  truth,  or  it  would  pay  immediate  homage. 
2.  By  allowing  the  varied  discipline  of  life  its  due  effect  upon  the  soid.  If  Pharaoh 
had  allowed  the  sad  discipline  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  its  proper 
influence  upon  him,  he  would  indeed  have  been  humble  before  God.  The 
plagues  were  sent  to  humble  the  proud  Monarch.  But  in  vain.  And  so,  the 
discipline  of  life  is  intended  and  calculated  to  humble  the  soul ;  and  if  men 
would  reverently  submit  to  it,  and  co-operate  with  its  holy  purpose,  they  would 
attain  this  glorious  issue.  Pain  ought  to  humble  a  man.  It  should  remind  him  of 
his  mortality,  and  of  his  return  to  the  dust.  3.  By  submitting  to  the  gentle 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  A  man  who  has  the  Divine  Spirit  within  him,  will 
be  humble  in  all  his  dispositions  and  activities.  Spiritual  influences  produce 
humility  ;  they  permeate  the  discipline  of  life,  and  render  it  effective  and 
remedial ;  they  lead  the  soul  to  the  cross,  where  humility  is  the  condition  of  all 
good.     Are  we  clothed  with  humility  1 

III.  Why  is  soul-humility  so  long  delayed  ?  1.  Because  men  will  not  give 
up  their  sins.  Sin  as  a  dominant  influence  cannot  co-exist  with  true  humility. 
If  sin  is  in  the  soul  humility  will  be  absent.  Pharaoh  was  covetous  ;  he  did 
not  wish  to  give  up  his  profitable  slaves.  He  was  self-willed,  and  did  not  like 
to  be  defeated  in  any  of  his  national  plans.  Unless  sin  is  given  up,  humility 
will  never  be  put  on.  Humility  is  the  outcome  of  purity.  2.  Because  men  will 
not  yield  to  the  claims  of  God.  God  has  claims  upon  men.  They  are  unheeded. 
They  are  rejected.  They  are  rejected  in  a  spirit  of  defiance  and  self-sufficiency. 
They  are  the  most  humble  who  accept  the  claims  of  God  and  obey  them.  They 
give  proof  of  their  humility.  3.  Because  men  are  rendered  proud  by  exalted  social 
position.  Kings  are  in  danger  of  pride  from  the  fact  of  their  elevated  position, 
and  from  the  servile  flattery  to  which  they  are  exposed.  Hence  social  position 
may  delay  the  advent  of  humility  to  the  soul.     4.  Men  can  give  no  satisfactory 

203 


OHAP.  X.  HOMILETW  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


reason  for  the  ddaij  of  soul-humUity.  Humility  is  the  richest  and  best  ornament 
of  the  soul,  and  no  good  excuse  can  be  assigned  for  neglecting  to  wear  it.  Tliis 
ornament  is  but  seldom  seen  in  this  vaunting  age.  It  is  welcome  to  the  eye  of 
heaven. 

Lessons  : — 1.  Soul-humility  should  he  manifested  by  man.     2.   God's  ministers 
should  enforce  it.    3.  God's  people  should  cultivate  it.    4.  Its  absence  cannot  be  excused. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  3.     God's  true  servants  make  God  will  never  cease  demanding  His 

no  delay  in   keeping   His   command-  Church  from  the  wicked  world,  till  it 

nients.  be  freed. 

God's  servants  use  His  name  in  their          How  long  wilt  thou  refuse  to  humble 

message,  which   the    wicked   make   a  thyself?     1.  Till  I  plague  thee  more? 

reproach.  2    Till   thou  art  destroyed  1      3.  Till 

God  by  His  ministers  expostulates  thou  hast  no    opportunity  to  do  so  % 

bitterly  with   sinners  for  their  delay  4.  Have  you  not  delayed  long  enougli  ? 

of  humbling  themselves  under  judg-  5,  Can   you  gain   any  advantage   by 

ments.  delay  ? 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  ON  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  4-11. 

The  Plague  of  Locusts  Threatened. 

I.  It  was  threatened  in  case  that  Pharaoh  would  not  give  the  Israelites  the 
freedom  demanded  by  God.  (Verse  4.)  God  has  now  been  in  controversy  with 
Pharaoh  for  a  long  time,  and  we  should  have  thought  that  the  latter  would 
have  experienced  quite  enough  of  retribution  to  make  him  yield.  But  now 
another  plague  is  threatened.  God  will  continue  to  plague  men  till  they  give 
up  sin.  He  will  not  yield  the  welfare  of  His  own  despised  people  to  the  obstinacy 
of  a  wicked  ruler.      The  good  have  in  God  a  stern  Defender. 

II.  That  some  men  are  much  more  sensitive  to  the  threatenings  of  God  than 
others.  (Verse  7.)  The  servants  of  Pharaoh  give  tokens  of  submission;  but 
they  are  more  fearful  than  penitent.  They  endeavour  to  persuade  the  king  to 
come  to  terms  with  Moses.  Pharaoh  consents  to  their  wish.  Calls  the  two 
servants  of  God.  He  endeavours  to  bargain  with  them.  But  in  vain.  He  wants 
to  retain  the  young  children  of  Israel  in  bondage.  He  knew  that  they  would 
grow  up  to  be  of  value  to  his  nation.  Satan  does  not  like  to  let  children  go  out 
of  his  service.  Parents  should  not  leave  their  young  ones  behind  when  they  set 
out  in  the  service  of  heaven.  If  men  were  sensitive  to  the  threatenings  of  God, 
what  judgments  would  they  avert! 

III.  That  Divine  threatenings  must  make  ministers  faithful  in  the  discharge 
of  their  duty.  (Verse  9.)  Moses  gives  the  king  to  understand  that  there  would 
be  no  cnm[)romise  in  tlie  matter  ;  that  he  must  either  let  Israel  go,  or  suffer  the 
penalty  of  disobedience.  Moses  was  fearless.  He  was  faithful.  He  was  true 
to  his  mission.  And  so  in  tlie  times  of  threatened  retribution  it  behoves  the 
minister  of  God  to  be  faithful,  to  denounce  all  attempts  at  moral  compromise. 

SUGGEST!  VE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses   4-6.      To-morrow: — 1.  A  If  thou  refuse: — 1.  Then  man  can 

judgment.     2.  A  mystery.    3.  A  crisis,  refu-se  to  obey  God.     2.  Then  man  can 

4.  An  anxiety.     5.  A  hope.  dare  the  judgments  of  God.     3.  Then 
204 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  X. 


man  takes  a  great  responsibility  upon 
himself. 

The  locusts  : — 1.  Very  grievous.  2. 
Darkening  the  liglit.  3.  Devouring 
the  fruit.     4.  Entering  the  houses. 

Good  men  should  leave  sinners  when 
they  have  declared  the  message  of 
God  : — 1.  As  a  reproof.  2.  As  a  con- 
tempt. 3.  As  a  prophecy.  4.  As  a 
relief. 

Verse  7.  A  Eemonstrance  against 
Sin. 

I.  It  was  addressed  by  inferiors  to 
their  Superior.  Pharaoh  was  remon- 
strated witli  by  his  servants,  by  the 
chief  men  of  his  realm.  Hitherto  they 
appear  to  have  been  silent.  Now  they 
become  impatient  of  the  suffering 
brou<:ht  upon  them.  How  much  good 
would  be  accomplished  if  advisers 
would  always  remonstrate  with  kings 
in  conflict  with  the  Eternal !  The  con- 
duct of  these  men  was,  (1)  hold ;  (2) 
wise;  (3)  needed;  and  if  inferiors  would 
endeavour  to  check  those  above  them 
when  they  are  about  to  do  evil,  they 
would  prevent  much  crime,  they  would 
render  themselves  blameless,  and  would 
do  a  brave  and  a  faithful  thing. 

II.  It  was  inspired  by  a  deep  feel- 
ing of  terror.  Tlie  servants  of  Pharaoh 
were  concerned  for  their  own  safety  as 
well  as  for  the  welfare  of  the  nation, 
which  was  endangered  by  the  plagues. 
They  regarded  Moses  as  a  snare  unto 
them.  And  so  men  are  animated  by 
varied  motives  in  their  remonstrances 
against  sin — sometimes  pure  and  lofty, 
at  other  times  mean  and  selfish.  These 
servants  did  not  feel  sin  to  be  sin,  but 
a  punishment,  and  hence  their  entreaty 
with  the  king.  But  it  is  well  for  men 
under  any  circumstances  to  cry  out 
against  moral  evil. 

III.  It  was  influential  for  temporary 
good.  Moses  and  Aaron  were  brought 
again  unto  Pharaoh.  The  king  saw 
that  his  chief  advisers  were  against 
him,  and  regarded  their  utterance  as 
representative  of  the  national  ffcling. 
He  had  mis2;ivino;s.  The  remonstrance 
made  him  halt  in  his  rebellion.  And 
many  a  remonstrance  since  has  made 


the  sinner  hesitate  in  a  course  of 
evil,  even  though  it  has  not  reformed 
his  life.  Some  men  are  apparently 
more  accessible  to  the  advice  of  tlieir 
comrades  than  they  are  to  the  com- 
mands of  heaven.  The  wicked  ser- 
vant may  preach  the  gospel  to  his 
despotic  master. 

IV.  It  was  ultimately  disregarded. 

The  servants  had  given  Pharaoh  good 
advice,  they  had  influenced  him  aright, 
and  they  had  uttered  an  unconscious 
prophecy  of  his  future  ;  yet  they  were 
finally  disregarded.  When  a  man  dis- 
regards God,  he  is  not  likely  to  pay 
much  heed  to  the  remonstrance  of  his 
comrades.  Many  a  wise  man  has  had 
the  pain  of  seeing  his  good  advice  re- 
jected by  the  sinner.  LESSONS,  1.  Re- 
monstrate with  the  sinner.  2.  Shoiv  him 
the  folly  and  woe  of  sin.  3.  You  are 
not  re.'<2)onsible  for  the  result  of  such  a 
remonstrance. 

Verse  8.  Renewed  Opportunities 
OF  Moral  Good,  ''And  Moses  and 
Aaron  v)ere  brought  again  unto  Pharaoh." 

I.  Consequent  upon  the  faithful  re- 
buke of  friends.  The  king  was  led 
tlirough  the  rebuke  of  his  servants  to 
seek  another  interview  with  Moses  and 
Aaron,  and  hence  to  have  another 
opportunity  afforded  him  of  yielding  to 
the  command  of  God.  Men  have  re- 
peated opportunities  given  them  for 
moral  improvement  in  their  lives ; 
often  through  the  plain  fidelity  of  a 
friend. 

II.  Through  contact  with  a  holy 
man.  Pharaoh  was  again  brought  into 
the  companionship  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 
He  would  feel  the  influence  of  their 
characters  upon  him.  Every  time  we 
are  brought  into  contact  with  a  bright 
and  beautiful  moral  characterwe  should 
seek  to  catch  something  of  its  radiance. 
Such  contact  is  an  opportunity  for  soul 
improvement. 

III.  May  be  left  unused  through 
the  perverseness  of  the  soul.  Pharaoh 
was  none  the  better  for  this  renewed  in- 
terview with  these  two  servants  of  God. 
He  only  manifested  his  obstinacy  more 

205 


CHAP.  X. 


EOMILBTW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


fully.  It  is  awfully  possible  to  allow 
all  the  renewed  opportunities  of  the 
soul  for  moral  good  to  pass  away  un- 
improved. 

Verse  9.  Captious  questions  from 
wicked  men  are  plainly  answered  by 
God's  servants. 

Ministers  must  faithfully  declare  the 
purpose  of  God  with  regard  to  His 
Church. 

Little  ones  as  well  as  great  must  be 
carried  along  Avith  the  Church  of  God 
to  their  rest. 

The  work  of  the  Church  after  redemp- 
tion is  to  serve  Jehovah,  and  to  keep 
a  feast  to  Him. 

Verses  10,  1 1.  Proud  persecutors 
terrified  with  judgments,  though  they 
yield  a  little  to  God,  yet  scorn  to  give 
Him  His  tr-rms. 

It  is  the  policy  and  cruelty  of  per- 
secutors to  keep  in  thraldom  the  little 
ones  of  the  Church. 

Persecuting  powers  threaten  the 
Church  with  evil,  as  God  threatens 
them. 

Whatever  persecuting  powers  seem 
to  yield  to  the  Church,  they  resolve  it 
shall  not  be  so  as  God  wouid  have  it. 

Persecuting  powers  shall  tell  God 
who  shall  serve  Him,  and  allow  no 
more. 

God's  servants  are  driven  out  with 
contempt  from  })owers,  when  they  serve 
not  their  turn. 

Driving  away  the  servants  of  God  : — 

1.  It  is  to  drive  away  a  good  friend. 

2.  It  is  to  drive  away  a  faithful  monitor. 

3.  It  is  to  drive  away  a  real  benefactor. 

4.  It  is  to  drive  away  an  angel  of  God. 

The  Thrk.ats  of  the  Wicked, 
verse  10,  latter  clause. 

God's  servants  need  to  be  courageous 
men.  They  have  often  to  stand  before 
rulers  for  His  sake,  and  oppose  them. 
They  are  surrounded  by  the  machina- 
tions of  powerful  adversaries.  They 
are  often  threatened. 

I.  Evil  men  often  se«k  to  retard 
God's  servants  in  their  works  by 
threats.  God's  purposes  often  come 
into  collision  with  the  actions  of  wicked 
men.  They  often  regard  His  servants 
206 


as  their  enemies.  Divine  work  always 
opposes  evil.  God's  servants  have  to 
break  in  pieces  the  deceptions,  wrongs, 
and  tyrannies  of  their  age.  Evil  is 
often  entrenched  in  triumphant 
positions.  Men  find  their  interest  in 
upholding  it.  Wicked  men  defend  it, 
and  attack  those  who  assail  it.  They 
think  that  they  can  terrify  God's 
servants  and  hinder  their  work,  but 
their  threats  are  vain.  God  sustains 
all  whom  He  sends.  No  opposition, 
however  virulent,  can  retard  them  from 
doing  His  work.  They  may  be  weak 
and  few,  but  He  is  their  strength.  The 
lives  of  reformers,  martyrs,  and 
philanthropists  attest  this.  His  pre- 
sence has  made  them  valiant  and  per- 


"  But  saved  by  a  Divine  alliance 
From  terrors  of  defeat. 
Uiivauntingly,  yet  with  defiance, 
One  man  liie  world  may  meet." 

II.  That  the  threats  of  evil  men  need 
not  be  feared.  Moses  and  Aaron  were 
safe  though  Pharaoh  might  threaten 
evil.  They  were,  humanly  speaking, 
but  the  champions  of  slaves,  and  he 
was  a  mighty  potentate  ;  yet  they  were 
stronger  than  he,  and  had  less  cause  for 
fear.  We  may  fear  evil  just  in  propor- 
tion as  we  separate  ourselves  from  God 
and  resist  His  purposes.  Tyrants  have 
often  proved  their  powerlessness  to 
injure  God's  ambassadors.  God  has 
His  eye  upon  them,  and  a  "  hook  for 
their  jaws."  Nothing  can  really  harm 
God's  servants.  They  may  have  to 
suffer,  but  suffering  will  be  turned  into 
triumphant  joy.  They  may  be  cast 
into  prison,  but  their  prison  walls  will 
gleam  with  celestial  splendour ;  and 
like  the  saintly  Rutherford,  they  will 
find  that  their  enemies  have  only  sent 
them  to  reside  for  a  while  in  one  of 
God's  palaces  ;  they  may  be  robbed  of 
their  earthly  possessions,  but  their 
true  riches  will  be  increased ;  they 
may  be  put  to  a  cruel  death,  but  this 
will  only  hasten  them  home  from  their 
toils  to  receive  an  eternal  reward. 
Real  evil  cannot  befall  them.  Those 
who  are  doing  God's  work  are  invin- 
cible.     They   are   covered    with   the 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  X. 


shield  of  the  Almighty  ;  and  their  work 
ever  goes  on.  No  fulmination  of  malice 
can  stop  it.  They  and  their  work  are 
alike  secure.  They  have  no  cause  to 
fear  evil. 

Ill  That  the  evil  threatened, 
menaces  the  threatener.  Threats 
often  fall  upon  those  who  utter  them. 
What  evil  was  before  Pharaoh  !  Thus 
evil  men,  deceived  by  their  pride,  lose 
sight  of  their  own  dangers.  They 
threaten  when  they  ought  to  fear. 
Secure  in  their  own  fancied  strength, 
they  have  huiled  their  malice  upon  the 
servants  of  the  Most  High ;  but 
their  words  have  recoiled  upon  them- 
selves. Tliey  have  digged  a  pit  and 
have  fallen  into  it.  The  gallows  that  has 
been  erected  for  Mordecai  has  borne 
the  body  of  Haman.  They  proudly 
boast, 

"  But  an  hour  comes  to  tame  the  mighty  man 
Unto  the  infant's  weakness." 

P.  Hemans, 

They  forget  God,  As  Luther  said 
concerning  the  Potentates  of  his  day, 
who  did  not  remember  the  overruling 
might  of  God  in  their  projects  :  "  Our 
Lord  God  says  unto  them  :  For  whom 
then  do  ye  hold  Me  1  for  a  cypher  ?  Do 
I  sit  here  above  in  vain,  and  to  no  pur- 
pose ?  You  shall  know  that  I  will 
twist  your  accounts  about  finely,  and 
make  them  all  false  reckonings."  So 
it  was  with  Pharaoh  when  he  threat- 
ened Moses  and  Aaron. — W,  0.  Lilley. 

The  Imperiousness  of  Unbelief, 
seen  {''And  they  were  driven  out  from 
Pharaoh's  presence"  ver.  11) : — 

I.  In  its  reluctance  to  grant  con- 
cessions. Impressed  by  the  terrible 
evidences  of  Jehovah's  power,  and 
urged  by  his  terror-stricken  advisers, 
the  proud  king  seems  willing  at  length 
to  release  the  people.  But  half  repent- 
ing the  permission,  he  asks  "  But  who 


are  they  that  shall  go?"  (ver.  8.)  So 
is  it  ever  with  unbelief.  When  com- 
pelled to  make  admissions,  it  does  so 
with  hesitation  and  with  regret.  They 
are  wrung  from  a  mind  too  proud  to 
admit  defeat. 

II.  In  its  irritable  impatience  in 
listening  to  the  voice  of  reason.  Moses 
claimed  that  the  whole  nation  should 
depart,  male  and  female  of  all  ages, 
along  with  their  flocks  and  herds. 
There  was  nothing  unreasonable  in 
this.  Even  the  Egyptians  held  religi- 
ous festivals  at  which  it  was  custom- 
ary for  the  women  to  accompany  the 
men.  But  the  capricious  monarch,  in 
the  most  indignant  and  scornful  man- 
ner, swears  the  little  ones  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  go,  nor  any  other  than  the 
men  (ver.  10.)  Thus  he  showed  his 
contempt,  not  only  for  Jehovah's  am- 
bassadors, but  for  Jehovah  Himself. 
So  is  it  ever  with  unbelief.  It  is 
impatient  of  control ;  inaccessible  to 
reason,  especially  of  the  highest  kind ; 
and  manifests  an  impotent  rage  against 
the  arguments  it  cannot  answer. 

III.  In  its  ignominious  treatment 
of  religious  teachers.  The  wrath  of 
the  tyrant  king  rose  beyond  all  con- 
trol, and  he  imperiously  waved  Moses 
and  Aaron  out  of  his  sight.  "  And 
they  were  driven  out  from  Pharaoh's 
presence."  Foiled  and  confounded  by 
the  simple  but  unanswerable  presenta- 
tion of  the  truth,  unbelief  vents  its 
passion  in  spiteful  invective. 

The  utmost  rage  of  unbelief  is  power- 
less to  daunt  the  courage  of  God's 
messengers.  When  Valens,  the  Arian 
Emperor,  threatened  Basil  with  bonds 
and  banishment,  the  fearless  bishop 
exclaimed — "  Let  him  threaten  boys 
with  these.  The  Emperor  may  take 
away  my  life,  but  not  my  faith  :  my 
head,  but  not  my  crown." — &  Bar- 
low. 


107 


OHAP.  X.  HOMILETIC  COM  MEN  TAR  Y :  EXOD  US. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  12-15. 

The   Plague  of  Locusts  :   or,  the   Eesidue  of  Human  Comfort  and 
Enjoyment  destroyed  by  the  Eetribution  of  God. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  plap;ues  of  Eg^ypt,  as  they  succeeded  each  other, 
were  characterised  by  increasing  severity.  This  one  appears  an  exception  to 
the  rule.  But  only  on  first  sight.  The  very  name  of  locust  was  a  terror  to 
the  Egyptians.  They  were  an  awful  infliction  (Joel  i.  6-12).  There  were 
various  species  of  locusts,  which  are  called  in  tlic  Bible  by  various  names  ;  the 
name  in  this  place  signifying  "  multitudinous  : "  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
visitation  consisted  of  several  different  kinds.  Hence  the  land  that  had  pre- 
viously been  visited  by  hail  and  fire,  must  now  have  been  utterly  desolated. 
Hence  we  see  how  human  joys  are  devastated  by  the  retributions  of  heaven. 

I.  That  sometimes  the  retrihutions  of  God  leave  a  residue  of  comfort  to 
the  lives  of  men.  We  read  that  though  the  tlax  and  the  barley  were  smitten  by 
the  hail  and  the  fire,  the  "  JVIieat.  and  the  He  were  not  smitten.  "  Hence  there 
was  something  valuable  left  to  Egypt  after  the  severe  retribution  had  ceased. 
And  so  it  is  generally  with  individual  life  ;  the  retributions  of  heaven  do  not 
take  all  away  from  a  man  at  a  stroke  ;  they  leave  some  hope  and  comfort 
behind.  It  is  so  in  bereavement ;  if  the  wife  is  taken,  the  child  is  left.  It  is  so 
in  business  ;  if  the  capital  is  lost,  it  may  be  the  reputation  is  saved.  It  is  so 
in  personal  attributes  ;  if  one  sense  grows  dim,  another  remains  yet  more  active. 
If  the  flax  and  barley  are  destroyed,  the  wheat  and  the  rie  are  left.  This  is  more 
than  is  deserved.     It  is  merciful.     But  it  is  the  kind  way  of  heaven. 

II.  That  upon  continued  sin  the  residue  of  human  comfort  may  he  entirely 
removed  by  the  retributive  anger  of  God.  If  the  hail  and  the  fire  do  not 
accomplish  their  mission  to  the  soul  of  man,  the  locusts  will  be  sent  to  '■^  eat  the 
residue  of  that  which  is  escaped."  "  They  shall  eat  every  tree  which  groweth  for 
you  out  of  the  field."  His  method  of  retribution  apptars  pitiless  and  destitute 
of  consideration  for  the  consequent  woe  of  man  ;  but  it  is  the  just  outcome  of 
obstinate  sin.  How  many  lives  have  been  spoiled  of  their  comforts  and  left  in 
solitary  and  defenceless  pain  by  such  a  retribution  !  Sin  is  the  explanation  of 
much  of  the  calamity  we  find  around  us.  If  men  will  not  heed  the  voice  of 
God,  the  locust  will  succeed  the  hail,  and  complete  their  woe  ;  then  all  their  glad 
things  will  vanish. 

III.  That  upon  continued  sin  the  remaining  comforts  of  man  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  co-operation  of  primary  and  secondary  causes.  "  And  the 
Lord  brought  an  east  wind  upon  the  land  all  that  day  and  all  that  night;  and 
when  it  was  morning,  the  east  wind  brought  the  locusts."  Hence  the  retribu- 
tions that  are  intended  to  destroy  the  remaining  joys  of  the  wicked  are  sent 
through  the  ordinary  agencies  of  nature,  and  along  the  ordinary  channels  of  life. 
God  sends  them  by  the  agency  of  the  east  wind.  The  sceptic  may  say  that  the 
east  wind  alone  brought  the  locusts  upon  his  green  things  ;  but  this  is  unreason- 
able and  atheistical.  Men  in  tliese  days  have  too  much  Scripture  knowledge  to 
regard  nature  as  the  origin  of  their  trouble.  God  commissions  the  wind  that 
works  desolation  upon  the  hope  of  the  wicked. 

■SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  12.     When  persecutors  drive  The  hand  of  man,  stretched  out  at 

out  God's  servants,  He  hastens  deter-  God's  word  for  plagues,  is  a  terrible 

mined  plagues  on  them.  sign  to  His  enemies. 

203 


MOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  cHap.  x. 


The  plague  signified  shall  come  by  At  God's  set  times  His  plagues  do 

Goil's  word  to  verify  the  sign  given.  come  and  are  not  delayed. 

The   plague   coming   shall   do    full  Locust  plagues,  as   well   as  others^ 

execution    upon    God's    enemies   and  extend  themselves  and  rest  where  God 

creatures  for  their  sakes.  will  have  them. 

God  can  make  a  latter  plague  finish  Incomparable  vermin  God  can  ere- 

that  which  a  former  plague  only  began  ate  to   plague  persecutors  of   His  Is. 

to  destroy.  rael. 

Locust  plagues  and  the  like  cover  over 

Verses  13-15.     At  God's  command  and  transform  the  face  of  the  earth  at 

of  signals   to   denote    His   word    His  God's  word, 

servants  must  use  them.  Devouring   and    killing   plagues    to 

God's  true  ministers  show  readiness  creatures,  God  sends  upon  wicked  per- 

and   exactness  in   giving    forth   signs  secutors. 
commanded  by  Him. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAOB APE.— Verses  16-20. 

A  False  Repentance. 

Pharaoh  had  driven  Moses  and  Aaron  from  his  presence,  but  now  he  recalls 
them  in  great  haste,  and  with  much  respect.  The  day  will  come  when  all 
rebellious  souls  will  be  glad  to  engage  the  inteicessions  of  the  good  ;  even 
though  they  may  despise  them  now.  Hence  the  plague  of  locusts  made  a  great 
impression  upon  the  king,  and  he  became  very  anxious  for  its  removal.  A 
False  Eepentance  : — 

I.  It  proceeds  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  and  not  from  conscientious 
conviction.  This  token  of  repentance  was  the  outcome  of  impulse.  The  king 
was  awe-stricken  by  the  plague  of  locusts,  and  for  the  moment  was  bowed  in 
repentant  mood.  His  confessions  of  sin  were  prompted  by  the  feeling  of  the 
hour,  and  would  be  silenced  by  the  removal  of  the  plague.  His  repentance  was 
not  a  matter  of  deep  conviction.  His  soul  felt  no  agony  for  sin.  It  had  no 
vision  of  an  offended  God,  of  a  broken  law,  or  of  a  woful  destiny  to  come.  It 
saw  only  a  temporary  retribution.  A  truly  penitent  spirit  will  look  through  all 
the  pain  that  occasions  its  grief  to  that  Being  who  alone  can  pardon  its  sin. 
Conviction  rs>her  than  impulse  must  mark  the  commencement  of  a  new  life,  and 
can  alone  give  it  permanent  reality.  The  repentance  of  impulse  is  but  of  short 
duration. 

II.  It  is   marked  by  selfish  terror,  and  not  by  a  godly  sorrow  for  sin. 

Pharaoh  evinces  a  slavish  dread,  and  a  fear  of  death.  He  had  no  thought 
about  the  sin  he  had  committed.  He  was  not  filled  with  genuine  sorrow  on 
account  of  his  wilful  rejection  of  the  Divine  claims.  His  cries  were  those  of  a 
despairing  soul;  they  were  not  the  utterances  of  a  contrite  heart.  He  felt  the 
force  of  the  retribution  that  rested  upon  him.  He  had  no  means  whereby  to 
escape  it.  Death  was  before  him.  He  saw  little  hope  of  mercy  ;  in  fact,  mercy 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  he  did  not  seek.  And  a  false  repentance  has 
always  a  large  element  of  terror  in  it,  and  that  sorrow  for  sin,  which  is  so  true 
and  refreshing,  is  unknown  to  it. 

III.  It  craves  forgiveness  of  an  immediate  offence  rather  than  a  thorough 
cleansing  of  the  heart.  Pharaoh  sought  the  forgiveness  of  his  sin  this  once  ;  he 
did  not  ask  foi-  the  purification  of  his  moral  nature.  He  had  spent  a  long  life 
in  sin.  he  had  been  guilty  of  continued  o])position  to  God,  and  his  repentance 
ought  to  have  had  reference  to  his  entire  life.     But  he  cared  not  for  the  cleans* 

T  209 


CBAF.  X.  HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 

ing  of  his  soul,  he  only  wanted  the  removal  of  the  plague.  A  false  repentance 
only  contemplates  the  sin  that  is  nearest  tlie  trouble  that  has  come  upon  the 
sinner,  and  which  seems  to  have  brought  it.  It  does  not  imagine  that  the 
cleansing  of  the  heart  is  the  first  condition  of  freedom  from  retribution.  One 
plague  may  be  removed,  but  if  the  soul  is  unchanged  in  its  mood,  another  will 
succeed  it.  The  heart  must  be  pure  before  the  plague  will  cease,  before  heaven 
will  smile  upon  the  soul. 

IV.  It  confides  in  the  intercession  of  a  fellow-mortal  rather  than  in  the 
personal  humbling  of  the  soul  before  God.  Phai  aoh  asked  Moses  to  pray  for 
him,  but  was  not  much  inclined  to  pray  fur  himself.  False  repentance  always 
substitutes  tlie  petitions  of  others  for  its  own  pleadings  with  the  Almighty.  It 
has  more  faith  in  the  supplications  of  the  good  than  in  its  own  selfish  prayers. 
In  the  work  of  repentance  the  soul  must  be  intensely  personal.  It  must  think 
for  itself.  It  must  feel  for  itself.  It  must  pray  for  itself.  The  ministers  of 
God  may  direct  and  aid  a  soul  in  the  hour  of  sorrow  for  sin,  but  beyond  this 
they  are  useless.  The  soul  must  come  direct  to  God  if  it  seeks  mercy.  Christ 
is  the  only  mediator.     A  human  priest  usurps  the  Divine  prerogative. 

V.  It  regards  God  more  as  a  terrible  Deity  whose  wrath  is  to  he  appeased, 
than  as  the  Infinite  Father  whose  love  is  better  than  life.  Pharaoh  regarded 
the  great  God  as  a  Despot  whose  wrath  he  had  awakened,  and  whose  retribution 
he  had  invited.  He  saw  the  Divine  character  through  the  medium  of  retri- 
bution. He  beheld  not  the  mercy  of  the  Infinite.  A  false  repentance  always 
has  wrong  notions  of  the  character  and  government  of  God.  It  sees  the  tyrant 
wliere  it  ought  to  see  the  Father.  It  sees  the  despot  where  it  ought  to  see  the 
Judge. 

VL  It  expresses  a  promise  of  amendment  which  is  falsified  by  previous 
dissemblings.  A  false  repentance  is  always  loud  in  its  promises  of  reformation, 
which  are  generally  falsified  by  the  subsequent  conduct  of  the  sinner.  Some 
men  have  appeared  penitent  so  often  that  it  is  difficult  to  know  when  their 
sorrow  is  real  and  whether  it  is  Likely  to  be  abiding.  Eepentance  is  such  a 
beautiful  thing  that  Satan  is  sure  to  try  to  imitate  it,  and  satisfy  men  with 
its  counterfeit  if  he  can  so  delude  them.  Lessons  :  1.  To  be  sure  that  our 
repentance  is  genuiiie.  2.  To  hrvncj  fmih  fruit  meet  for  repentance  in  daily  conduct. 
3.  Not  to  pass  a  hasty  judgment  on  the  repentance  of  men.  Half  the  Revivalists  of 
the  day  would  have  called  Pharaoh  a  true  convert  3  time  tests  conversion. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE   VERSES. 

Verses  15-17.    Vengeance  may  make  Verses    18-20.     The   winds   are  in 

persecutors  call  in  God's  servants  for  the   hand    of  God.     God   spares   the 

help   as   hastily  as   they  drove   them  wicked  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  the 

out.  good. 

Double  confession  of  sin  many  hypo-  God   can   make  winds  take    away 

crites  make  under  plagues,  yet  not  in  plagues  as  well  as  bring  them, 

truth.  Miraculous  is  God's  healing,  as  well 

Proud   persecutors   may   be    forced  as   plaguing,    at    the   desires   of    His 

to   acknowledge    their    guilt    against  servants. 

man  and  God.  Judgments  of  removing  and  heart 

It   is    only   death   which    troubled  hardening  from  God  may  be  coupled 

sinners  deprecate.  together  in  the  wicked. 


SIO 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  ohaF.  i. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  21-23. 

The  Plague  of  Darkness  ;  or,  A  Type  of  the  sad  Moral  Condition  of 
Unregenerate  Humanity. 

The  land  of  Egypt  is  now  covered  in  palpable  darkness.  We  cannot  tell  how 
this  darkness  was  produced.  It  was  a  miracle.  It  may  have  been  produced  by 
a  deprivation  of  sii^ht  (Deut.  xxviii.  27-29).  It  may  have  been  caused  by  a 
storm,  or  by  a  thick  cloud  resting  upon  the  earth  (Exod.  xiv.  20).  The 
Egyptians  worslu})i)ed  the  sun  under  the  name-  of  Osiris.  Thus  their  god  had 
forsaken  tliem,  or  he  was  dethroned.  This  darkness  was  not  relieved  by  any 
artificial  light ;  but  the  children  of  Israel  had  light  in  their  dwellings. 

I.  That  unregenerate  humanity  is  in  a  condition  of  moral  darkness.  This  is 
abundantly  evident  to  a  devout  and  thoughtful  mind.  It  is  demonstrated  by 
the  pages  of  inspiration,  by  the  record  of  history,  and  by  the  experiences  of  human 
life.  Darkness  is  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  1.  The  unregenerate  are  ignorant. 
Darkness  is  an  emblem  of  ignorance.  All  unregenerate  men  are  ignorant. 
They  may  be  men  of  science,  or  students  of  the  mysteries  of  the  material  uni- 
verse ;  they  may  be  versed  in  all  secular  knowledge ;  yet  they  are  ignorant, 
they  are  ignorant  of  God  as  their  Father,  of  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  their  Comforter,  and  of  the  glories  of  the  moral  universe  in  which  their 
souls  are  called  to  live.  2.  The  unregenerate  are  miserable.  How  miserable  would 
be  the  Egyptians  during  these  days  of  palpable  darkness ;  a  true  emblem  of  the 
moral  wretchedness  of  the  sinner.  He  is  destitute  of  the  glorious  light  of 
heaven,  the  true  illumination  of  the  soul.  He  gropes  in  darkness  to  an  awful 
destiny  of  woe.  He  knows  not  the  higher  enjoyments  of  being.  He  lives  in  a 
dark  world.  3.  The  unregenerate  are  in  danger.  Men  in  the  dark  are  in  danger. 
This  is  true  of  the  souk  Without  the  hght  of  truth  and  without  the  light  of 
the  Eternal  Spirit,  it  must  perish.     It  is  under  the  condemnation  of  heaven. 

II.  That  unrenewed  humanity  is  in  moral  darkness  througli  sin.     As  the 

darkness  was  brought  upon  Egypt  by  sin,  so  it  has  been  brought  upon  mankind. 
The  race  was  born  into  the  glad  enjoyment  of  moral  light.  The  light  was  lost 
by  disobedience.  Hence  all  men  are  now  born  in  soul-darkness.  They  only 
emerge  into  light  as  they  come  to  the  cross,  where  they  are  illumined  by  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness.     Then  they  walk  as  children  of  the  light. 

III.  That  unrenewed  humanity  is  in  great  straits  through,  and  has  no 
artificial  alleviation  of,  its  moral  darkness.  1.  The  moral  vision  of  humanity  is 
impeded.  The  Egyptians  M^ere  not  able  to  see  each  other.  If  men  were  pure,  with 
what  visions  of  soul  would  they  be  enriched  ;  they  would  see  the  heavens  opened 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  descending  upon  them.  But,  alas  !  they  are  in  darkness 
because  of  sin.  2.  The  moral  activity  of  humanity  is  suspended.  The  Egyptians 
were  not  able  to  rise  from  their  places.  Sin  imprisons  the  activities  of  the  soul. 
It  renders  men  unable  to  accomplish  the  mission  of  life.  This  darkness  of  the 
soul  can  only  be  removed  by  Christ.  No  artificial  light  can  chase  it  away. 
IjESSONS  : — 1.  To  seek  to  relieve  the  woe  of  those  who  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow 
of  death.     2.  To  see  the  effect  of  sin.     3.  To  seek  light  from  the  cross  of  Christ. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses    21-23.      God    falls    upon          Palpable   darkness  is   a   judgment 
sinners  without   warning,  when  they      from  God. 
deal  falsely  with  Him,  Chains  of  darkness  can  God  make 

The  same  signal  God  may  command     to  hold  fast  sinners  in  prison. 
for  several  uses.  God    executes    His  judgments    on 

211 


OHAP.  Z. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


the  world  with  discrimination  to   His 
people. 

Egypt's  darkness  is  Israel's  light. 

Light  in  the  Dwellings  of  the 
Good. 

I.  In  the  dwellings  of  the  good 
there  is  the  light  of  revealed  truth. 

II.  In  the  dwellings  of  the  good 
there  is  the  light  of  providential 
guidance. 

III.  In  the  dwellings  of  the  good 
there  is  the  light  of  moral  character. 

Home  light,  ver.  23 — last  clause.  The 
light  which  the  Israelites  had  in  their 
dwellings  during  this  plague  was  doubt- 
less supernatural.  God  still  gives  light 
to  His  people  while  the  world  around 
riiem  dwells  in  darkness.  Earth  has 
no  light  in  itself;  neither  has  man. 
All  light  is  from  God.  All  may  possess 
spiritual  light.  Some  prefer  darkness. 
The  true  Israel  still  have  light  in  their 
dwellings.  Light  in  the  heart  brings 
light  in  the  home. 

I.  There  is  supernatural  light  in  the 
dwellings  of  God's  people.  Liglit  may 
be  regarded  as  an  emblem  of  spiritual 
truth.  Thei'e  is  a  light  brighter  than 
the  light  of  the  sun.  God's  people 
dwell  in  it.  The  light  of  the  glory  of 
God  has  shone  in  upon  them. 

"  'Tis  not  the  morning  light 
That  wakes  tiie  hirk  to  sing  ; 
'Tis  not  a  meteor  of  the  night. 
Nor  track  of  angel's  wing; 
It  is  an  uncreated  beam, 
Like  that  wliieh  shone  on  Jacob's  dream." 
— MonUjovury. 

"God  is  light."  He  dwells  with  His 
saints.  Christ  is  the  true  Light.  He 
riseth  upon  them  as  the  "  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness with  healing  in  His  wing.>^." 
God's  Word  is  a  light :  this  Divine  lamp 
ever  shines  in  their  homes.  Light  is 
an  emblem  of  love,  of  purity,  of  know- 
ledge, of  joy.  These  virtues  ever  brighten 
and  beautify  domestic  duties  and  par- 
ental anxieties.  No  other  light,  but 
that  which  comes  from  God,  and  is 
apprehended  by  the  eye  of  the  soul, 
can  truly  illumine  our  dwellinL;s.  No 
creations  of  worldly  wi.-sdom,  wealth,  or 
philosojtliy  can  give  this  heavenly  light. 
213 


There  is  darkness  that  may  be  felt 
where  it  does  not  shine.  Approaching 
the  metropolis  one  winter's  evening  in 
the  train,  the  lights  gleaming  from  its 
myriad  houses  as  we  dashed  along 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  passengers. 
"  Ah,"  said  a  poor  woman,  "  the  houses 
look  bright  enough,  but  the  true  light 
is  where  the  love  of  God  is."  She  had 
been  taught  of  God.  This  is  the  truth. 
Only  those  who  have  His  love  have 
"  lii^ht  in  their  dwelling-s." 

II.  That  this  light  is  the  source  of 
manifold  blessings.  Comfort  under 
trial ;  strength  in  weakness ;  peace  in 
disquietude  ;  lessons  of  resignation, 
patience,  and  fortitude  :  sanctification 
of  affliction  ;  sympathy  with  the  suffer- 
ing members  of  the  household ;  preser- 
vation in  calamitous  times ;  sustaining 
trust  in  God  under  perplexing  cir- 
cumstances ;  hope  of  eternal  felicity. 
Happy  is  the  home  where  this  light 
shines.  ]\len  from  such  homes  have  a 
celestial  brightness  about  them ;  chil- 
dren reared  in  such  dwellings  become 
"  burning  and  shining  lights  in  the 
world.  Hap})y  is  the  people  that  is  in 
such  a  case."  (Ps.  cxliv.  12-15.) 

III.  That  this  light  is  a  foregleaming 
of  that  glory  which  will  be  enjoyed 
by  God's  people  for  ever.  The  light 
that  shine.'i  in  pious  homes  is  the  same 
that  brightens  heaven.  When  John 
saw  that  holy  dwelling-place  he  says, 
"  The  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it.  and 
the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof."  God's 
love  in  Christ  is  the  light  of  every  true 
Israelite's  dwelling  on  earth,  and  that  is 
the  light  of  heaven.  Chiistian  homes 
ought  to  be  "spangles  of  celestial  bright- 
ness on  this  darksome  earth."  The  light 
here  is  sometimes  dimmed.  Heaven  is 
its  native  sphere.  It  suffers  there  no 
eclipse.  Our  vision  too  will  be  clearer. 
Every  spiritual  truth  which  natural 
light  symbolises,  and  is  but  its  material 
shadow,  will  be  seen  in  all  its  harmon- 
ious sympathies  and  grandest  propor- 
tions. We  shall  see  light  in  God's 
light.  The  light  will  penetrate  us 
more  fully  :  we  shall  be  glorified  by  it. 
^\'e  now  know  in  ])art,  but  then  face 
to  fiice.     The  liaht  is  the  same  ;  but  it 


no  MI  LET IG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  X. 


has  now  to  pass  through  the  murky  from  such  dwellings   into  heaven   go 

atmosphere  of   our   sinfulness.      This  from  one  Divine  glory  to  another;  going 

light  gleams  upon  us  to  prepare  us  for  from  GocVs  light  on  earth  to  His  light 

its    fuller    njauife.statiuns    in    heaven.  in  heaven. 

The  home  of  the  true  Israelite  is  bright  The  dwellings  of  the  good: — 1.  Their 

with  the  celestial  glory :  it  has  much  light.       2.    Their   beauty.       3.  Their 

of  heaven  in  it :  it  is  distinguished  by  protection. 
heaven's   light;    and   those  who  pass 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.  — Vencs  24-26. 

The  Eeluctance  with  which  ]\Ien  yield  a  Complete  Obedience  to 
THE  Imperative  Claims  of  God. 

I.  The  fact  of  this  reluctance  on  the  part  of  man  to  yield  complete 
obedience  to  the  claims  of  God.  1.  This  reluctance  is  seen  in  the  judgments  that 
are  sent  to  overcome  it.  What  judgments  were  sent  to  overcome  the  reluctance  of 
Pharaoh  to  a  complete  surrender  to  the  claims  of  God  !  How  varied  !  How 
numerous  !  How  afflictive  !  And  yet  all  in  vain.  He  continued  to  defy  the 
servants  of  heaven.  He  sought  to  make  a  compromise  with  God  and  duty. 
There  are  many  like  him  in  our  own  times.  They  are  afflicted  by  a  providence 
designed  to  bring  them  to  the  performance  of  duty  ;  yet  they  refuse  subjection 
to  the  will  of  heaven.  2.  This  reluctance  is  seen  in  the  mercy  that  is  despised. 
3.  This  reluctance  is  seen  in  the  faithful  ministries  that  are  rejected.  Moses  and 
Aaron  were  many  times  sent  to  urge  the  king  to  compliance  with  the  commands 
of  God ;  but  in  vain.  How  many  faithful  and  persuasive  appeals  have  been 
made  to  us  to  give  up  all  sin,  and  to  render  an  unreserved  service  to  the  King 
of  heaven  !  That  men  resist  these  judgments,  these  ministries,  and  the 
abundant  mercy  of  God,  is  complete  evidence  of  their  great  reluctance  to 
surrender  all  for  Him.  (1.)  This  reluctance  is  a  matter  of  revelation.  (2.)  Thii 
reluctance  is  a  matter  of  history.     (3.)  This  reluctance  is  a  matter  of  experience. 

II.  The  reasons  of  this  reluctance  on  the  part  of  man  to  yield  complete 
obedience  to  the  claims  of  God.  These  reasons  are  obvious: — 1.  Depravity  of 
nature.  Man  is  depraved  in  soul.  He  has  fallen  away  from  God.  He  has 
lost  the  love  of  God  from  his  heart.  Hence  he  has  an  aversion  to  the  Divine 
service.  He  is  at  enmity  with  the  Being  who  demands  obedience.  This  is  one 
reason  of  man's  reluctance.  2.  Pride  of  heart.  Man  is  proud  and  does  not 
like  to  be  humiliated  by  surrendering  all  to  God.  Pharaoh  likes  to  keep  his 
slaves.  He  fancies  that  they  augment  his  importance,  and  the  prowess  of  his 
nation.  Men  imagine  that  sin  is  an  exaltation  ;  hence  they  are  unwilling  to 
give  it  up.  3,  Selfishness  of  motive.  Pharaoh  was  selfish.  He  would  not  give 
up  the  wealth  brought  to  his  treasury  by  the  energies  of  his  slaves.  Men 
imagine  that  sin  is  a  gain  and  a  profit ;  hence  they  are  reluctant  to  make  an 
entire  surrender  of  it  at  the  call  of  heaven.  4.  Obstinate  in  will.  Pharaoh 
was  obstinate.  He  did  not  wish  to  yield  to  Jehovah,  of  whom  he  had  but 
little  knowledge.  Men  obstinately  resist  a  fancied  invasion  of  their  rights,  and 
hence  will  not  yield  to  the  claims  of  God. 

III.  The  folly  of  this  reluctance  on  the  part  of  man  to  yield  complete 
obedience  to  the  claims  of  God.  1.  Because  it  provokes  painful  judgments. 
2.  Because  it  is  useless  to  contend  with  God.  3.  Because  final  overthrow  is  its 
certain  outcome.  Surely  we  see  the  folly  of  this  reluctance  in  the  case  of  Pharaoh, 
in  the  plagues  it  brought  on  him  and  his  people,  in  the  useless  conflict  he  con- 

213 


OHAF.  X.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

ducted  with  the  Infinite,  and  in  his  final  overthrow  in  the  Red  Sea.  Men  who 
will  not  yield  to  the  claims  of  God  are  ultimately  overtaken  with  sad  calamity. 
Are  we  reluctant  to  yield  entire  obedience  to  the  claims  of  duty  1  Lessons  : — 
1.  That  mamoill  consent  to  any  terms  rather  than  yield  a  complete  submission  to  the 
will  of  God.     2.  That  God  will  only  be  satisfied  by  an  entire  surrender  to  His  will. 

The  Way  in  which  Men  endeavour  to  Compromise  the  Service  of  God. 

I.  That  men  endeavour  to  compromise  the  service  of  God  by  nominal  allegi- 
ance. Pharaoh  consented  that  Moses  and  the  Israelites  should  worship  God  in 
the  land  of  Egypt  (Exod,  viii.  25).  He  would  then  have  rendered  any  assistance 
for  the  service,  as  it  would  not  much  have  interfered  with  his  selfish  and  de- 
spotic purpose.  After  the  worship  the  slaves  could  have  returned  to  their 
bondage  and  toil.  There  are  many  who  seek  thus  to  compromise  the  service  of 
God.  They  consent  to  the  worship  of  God,  but  they  wish  to  do  it  in  their  own 
way,  and  at  their  own  time,  and  so  to  nullify  its  design.  They  seek  to  pay. 
homage  to  heaven  and  yet  to  retain  their  sins.  Their  homage  is  only  nominal. 
It  is  the  outcome  of  fear  or  policy. 

II.  That  men  endeavour  to  compromise  the  service  of  God  hy  an  occasional 
performance  of  duty.  Pharaoh  told  Moses  that  Israel  might  go  into  the 
wilderness  and  sacrifice,  provided  they  did  not  go  very  far  away ;  so  that  they 
might  afterwards  return.  And  so  some  people  try  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  God 
by  going  occasionally  into  the  wilderness  to  sacrifice  to  Him.  They  go  to  the 
wilderness  for  this  purpose  once  a  month,  and  then  spend  all  the  rest  of  their 
time  in  rejection  of  the  Divine  will.  This  is  mockery.  It  shows  that  men 
know  better,  but  that  they  have  not  sufficient  moral  resolution  to  do  better. 
The  service  of  heaven  cannot  be  compromised  in  this  manner.  Men  cannot 
serve  God  and  Satan. 

m.  That  men  endeavour  to  compromise  the  service  of  God  hy  a  public  pro- 
fession of  it  accompanied  with  private  reservations.  Pharaoh  gave  permission 
for  the  men  to  go  with  Moses  to  sacrifice  to  God  (Exod.  x.  10,  11).  But  the 
little  ones  were  to  remain  in  bondage.  Thus  he  hoped  to  satisfy  the  Divine 
claims  upon  him.  He  no  doubt  thought  this  a  great  concession.  And  there 
are  people  who  seek  to  be  religious  by  letting  their  great  sins  go,  but  they 
reserve  their  little  faults.  They  make  outwardly  a  great  pretence  of  goodness, 
whereas  inwardly  there  are  reservations  of  heart  displeasing  to  God. 

IV.  That  men  endeavour  to  compromise  the  service  of  God  by  excluding  it 
from  their  worldly  pursuits.  Pharaoh  gave  Moses  permission  to  go  and  sacri- 
fice to  God,  only  he  was  to  leave  the  flocks  and  herds  behind,  in  the  possession 
of  the  tyrant.  And  how  many  business  men,  who  feel  the  claims  of  Goil's 
service  resting  upon  them,  seek  to  let  all  go  but  the  flocks  and  the  herds  !  They 
are  not  willing  to  bring  religion  into  their  business.  They  think  that  they  would 
suff"er  loss  by  so  doing.  Such  a  compromise  can  never  be  allowed.  Lessons  : — 
1.  Tlmt  men  must  not  compromise  the  service  of  God.  2.  That  ministers  must  warn  men 
against  compiomising  the  service  of  God. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses   24-26.     God's   instruments  God,  is  the   duty  of  God's  redeemed 

of  redemption  seek  not  only  liberty  of  people, 
persons  but  of  means  to  serve  Him.  God's  ministers  must  be  resolute,  and 

True  worship  and  true  sacrifice  to  not  abate  a  jot  of  what  God  requires. 
214 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  X. 


All  the  exactions  of  ministers  must 
be  made  for  God's  service. 

God's  servants  know  not  themselves, 
but   depend   upon    His   discovery  for 
what  they  must  offer  to  Him. 
The  Picture  of  an   Unre- 

GENERATE   SoUL. 

I.  It  is  opposed  to  the  service  of 
God. 

II.  It  is  loath  to  part  with  its  evil 
possessions. 

III.  It  is  slow  to  heed  the  voice  of 
the  servants  of  Truth. 

"  Every  hoof  to  he  h'ought  out" — part  of 
ver.  26.  Evil  personified  in  Pharaoh. 
Egypt  our  sinful  condition  that  clings 
around  us,  and  brings  us  into  bondage. 
God's  will  is  that  we  suould  be  com- 
pletely set  free.  This  will  be  accom- 
plished.    Repeated  conflicts  first. 

I.  The  truth  suggested  that  our 
deliverance  will  be  complete.  (1.) 
Our  natures  ivill  he  entirely  freed  from 
the  thraldom  of  sin.  Every  power  of 
body,  mind,  and  soul  will  ultimately 
escape  from  the  dominion  of  evil. 
The  body  shall  be  delivered  fi'om  the 
grave.  Every  faculty — even  the  low- 
liest— shall  be  set  free  for  God.  Not 
a  hoof,  &c.  (2.)  Our  families  shall  be 
saved.  Often  there  is  much  anxiety 
about  the  wayward  and  the  fallen  ;  but 
every  truly  pious  parent  should  expect 


the  salvation  of  his  children.  No 
child  that  is  sincerely  prayed  for  and 
worked  for  will  be  left  to  perish  in 
Egypt.  (3.)  The  whole  Church  will  he 
saved.  Christ  will  deliver  all  who 
believe  in  Him.  Not  one  of  His  true 
followers  shall  finally  be  left  in  the 
bondage  of  evil.  The  weakest,  the 
most  desponding,  the  poorest  and  most 
insignificant,  shall  all  escape.  Not  one 
faithful  soul  shall  be  missing :  for  Not 
a  hoof,  &c. 

II.  The  encouragement  that  may  he 
derived  from  this  truth.  We  need 
encouragement.  The  bondage  is  often 
bitter,  and  hope  fails.  The  enslavers 
powerful  and  the  chains  strong.  We 
groan  to  be  delivered  from  our  bond- 
age, and  deliverance  is  delayed.  But 
a  deliverance,  complete,  triumphant,  and 
eternal,  is  sure.  This  ought  to  lead  us 
— 1.  To  live  in  the  expectation  of  perfect 
freedom  from  all  evil.  2.  To  continue  to 
strive,  believe,  and  pray  for  it.  3.  To 
pray  and  labour  zealously  for  the  salvor 
tion  of  our  families.  4.  To  sympathise 
with  and  aid  the  weak  and  lowly  in  the 
Church.  Nothing  is  too  hard  for  God  ; 
He  can  overthrow  the  most  direful 
bondage.  He  has  declared  by  His 
servants  that  He  will  bring  His  people, 
and  all  that  they  possess,  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

W.  Osborne  LUley. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAOHAPE.— Verses  27-29. 

The  Intercourse  of  Life. 

I.  That  good  men  are  often  brought  into  contact  with  bad  men.  Moses  was 
brought  into  constant  contact  with  Pharaoh.  Thus  we  see: — 1.  That  good  men 
are  brought  into  contact  with  bad  irrespective  of  moral  character.  The  degraded 
tyrant  and  the  faithful  servant  of  God  meet  together  in  the  common  intercourse 
of  life.  Sometimes  on  errands  of  moral  significance.  What  a  diversity  of 
character  is  observable  in  the  throngs  of  life.  The  pure  soul  shines  all  the  more 
briglitly  for  its  contrast  with  the  unholy  by  whom  it  is  surrounded.  2.  That  good 
men  are  brought  into  contact  with  had  irrespective  of  mental  temperament.  Pharaoh 
and  Moses  were  opposite  in  mental  temperament.  The  one  was  selfish,  the 
other  was  generous ;  the  one  oppressed  the  weak,  the  other  defended  the  weak 
(Exod.  ii.  17) ;  the  one  was  proud,  the  other  was  humble  ;  the  one  was  deceptive, 
the  other  was  conscientious  and  faithful ;  the  one  was  hard  of  heart,  the  other 
was  meek  in  disposition.  And  so,  men  of  the  most  divergent  temperaments  and 
dispositions  are  brought  together  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life.  3.  Thai 
good  men  are   brought  into  contact  with  had  irrcspccilve  of  social  position.     The 

215 


CHAP.x.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

iespised  Hebrew  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  proud  King  of  Egypt ;  the 
humble  shepherd  is  brought  into  the  presence  of  the  great  monarch.  And  so, 
men  of  the  extremes  of  social  position  are  brought  together  in  the  ordinary 
intercourse  of  daily  hfe.  And  why?  1.  TJuit  men  may  be  imbued  with  the  ideas 
of  a  common  manhood.  2.  Thai  class  prejudices  may  be  destroyed.  3.  I'hut  charity 
vuiy  be  developed.     4.  That  life  may  become  a  unity. 

II.  That  when  good  men  are  brought  into  contact  with  bad  men  the  meeting 
should  be  educational  to  both.  1.  The  coinpaniunslirp  of  the  good  should  be 
influential  to  the  moral  improvement  of  the  bad.  Pharaoh  ought  to  have  been 
morally  improved  by  his  contact  with  Moses  and  Aaron ;  he  ought  to  have  pro- 
fited by  their  instruction,  by  their  fidelity,  and  by  a  study  of  their  chaiacters. 
Their  method  of  life  ought  to  have  been  a  rebuke  to  him.  Bad  men  should  gather 
inspiration  from  the  actions,  words,  and  silent  but  holy  influence  of  a  godly  life. 
These  are  educational.  2.  The  companionship  of  the  bad  should  inspire  the  good 
with  feelings  of  gratitude  and  humility.  Would  not  Moses  and  Aaron  be  grateful 
that  they  were  ditfurent  in  moral  disposition  from  the  tyrant  Pharaoh  ]  They 
would  adore  the  distinguislied  mercy  of  God  to  them.  A  sight  of  the  conduct 
of  a  wicked  man  ought  to  awaken  a  pure  soul  to  a  remembrance  of  the  mercy  of 
heaven.  It  also  ought  to  produce  deep  humility ;  in  that  good  men  might  have 
been  far  otherwise  than  they  are. 

III.  That  when  good  men  are  brought  into  contact  with  bad  men,  the  meeting 
is  not  always  valued  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  its  opportunity  for  good  is  often 
unimproved.  Pharaoh  did  not  value  as  he  ought  to  have  done  the  companion- 
ship of  Moses  and  Aaron,  who  were  divinely  sent  to  influence  him  aright.  He  did 
not  make  a  good  use  of  the  opportunity  they  presented  to  him  of  understanding 
God  and  truth.  He  was  the  worse  for  their  advice.  And  so  it  is,  if  wicked 
men  do  not  profit  by  the  companionship  of  the  good,  they  are  morally  injured 
by  it.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  a  good  life  is  a  heavenly  ministry.  2.  That  good  men 
should  seek  to  influence  the  bad  aright.  3.  That  good  men  may  learn  lessons  from 
vncked  lives. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VERSES. 

Verses    27-29.      The   more   perse-  contempt.      2.  With   threatenings   of 

cutors   are    hardened   the   more   they  evil.     3.   With  banishment, 

oppress  God's  Church.  The  way  in  which    messengers    of 

Hardened   sinners  command  God's  God  treat  hardened  sinners  : — 1.  They 

ministers  to  depart  from  them  when  scorn  their  taunts.     2.  They  impart  to 

they  faithfully  speak  for  God.  the  language  of  the  wicked  a  deeper 

The  way  in  which  hardened  sinners  significance   than   was   intended.       3. 

treat  the  messengers  of  God : — 1.  With  They   are   courageous.      4.  They   bid 

them  a  sad  farewelL 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  X. 


REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 

Sotil-Humlllty !    Ver.  3.     It  is  not  that  God  which   humble   souls  receive  at  His  hands, 

exults  in  showing  ns  that  lie  is  greatest,  and  Cyrus  and  Antiochus  might  want  to  get  the 

we  must  yield,      llahshakehs  and  Csesars  may  princes    of  surrounding  sovereignties,    where 

take    pleasure    in    foruinir    rebels    to    humble  they  could  lord  it  over  them,  and  show  their 

themselves;  but  it  affords  Jehovah   no  satis-  power.      Not  so  God.      He  could  do  that  better 

faction  to  put  the  conqueror's  foot  upon   the  l)y  our  continued  resistance  than  by  our  sur- 

captive's  neck.     Such    is   not    the    treatment  render:  by  our  contending  in  strife  againgt 
216 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  Z. 


Him  with  all  our  power  to  the  last.  But, 
He  sought  to  bring  Pliaraoh  and  his  sul  jecta 
to  a  real  spirit  of  soul-humility,  that  He 
might  exalt  them — tliat  He  might  extend  to- 
wards them  the  sceptre  of  gracious  acceptancy 
— and  tliat  He  might  shower  down  upon  their 
homes  and  hearts — not  plagues  but  privileges. 

"  Complete  Thy  purpose,  that  we  may  become 
Thy  perfect  image,  0  our  Lord  and  God." 

Locusts  I  Ver.  4.  There  are  several  species. 
They  are  described  in  Juuiieson's  Commentary 
as  resembling  a  large,  spotted,  red-and-lilack, 
double-wingi'd  grasshopper,  with  two  hind 
legs  working  like  iiinged  springs  of  immense 
strength  and  ehisticitv.  They  are  frequently 
referred  to  in  tlie  Bible  as  one  of  the  great 
scourges  of  the  East,  and  tlie  details  concern- 
ing them  have  been  verified  by  numerous 
travellers — justifying  Pharaoh's  exclamation 
in  V.  17,  ^' this  death."  No  doubt,  the  dis- 
tance which  these  dark  locust  masses  had 
come  would  whet  their  naturally  voracious 
appetites,  and  aggravate  the  appalling  desola- 
tion which  they  were  accustomed  to  leave 
behind.  In  one  of  the  papyri,  the  locust  is 
mentioned  as  the  common  enemy  of  the 
husbandman.  In  the  province  of  Nejed,  in 
Arabia,  having  destroyed  the  harvest,  they 
penetrated  by  thousands  info  the  private  dwell- 
ings, and  devoured  even  the  leather  of  the 
water  vessels.  Major  Moore  descrilies  a  cloud 
of  locusts  extending  over  500  miles,  and  so 
compact  on  the  wing  that,  like  an  eclipse,  it 
completely  hid  the  sun.  Such  are  the  judicial 
visitations  of  Divine  Providence  upon  the 
godless  nations  of  the  eartli,  the  devouring 
appetites  of  the  moral  and  social  locust-hosts 
of  anarchy,  the  God-obscuring  properties  of 
the  cloud-throng  of  infidelity.  See  Joel  i.  6 
and  Nahum  iii.  15.  And  these  judgments 
are  appointed 

"Thus  to  keep  daring  mortals  more  in  awe." 

—  Young. 

Wicked  Heart !  Ver.  10.  A  sceptic  once 
asked  Dr  Nettleton  how  he  came  by  his  wicked 
heart?  The  Christian  replied,  "Thatisaques- 
tion  which  does  not  concern  you  so  much  as 
another,  viz.,  how  you  are  to  get  rid  of  it." 
As  the  man  manifested  no  wish  to  hear  any- 
thing on  that  point,  but  still  pressed  the 
question  of  how  he  came  by  his  wicked  heart, 
Dr  Nettleton  told  him  that  his  condition 
resembled  that  of  a  man  who  is  drowning, 
while  his  friends  are  attempting  to  save  his 
life.  As  he  rises  to  the  surface  of  the  water, 
he  exclaims,  "  How  came  I  here  ?  "  From 
the  bank  one  of  liis  friends  shouts,  "Never 
mind  that  now;  but  take  hold  of  the  rope." 
Suppose  the  infatuated  man  repeated  his  in- 
quiry as  to  how  he  got  into  the  foaming 
torrent,  and  spurned  all  profiFered  aid  until 
his  question  was  answered  ;  what  would  be 
said  as  he  sank  to  the  bottom  ?  What,  but 
that  he  caused  his  own  death,  and  deserved 
the  doom  ?     Thus 


"  Whether  we  drive,  or  whether  we  are  driven, 
If  ill,  'tis  ours;  if  good,  the  act  of  Heaven." 

— Dryden. 
Repentance!  Ver.  11.  In  the  Greek  it 
means  a  chauLie  of  mind  ;  and  in  tlie  Hebrew 
it  implies  comfort  of  heart.  There  can  be  no 
al>iding  consolation  of  spirit,  where  there  has 
been  no  genuine  transformation  of  the  mind. 
This  is  twofold: — attrition,  as  when  a  rock  is 
broken  by  the  springing  of  a  mine  ;  contrition, 
as  when  an  iceberg  floating  southward,  gradu- 
ally melts  beneath  the  warm  of  the  gulf  stream 
and  the  genial  ruys  of  the  sun.  The  repent- 
ance of  Pharaoh  had  not  tins  latter.  His  heart 
resembled  that  asphulte  pavement  of  our  streets, 
which  is  softened  temporarily  under  the  po'ent 
influences  of  the  summer  noontide  sun,  but 
which  is  all  the  harder  at  the  midnight  hour 
for  the  previous  partial  softening, 

"  'Tis  to  bewail  the  sins  thou  didst  commit. 
And  not  commit  those  sins  thou  hast  be- 
wailed."^ —  Quarles. 

East  Wind!  Ver.  13.  Locusts  generally  came 
into  Egypt  from  Libya  and  Ethiopia;  as  Dio- 
dorus  says,  "In  the  spring-time,  the  south 
winds  rise  high,  and  drive  an  infinite  number 
of  locusts  out  of  the  desert  of  an  extraordinary 
size."  But  on  this  occasion  they  were  brought 
from  Arabia.  Keil  says  that  the  fact  of  the 
wind  blowing  a  day  and  a  night  before  bringing 
the  locusts  shows  that  they  came  from  a  great 
distance,  and  therefore  proved  to  the  Egyptians 
that  the  omnipotence  of  Jehovah  reached  far 
beyond  the  borders  of  Egypt.  How  often  God 
sends  judgments  from  remote  and  far-away 
places  to  convince  them  that  He  is  Jehovah 
afar  ofif  as  well  as  nigh  at  hand  ! 

"  Soul  of  the  world,  supremely  High, 
Where — where  shall  man  Thy  potence  fly  ? " 

—Peter. 

Locust-Symbols  I     Ver.  15.     In  Eev.  ix.  3, 

the  Apocalyptic  seer  beholds  locusts  coming 
out  of  the  smoke  upon  the  earth.  Unto  tliem 
was  given  power  as  the  scorpions  of  the  earth. 
Their  teeth  were  the  teeth  of  lions,  and  their 
power  was  to  hurt  men.  The  locust  was 
esteemed  sacred  in  Greece,  and  the  Athenians 
wore  golden  cicadte  or  grasshoppers  in  their 
hair  to  denote  the  antiquity  of  their  race.  It 
was  King  James  who  said  :  "  By  locusts  and 
grasshoppers  understand  monks  and  friars, 
wlio  seem  to  fly  a  little  from  the  earth,  but  are 
great  devourers.  They  go  in  swarms,  and 
seize  upon  the  meadows,  the  fat  and  pleasant 
parts  of  the  land."  Aj  Volney  says,  The 
Tartars  themselves  are  a  less  destructive  enemy 
than  these  little  animals.  One  would  imagine 
that  evil  had  followed  their  progress.  Wherever 
Ihey  went,  tiiey  caused  the  dreary  image  of 
winter  to  succeed  in  an  instant  to  the  rich 
scenery  of  spring.  But  Elliott  shows  that  not 
of  the  myriad-hosts  of  monks  are  locusts  a 
scriptural  symbol.  The  locust- woe  was  really 
the  invasion  of  the  Saracenic  armies,  and  the 
pest  Mohammedanism  which  they  brought  with 
them.     And  just  as  through  the  forbearanc* 

217 


OHAF.  Z. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


of  God,  the  plague  passed  oCf  from  Egypt  with- 
out annihilating  all ;  so  the  agixressive  cha- 
racter of  the  Saracenic  woe  roiled  away.  As 
Gibbon  says  :  Tiie  passion  of  tlie  Saracens  for 
war  ceased.  The  luxury  of  tlie  Caliplis,  now 
established  (712  a.d.)  quietly  at  Bagdad,  relaxed 
the  nerves  and  terminated  the  progress  of  ihe 
Arab  empire. 

"It  floats   awhile,    then    floundering,    sinks 
absorbed 
Witliin  that  boundless  sea  it  strove  to  grasp." 

—Bally. 

Help  !  Help  !  Ver.  16.  How  intensely  dark  tke 
night  was,  as  a  traveller  started  on  his  journey 
along  an  unfamiliar  road.  It  was  a  broad 
way — smootli  and  pleasant  enough  to  all  ap- 
pearance, and  the  man  was  hopeiul  and  void 
of  appreliension.  As  he  went  on,  he  was  en- 
countered by  a  stranger,  wlio  very  urgently 
begged  him  not  to  proceed  further,  as  ahead  the 
road  was  rough  and  dangerous— passing  through 
a  lonely  wild— with  bogs  and  quagmires  on  each 
Bide.  But  the  traveller  laughed  to  scorn  the 
Bage  advice,  and  proceeded  on  his  way.  The 
darkness  deepened  —  tlie  hedgerows  disap- 
peared— and  the  road  could  no  longer  be  dis- 
cerned from  the  rest  of  the  surrounding 
country.  Lonely  cries  were  heard,  which  the 
traveller  recognised  as  the  call  of  the  marsh- 
birds;  so  that  he  knew  there  were  fenny 
places — possibly  deep  ditches  and  gloomy 
tarns  around.  Scarcely  had  lie  arrived  at  this 
conclusion  than  he  plunged  into  a  morass. 
The  more  he  struggled  to  free  himself,  the 
more  did  he  feel  his  limbs  sinking  in  the  mire, 
and  his  head  and  arms  becoming  entangled 
amongst  the  flags  and  rushes.  Worn  out  and 
alarmed,  he  uttered  a  loud  cry  for  help.  It  is 
answered,  and  presently  a  man  witli  a  lamp 
in  hand  appears  to  help  liim  out.  The  foolish 
mocking  traveller  recognises  his  monitor  on 
the  earlier  part  of  the  road  ;  but  lie  does  not 
now  scorn  his  assistance.  Pharaoh  had  ridi- 
culed the  remonstrances  of  Moses  against 
pursuing  a  path  of  antagonism  to  God;  now 
he  appeals  to  Moses  for  iielp.  Moses'  iiiter- 
^cession  prevailed,  and  so  often  do  the  prayers 
of  the  saints,  urgently  solicited  by  sinners, 
avail  for  the  removal  of  Divine  judgments. 

"  And  beneath  the  great  arch  of  the  portal. 
Through  the  streets  of  the  City  Immortal, 
Ib  wafted  the  fragrance  they  shed." 

— Longfellow. 

Locust-Lessons!  Ver.  17.  Tliese  insects 
are  used  for  food.  John  the  Baptist  fed  on 
them,  and  tha  Hottentots  are  glad  when  the 
locusts  come,  for  they  fatten  upon  them.  'IMius 
as  locusts  gathered,  prepared,  and  eaien,  jirove  a 
common  and  nutritious  food  ;  so  trials  properly 
used  may  become  blessings.  Out  of  tlie  eater 
went  forth  meat,  and  out  of  tlie  strong  sweet- 
ness, is  as  true  of  tlie  locust  as  tlio  lion,  and 
may  be  as  true  of  the  ju  Igments  of  God  as  of 
the  locusts.  It  is  well  for  men  to  derive  all 
the  <jood  they  may  and  can  from  the  trials  of 
Divine  appointment. 

218 


"  Sometimes  tlie  souls  He  loves  are  riyen 
By  temjiesis  wild,  and  thus  are  driven 
Nearer  the  better  land." — Perry. 

West  Wind !  Ver.  19.  Orosius  mentions 
a  locust  jilngue  about  125  B.C.,  which  happened 
in  Africa,  and  adds  that,  alter  these  living 
vermin  had  consumed  ail  the  herliau'c  of  the 
field,  and  liad  irone  so  far  as  to  devour  tlie  bark 
and  solid  timber  of  the  trees,  a  violent  wind 
C:ime  and  wafted  thum  away  in  different 
portions  ultimately  to  plunge  them  in  the  sea. 
Pliny  states  that  tlie  winds  carry  them  off  in 
Tast  swarms,  upon  wliich  they  fall  into  the 
ocean  and  seas  of  waters.  Oh  !  when  the 
breath  ol*the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  is  wafted 
upon  tlie  serried  ranks  of  the  locust-devourers 
of  infidelity,  how  ttiese  voracious  and  selfish 
principles  are  swept  away  into  tlie  sea  of 
olilivioii  !  As  a  scourge  upon  the  nations  God 
usestliem;  and  wlien  tlieir  ungrateful  task  is 
done,  He  drowns  them  in  the  deep  ocean  of 
forgetful  iiess, 

'*  A  wave  of  dark  oblivion's  sea 
Then  sweeps  across  their  place." — Gould. 

Darkness-Symbolism!  Ver.  21.  It  has 
been  remarked  liy  Salter  that  darkness  is  the 
proper  image  and  metaphor  by  which  to  re- 
present moral  ignorance.  At  midnight  all 
that  is  fair  and  beautiful  in  nature  is  con- 
cealed. There  are  fields  and  forests,  lirooks 
and  fountains,  rivers  and  valleys  ;  but  gloom 
and  confusion  rest  upon  all  this  loveliness. 
And  in  like  manner,  as  long  a?  a  man  con- 
tinues in  moral  darkness,  there  is  a  veil  and 
confusion  (as  it  were)  upon  God  and  Christ, 
upon  heaven  and  eternity.  Tliese,  bright  and 
glorious  in  themselves,  and  lirightand  glorious 
in  their  radiance  to  tlie  believer  who  walks  in 
the  light,  are  hid  from  the  eyes  of  the  walker 
in  darkness.  He  sees- but  how?  As  the 
traveller  in  the  night,  who  mistakes  some 
lovely  rosebush  for  a  demon  being  of  unholy 
birth. 

"  Rea.son  may  strive,  but  reason  strives  Id 
vain ; 
It  cannot  break  the  adamantine  chain." 

Darkness-Lessons  I  Ver.  22.  Men  in  the 
dark  are  in  danger.  Sailing  once  along  a 
coast  wliere  a  friend  had  sufl'ered  shipwreck, 
the  scene  which  recalled  his  danger  filled  us 
witli  no  fear.  Why  was  this?  Because,  while 
his  ship,  on  tlie  night  slie  ran  ashore,  was  cut- 
ting her  way  through  tlie  gloom  of  a  dense 
fog,  we  were  i)lougliing  the  waters  of  a  silver 
sea,  where  noble  lieadlands,  and  pillared  cliffs, 
and  scattered  islands,  and  surf-beaten  reefs 
stood  batlied  in  the  tiriglitest  moonshine. 
Tiiere  was  no  danger  just-  liccause  there  was 
no  darkness.     The  robe  of  night 

••  With  sparkling  brilliants  guide  the  veasel 
on. 
And    now    the   land   appears — the   port  is 
won." — Mark. 

Artificial  Light  1  Ver.  22.  Herodotus 
records   that    at    the    sacrifice    at   Sais    tJie 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAF.  X. 


assembly  is  held  by  night.  They  suspend 
before  their  houses  in  the  open  air  lamps, 
which  are  filled  with  oil  mixed  with  salt;  a 
wick  floats  on  the  top,  ^vhich  will  burn  all 
night.  The  feast  is  called  the  Feast  of  Lamps. 
Such  of  the  Egvptiiuis  as  do  not  attend  the 
ceremony  burn  lamps  in  like  manner  before 
their  houses;  so  that  all  Eirypt  is  illuminated. 
When,  therefore,  the  great  horror  of  dark- 
ness chained  ihem  to  their  seats,  these  wor- 
shippers would  betiiink  tliemselves  of  tlie 
bnllinnt  illumination  of  their  artificial  light. 
But  in  vain  !  'I'hcy  could  have  no  lights  what- 
ever. And,  whtn  God  leaves  tlie  hardened 
sinner  in  the  outer  darkness  of  -condemna- 
tion, all  artificial  lights  of  human  reason  and 
philosopliy  falsely  so  called  will  We  of  no  avail. 
They  will  be  beyond  the  sinner's  reach,  and 
will  also  themselves  be  quenched  in  the  black- 
ness of  darkness.  So  that  whatever  show  of 
courage  sinners  may  display  whilst  tijeir 
artificial  liglits  gleam,  yet  all  self-assurance 
will  forsake  them — 

"As  heroes,  dauntless  in  the  thickest  fight, 
At  phantdmsti'emble  in  the  darksome  night." 

Darkness-Effects !  Ver.  23.  Modern  dis- 
coveries have  shown  that  tiie  seeds  of  epidemic 
and  miasmatic  diseases  are  generated  and 
exert  their  activity  during  the  night,  and 
in  places  unvisited  by  the  solar  beams. 
Darkness  is  favourable  to  their  development. 
This  is  a  true  picture  of  the  cause  of  sin's 
development  and  growth.  In  proportion  to 
the  density  of  tlie  gloom  of  mental  and  moral 
ignorance  is  the  increase  and  fructification  of 
sin.  The  Jews  have  a  tradition  that  tliere 
were  terrible  alarms  under  the  Egyptian 
canopy  of  darkness  ;  that  the  devil  and  his 
angels  were  let  loose  during  those  three  dread- 
ful days,  and  that  they  had  a  wider  range, 
a  greater  liberty  than  usual  for  working 
mischief.  Such  a  thing  seems  to  be  referred 
to  in  Ps.  Ixxviii.  49.  He  sent,  i.e.,  He  per- 
mitted, evil  angels  among  them.  Certainly 
wherever  moral  ignorance  prevails,  there 
Satan  and  his  spirits  of  evil  are  busily  em- 
ployed. 

" 'Tis  dark — that  drtarj',   witching  hour  of 
night. 
When  restless  spirits  steal  in  mortal  sight, 
And  grisly  spectresstalk  their  dreun  round." 

Light-Lessons  !  Ver.  23.  A  young  prince 
having  been  chastised  by  his  royal  parent  for 
doing  something  wrong,  was  full  of  disconient 
and  displeasure.  Passing,  by  and  by,  through 
the  palace  gate,  he  encountered  a  street-Arab, 
who  had  left  his  father's  home,  but  who, 
however  free  from  chastening,  was  lean  and 
wretched,  miserable  and  woebegone.  The 
young  prince  dried  his  tears  very  quickly 
with  the  reflection  that  it  was  far  be: tor  to  be 
a  chastened  prince  than  a  wretched  beggar- 
boy.  He  looked  down  upon  the  ragged 
urchin's  condition  with  the  greatest  conceiv- 
able pity  and  thankfulness,  even  though  he 
himself  was  smarting  from  the  rod.    God  had 


chastened  Israel,  and  they  had  expressed  dis- 
pleasure. By  and  by,  when  they  saw  how  the 
hearts  and  homes  of  the  Egyptians  were  draped 
in  darkness,  while  they  themselves,  as  tlie 
children  of  the  Heavenly  King,  were  enjoy- 
ing light,  doubtless  they  would  compare  their 
own  condition  with  the  misery  of  the  oppres- 
sors, and  would  look  upward  wiih  gratitude 
to  Almighty  (iod,  who,  thoui:h  He  chastened 
them,  nevertheless  crowned  their  lives  with 
the  light  of  His  countenance.  And  thus — 
•'  Their  streams  of  joy  would  more  enriching 

grow, 
As    they  adored    the  source   from  whence 

they  flow." 

Pride!  Ver.  24.  On  the  shore  of  the 
Scandinavian  Peninsula  stands  the  ancient 
city  of  Bergen,  facing  the  prevailing  winds 
from  the  west  and  south-west.  Lielnnd  it  rise 
the  towering  rugged  peaks  and  inouiuains  of 
Norway.  These  attract  the  clouds  charged  to 
the  full  with  moisture,  and  force  them  to  pour 
their  torrents  of  rain  on  the  surrounding 
country.  Thus  what,  from  its  position,  facing 
the  rainy  quarter,  ouj;ht  to  be  abundantly 
supplied  with  rain,  is  comparatively  rainless. 
How  often  do  the  lofty  mountains  deprive 
the  soul  of  those  divine  droppings  of  grace 
wiiich  refresh  the  spiritual  life  ! 
"  So  keen  the  grasp,  so  vast  is  human  pride, 

When  pampered  most — the  least  'tis  aatis- 
fied." 

Conscience!  Ver.  25.  The  manager  of  a 
cotton-mill  received  a  complaint  from  the 
girls  in  the  weaving-room  that  they  could  not 
make  the  bobbin-boys  hear  them  call  for 
more  bobbins.  Having  bought  .several  bells, 
he  instructed  the  hoys  to  answer  these  when 
rung  by  the  girls.  Eor  a  time  all  went  well. 
No  matter  where  the  boys  were,  the  bells 
were  heard  above  the  clatter  oi  the  looms. 
But  by  and  by  the  girls  began  to  complain 
that  the  boys  were  getting  careless,  and  hin- 
dered them  more  than  before  ;  while  the  buys 
answered  that  the  girls  did  not  ring  loud 
enough.  The  manager  therefore  went  to  the 
room,  and  experimented  by  ringing  one  of 
the  bells  again  and  again  ;  yet,  though  the 
bobbin-boy  was  not  far  off,  he  paid  no  atten- 
tion. Suddenly  it  flashed  across  the  mana- 
gers mind  that  the  bells  must  be  at  fault. 
On  inspection,  he  found  that  the  girls  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  snatching  up  the  bells 
by  the  metal  instead  of  tlie  handles,  and  that 
they  had  thus  covered  the  bells  with  oil  from 
the  machinery.  The  bells  were  accordingly 
cleaned,  and  all  went  well.  To  how  many 
people  has  the  clear  voice  of  conscience  be- 
come a  dull  sound?  Not  at  once;  but 
gradually — gradually  as  the  bell  decreased  its 
tone — gradually  as  Pharaoh  progressed  in 
sin — 

"  Till,   like   a    frozen   mass,   his   heart  was 
chilled, 
Its  upward  movement  stayed,  and  conscienca 
stilled." 

219 


CnAP.    XT. 


IIOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Heaxt-Hardness !  Ver.  27.  Away  on  tho  wide 
3c  an.  at  the  midnight  lioiir,  when  the  winds 
iiovvlcd  and  tlie  clonds  loured  heavily,  floated 
a  man  clutching  a  plank  riven  by  the  istorm 
from  the  deck  of  tlie  gallant  barque  which 
hut  twenty-four  hours  before  he  iiad  com- 
manded, but  which  now  was  buried  fatlioms 
<ieep  within  the  heart  of  the  ocean.  A  godlctis 
and  profane  captain  had  he  bLcn  ;  but  he  lifts 
up  his  anguislied  eyes  to  heaven,  and  amid 
the  gloom  and  tempest  vows  that,  if  the 
ofieuded  Majesty  of  heaven  will  but  send  a 
ship  to  his  rescue,  oatiis  shall  never  again 
jiass  his  lips.  Scarcely  had  he  eolcmnly 
pledged  himself  to  be  a  humble  servant  of 
God,  than  a  ship  hove  in  sight — a  shout  was 
heard,  for  some  one  had  perceived  the  dark 
epot  floating,  and  guessed  its  cause.  The 
vessel's  course  was  changed — the  lifebuoy  was 
flung  to  the  drowning  mariner — the  crew 
easily  dragged  him  on  board.  The  vows 
were  soon  forgotten,  and  the  reckless  sinner 
revelled  in  his  profanity  and  godlessness  as 
soon  as  he  was  once  more  in  safety.  Such 
Mas  the  position  of  Pharaoh.  His  resolutions 
declared  under  the  pressure  of  suflTering 
perished  when  the  judgment  was  removed — 

"  And  his  regrets  were  like  the  flitting  light 
Which   feebly  glimmers  in  despair's  dark 
night." 

Obstinate  Folly!  Ver.  28.  Traversing  the 
sandy  wastes  at  the  noontide  hour  beneatli  the 
burning  sun,  horsemen  became  aware  of  a 
dark  cloud  in  the  distance,  as  if  risiiiL'  from 
the  earth.  It  is  the  sandrift  swept  before  the 
whirlwind  ;  and  it  comison  like  a  black  wall, 
rising  higher  and  higln  r  till  sky  and  sun  are 
obscured.  Whole  caravans  have  been  buried 
beneath  that  heavy  canopy;  and  the  great  ques- 
tion is  how  to  escape  ?  There  are  two  possibili- 
ties :  1.  To  flee  ;  and  2.  To  fight.  The  first 
is  chosen.     The  spurs  are  applied,  and  the 


horses,  seemingly  conscious  of  the  danger, 
ur^e  themselves  to  their  utmost  speed.  On 
and  on  they  spur  I  Tlie  riders  look  back, 
only  to  perceive  the  dark  mass  in  swift 
pursuit,  from  wliich  it  is  vain  to  floe.  They 
turn  their  hor^es'  heads  to  face  it.  On  comea 
the  dense  cloud  !  Tlie  horses  press  towards 
it,  with  thick-drawn  lircath  trom  the  particles 
of  sand.  They  pant  and  press;  but  all  lu 
vain.  What  folly  to  contend!  When  the 
last  breath  of  tlie  fierce  whirlwind  passes  by, 
and  the  sun  shines  forth  bright  and  clear  upon 
the  sea  of  glittering  sand,  the  dark  wall  has 
settled  down  in  a  line  of  undulating  mounds, 
beneath  which  lie  horsemen  and  horses  in 
death.  Pharaoh  first  fled  from  the  cloud  of 
Divine  judgment ;  now  he  attempts  to  fight 
with  it.     A  vain  contention  1 


"As  crime  increased 
'ning  storm, 
The   clouds   assumed   a  still 
form." 


so  swelled  the  threat- 
more    awful 


Moses  !  Ver.  29.  The  calmness  of  Moses  ig 
conspicuous  all  through  the  contest.  The 
Divine  discipline  of  adversity  had  accom- 
plished this  in  him.  No  more  was  his  spirit 
to  be  like  the  stream  which,  though  coursing 
through  verdant  meads,  chafes  at  every 
pebble,  and  from  its  own  shallowness 
murmurs  and  frets  as  it  flows.  Adversity 
had  deepened  trlie  channel.  Purer,  calmer, 
clearer  it  rolled  on.  If  it  had  to  plunge 
down  into  depths  of  sorrow  in  the  wilderness 
wanderings,  it  had  yet  sunshine  resting  upon 
it  ;  and  even  from  tears  was  that  rainbow 
formed  which — unshaken  by  tumult,  un- 
dimmed  and  unbroken — like  that  spanning 
the  cataract's  verge,  shines  with  all  the  solt 
tints  of  the  skies — 

"  Whose  fleecy  clouds,  in  radiant  splendour 
glow, 
While  heaven  is  mirrored  in  the  sea  below." 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Critical  Notes. — 1.  Said  nnto  Moses.]  Kalisch  renders  the  verb  here  as  a  pluperfect 
"had  said  ;  "  and  concludes  that  the  object  of  these  verses  is  to  account  for  tlie  utterance  of  the 
final  tlir(  at  before  Moses  leaves  the  presence  of  Pharaoh  : — as  thoiiali  (iod  had  previously  said 
this  to  Moses;  and  now,  the  fit  moment  liaving  cume,  Moses  repeals  it  to  Pharaoh,  liut  it 
seems  doubtful  whether  the  Hebrew  im/H:7-/ecl  tense  with  wmu  consecutive  can  ever  be  understood 
as  a  pluperfect  (see  Driver,  "  Hebrew  Tenses,"  §  7G,  Obs.) ;  and  the  necessity  so  to  understand 
it  in  this  place  is  not  very  aj.parent.  It  sliouhl  lie  observed  that  the  narrative  has  not  yet 
recorded  the  actual  dejiaiture  of  Moses  from  Pharaoh's  presence, — this  it  po.^tpones  to  ver.  8  of 
(his  chapter;  nor  docs  tlicre  seem  to  be  any  good  reason  why  we  should  not  accept  the  view 
declined  as  "  unnecessary  "  by  Kalisch,  viz.,  that  "  God  sjioke  to  Moses  whilst  he  stood  before 
Pharaoh  ;  for  the  revelation  came  suddenly  upon  him."  I'^his  is  surely  far  more  probable  than 
that  the  writer  snould  have  put  an  unnatural  .strain  on  the  idiom  of  his  own  laniruage. — 
2.  Borrow.]  Ilather,  "ask."  No  one  meetinir  with  the  Heb.  verii  S>fW,  by  itself,  would  think 
of  "borrow"  as  its  primary  or  ordinary  meaning.     It  is  true  that  we  may  "ask"  with  intent 

2:i0 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


to  "borrow,"  and  the  latter  notion  may  accordingly  be  sometimes  inferred  from  "context  and 
circumstance  ;  "  but  to  put  tliat  notion  into  this  place,  just  to  calumniate  the  record,  or  thosa 
appearing  therein,  is  more  wanton  than  wise. — 5.  The  mill.]  Literally,  "  the  two  millstones," 
».e.,  the  upper  and  lower  : — the  characteristic  position  of  the  drudge  of  the  family  in  the  East. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAO RAPE.— Versa  1-3. 

The  Eve  of  Final  Ketribution 

The  first  three  verses  of  this  cliapter  are  a  parenthesis,  either  referring  to 
something  that  had  previously  been  said  to  Moses,  or  to  some  communica- 
tion that  was  made  to  him  while  he  was  in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh ;  they 
are  inserted  in  order  to  give  a  full  explanation  of  the  narrative.  After 
Moses  had  said  that  he  would  see  the  face  of  the  king  no  more,  he  continued 
the  utterance  of  the  fourth  verse.  This  was  the  last  interview  between  the  two 
men,  and  as  such,  it  was  most  solemn  and  affecting.  It  appears  to  have  made 
but  little  impression  on  the  haughty  king ;  but  truly  this  was  not  the  fault  of 
Moses.  After  the  servants  of  God  have  rendered  their  best  service  for  the  moral 
good  of  men,  they  may  fail  of  the  result  they  desire ;  but  the  husbandman 
cannot  give  the  desired  harvest,  he  is  only  responsible  for  the  sowing. 

I.  On  the  eve  of  final  retribution  God  reveals  to  His  servants  the  things 
that  are  shortly  to  come  to  pass.  G-od  had  privately  told  Moses  the  judgment 
He  would  send  upon  Egypt  and  its  king,  if  they  did  not  yield  to  His  command. 
The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him.  Moses  repeated  the  message 
to  Pharaoh,  that  the  proud  monarch  might  be  without  excuse  in  the  event  of 
disobedience.  Good  men  are  sent  by  Heaven  to  announce  to  the  world  the 
retributions  of  the  future.  Thus  they  are  saddened  ;  thus  they  are  honoured. 
God  does  not  generally  startle  men  by  retribution  ;  He  predicts  its  advent  by 
the  ministry  of  the  good. 

II.  On  the  eve  of  final  retribution  the  servants  of  God  must  direct  the 
activities  of  the  Church.  (Ver.  2.)  Moses  was  told  upon  the  eve  of  the 
threatened  plague  to  direct  the  conduct  of  the  children  of  Israel.  To  the 
Israelites  the  retribution  was  a  crisis ;  it  was  the  supreme  moment  of  their 
national  history,  and  upon  the  promptitude  and  wisdom  of  their  conduct  great 
issues  were  dependent.  Hence  they  needed  direction.  And  so  all  the  retribu- 
tions that  come  upon  mankind  have  an  important  bearing  toward  the  life  and 
history  of  the  Christian  Church ;  they  are  related  to  its  moral  freedom,  and 
hence  it  becomes  the  Church  to  act  wisely  in  them,  that  it  may  receive  the 
full  advantage  of  the  hour.  The  Church  has  lost  the  benediction  of  many  a 
political  revolution  by  sloth  and  lack  of  prompt  action.  All  the  struggles  of 
nations  are  destined  to  work  the  freedom  of  the  Church.  Hence  in  times  of 
national  retribution  the  Church  has  need  of  strong-souled  heroes,  to  awaken  its 
intelligence,  to  inspire  its  activity,  to  guide  its  energies,  and  to  make  it  victo- 
rious over  all  its  foes,  that  it  may  go  forth  from  bondage  with  the  treasure  it  has 
earned  through  many  years  of  unrequited  service. 

III.  That  on  the  eve  of  final  retribution  the  servants  of  God  become  the 
great  men  of  the  times.  "  Moreover  the  man  Moses  was  very  great  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh's  servants,  and  in  the  sight  of  the  people  " 
(ver.  3).  Pharaoh  had  not  taken  the  advice  of  his  servants  (chap.  x.  7),  and 
it  is  evident  that  he  had  lost  the  sympathy  of  his  people  to  a  large  extent.  The 
nation  was  weary  of  its  suffering.  Israel  was  growing  in  favour  with  Egypt. 
This  the  outcome  of  a  gracious  providence.  Sometimes  God  gives  the  Church 
favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  for  the  accomplishment  of  His  purpose.  In 
times  of  national  retribution,  then  warriors  are  forgotten,  then  artists  are 
neglected,  and  the  servants  of  God  start  into  unexpected  fame.     Men  who  do 

221 


CHAP.  XL  HOMILETW  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EXOD  US. 


their  duty,  even  to  a  hostile  multitude,  are  sure,  in  the  long  run,  to  be  respected, 
even  though  at  first  they  are  regarded  with  scorn.  Goodness  and  fidelity 
make  men  great.  The  world  in  its  truer  conscience  knows  in  what  real  dignity 
consists.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  times  of  retribution  are  revealed  to  the  good.  2.  That 
the  sei-vants  of  God  rrnist  gather  strength  to  act  m  impoiiant  times.  3.  That  all  things 
tend  to  the  freedom  of  the  Church. 

One  more  Plague. 

I.  It  shows  that  Heaven  will  terribly  plague  the  sinner.  "  Yet  will  I 
bring  one  plague  more  upon  Pharaoh."  Many  people  cant  about  the  mercy  of 
God  and  the  kindness  of  Heaven.  This  is  their  most  prominent  theology. 
They  consider  the  Infinite  Father  as  incapable  of  plaguing  men.  Did  He  not 
send  terrible  retributions  on  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  were  they  not  compatible 
with  the  Divine  character  and  government  ?  And  the  one  plague  more  to  come 
upon  the  impenitent  sinner  will  be  awful,  it  will  be  just ;  it  will  be  the  natural 
outcome  of  a  wicked  life,  and  will  be  inflicted  by  God. 

n.  It  shows  that  Heaven  has  a  great  resource  of  plagues  with  which  to  tor- 
ment the  sinner.  Heaven  had  already  sent  nine  jdagues  on  Pharaoh  and  his 
people  ;  and  yet  its  retributive  resources  were  not  exhausted.  The  material 
universe,  in  its  every  realm,  is  the  resource  of  Heaven  for  the  plaguing  of  men. 
Men  ask  how  God  can  punish  the  sinner  in  the  world  to  come.  He  will  not  be 
at  a  loss  for  one  plague  more  whereby  to  torment  the  finally  impenitent.  How 
foolish  of  man  to  provoke  the  anger  of  God  ! 

ni.  It  shows  that  Heaven  gives  ample  warning  of  the  plagues  it  will  inflict 
upon  the  sinner.  The  king  of  Egypt  had  ample  warning  of  the  death  tliat  was 
to  overtake  the  first-born  of  the  nation.  God  has  revealed  to  the  sinner  the 
severity  and  certainty  of  the  one  plague  more  ;  and  if  it  falls  upon  his  guilty  soul, 
it  will  be  through  wilful  disobedience.     Men  do  not  walk  ignorantly  to  hell. 

IV.  It  shows  that  Heaven  has  a  merciful  intention  even  in  the  infliction  of 
its  plagues.  It  designed  the  moral  submission  of  Pharaoh  by  the  threatened 
plague,  and  also  the  freedom  of  Israel.  And  so  God  plagues  men  that  He  may 
save  them,  and  those  whom  they  hold  in  the  dire  bondage  of  moral  eviL 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE   VERSES. 

Verse  1.     One  plague  may  do  more  When  God  moves  the  Church  to  ask 

than  nine  that  have  preceded  it.  He  moves  hearts  to  give. 

Combined  persecutors  are  joined  in  The   freedom    of   the   Church  : — 1. 

God's  plague.  After  long  struggle.     2.  Welcome.     3. 

In   God's   own   time    He   will    get  The   commencement  of  develo})ment. 

victory  over  His  enemies.  4.  The  earnest  of  victory. 

At  God's  word  oppressors  shall  re-  The  Church  of  God  : — 1.  Favoured 

lease  his  Church  fully  and  readily.  by  enemies.     2.  Enriched  by  tyrants. 

3.  Freed  by  Heaven. 

Verses  2,  3.     God   may   command  God   can   make   men  favourable  to 
His  servants  to  ask  and  have  of  their  others  : — 1.    By   inspiring    beauty    of 
very  enemies.  character.     2.   By  awaking  guilty  de- 
It  is  no  wrong  to  ask  and  take  what  spisers.     3.  By  bestowing  deep  sym- 
God  commands  His  peoj)le.  pathy.    4.  By  enabling  them  to  render 

God  can  give  the  silver  and  gold  of  eflicient  help, 
enemies  to  His  Church. 
222 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  oAa*.  SX. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAORAPH.— Verses  4-10. 

The  Last  Plague  Threatened. 

I.  It  was  to  be  solemn  in  its  advent.     "  About  midnight  I  will  go  out  into 

the  land  oF  Egypt."  This  plague  was  threatened  (chap.  iv.  23),  and  is  at  last 
to  be  executed.  God  is  slow  to  anger.  Human  life  is  precious  in  His  sight. 
But  now  the  Divine  forbearance  has  reached  its  limit.  The  time  of  the  terrible 
plague  is  at  hand.  The  first-born  are  to  sleep  the  sleep  of  death,  not 
silently  and  insensibly,  but  so  as  to  rouse  their  families  at  midnight  to  see  them 
die.  The  silence  of  the  midnight  hour  is  to  be  broken  by  the  agonies  of  the 
dying,  and  that  in  every  Egyptian  home  in  the  land.  The  destroying  angel  will 
slay  the  first-born  of  Egypt.  How  sad  the  scene  !  How  solemn  the  hour!  How 
beyond  description  !  God  often  plagues  the  sinner  at  midnight.  When  dark- 
ness is  all  around  him,  then  the  plagues  of  Heaven  come,  and  are  rendered  more 
awful  by  the  time  of  their  advent. 

II.  It  was  to  be  fatal  in  its  issue.  "  And  all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  shall  die."  Thus  the  last  plague  was  to  be  intensely  real.  It  was  not 
to  afi"ect  the  events  of  nature  ;  it  was  to  slay  man.  It  was  no  mere  sickness ; 
it  was  death.  Egypt  had  destroyed  the  first-born  of  Israel.  Now  they  meet  a 
just  retribution.  No  doubt  those  who  suff"ered  death  were  sinners,  and  deserved 
the  calamity  that  came  upon  them.  The  first-born  of  beasts  were  also  included 
in  the  devastating  plague.  Thus  the  Egyptians  were  punished  for  their  idolatry, 
and  were  deprived  of  their  property.  The  plagues  of  Heaven  are  sometimes  fatal 
— fatal  to  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  man. 

III.  It  was  to  be  comprehensive  in  its  design.  "From  the  first-born  of 
Pharaoh  that  sitteth  upon  his  throne,  even  unto  the  first-born  of  the  maid- 
servant that  is  behind  the  mill ;  and  all  the  first-born  of  beasts  (ver.  5).  Thus 
the  prince  who  was  to  succeed  to  the  throne  was  not  too  high  to  be  reached  by  it, 
nor  the  slave  at  the  mill  too  low  to  be  noticed.  It  was  to  extend  from  the  most 
honourable  to  the  meanest  in  the  realm.  The  prince  is  spoken  of  as  sitting  upon  the 
throne  because  he  was  the  next  heir  to  it;  or  it  may  be  that  he  was  even  crowned, 
as  was  Solomon  while  David  lived.  From  the  palace  to  the  dungeon  would  this 
plague  travel.  The  king  is  helpless  at  a  time  like  this.  Sometimes  the  plagues 
of  God  are  comprehensive ;  they  embrace  a  vast  nation,  thousands  of  homes  and 
families. 

IV.  It  was  to  be  heartrending  in  its  cry.  "  And  there  shall  be  a  great  cry 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  such  as  there  was  none  like  it,  nor  shall  be 
like  it  any  more."  The  cry  of  those  bereaved  would  be  heard  in  every  direction. 
Parents  who  had  lost  their  only  child  would  thus  proclaim  their  grief.  The  voice 
of  this  cry  should  never  die  away  from  our  hearing  ;  it  makes  known  the  penalty 
of  sin.     There  are  many  heartrending  cries  in  the  world  occasioned  by  sin. 

V.  It  was  to  be  discriminating  in  its  infliction.  "  But  against  any  of  the 
children  of  Israel  shall  not  a  dog  move  his  tongue,  against  man  or  beast ;  that 
ye  may  know  how  that  the  Lord  doth  put  a  difi"erence  between  the  Egyptians 
and  Israel "  (ver.  7).  Thus  Israel  was  to  be  protected  during  the  terrible 
retribution.  They  should  be  silent.  They  should  be  hopeful.  The  pestilence 
that  walketh  in  darkness  should  not  come  near  them.  The  dog,  the  most 
vigilant  creature,  should  not  bark  at  them.  The  Divine  protection  of  the  good 
is  minute ;  it  defends  from  the  most  trivial  enemy.  God  will  protect  the 
good  in  the  final  retribution  of  the  universe.  Piety  is  the  best  protection 
against  woe.     It  averts  the  judgment  of  God. 

22^ 


OEAP.  ZI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses  4-6.  God  takes  His  time  at 
midnight  sometimes  to  visit  sinners. 

God's  midnight  visitations:  —  1. 
Terrible  to  His  enemies.  2.  Tlaey 
aim  at  destroying  the  choicest  posses- 
sions of  the  wicked.  3.  They  are 
painful.  4.  They  are  almighty.  5, 
They  are  irreparable.  6.  They  are  ir- 
respective of  social  position.  7.  They 
awaken  the  anguish  of  men. 

Verse  7.  Acontrast: — 1,  The  wicked 
crying  —  the  good  quiet.  2.  The 
wicked  dead — the  good  living.  3. 
The  wicked  frightened  —  the  good 
peaceful.  4.  The  wicked  helpless — 
the  good  protected. 

In  executing  judgments  God  makes 
a  difference  between  His  elect  and  His 
enemies  : — 1.  Wonderful.  2.  Pleas- 
ing.    3.  Inspiring.     4.  Prophetic. 

Verse  8.  Divine  vengeance  will 
make  those  come  to  God's  servants 
who  have  despised  and  discharged 
them. 

Highest  anger  against  sin  becomes 
the  best  of  God's  servants. 

God  makes  His  despicable  servants 
victoriously  to  scorn  the  powers  that 
scorn  them. 

The  Righteous  Anger  of  a 
Christian  Minister. 

"  And  he  went  out  from  Pharaoh  in  a 
great  rage." 

Anger  is  not  of  necessity  sinful. 
There  are  times  when  it  is  righteous 
to  be  angry.  Moses  was  not  in  an 
unholy  passion.  He  was  grieved  at 
the  perversity  of  a  wicked  soul : — 

I.  Because  the  claims  of  God  were 
rejected.  How  many  of  the  servants 
of  God  are  made  angry  by  the  wicked- 
ness of  men  !  Men  are  morally  per- 
verse. They  will  not  give  up  tlieir 
sin.  They  refuse  repeated  offers  of 
mercy.      They    repulse    many    judg- 


ments. They  despise  many  ministers 
of  truth.  Tliey  awaken  the  holy  in- 
dignation of  those  who  have  sought 
their  welfare. 

II.  Because  Ms  Christian  work  was 
apparently  a  failure.  Moses  had  seen 
Pharaoh  penitent.  He  had  perhaps 
indulged  a  hope  that  the  terrible 
retribution  he  had  announced  would 
have  awakened  the  wicked  king  to 
calm  thought  and  change  of  purpose. 
But  in  vain.  His  last  interview  was 
apparently  a  failure.  How  many 
Christian  ministers  are  grieved  V)y  the 
failure  of  their  best  energies  to  induce 
men  to  moral  goodness  ! 

II.  Because  the  freedom  of  Israel 
was  yet  unaccomplished.  Moses  was 
perhaps  too  hasty  in  expecting  the 
accomplishment  of  his  task.  Men 
who  are  working  for  the  freedom  of 
souls  must  be  patient  and  hopeful 
in  their  spirit  and  temperament. 
Ministers  are  human  in  their  feel- 
ings. 

Verses  9,  10.  God  foretelleth,  and 
sometimes  maketh  known,  that  wicked 
sinners  will  not  hear  His  ministers 
sent  to  them. 

Such  refusal  of  the  wicked  to  hear 
God's  word  foreruns  usually  some 
strange  plagues. 

God  sometimes  aims  at  the  multi- 
plying of  prodigious  judgments  upon 
multiplied  unbelief. 

God's  ministers  do  but  His  work 
and  deliver  His  word,  and  sinners 
harden  themselves  by  the  same. 

Ocular  demonstration  of  God's 
strongest  plagues  will  not  persuade 
sinners  to  believe. 

Upon  such  wilful  hardening  against 
His  word,  God  justly  hardens  to  de- 
struction. 

Sinners  hardened  by  God  will  do 
all  the  mischief  against  Him  and  Hia 
people. 


22A 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


caM.  XI. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XI 


EEV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 


Persistent  Effort!  Ver.  1.  In  Howe's 
Cave,  in  the  New  World,  is  a  vast  stalagmite, 
thirty  feet  high  and  broad.  Listening  in- 
tently, you  can  hear  a  drop  of  water  falling 
from  the  high  limestone  roof  at  intervals  of 
about  one  minute.  Drop  by  drop,  steadily, 
slowly,  surely,  the  work  is  done.  Each  drop 
contained  an  almost  infinitesimal  particle  of 
limestone,  so  that  thousands  of  years  must 
have  been  spent  in  the  formation  of  this 
giant  stalactite.  The  relation  between  the 
Gulliver  result  and  the  Liliput  cause  is  in 
Buch  contrast,  that  any  one  must  feel  the 
lesson  of  persistent  effort,  patient  doing,  as 
well  as  the  confident  expectation  of  large 
results,  and  the  certainty  of  duty  ending  in 
reward.  So  with  Moses ;  patiently  and  per- 
sistently had  he,  step  by  step,  struggled  for 
his  nation's  freedom,  and  now  he  is  to  receive 
his  reward.  Pharaoh  is  to  let  Israel  go,  not 
under  conditions,  limitations,  and  restrictions, 
but  free  and  unfettered  altogether.  Jehovah 
thus  assures  Moses  that  even  now 

"  The  waves  of  the  ocean  are  ceasing  to  swell. 
And  the  tempest  has  whispered  its  laat  fare- 
well." 

Divine  Favour!  Ver.  3.  When  Luther 
first  began  to  demand  the  freedom  of  the 
Church,  their  oppressor,  and  his  cardinals 
and  tributary  princes,  despised  and  scorned 
the  humble  monk;  but  as,  step  by  step,  he 
persistently  demanded  their  liberation  from 
moral  tyranny,  and  gained  triumph  after 
triumph  in  the  intellectual  and  theological 
struggle,  his  enemies  began  to  look  upon  the 
Keformer  with  different  eyes.  The  Kouian 
Pharaoh  and  his  courtiers  feared  and  hated 
him,  while  God  gave  him  favour  in  the  sight 
of  the  people ;  and  now  at  Augsburg,  then  at 
Worms — 

*'  Unquailed  by  frowns,  unchecked  by  human 
fear, 
Before  the  monarch  stands  the  holy  seer." 

— Mark. 

Divine  Interposition!  Ver.  4.  In  this  last 
plague  God  is  represented  as  descending  in 
person.  "  I "  will  go  out.  This  was  designed 
to  impress  Pharaoh  with  the  terrible  character 
of  the  next  inflictive  judgment.  When  a 
great  Eastern  monarch  sent  his  general  to 
restore  order  in  an  insurrectionary  province, 
the  rebels  would  not  heed  his  authority,  but 
attacked  and  routed  the  royal  troops.  This 
aroused  the  king's  indignation,  and  he  sent 
a  message  that  he  himself  would  appear  in 
person  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  punish 
their  persistent  contumacy.  Jehovah  warns 
the   £g7ptiaii  rebel  against   His  sovereign 


commands,  that  He  would  now  personally 
interpose  to  secure  submission  to  His  supreme 
authority.  If  the  paw  of  a  bear  meet  with  so 
thin  a  substance  as  the  caul  of  a  man's  heart, 
how  easily  is  it  torn  to  pieces.  Pharaoh  had 
fitted  himself  for  the  interposition  of  Jehovah 
in  person,  and  His  judgment  would  be  as  fire 
rushing  through  the  dried  prairie  grasses. 

"  Stay,  wretched  monarch,  in  thy  sinful  path, 
And  hear  this  message  of  avenging  wrath  ; 
Hear  it  and  tremble — it  is  God's,  not  mine ! " 

First-Bom !  Yen  6.  It  is  computed  that 
more  than  one-half  of  the  liuman  race  die 
under  five  years  of  age.  Think  of  the  millions 
tliat  constitute  one  generation !  Think  of 
the  generations  that  have  come  and  gone  1 

"  There  is  no  flock,  however  watched  and  tended. 
But  one  dead  lamb  is  there." 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  as  there  are  more 
blossoms  upon  trees  in  spring-time  tiiaa 
ripe  fruits  in  autumn,  so  there  are  more 
infants  than  adults  that  fall  away  from  the 
circles  of  earthly  affection.  Like  those  flowers 
which  grow  on  frail,  slender  vines — disclose 
their  beauties  for  one  hour  in  the  morning, 
and  then  fold  them  to  their  hearts  from  the 
gaze  of  earth  for  ever — so  our  first-born  pass 
swiftly  and  beautifully  away, 

"  In  their  spirits  young  prime. 
E'er  earth  has  profaned  what  was  born  for 
the  skies." 

Righteous  Anger!  Ver.  8.  High  and 
gusty  passions,  says  Beecher,  are  sometimes 
like  fierce  storms  that  cleanse  the  air,  and 
give  the  earth  refreshment  by  strong  winds 
and  down-pelting  rains,  provided  always  that 
such  are  justified  by  the  occasions  of  them. 
The  wrath  of  Moses  was  that  righteous  indig- 
nation which  noble  Christian  souls  are — 
under  certain  contingencies — justified  in  dis- 
playing towards  wicked  and  perverse  op- 
pressors. This  anger  of  Israel's  leader  was 
tlie  reflection  of  Jehovah's  majestic  brow — the 
wrath  of  truth  and  love.  It  was  not  a  current 
flowing  through  oozing  marshes,  gathering 
foulness  from  its  foul  and  stagnant  waters; 
but  it  was  a  divine  stream — 

"  It  did  through  wild  and  rock-bound  valleys 
run. 
Like  glittering  dewdrops   in  the  morning 
sun." 

Sin-Sirens !  Ver.  9.  In  an  Exhibition  of 
Art  Treasures  held  in  Manchester  some  years 
ago,  there  was  a  picture  by  Haydon,  entitled, 
"The  Song  of  the  Syrens."  It  represented  a 
ship  in  full  sail  passing  by  an  island  on  whose 

225 


CHAP.  xn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


beach  were  some  beautiful  women,  slightly 
clothed,  singing  (as  the  spectator  might 
imagine),  most  melodiously  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  men  on  board  the  vessel. 
Lashed  to  the  mast,  and  making  eager  and 
almost  frantic  gestures,  was  a  man  dressed  in 
military  armour;  but  the  sailors  —  utterly 
heedless — seemed  as  though  they  cared  for 
nothing  hut  to  get  past  tlie  islaiui  as  quickly 
as  possible, — all  tlie  more  as  the  beach  was 
strewn  with  dead  men's  bones.  That  group  of 
women  was  Circe  and  her  siron-nyuiiihs! 
Tiiat  warrior  was  Ulysses,  the  lioro  of  Troy, 
returning  from  its  capture  !  He  jjad  resolved 
to  prevent  his  destruction  and  that  of  his 
crew  as  they  sailed  past  the  island  by  filling 
their  ears  with  wax,  and  then  ordering  them 
to  bind  him  so  firmly  to  the  mast  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  set  iiiuiself  at 
liberty.  Thus  deaf  to  all  his  cries — as  well  as 
to  the  song  of  the  sirens — the  sailors  passed 
safely  out  of  sight  and  hearing  of  their  temp- 
ters. Pharaoh  listened  to  the  Siren's  song, 
and  when  Mosea  and  Aaroa  tried  to  dissuade 


him,  he  refused  to  heed  their  prudent  eonnsel, 
and  chose  to  listen  to  the  tempter's  song — 

"  False  as  the  smooth,  deceitful  sea. 
And  empty  as  the  whistling  wind." 

Heart- Wickedness  I     Ver.    10.       However 

wild  tlie  wind  and  wave,  there  is  stillness  far 
beneath.  The  waters  may  surge  as  mountains 
to  the  skies  —  and  sink  as  valleys  in  the 
seas ;  but  away  down  below  the  troubled 
surface  of  the  wa'crs  a  dead  calm  prevails, 
where  hideous  blind  monsters  swim,  and 
where  loathsome  repulsive  reptiles  crawl. 
The  surface  of  Pliaraoh's  heart  was  tossed  and 
disquieted,  for  the  wicked  are  like  the  troubled 
sea  ;  but  the  depths  are  still — the  drear,  dread 
calm  of  the  death  of  sin  reigns — a  haunt  for 
the  ravenous  and  ugly  monsters  of  sin.  Hia 
heart  was  hardened — 

"  And,  like  the  billows  of  the  stormy  deep. 
Onwards  he  rushed,  with  desolating  sweep. 
Until  One  Rock  opposed  his  crested  pride." 


CHAPTER  XIL 


Critioal  Notes.— 3.  The  house  of  their  fathers.]  More  exactly  :  "  a  father's  hotne."  The 
designation  naturally  imports  "family"  in  the  larger  sense  of  "family  of  families,"  the  entire 
group  formed  by  the  union  of  grown-up  sons  and  daughters  with  their  children  under  the 
ancestral  roof.  Onlv  in  the  event  of  tliis  group  beinir  too  small  for  a  lamb,  were  mere  neigh- 
bours to  unite. — 6.  Whole  assembly  of  the  congregation.]  Here,  at  the  very  outset  of  Hebrew 
national  history,  is  an  illustration  of  the  truth  that,  fundamentally,  all  Hebrews  were  priests  (cf. 
chap.  xix.  6), — a  truih  which  lives  on  in  its  interest  when  connected  with  unfulfilled  prophecy 
(Is.  Ixi.  6),  and  with  the  antitypical  realisation  in  the  Christian  ecclesia  (1  Pet.  ii.  9).  More- 
over, it  is  observable  tliat  the  fir.-<t  Passover  was  a  domestic  observance,  and  that  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  instituted  as  a  part  and  an  outgrowth  of  such  an  observance  in  an  upper  room. — In 
the  evening.]  Literally,  "  between  the  two  evenings,"  "probably,*'  says  Dr.  Davies  (Heb.  Lex.), 
"  between  sunset  and  dark  (cf.  Dent.  xvi.  6),  as  the  Karaites  and  Samaritans  hold,  or  perhaps  the 
time  between  the  sun's  declining  and  its  actual  eeltiiig,  as  the  Pharisees  insisted  and  the  Jews 
now  hold."  Kalisch,  deemin<r  the  former  view  "the  most  rational,"  translates  the  expression 
"at  du.sk,"  and  quotes  with  approval  the  following  from  Ebn  Ezra  :  "  We  have  two  evenings; 
the  first,  the  setting  of  the  sun,  that  is,  the  time  when  he  disajipears  beneath  the  horizon; 
and  the  second,  the  ceasing  of  the  light  which  is  reflected  in  the  clouds;  and  between  both  lies 
an  interval  of  about  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes."— 11.  Passover.]  Heb.,  Peaach,  "  a  stepping 
over,"  "  sparing  ;  "  from  pa-sach,  to  move  away  from,  to  move  forward  from,  to  move  over  from  one 
object  to  anoliier  (Furst).  The  noun  pei>ach  occurs  forty-eight  limes  in  the  Old  Testament, 
always  rendered  "  passover  "  in  the  "Authorised  Version  ;"  and  reappears  in  the  Septuagint 
under  the  form pascha,\yh\c\\  is  then  used  in  the  New  Testament  tweuty-nme  times,  most  notably 
in  connection  with  the  Messiah's  death  in  the  Gospels,  when  the  New  Feast  was  instituted,  also, 
with  more  direct  application  to  the  same  trreat  fact,  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  v.  7  (lit.  "for  oob 
PASSOVER  ALSO  was  slain  [even]  Christ").  The  \evU  pa-sach  is  rendered  "pass  over"  in  verses 
13,  23,  and  27  of  thig  chapter,  and  in  Is.  xxxi.  5.— 12.  Gods  of  Egypt.]  "  Which  words,"  says 
Kalisch,  "evidently  mean  that  tlie  uniform  and  general  extirpation  of  all  the  first-horn  of  the 
Egyptians,  which  calamity  their  gods  will  be  powerless  to  avert,  will  be  a  manifest  proof  to 
those  who  have  hitherto  worshipped  them  that  they  area  vain  support  and  an  idle  refuge: 
thus  the 
severest  'j 
86,  36.  Borrowed. 
"Critical  Note  "  on  chap.  xi.  2. 
226 


10  have  hitherto  worshippea  tliem  that  tiiey  are  a  vain  support  ana  an  luie  reiuge  : 
authority  of  the  idols  will  be  destroyed  in  the  eyes  of  the  Egyptians,  and  this  was  the 
'judirmeiit'  which  ihe  omnipotent  Lord  of  the  Universe  could  exercise  against  them." — 
Borrowed... lent.]    Render  :  "  Asked,"  and  "let  them  hare  what  they  asked; "  and  d* 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xil. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORA  PH.— Versa  1,  2, 

The  First  Month  of  the  Year. 

The  nations  of  the  globe  have  regarded  various  periods  as  the  commencement 
of  the  year.  The  Athenians  reckoned  the  commencement  of  tlieir  year  from 
midsummer ;  the  Romans  from  the  middle  of  winter ;  the  Arabians  from  the 
spring ;  and  the  Egyptians  from  the  autumn,  as  then  the  Nile  returned  within 
its  banks,  and  seed-time  began.  It  would  appear  that  Israel,  during  their 
bondage,  had  recognised  the  Egyptian  calendar,  which  commenced  in  autumn. 
They  are  henceforth  to  reckon  the  commencement  of  the  year  from  the  spring ; 
this  was  their  ecclesiastical  year.  The  civil  year  began  in  the  seventh  month 
(Lev.  XXV.  9). 

I.  The  first  month  of  the  year  is  a  good  time  for  religious  contemplation  and 
devotion.  In  this  beginning  of  months  the  Israelites  were  to  celebrate  the 
Passover.  They  were  to  undertake  all  the  services  described  in  this  chapter. 
They  were  to  celebrate  their  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage,  and  from  the 
sword  of  the  destroying  angel.  This  vras  pre-eminently  the  montli  of  their 
religious  life,  when  its  holy  memories  were  awakened,  when  its  impulses  were 
quickened,  when  its  experiences  were  enriched,  and  when  God  was  especially 
near  to  them  as  a  people.  And  so  the  first  month  of  the  year  is  a  good  time 
for  religious  meditation,  and  for  the  public  devotion  of  the  people  of  God,  the 
spiritual  Israel.  It  should  indeed  be  in  this  respect  the  beginning  of  months 
with  them.  The  old  year  has  gone,  the  new  year  is  opening  to  the  vision  of  the 
soul.  It  is,  therefore,  pre-eminently  a  time  for  thought  and  prayer.  Then  the 
flight  of  time,  the  events  of  life,  and  the  mortality  of  man,  may  all  furnish  topics 
for  reflection.  Then  especially  should  the  Passover  be  celebrated,  the  blood  of 
Christ  anew  be  sprinkled  on  the  soul ;  and  in  this  spirit  of  trust  in  the  Saviour 
should  the  year  begin. 

II.  The  first  month  of  the  year  is  eventful  in  the  history  of  individual  and 
collective  life.  Truly  this  first  month  of  the  year  was  eventful  in  the  history  of 
the  Israelites.  In  it  they  were  brought  out  of  Egyptian  bondage  ;  in  it  they  went 
over  the  river  Jordan,  and  came  into  the  land  of  Canaan  (Josh.  iv.  19).  Thua 
it  was  eminently  eventful  in  their  national  history.  And  the  first  month  of  the 
year  is  important  in  the  history  of  the  soul.  How  many  souls,  awakened  by  the 
circumstances  of  life,  have  been  led  to  the  Cross  at  this  solemn  period  of  the  year  ! 
How  many  men  have  been  converted  in  special  religious  services  held  at  this 
appropriate  time !  Truly  this  has  been  a  period  when  many  immortal  souls 
have  come  out  from  the  bondage  of  sin  into  the  liberty  of  God's  dear  Son  ;  and 
when  many  have  crossed  the  Jordan  of  death  into  the  land  of  rest,  to  pass,  not 
time,  but  eternity,  with  the  God  who  has  redeemed  them.  Hence  the  first  month 
of  the  year  is  important  in  the  history  of  the  soul.  What  we  are  then,  we  are 
likely  to  remain  throughout  the  year ;  we  then  get  an  impulse  for  good  or  evil 
which  will  aff"ect  our  moral  character  to  the  end.  The  first  month  is  the  keynote 
of  the  year's  moral  life.  It  is  the  rough  sketch  of  the  soul's  life  for  the  year. 
We  should  therefore  seek  to  observe  it  unto  the  Lord. 

III.  The  first  month  of  the  year  is  important  in  its  relation  to  the  com- 
mercial prospects  of  men.  The  first  month  of  the  year  was  spring-time,  answer- 
ing to  part  of  our  March  and  April.  The  Hebrews  in  their  months  followed 
the  course  of  the  moon,  every  new  moon  being  to  them  the  beginning  of  a 
month.  Hence  at  the  commencement  of  the  year  all  things  began  to  flourish 
and  to  revive  in  strength  and  put  on  the  beauty  of  spring.  And  so  with 
men  now.     The  first  month  of  the  year  has  much  to  do  with  the  vitaUty  and 

227 


CHAP.  XII.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


energy  of  their  commercial  life.  Then  trade  may  receive  an  impulse  or  a  check. 
The  new  year  may  mark  the  advent  of  new  energy,  or  it  may  witness  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  old  indolence.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  the  ordering  of  months  and  of 
years  is  of  God.  2.  That  the  first  month  must  remind  us  of  the  Advent  of  the  Saviour. 
3.  That  tlie  first  month  must  he  consecrated  by  true  devotion.  4.  Tliat  the  Church  must 
pay  some  attention  to  the  calendar  of  the  Christian  year.  6.  T/uit  God  usually  by 
His  ministers  makes  known  His  mind  to  His  Church. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPE.— Versa  3-13. 

The  Institution  of  the  Passover, 

I.  The  circumstances  under  which  the  Passover  was  instituted.  The 
king  of  Egypt  and  his  peoi)le  had  rebelled  against  the  command  of  tiie  Lord,  as 
made  kno^vn  by  Moses  and  Aaron,  in  not  consenting  to  give  Israel  their  freedom. 
Mercy  had  been  tried,  judgment  had  been  inflicted,  all  to  no  purpose.  The 
heart  of  Pharaoh  was  still  hardened  against  the  Divine  request,  and  now  Heaven 
is  driven  to  the  last  extremity  of  retribution,  and  has  determined  on  and 
announced  the  death  of  Egypt's  first-born.  The  Divine  edict  lias  gone  forth. 
At  this  crisis  the  Passover  was  instituted  for  the  safety  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
How  would  the  destroying  anuel  know  the  homes  of  Egypt  from  the  homes 
of  Israel  ?  and  what  token  siiould  he  have  of  the  safety  of  the  latter  ?  This  was 
the  question.  The  Passover  was  tlie  answer.  Blood  was  to  be  sprinkled  on  the 
upper  door-post  of  the  houses  occupied  by  the  Israelites.  And  so  the  world  of 
unregenerate  humanity  is  under  the  dire  sentence  of  death,  and  the  sentence  is 
soon  to  be  executed.  But  how  shall  the  good  escape  the  sword  of  the  avenger  ? 
By  taking  immediate  refuge  in  the  Cross  of  Christ.  This  is  the  only  refuge  of 
man  from  moral  and  eternal  death.  The  Cross  was  instituted  to  save  men 
from  the  edict  of  moral  death.  (1)  /^  was  instituted  under  perilous  circum- 
stances. (2)  It  was  instituted  under  exce])tional  circumstances.  (3)  It  uas  insti- 
tuted under  painful  circumstances.  And  so  the  Cross  of  Christ  was  instituted 
under  circumstances  morally  dangerous,  morally  exceptional,  and  morally  painful, 
but  under  circumstances  which  rendered  it  most  welcome  to  the  true  Israel. 

II.  The  proceedings  by  which  the  Passover  was  characterised.  1.  A  lamb 
was  slain  in  the  houses  of  (he  Israelites  (ver.  3,  4).  E\ery  hou.<*eholder  was  to 
take  a  lamb,  without  blemish,  of  the  first  year,  and.  after  keeping  it  four  days  in 
the  house,  was  to  kill  it.  This  was  emblematical  of  things  in  the  Christian 
economy.  Christ  is  the  Lamb  of  God.  He  was  taken  from  amongst  the  flock 
in  the  vigour  of  manhood.  He  was  ordained  to  be  slain  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world.  He  was  without  moral  defect.  He  was  slain  on  Calvary.  2.  Tlie 
blood  of  the  lamb  thus  slain  was  to  be  sprinkled  on  the  xipper  door-post  of  tlie 
houses  of  the  Israelites  (ver.  7).  It  was  not  enough  to  kill  tlie  lamb  ;  its  blood 
must  be  sprinkled  on  the  upjjer  door-posts  of  the  house,  if  the  inmates  are  to  be 
safe.  And  it  is  not  sufficient  for  tlie  safety  of  men  that  Christ  died  ;  His 
precious  blood  must  be  sprinkled  on  their  hearts.  The  blood  Avas  not  sprinkled 
on  the  threshold  of  the  door,  but  high  up  on  the  posts.  The  blood  of  Christ  is 
sacred,  and  must  not  be  trampled  under  foot  of  men.  The  mark  of  a  Christian 
life  is  to  be  evident  to  the  world  and  easily  discernible.  There  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  knoAving  the  houses  of  the  Israelites.  The  house  of  a  good  man 
shoukl  always  be  known  by  the  token  of  the  Cioss  upon  it.  3.  The  slain  lamb 
was  eaten  by  the  Israelites  in  an  attitude  of  pilgrimage  and  haste  (ver.  11).  The 
slain  lamb  was  to  be  eaten  by  the  Israelites.  It  was  not  to  be  eaten  raw,  nor 
•odden  at  all  with  water,  but  roast  with  fire.  None  of  the  animal  was  to 
remain.    All  were  to  eat  of  it.    During  the  repast,  theii-  loins  were  to  be  girt  and 

228 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xn. 

their  feet  were  to  be  shod.  And  so  the  soul  must  appropriate  Christ  j  it  must 
cultivate  an  attitude  of  moral  haste,  and  it  must  be  mindful  of  its  pilgrim  con- 
dition, if  it  is  to  be  saved  by  Him. 

III.  The  results  hywhich  the  Passover  was  followed.  (Ver.  13.)  1.  After 
the  celtbration  of  the  Passover  the  Ismeliies  were  safe.  Alter  the  sprinkling  of  the 
blood  upon  the  door-post  of  the  house  the  Israelites  were  safe  fiom  the  stroke  of 
the  avenging  angel.  They  were  protected  because  they  complied  with  the  ordin- 
ance of  God  for  their  safety.  And  so  men  are  only  safe  when  they  have  yielded 
obedience  to  the  terms  of  salvation  which  God  requires.  The  Israelites  might 
have  done  many  wise  things,  and  availed  themselves  of  many  preventatives  against 
the  de.-truction  of  the  angel ;  but  if  they  had  not  sprinkled  the  blood  upon  the 
door-posts  they  would  have  perished.  Men  may  strive  to  do  many  things  to 
ameliorate  their  condition  as  sinners,  but  the  Cross  of  Christ  is  their  only  real 
protection.  2.  After  the  celebration  of  the  Passover  the  Israelites  were  free.  After 
the  destruction  of  the  first-born  the  Israelites  were  commanded  to  leave  Egypt. 
The  proud  tyrant  gave  them  their  freedom.  He  had  no  w^ish,  at  that  sad 
moment,  to  prolong  the  conflict  with  Jehovah,  of  whose  power  he  had  received 
sufficient  demonstration.  The  souls  of  men  are  only  free  when  they  are 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  when  they  have  made  a  personal  appro- 
priation of  the  Saviour.  Then  they  are  free  from  the  tyranny  of  pride  and 
passion  ;  they  enter  upon  the  long  and  trying  pilgrimage  of  moral  goodness.  3. 
After  the  celebration  of  the  Passover  the  Is^'ueliies  were  joyous.  They  were  pleased 
M'lth  their  freedom  and  the  prospects  before  them.  They  were  grateful  for  the 
terrible  retribution  they  and  their  families  had  escaped  through  the  abundant 
mercy  of  God.  And  so  when  the  soul  has  received  Christ,  its  first  experiences, 
as  it  steps  out  into  the  new  and  mysterious  life,  are  those  of  joy  and  gratitude. 
Lessons  : — 1.  That  every  household  should  have  an  interest  in  the  Lamh  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world.  2.  That  to  exjjcrience  the  saving  benefit  of  Christ's  death 
the  soul  must  personally  receive  Him.  3.  That  Christ  as  dying  is  the  only  hope  of  the 
soul.     4.  That  Christ  died  for  all. 


The  Passover  as  Illustrative  of  the  Atoning  Work  of  Christ,  and  of 
ITS  Reception  by  the  Believing  Soul. 

L  In  the  victim  it  provides.  "Speak  ye  unto  all  the  congregation  of 
Israel,  saying.  In  the  tenth  day  of  this  month  they  shall  take  to  them  every 
man  a  lamb,  according  to  the  house  of  their  fathers,  a  lamb  for  an  house" 
(ver.  3).  Thus  the  victim  provided  for  the  celebration  of  the  Jewish  Passover 
was  a  lamb.  Jesus  Christ  is  called  the  Lamb  of  God  (John  i.  29).  He  was 
innocent ;  He  was  meek.  He  was  Divinely  appointed  to  be  a  sacrifice  for  sin. 
1.  This  lamb  was  to  be  a  male  of  the  first  year  (ver.  5).  Because  after  that  it 
would  be  no  lamb,  but  a  sheep,  and  because  it  must  be  perfect  and  strong. 
And  so  Christ  was  mighty  in  strength.  He  required  to  be  strong.  He  had  a 
great  task  to  accomplish,  and  many  hindrances  to  overcome.  He  had  perfect 
strength  (Ps  Ixxxix.  19;  Isa.  xix.  20;  Tit.  ii.  13).  Men  must  render  to 
God  the  activities  of  youth.  2.  7'he  lamb  was  to  be  without  blemish  (ver.  5).  It 
was  not  to  be  lame  or  blind  or  sick,  or  in  any  way  defective.  So  Christ  was  a 
perfect  offering.  He  was  pure.  Sin  strove  in  vain  to  soil  Him.  His  enemies 
could  find  no  fault  in  Him.  He  was  sinless  (1  Pet.  i.  19).  3.  The  lamb  was 
to  be  set  apart  four  days  (ver.  6).  They  weie  commanded  to  set  apart  the 
Paschal  lamb  four  days,  because  if  they  had  delayed  it  till  the  moment  of  their 
departure  from  Egypt,  they  might  in  the  haste  of  other  business  have  forgotten 
it ;  in  order  that  they  might  detect  any  blemish  in  the  lamb  ;  that  they  might  by 
a  sight  of  the  lamb  be  awakened  to  a  grateful  expectation  of  their  ap])roaching 

229 


CHAP.  xn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTAR  7 :  EXOD  US. 

deliverance  ;  and  that  they  might  repose  a  sure  trust  in  the  help  of  God  against 
their  enemies.  And  so  Christ  was  ordained  from  eternity  as  the  offering  for 
human  guilt.     He  was  in  every  way  tested. 

n.  In  the  sacrifice  it  requires.  "  And  the  whole  assembly  of  the  congrega- 
tion of  Israel  shall  kill  it  in  the  evening"  (ver.  6).  Thus  the  lamb  was  to  be 
slain,  and  by  all  Israel.  The  continued  life  of  the  victim  would  not  have 
ensured  the  needed  safety.  Its  death  was  a  necessity.  And  so  in  reference  to 
Christ ;  we  are  saved  by  His  death.  Without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no 
remission.  He  was  slain  by  the  entire  congregation.  The  world,  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  cried  out,  "  Crucify  Him  !  crucify  Him  ! "  The  Paschal  lamb  was 
roast  with  fire.  In  this  we  have  set  forth  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  No  pain 
equal  to  that  occasioned  by  burning.  Christ  in  the  agony  of  the  garden  and 
on  the  cross. 

m.  In  the  duty  it  enjoins.  "And  they  shall  take  of  the  blood,  and 
strike  it  on  the  two  side-posts  and  on  the  upper  door-post  of  the  houses  wherein 
they  shall  eat  it"  (ver,  7),  The  blood  appointed  to  be  a  means  to  preserve 
the  Hebrews  from  death  is  emblematical  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  whereby 
men  are  delivered  from  sin  and  everlasting  death.  True  the  destroying  angel 
would  know  the  houses  of  the  Israelites  without  this  sign  on  the  door-post, 
but  this  shedding  of  blood  was  the  Divinely-appointed  method  of  safety,  and 
was  the  token  of  God's  care  over  them.  Christian  families  must  have  the  blood 
of  Christ  sprinkled  on  the  lintels  of  their  doors.  They  must  remember  Christ 
when  they  go  in  and  out;  they  must  confess  Christ  to  the  unbelieving  world; 
then  they  will  be  safe  from  the  minister  of  vengeance.  The  blood  of  Christ  is 
the  only  protection  of  the  soul,  and  must  be  sprinkled  as  well  as  shed  (Rom.  v. 
11).  The  soul  must  make  a  personal  appropriation  of  Christ,  To  know  Christ 
will  profit  little.     We  must  feast  on  Him  by  faith, 

IV.  In  the  spirit  it  demands.  (Ver.  22.)  The  bunch  of  hyssop  signifies 
faith  and  humility.  David  said,  "Wash  me  with  hyssop  and  I  shall  be  clean" 
(Ps.  li,  7).  Hyssop  is  a  lowly  herb  growing  in  rocky  places.  In  the  reception 
of  Christ  the  soul  must  be  humble.  The  Paschal  lamb  was  also  to  be  eaten 
with  unleavened  bread  and  with  bitter  herbs  (ver.  8).  Here  we  have  shadowed 
forth  tlie  need  of  repentance  and  sincerity.  And  if  the  soul  is  to  receive  Christ, 
it  must  be  with  a  contrite  heart  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  demerit.  The 
Paschal  lamb  was  to  be  eaten  m  the  attitude  of  haste  (ver,  11),  The  loins  must 
be  girded,  the  feet  must  be  shod,  the  hands  must  hold  the  staff.  The 
redeemed  soul  must  sit  loose  to  earthly  things.  The  good  are  pilgrims  in  the 
world ;  they  must  be  ready  to  go  to  Canaan, 

V.  In  the  peril  it  averts,  "  And  when  I  see  the  blood,  I  will  pass  over  you, 
and  the  plague  shall  not  be  upon  you  to  destroy  you"  (ver.  13).  Thus  we  see 
the  peril  escaped  by  the  Israelites  through  the  proj)er  observance  of  the  Pass- 
over, and  in  this  we  have  an  emblem  of  the  dangers  averted  from  men  by  a 
believing  interest  in  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  are  delivered  from 
the  power  of  the  second  death.  They  escape  the  stroke  of  the  destroying 
angel.     Their  safety  is  welcome  and  happy. 

VI.  In  the  extent  it  contemplates.  By  a  proper  observance  of  the  Passover 
all  Israel  would  be  preserved  from  the  blow  of  the  destroying  angel,  not  one 
soul  excepted.  And  so  by  application  to  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
whole  world  may  receive  an  eternal  salvation  I'rom  the  awful  penalties  of  sin. 
Lessons  : — 1.  That  Christ  crucified  is  the  only  hope  of  moi-al  safety.  2.  That  Christ 
appropriated  is  the  ordy  refuge  of  tlie  soul.  3.  TJuU  Christ  must  be  received  by 
repentance  and  faith. 

230 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EXOD  US.  chap.  xn. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  3-13.      God   alone   can   or-  makes  the   night  of  feasting  to    His 

dain  sacraments  in  His  Church.     Set  Church. 

times  or  days  for  duties  can  only  be  God's  rules  must  qualify  persons  at 

constantly  appointed  by  God.  all  times  for  His  Passover  communion. 

God    leaves     to     prudence     some  Speed  in  the  use  of  God's  ordinance 

smaller     circumstances     of     worship,  must  be  used  when  God  commands  it. 

which  nature  and  reason  may  judge  fit  The     occasion     of    festival    to    the 

(ver.  3,  4).  Church: — 1.  The  destruction  of  God's 

The  Passover  is  an  evening  sacrifice,  enemies.     2.  The  destruction  of  false 

sweet  and  real.  .  .  .  The  blood  of  the  gods.     3.  The  deliverance  of  souls  from 

Passover  must   be   sprinkled   to   give  bondage.     4.  The  demonstration  of  the 

benefit.   .  .   .   Houses  in  the  law,  but  Divine  existence. 

souls  in  the  Gospel,  must  be  sprinkled  God  sees  and  answers  His  own  signs, 

with  blood.  and  will  spare  His  people  in  destroying 

The  night  of  death  to  enemies  God  sinners. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versa  14-20. 

The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

I.  It  is  the  memorial  of  a  glorious  fact.  The  Passover  was  commemorative  of 
the  safety  of  the  children  of  Israel  when  the  destroying  angel  passed  through 
the  land,  and  also  of  their  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt.  And  so  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  commemorative  of  important  facts  in  the 
moral  history  of  men.  It  is  a  memorial  of  the  death  of  Christ  upon  the  cross, 
and  of  the  freedom  then  rendered  possible  to  human  souls.  God  will  have  the 
great  facts  of  the  Church's  history  well  remembered ;  hence  He  provides  monu- 
ments of  them  to  succeeding  generations. 

II.  It  is  the  token  of  abiding  mercy.  The  Passover,  whenever  it  was  cele- 
brated, reminded  the  Israelites  of  the  abounding  mercy  of  God  to  them,  and  in 
after-years  this  would  be  pre-eminently  the  case.  And  surely  no  true  soul  can 
draw  near  to  the  table  of  the  Lord  to  partake  of  His  Holy  Sacrament,  without 
being  sensitive  to  the  continued  mercy  of  the  Infinite.  Hence  the  Sacrament  is 
not  merely  a  monument  of  bygone  history,  but  of  the  continual  compassion  of 
God  to  the  penitent  sinner.     His  mercy  endureth  for  ever. 

III.  It  is  the  time  of  joyous  festival.  The  Passover  was  not  merely  a  sacri- 
fice  ;  it  was  also  a  feast.  The  sacrificial  part  of  it  found  its  counterpart  in  the 
death  of  Christ,  but  the  eucharistic  part  still  pertains  to  the  Supper  of  the  Lord. 
Hence  it  is  only  priestly  arrogance  and  pretence  that  turns  the  table  of  the 
Lord  into  an  altar  of  sacrifice  ;  oidj'^  superstition  will  be  deceived  by  such 
artifice.  The  Supper  of  our  Lord  is  a  glorious  festival,  where  men  of  varied 
customs,  experiences,  and  temperaments  are  united  in  deepest  sympathy.  This 
feast  is  a  bond  of  union.     It  celebrates  the  most  jubilant  memories  of  the  soul. 

IV.  It  is  of  perpetual  obligation.  The  Passover  was  binding  upon  the  Jew. 
The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  obligatory  upon  the  Christian,  and  that 
to  the  end  of  time.  Its  obligation  will  never  be  removed  by  Christ,  and  no 
other  authority  is  able  to  remove  it.  Let  all  Christian  people  realise  not  only 
their  obligation,  but  the  joy  of  coming  to  the  table  of  the  Lord  ;  there  they 
obtain  tho  richest  feast  the  soul  can  have.     Lessons  : — 1.  That  the  Sacrament  oj 

231 


CHAP.  xn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS, 


the  Lord^s  Supper  is  a  Divine  insiUution.     2.  That  it  is  commemorative  of  great  facts 
arid  ti'uths.     3.  That  it  is  to  be  observed  by  all  Christly  souls  througliout  the  universe. . 

The  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread;  or,  the  Ordinances  of  God,  and 
THE  Manner  in  which  they  should  be  Observed. 

The  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was  a  distinct  ordinance  from  the  Passover, 
though  following  immediately  upon  it.  At  this  feast  the  Israelites  were  to  eat 
unleavened  bread  ;  probably  to  commemorate  the  fact  tliat  they  had  left  Egypt 
in  such  haste  that  they  had  no  opportunity  to  leaven  their  dough,  and  were 
consequently  obliged  to  eat  unleavened  cakes.  It  would  also  remind  them  of  the 
power  of  God  in  bringing  them  out  of  Egypt  when  they  were  without  provision 
for  their  journey,  and  it  would  teach  them  a  lesson  of  trust  in  the  Divine  pro- 
vidence.    This  feast  was  an  ordinance  of  God.     We  observe  in  reference  to  it — 

I.  That  the  ordinances  of  God  are  clearly  made  known  and  enjoined  upon 
man.  This  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was  clearly  maiie  Known  and  enjoined 
upon  the  Israelites.  And  so  all  the  ordinances  of  God  are  plainly  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures,  and  require  the  observance  of  man.  1.  They  are  Divinely 
authorised.  This  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was  authorised  by  God.  It  was  not 
established  by  Moses  ;  he  was  but  the  exponent  of  the  Divine  will  in  the  matter. 
And  so  the  ordinances  of  the  Christian  life  have  higher  authority  for  their 
existence  than  the  injunction  or  desire  of  man  ;  they  are  ordained  of  Heaven. 
Hence  their  authority  is  unquestionable,  and  will  only  be  set  aside  by  open 
profanity.  2.  They  are  morally  beneficial.  The  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was 
morally  beneficial.  It  carried  back  the  thought  of  Israel  to  the  old  days  of 
bondage,  and  also  to  the  mercy  of  God  as  displayed  in  their  freedom.  It  was 
associated  with  memories  the  very  reproduction  of  which  in  the  soul  could  not 
but  have  a  beneficial  tendency.  And  so  all  the  ordinances  of  God  are  morally 
elevating  and  instructive.  They  remind  us  of  great  truths,  of  glorious 
experiences,  and  animate  with  brilliant  hopes.  The  ordinances  of  God  are  the 
banqueting  places  of  the  souL  They  remind  of  the  past ;  tliey  strengthen  for 
the  present ;  they  prepare  for  the  future.  3.  They  are  wofully  neglected.  In  this 
respect  the  Jew  furnishes  a  great  contrast  to  the  Christian.  Few  Jews  would 
neglect  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  ;  many  more  professing  Christians  neglect 
the  ordinances  of  God.  This  neglect  is  prevalent ;  it  is  fearful  ;  it  is  inex- 
cusable ;  it  is  morally  injurious ;  it  will  ultimately  meet  with  its  due 
punishment. 

n.  That  the  ordinances  of  God  are  to  be  observed  in  a  spirit  and  tempei 
free  from  sin.  The  Israelites  in  observing  this  feast  were  to  i)ut  away  all 
leaven ;  none  was  to  remain  in  the  house.  And  all  who  wish  I'aithfully  to 
observe  the  ordinances  of  God  must  put  away  all  moral  leaven  from  the  soul. 
All  who  partake  of  the  Passover  must  put  away  leaven  ;  all  who  have  been 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Christ  must  put  away  sin  (1  Cor.  v.  1-8).  1.  The 
ordinances  of  God  must  be  observed  in  a  spirit  free  from  hypocrisy.  While  observing 
tli£  ordinances  of  God,  the  soul  must  be  pure,  free  from  all  duplicity  of  motive, 
and  perfectly  in  harmony  with  the  solemn  duty  in  which  it  is  engaged.  God 
seeth  the  heart,  and  knows  whether  the  leaven  of  hypocrisy  is  expunged.  He 
cannot  be  deceived.  Hence  the  need  of  sincerity.  2.  The  ordinances  of  God 
must  be  observed  in  a  sjnrit  free  from  malice  and  bitterness.  Those  who  observe 
the  ordinances  of  God  must  not  be  of  cruel  heart,  of  unrighteous  character, 
infected  with  error,  or  filled  with  vexation.  They  must  be  compassionate  ; 
their  dealings  must  be  characterised  by  equity,  their  minds  by  true  wisdom,  and 
their  souls  by  peacefulness.  3.  The  oidinances  of  God  require  thai  the  home  life  be 
in  sympathy  ivith  them.  There  must  be  no  leaven  in  the  house.  A  man  who 
has  leaven  in  his  house  cannot  join  in  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread.  What 
232 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xii. 

we  are  at  home  we  shall  be  in  the  ordinances  of  God.  The  home  life  and  the 
ordinary  worship  are  inseparable  ;  they  are  part  of  the  same  service,  and  must 
be  pure. 

III.  That  the  ordinances  of  God  are  to  be  observed  with  solemnity  and 
propriety  of  moral  conduct  and  demeanour.  "  And  in  the  first  day  there  shall 
be  an  holy  convocation,  and  in  tlie  seventh  day  there  shall  be  an  holy  convoca- 
tion to  you  ;  no  manner  of  work  shall  be  done  in  them,  save  that  widch  every 
man  must  eat,  that  only  may  be  done  of  you."  It  may  be  asked  why  the 
Israelites  M^ere  to  eat  unleavened  bread  for  seven  days.  The  number  seven  is 
not  used  here  for  an  indefinite  time,  but  probably  to  denote  the  length  of  time 
between  Israel  going  out  of  Egypt  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Egyptians  in  the 
Eed  Sea.  Seven  days  elapsed  between  these  two  events,  and  hence  during 
this  time  they  were  to  eat  unleavened  bread,  as  their  freedom  was  not  com- 
plete. The  ordinances  of  God  are  solemn,  and  must  he  characterised  by  appropriate 
conduct.  It  was  a  holy  convocation.  This  feast  was  set  apart  from  all  profane 
use,  and  consecrated  unto  God.  Two  days  of  it  were  not  to  be  profaned  by 
secular  toil.  On  the  first  day  of  the  seven,  appropriate  sacrifices  were  offered 
(Num.  xxiii.)  During  this  time  it  was  lawful  to  prepare  food,  which  was  not 
the  case  on  the  Sabbath  (Exod.  xxxv.  3).  The  first  and  last  days  were  regarded 
with  peculiar  sanctity;  the  intervening  days,  work  could  be  done.  All  the 
ordinances  of  God  are  holy,  they  should  be  observed  with  appropriate  sacrifices 
of  the  heart ;  but  they  are  not  intended  to  interfere  unduly  with  the  time 
allowed  for  our  secular  duties. 

IV.  That  those  who  profane  the  ordinances  of  God  are  unworthy  of  them, 
and  should  be  denied  the  privilege  of  them.  "  That  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from 
Israel."  Some  interpret  this  to  mean  capital  punishment;  more  probably  it 
signifies  the  excommunication  of  the  offender  from  the  society  and  privileges  of 
the  chosen  people,  either  by  the  public  act  of  the  proper  officers,  or  by  the 
direct  hand  of  God  (Gen.  xvii.  14).  And  so  men  who  neglect  or  abuse  the 
ordinances  of  God  are  unworthy  of  them ;  they  will  derive  no  benefit  from 
them  ;  they  will  injure  others  in  the  use  of  them,  and  ought  to  be  excluded  from 
them  until  they  return  to  a  better  state  of  mind.  But  such  discipline  was 
more  rigorous  in  the  Jewish  Church  than  it  is  in  the  Christian.  There  ought, 
however,  to  be  strict  attention  paid  to  the  moral  fitness  of  man  for  the  ordin- 
ances of  God.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  there  are  in  connection  with  the  Church  of  God 
many  ordinances  to  be  observed  by  men.  2.  That  these  ordinances  should  be  observed 
with  due  solemnity  and  apjyroj/riate  conduct.  3.  That  neglect  of  these  ordinances  is 
disobedience  to  the  command  of  God, 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses    14-20.      Passover    mercies  None   of  man's    own   works    must 

and  unleavened  duties  are  joined  to-  come  in  to  interrupt  God  at  any  time, 

gether  by  the  Lord.  The    strict   service   of  God    denies 

God's   full   time   must   be  kept   in  not  daily  food  to    His   servants,   but 

unleavened  duties  toward  Him allows  it. 

Unleavened  services  are  appointed  as  Days  of  deliverance  by  God  should 

a  feast  to  Jehovah Such  festi-  be   days   of    unleavened    feasting    to 

vals  in  type  and  truth  are  aimed  by  Him. 

God  to  holiness Holy  convo-  Memorials  of  such  days  are  suitable 

cations  are   intended   to   sanctify  the  to  the  generations  of  the  Church, 

name  of  God  and  His  people  by  holy  God's  statutes  alone  must  make  such 

duties.  time  to  be  observed  by  His  people. 

233 


CHAP.  xn.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PAJIAOR APE.— Verges  21-28, 

The  Celebration  of  the  Passover. 

I.  In  thia  Incident  we  have  a  clear  recognition  of  the  principle  of  vicarious 
suffering.  The  lamb  was  slain  instead  of  the  Israelites  ;  the  life  of  the  former  was 
taken  instead  of  that  of  the  latter.  In  this  there  was  substitution.  The  death 
of  the  one  secured  the  safety  of  the  other.  If  the  lamb  had  not  been  slain  on 
behalf  of  the  Israelites,  and  its  blood  not  sprinkled  on  their  door-posts,  they 
must  have  perished  by  the  stroke  of  the  destroying  angel.  Hence  in  this 
incident  we  have  the  principle  of  vicarious  sufifering  ;  and  this  principle  extends 
all  through  the  social  life  of  men.  It  is  seen  in  the  birth  of  the  infant,  in  the 
history  of  the  family  circle,  in  the  events  of  everyday  life,  but  supremely  in 
the  Cross  of  Christ.  In  the  Cross  of  Christ  it  is  seen  in  its  highest  embodiment, 
in  its  truest  meaning,  and  in  its  most  glorious  possibility.  There  is  the 
innocent  dying  for  the  guilty,  the  God-man  suffering  for  the  race.  Sometimes 
this  principle  is  denounced  as  unjust,  but  it  is  a  habitual  ordination  of  life,  the 
inevitable  outcome  of  our  social  and  moral  relationships.  But  as  regards  the 
Cross  of  Christ,  the  principle  of  substitution,  as  there  manifested,  is  unique,  and 
has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  men.  It  is  not  right  for  any  man  to  die  for 
another,  because  no  man  has  a  life  of  his  own  to  give ;  it  does  not  belong  to 
himself,  but  to  his  country  and  to  his  family  ;  but  Christ,  being  Divine  and 
from  heaven,  possessed  a  life  inherently  His  own,  and  therefore  could  lay  it 
down  for  mankind.  Hence  the  sublime  justice  and  mercy  of  the  act,  and  the 
glory  of  the  cross  ;  of  this  instance  of  vicarious  suffering  the  Paschal  lamb  was 
but  a  faint  emblem. 

II.  In  this  incident  we  have  a  clear  recognition  of  the  need  of  falling  in 
with  all  the  requirements  of  the  great  scheme  of  salvation.  The  method  where- 
by the  Israelites  were  to  be  protected  from  the  stroke  of  the  destroying  angel 
was  Divinely  originated,  clearly  revealed,  and  imperative  in  requirement.  The 
Israelites  would  never  have  invented  it  themselves  ;  such  an  idea  would  never 
have  entered  their  minds.  It  was  made  known  to  them  by  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
that  with  due  authority  and  proper  emphasis.  And  by  no  other  way  could  they 
have  been  saved.  No  doubt  many  of  the  Israelites  would  consider  tliis  a  very 
peculiar  method  of  dehverance ;  they  would  hardly  be  able  to  understand  it ;  but 
they  must  obey  or  die.  They  may  pursue  some  other  course.  They  may 
stock  the  house  with  medicine  ready  for  pestilence  ;  but  vain  is  their  effort. 
They  must  obey  the  Divine  command,  and  that  to  the  very  letter ;  for  even  if 
they  kill  the  lamb  and  omit  to  sprinkle  its  blood  upon  the  lintel  of  the  door, 
they  will  perish  in  the  coming  doom.  In  all  this  we  are  clearly  taught  the 
necessity  of  falling  in  with  all  the  requirements  of  the  Divine  method  of  human 
salvation.  The  sinner  must  be  saved  in  God's  way,  and  not  after  his  own. 
He  may  reason  about  the  peculiarity  of  the  method  of  salvation  ;  he  may  think 
that  other  means  will  be  more  eftective  to  the  end  desired  ;  but  if  he  at  last  is 
found  out  of  the  Divine  way  of  safety,  he  will  inevitably  be  lost  The  blood 
of  Christ  sprinkled  on  the  lieart  is  the  only  sign  the  destroying  angel  will 
recognise,  and  regard  as  the  token  of  safety. 

III.  In  this  incident  we  have  a  clear  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  Divine 
method  of  salvation  will  avert  the  most  awful  peril.  By  being  olieilient  to 
the  requirements  of  God,  as  made  known  by  Moses,  the  Israelites  were  saved  from 
the  destruction  that  came  upon  all  tlie  firot  born  of  Egypt.  Not  one  of  the 
Israelites  perished  in  the  awful  retribution.  Hence  we  see  that  the  method  of 
God  is  itfective  to  the  salvation  of  men.     And  the  way  of  human  redemption 

234 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   XII 


by  the  Cross  of  Christ  is  eflfective  to  the  moral  safety  of  all  who  comply  with 
its  conditions.  Not  one  soul  has  ever  been  lost  that  reposed  its  confidence 
in  the  atonement  of  the  Saviour.  The  trustful  soul  shall  not  be  hurt  by  the 
second  death. 

IV.  In  this  incident  we  have  a  clear  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the 
efficacy  of  the  Divine  method  of  salvation  should  he  associated  with  public 
religious  ordinances.  (Ver.  24.)  Thus  the  Israelites  were  to  associate  their 
safety  through  this  great  danger  in  after-years  with  their  religious  ordinances  ; 
in  this  way  they  would  be  reminded  of  their  past  condition  ;  they  would  be 
grateful  for  their  present  circumstances,  and  hopeful  of  the  future.  Hence  the 
deliverance  wrought  by  God  for  the  soul  of  man  should  be  commemorated  by 
public  ordinances  in  the  house  of  God. 

V.  In  this  incident  we  have  a  clear  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  good 
should  he  able  to  give  an  intelligent  explanation  of  their  moral  safety.  (Ver. 
27.)  The  Israelites  would  be  able  to  explain  the  method  of  their  deliverance 
from  Egyptian  bondage  and  from  the  stroke  of  the  avenging  angel ;  and  so 
those  who  are  safe  through  the  redemption  of  Christ  should  be  able  and  willing 
to  explain  and  make  known  the  rich  mercy  of  God  to  them. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  21.  Faithfulness  in  God's 
ministers  binds  them  to  present  obed- 
ience and  discharge  of  trust. 

Men  called  of  God  to  rule  and 
teach  the  Church  may  call  others  to 
assist  them. 

Multitudes  of  souls  cannot  be  in- 
formed of  God's  rule  without  cause, 
order,  and  arrangement  for  their  in- 
struction. 

Passover  preparation  and  adminis- 
tration must  be  made  by  God's  rule. 

Verses  22,  23.  Faith  is  the  true 
bunch  of  hyssop  to  sprinkle  souls  with 
Passover  blood. 

Doors  and  posts  are  sprinkled  only 
with  regard  to  souls  within. 

Such  as  expect  God's  salvation  must 
keep  in  that  place  where  God  will 
give  it. 

God  has  His  pass  of  vengeance  as 
of  mercy. 

God's  eye  is  upon  His  covenant 
when  obediently  observed  for  good. 

No  destroyer  can  smite  until  God 
grant  a  commission  to  him. 

Verses  24,  25.  God's  redeemed  Israel 
are  bound  to  observe  His  statutes. 

All  that  God's  law  requires  must  be 
returned  to  Him  without  failing  in 
anything. 


The  ordinances  of  God  are  for  all 

generations. 

God's  performance  is  exact,  accord- 
ing to  the  word  that  He  has  spoken. 

God's  promise  performed  requires 
souls  to  observe  the  duty  commanded. 

Verses  26,  27.  God's  wisdom  fore- 
seeth  the  succeeding  generations  of 
His  Church  and  provides  for  their 
instruction. 

It  is  accounted  meet  by  God  that 
children  should  ask  and  receive  in- 
struction about  His  holy  worship. 

It  is  God's  mind  that  the  children 
of  the  Church  should  from  infancy  be 
taught  to  serve  God  with  intelligence. 

Parents  are  bound  to  know  the 
nature  of  God's  ordinances,  and  to 
teach  their  children. 

The  doctrine  of  sacraments  must  be 
declared,  as  well  as  the  signs  used,  to 
make  them  true. 

Not  only  worship,  but  the  reason  of 
it,  must  be  known  by  all  who  will 
render  God  reasonable  service. 

The  Need  of  an  Intelligent  Appre- 
hension OF  THE  Service  ai^d 
Worship  of  God. 

I.  It  is  necessary  in  order  to  the 
true  performance  of  religious  service 
and  worship.     Merely  goin;:  through 

235 


CHAP.  xn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


tlie  service  of  God  is  not  worship. 
There  can  be  no  devonon  without  an 
intelligent  understaiidiiiu-  of  the  ser- 
vice pert'oimed;  without  ihisjit  is  super- 
stition. Knowledge  is  an  essential  ele- 
ment in  devotion,  as  men  cannot  be 
in  the  highest  sense  devotional  unle-s 
they  know  what  they  are  about,  and 
the  meaning  of  the  service  in  which 
they  are  engaL:ed.  There  are  thou- 
sands in  the  sanctuary  engaged  in  a 
worship  they  do  not  really  and  fully 
comprehend ;  they  are  too  careless  to 
inquire  into,  they  are  too  slothful  to 
study,  the  solemn  truth  and  ordinances 
of  God. 

II.  It  is  necessary  in  order  to  the 
true  performance  of  parental  duty 
and  instruction.  Children  will  ask 
questions  ;  it  is  right  they  should,  and 
careful  attention  will  ever  be  paid  to 
them  by  the  true  parent.  They  will 
ask  questions  about  God  and  about 
His  worship ;  the  answers  to  these 
inquiries  should  be  instructive  and 
explanatory,  and  in  order  to  this, 
parents  must  themselves  be  acquainted 
with  the  meaninsr  of  the  Divine  ser- 


vice and  worship.  In  many  instances 
sucli  home  instruction  is  neglected 
becau.^e  of  tiie  sad  ignorance  of  the 
parents  concerning  the  things  of  God. 

III.  It  is  necessary  in  order  to  re- 
fute and  silence  the  sceptical  reason- 
ings of  men.  Uiere  might  in  the 
future  be  those  in  Israel  who  would 
(jbject  to  the  reasonableness  and  neces- 
sity of  the  celebration  of  the  Pass- 
over, and  to  silence  these  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  ordinance  in  its  origin 
and  meaning.  Christian  people  ought 
to  be  able  to  explain  and  defend  their 
service  and  worship.  There  would  be 
much  less  infidelity  in  the  land  if 
Christian  people  were  instructed  as 
they  ought  to  be  in  the  ordinances  of 
God. 

Verse  28.  God's  revelation  of  Him- 
self in  grace  and  ordinances  deserves 
praise  from  His  people. 

Worship  of  God  and  obedience  to 
Him  are  well  coupled. 

Despatch  in  obedience  is  very  re- 
qtusite  to  God's  Israel. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  29-32. 

The  Death  of  the  First-Born  of  Egypt. 

I.  We  see  here  that  God's  vengeance  is  as  certainly  executed  upon  the 
rebellious  as  it  is  threatened.  The  death  of  the  first-born  was  threatened  to 
Pharaoh  some  time  ago,  and  he  had  had  ample  opportunity  of  obeying  the 
Divine  command,  and  of  averting  the  dread  penalty.  But  no,  he  still  remains 
obstinate  in  heart,  and  will  not  yield  to  the  will  of  God  ;  hence  the  time  of  de- 
struction has  come.  The  first-born  of  Egypt  are  slain,  in  every  house  they  are 
dead.  There  is  great  mourning  in  the  nation.  Nor  has  the  household  of  the 
king  escaped  the  common  woe.  This  is  not  occasioned  by  })estilence  or  plague, 
but  by  the  sudden  stroke  of  Heaven.  And  thus  are  the  threats  of  God  against 
the  sinner  abundantly  executed.  They  may  be  delayed,  but  they  will  not  be 
forgotten.  They  are  awfully  cei'tain.  The  greatness  of  the  calamity  will  not 
prevent  its  final  execution  ;  even  though  it  require  the  death  of  a  vast  multitude, 
the  threat  of  Heaven  will  come  to  pass.  Let  not  the  sinner  imagine  that  he 
can  escape  the  retributions  of  God,  either  through  the  inability  or  unwillingness 
of  God  to  inflict  them,  or  through  his  own  ability  to  resist  them.  Men  cannot 
elude  the  stroke  of  Heaven. 

II.  We  see  here  that  God's  vengeance  is  upon  all  sinners,  no  matter  what 
their  social  position,  whether  king  or  beggar.  There  was  death  in  the  palace 
a^  well  ;is  in  the  dungeon,  in  the  famdy  of  the  king  as  well  as  in  the  midst  of 

236 


HOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  ohap.  xn. 

the  slaves.  The  judgments  of  God  are  characterised  by  equity ;  they  are  with- 
out partiality.  They  are  no  respector  of  persons.  They  are  not  turned  aside 
by  social  accidents,  nor  are  they  bribed  by  cunning  and  winning  ar'^angements. 
Moral  consideiations  determine  the  retributions  of  human  life.  There  is  no 
impediment  in  the  way  of  Divine  justice  and  the  execution  of  its  sentence  upon  all 
men.  God  can  send  His  messengers  into  the  palace  as  well  as  into  the  dungeon  ; 
bolts  and  bars,  guards  and  sentinels,  cannot  keep  out  the  subtle  angel  of  death. 
Death  has  many  doors  into  the  homes  of  men.  He  takes  the  ricli  from  their 
wealth,  the  poor  from  their  misery  •  and  perhaps  in  the  next  life  the  relations 
of  men  may  be  inverted — the  poor  man  may  be  the  prince,  and  the  prince  the 
slave  in  the  dungeon. 

III.  We  see  here  that  God's  vengeance  comes  upon  sinners  when  they  least 
expect  it,  and  in  their  moments  of  fancied  security.  It  was  night.  All  Egypt 
was  in  slumber.  Men  were  not  even  dreaming  of  approaching  ilk  There  was 
nothing  to  disturb  their  usual  repose ;  when  suddenly  a  cry  arose,  which  every 
moment  gathered  volume  until  it  became  a  piercing  wail.  Mothers  were 
attending  to  their  loved  ones,  and  watching  them  pass  into  the  silence  of  death. 
And  this  was  the  scene  throughout  the  homes  of  Egypt.  And  so,  the  judgments 
of  Heaven  often  come  upon  sinners  when  least  anticipated,  in  the  midst  of  carnal 
repose  and  fancied  security.  Then  they  awake,  but  for  a  moment,  and  too  late, 
to  find  that  the  stern  messenger  of  eternal  justice  has  seized  upon  tht-m.  It 
often  happens  that  when  men  are  the  most  insensible  to  the  retributions  of 
Heaven,  they  are  the  nearest  to  it.  God  sometimes  comes  to  the  wicked  soul 
in  the  midnight  hour.  The  darkness  cannot  hide  from  Him.  We  know  not 
what  will  be  in  the  approaching  night. 

IV.  We  see  here  that  God's  vengeance  may  make  the  most  obstinate  sinners 
jdeld  to  the  demands  of  Heaven.  1.  We  see  that  rharaoh  called  for  Moses  and 
Aaron.  The  terrible  stroke  of  death  had  indeed  done  its  sad  work  ;  and  the 
Monarch  of  Egypt,  alarmed,  was  glad  to  get  rid  of  those  who  had  occasioned  him 
and  his  nation  so  much  calamity.  And  thus  the  purpose  of  Heaven  is  at  last 
accomplished.  Israel  is  free  ;  and  the  two  servants  of  God  are  rejoiced  to  see  the 
glad  result  of  their  long  and  anxious  toil.  It  was  a  moment  of  deep  humility  for 
the  king;  it  was  a  moment  of  triumph  for  Moses  and  Aaron.  How  strangely 
are  the  scenes  of  life  blended  in  this  world,  even  at  one  and  the  same  time  !  This 
midnight  hour  was  to  Egypt  the  hour  of  death,  but  to  Israel  it  was  the  hour  of 
freedom.  The  same  hour  brings  different  and  vaiied  events  and  emotions  even 
to  the  same  people.  2.  We  see  that  Pharaoh  yielded  to  the  demand  of  Heaven.  He 
gave  the  Israelites  their  freedom,  and  so  regarded  the  claim  of  God  as  enforced 
by  severe  retribution.  True  there  was  not  much  virtue  in  the  obedience  ot 
Pharaoh,  as  it  was  occasioned  by  awful  plague.  But  do  we  not  in  this  incident  see 
the  supreme  folly  of  sin  and  rebellion  against  God  1  The  sinner  will  have  to  yield 
to  the  demands  of  Heaven,  and  hence  the  wisdom  of  an  immediate  compliance 
thereto.  Why  suffer  so  many  dreadful  plagues  to  no  purpose?  Surely  it  is  better 
to  fall  in  with  the  Divine  arrangement  at  first,  than  to  liave  such  painful  visita- 
tions of  vengeance  only  to  yield  at  last.  It  is  well  to  avoid  the  penalties  of  sin, 
though  this  is  the  very  lowest  motive  for  obedience  to  the  will  of  Heaven.  The 
submission  of  Pharaoh  : — (1)  It  was  immediate  upon  the  plagiie.  (2)  It  was  complete 
in  its  obedience.  (3)  It  was  compn'ehensive  in  its  injvnction.  (4)  It  was  welcomed 
by  the  Egyptians.  And  thus  culminated  the  judgments  of  Heaven  upon  the  land 
of  Pharaoh  ;  the  sufferings  of  Israel  in  a  cruel  bondage ;  and  the  toils  of  Hia 
devoted  ministers  in  reference  to  a  proud  king. 


237 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  29,  30.     It  is  God's  rairacu-  to   the  wicked   from   their   midnight 

lous  distinguishing  judgment  to   kill  rest, 
the  first-born  only.  God's  wrath  makes  the  wicked  howl 

Choice   of  beasts,  as  well  as  men,  in  their  midnight  wakings. 
God  strikes  for  man's  sin.  It  is  God's  eminent  stroke  when  no 

Vengeance  makes  a  terrible  rousing  house  escapes  without  the  slaughter  of 

some. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.—  Veraea  31-36. 

The  Israelites  Going  out  of  Egyptian  Bondage;  or,  the  Freedom 

OF  the  Church. 

I.  That  the  Israelites  were  given  their  freedom  by  those  who  had  long 
oppressed  them ;  and  so  the  Church  shall  be  freed  by  those  who  have  long 
enslaved  it.  The  king  and  his  people  urged  the  Israelites  to  depart  from 
their  country,  and  to  be  gone  at  once.  The  Egyptians  were  alarmed  at  the 
recent  judgment,  and  were  afraid  lest  they  should  all  become  dead  men. 
The  retributions  of  Heaven  strike  the  wicked  with  terror.  And  so  shall  it 
be  in  reference  to  the  ultimate  liberty  of  the  Church ;  its  oppressors  shall  be 
made  by  the  severe  providence  of  God  to  give  it  its  destined  freedom.  This 
freedom  is  promised.  Many  agencies  are  working  for  it.  Tae  good  earnestly 
anticipate  it.  It  will  then  more  fully  realise  its  mission.  The  Church  has 
long  enough  been  in  bondage  to  cruel  tyrants  and  wicked  men ;  they  have 
oppressed  it,  they  have  persecuted  it,  they  have  reproached  it,  they  have 
maligned  it,  and  they  have  plundered  it ;  but  the  time  comes  when  Heaven 
shall  interfere  on  its  behalf,  and  by  signal  judgments  bring  it  out  from 
the  hands  of  the  evil  oppressor.  And  thus  we  see  the  tyrant  contradicting 
his  own  fancied  interests,  his  own  prior  conduct,  and  giving  freedom  to  the 
slave  he  had  determined  should  remain  in  lifelong  bondage. 

II.  That  the  Israelites,  in  availing  themselves  of  their  freedom,  had  to 
make  many  temporary  shifts ;  and  so  the  Church,  in  stepping  into  liberty, 
will  have  to  encounter  many  perplexities.  The  Israelites,  in  the  moment 
of  freedom,  did  not  immediately  enter  upon  the  enjoyment  and  rest  of  the 
promised  land,  but  they  had  quickly  to  leave  their  home  of  bondage  without 
due  preparation,  and  then  were  years  in  the  wilderness  as  weary  pilgrims. 
They  had  to  take  with  them  dough  before  it  was  leavened,  and  to  bind  their 
kneading-troughs  up  in  their  clotlies,  and  carry  them  on  their  shoulders. 
The  first  experiences  of  freedom  are  always  perplexing,  even  though  they 
may  be  mingled  with  joy  at  the  thought  of  liberty  and  exemption  from  a 
cruel  servitude.  A  wise  Church  will  ratlier  carry  its  food  than  leave  it,  and 
it  is  a  more  welcome  burden  than  the  making  of  bricks  without  straw. 
And  so  when  the  Church  enters  upon  its  destined  freedom,  it  will  have  to 
experience  many  straits  and  perplexities ;  it  will  require  wisdom  to  act  in 
them,  fortitude  to  meet  them,  and  perseverance  to  make  them  contribute  to 
its  ultimate  well-being  and  glory. 

III.  That  the  Israelites,  going  into  freedom,  took  with  them  all  the 
wealth  they  could  get  from  the  Egyptians ;  and  so  the  Church,  in  entering 
upon  its  liberty,  should  avail  itself  of  all  the  valuables  it  can  obtain 
from  the  world.     The  Israelites  obtained  from  the  Egyptians  jewels  of  silver 

238 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xir. 


and  gold,  and  all  the  raiment  they  could  obtain  from  them.  Nor  was  this 
an  injustice,  as  it  had  all  been  duly  earned  by  the  slaves  who  were  now 
free.  These  valuables  were  not  borrowed  with  the  idea  of  returning  them. 
The  word  rendered  "borrowed"  may  be  rendered  asked — they  asked  of  the 
Egyptians  these  jewels  as  payment  for  their  work.  And  these  jewels  were 
in  after-days  used  in  making  vessels  for  the  sanduari/  of  the  Lord.  Ornaments 
of  gold  and  silver  were  worn  by  the  Egyptian  women,  and  even  by  the  men, 
in  great  profusion.  There,  as  in  Eastern  countries  now,  where  the  tenure  of 
property  is  insecure,  it  was  customary  to  invest  all  spare  money  in  jewellery, 
which  could  be  easily  concealed.  And  so  the  world  has  many  valuables  which 
would  enrich  the  Church,  to  which  the  Church  is  justly  entitled,  and  which  it 
should  seek  to  attain.  The  world  has  ornaments  and  raiment  which  should  be 
sought  by  the  Christian  Church  in  the  hour  of  its  freedom.  The  Church  should 
ask  for  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  world  ;  it  has  helped  to  make  and  earn  it, 
and  has  a  claim  upon  it.  It  should  seek  the  moral  and  intellectual  ornaments 
of  the  world — men  who  are  of  high  moral  principle,  who  are  of  cultured 
thought,  and  of  splendid  business  tact  and  ability.  The  Church  of  Christ 
should  seek  to  win  these  ornaments  in  the  hour  of  its  freedom,  as  they  will 
enhance  its  true  worth  and  utility  in  the  future.  All  these  can  in  future  days 
become  the  vessels  of  the  sanctuary.  Like  tlie  jewels  of  the  Egyptians,  they  can 
be  turned  from  their  old  and  inferior  use  to  a  new  and  glorious  purpose  in  the 
Tabernacle  of  the  Lord.  This  service  will  appropriate  and  consecrate  them. 
The  Church  has  yet  to  learn  more  fully  that  the  jewels  of  Egypt  may  become 
the  vessels  of  the  Lord. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VERSES. 

Verses    31-33.       Vengeance    from  Verses  34-36.     The  Church  is  very 

God  can  make  His  rejected  servants  ready   to    go    out   of  bondage   when 

to  be  called  by  His  enemies.  urged  by  the  world  to  do  so. 

Persecuting  powers  may  command  God's  people,  to  have  their  liberty, 

liberty    to    those    whom    they    have  will  be  glad  to  go  out  with  raw  dough, 

oppressed.  Gold,  and  silver,  and  precious  things 

God's  prediction  of  the  liberty  of  God  allows  His  people  to  look  after 

His  Church  is  exactly  performed  in  by  His  word, 

due  time.  It   is    God's    prerogative    to    turn 

God   can    and   will    make  worldly  the  hearts  of  enemies  to  favour  His 

powers  give  liberty  of   conscience  to  Church. 

His  Church  for  worshipping  of  Him,  The  wicked  sometimes  minister,  by 

God  at  His  pleasure  giveth  not  only  the  providence  of  God,  to  the  wealth 

persons,  but  estates  and  substances,  for  of  the  Church. 
His  Church. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  37-39. 

The  Nominal  Followers  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  the  Motives  by 
which  they  are  actuated,  and  the  perplexities  by  which  they 
ARE  Tested. 

The  children  of  Israel  are  now  going  out  of  Egypt,  the  land  of  bondage,  freed 
by  the  remarkable  interposition  of  Heaven.  They  were  allowed  to  leave  openly, 
being  even  thrust  out  by  Pharaoh.  They  had  not  to  go  out  by  stealth.  God 
does  not  encourage  craft  in  His  peeple ;  He  renders  it  unnecessary,  as  He  will 
give  them  an  open  freedom  in  due  time — a  freedom  which  their  enemies  shall 

239 


CHAP.  xn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


witness,  but  not  be  competent  to  liinder.  The  Israelites  went  out  on  foot.  They 
did  not  go  out  of  bondage  in  cliariots,  conveyed  easily  by  welcome  method. 
Tliey  had  to  go  out  as  pilgrims.  The  early  experiences  of  the  soul  in  freedom 
are  sometimes  hard  and  trying.  The  Church  is  often  footsore  in  its  pilgrimage 
through  this  life;  but  it  is  sustained  by  the  thought  of  liberty  on  which  it  is 
entering  yet  more  and  more.  The  Israelites  went  out  in  great  numbers. 
When  we  remember  that  only  seventy  persons  went  down  into  Egypt,  we  may 
well  be  astonished  that  in  about  215  years  so  great  a  multitude  should  go  out. 
Dean  Alford  computes  the  number  to  be  2,4U0.00U  in  all.  N(jr  would  this  be  a 
miraculous  increase  during  seven  generations.  God  can  multiply  His  Church  in 
bondage,  and  the  Church  of  seventy  shall  become  innumerable.  The  little  one 
becomes  a  great  nation.  No  weapon  formed  against  the  Church  can  prosper. 
The  Israelites  went  out  from  Egypt  early  in  the  morning.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  first  -  born  of  the  Egyptians  occurred  at  midnight,  then  the 
Israelites  were  commanded  to  depart  from  bondage.  It  would  take  some 
time  to  make  known  to  them  the  tidings  of  Pharaoh,  to  collect  them  into 
one  vast  host,  and  to  be  ready  for  so  great  a  journey.  And  when  the  soul 
leaves  the  bondage  of  sin,  it  is  morning,  the  night  is  far  spent,  and  the  full 
shining  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  is  at  hand.  Morning  joys  come  upon  the 
freed  soul.  The  Israelites  went  out  from  Y^g^' -pi  followed  by  a  mixed  multitude. 
In  this  multitude  were  to  be  found  heathens  who  were  deeply  impressed  by  the 
wonderful  works  of  Jehovah  as  seen  in  the  history  of  Israel,  many  who  were 
tired  of  the  despotic  rule  of  Pharaoh,  and  many  more  who  were  animated  by 
curiosity,  and  who  desired  to  see  to  what  end  this  vast  nation  would  be  led  ; 
and  no  doubt  many  families  who  had  intermarried  with  Israel  would  follow 
their  relatives,  animated  by  mingled  feelings  of  love  and  sorrow.  We  have  in 
the  allegiance  of  this  mixed  multitude  to  Israel  a  type  of  the  manner  in  which 
many  ally  themselves  to  the  Christian  Church. 

I.  The  motives  by  wMcli  the  nominal  adherents  of  the  Christian  Church  are 
animated.  That  there  are  many  nominal  adherents  to  the  Christian  Church  is 
beyond  all  doubt  or  question.  There  is  a  mixed  multitude  following  the 
Church  in  its  earthly  pilgrimage.  These  join  in  the  external  services  of  the 
Church.  They  aid  the  financial  enterprises  of  the  Church,  and  they  swell  the 
numbers  of  the  Church,  but  they  are  not  of  the  true  and  spiritual  Israel,  and 
very  soon  grow  weary  even  of  a  nominal  adherence  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 
Let  us  look  at  the  motives  by  which  they  are  actuated  in  thus  following  the 
Church.  1.  They  are  acquainted  and  impressed  with  the  history  of  the  Church,  and 
hence  are  induced  to  follow  it.  This  mixed  multitude  was  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  Israelites,  with  their  degrading  bondage,  and  with  the  marvellous 
interposition  of  God  on  their  behalf.  They  had  seen  the  miracles  that  had  been 
wrought  in  order  to  secure  the  freedom  of  the  enslaved  people ;  they  were 
inspired  with  reverence  of  soul,  and  thought  it  well  to  be  associated  with  a 
people  so  highly  favoured.  Hence  they  followed  Israel  on  their  journey. 
And  so  men  join  the  Church.  They  have  read  the  history  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  they  have  been  instructed  in  the  power  of  the  great  God  who  defends 
the  good,  and  they  think  it  a  grand  and  profitable  thing  to  be  associated 
with  those  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.  They  follow  the  Church  more 
for  its  history  and  temporal  success,  than  because  it  is  a  glorious  privilege 
and  duty  to  be  pure  in  heart,  and  to  be  spiritually  united  to  those  of  kindred 
moral  aims  and  sentiments.  2.  They  have  an  inner  conviction  that  the  Church 
is  right,  and  hence  they  are  sometimes  led  to  follow  it.  No  doubt  there  were 
amongst  this  mixed  multitude  those  who  had  a  deep  insight  ifito  the  life  and 
history  of  Israel ;  they  had  received  insti-iictiou  and  convictions  in  reference 
to  Jehovah  which  now  were  potent  within  them,  and  which  led  them  to 
240 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTAnY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xil. 


follow  the  Israelites  in  this  exodus.  And  there  are  men  who  ally  themselves 
to  the  Christian  Churcli  after  this  fashion.  They  are  rightly  instiucted  in  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  they  have  received  convictions  and  impressions  in 
reference  to  the  claims  of  God  upon  the  worship  of  the  soul,  which  they  find  it 
difficult  to  dismiss ;  and  hence,  to  quiet  conscience,  they  give  a  nominal 
adherence  to  the  Christian  Church.  This  is  the  way  of  many.  They  lack  the 
one  thing,  hence  they  lack  all.  3.  They  are  associated  hj  family  tiea  with  those 
u-ho  are  real  members  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  hence  they  are  induced  to  follow 
it.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  Israelites  had  intermarried  with 
Egyptian  families,  and  now  that  they  are  departing,  many  relationships  would 
be  severed,  and  many  intimate  friendships  ;  and  perhaps  some  would  even  prefer 
to  accompany  their  loved  ones  as  far  as  they  could  on  their  march  of  freedom. 
This  was  well.  It  is  well  to  follow  our  relatives  when  they  are  engaged  in  the 
enterprises  of  the  Church ;  but  we  should  follow  then  in  right  motive  and 
spirit.  Natural  affection  is  not  the  true  basis  of  Church  life,  but  true  love  to 
God  in  Christ  Jesus.  There  are  multitudes  in  the  Church  to-day  who  are  there 
from  no  other  motive  than  because  their  parents  are.  The  son  goes  to  church 
because  his  father  goes,  and  not  from  any  intelligent  conviction  of  duty,  or  from 
any  desire  to  pay  homage  to  tlie  Eternal  Father.  4.  They  are  troubled  by  ideas 
of  the  retributive  providence  of  God,  and  so  are  induced  to  seek  shelter  in  the  Church. 
No  doubt  many  who  were  now  numbered  amongst  this  mixed  multitude  had 
seen  the  devastation  wrought  in  Egypt  by  the  retributive  judgments  of  Heaven, 
and  so  were  induced  to  follow  the  Israelites,  lest  further  destruction  should 
come  upon  their  native  land.  And  men  in  these  days  have  been  instructed  in 
reference  to  the  retributive  providences  of  God,  and  are  anxious  to  avert 
them  or  to  seek  a  refuge  from  them,  and  so  they  yield  a  nominal  allegiance  to 
the  Christian  Church,  hoping  thereby  to -share  the  safety  of  the  good.  5.  They 
have  an  idea  that  it  is  socially  correct  to  be  allied  to  the  Church,  and  therefore  are 
induced  to  follow  it.  True,  this  idea  would  hardly  enter  into  the  minds  of  the 
Egyptians.  They  would  not  imagine  that  they  were  to  gain  in  social  status  by 
going  out  into  the  wilderness  with  these  liberated  slaves.  Here  is  the  contrast. 
In  our  own  time  the  Church  occupies  more  lofty  station  and  is  in  greater 
popular  esteem,  and  many  imagine  that  they  gather  dignity  and  reputation  from 
resting  under  its  shadow.  They  consider  a  man  an  infidel  or  of  bad  moral 
reputation  who  is  connected  with  no  Christian  Church  ;  and  hence  men  join 
to  win  social  respect.  6.  They  always  follow  the  multitude.  No  doubt  many 
followed  the  Israelites  simply  because  there  was  a  great  crowd  going  out  of 
Egypt.  There  are  some  people  who  will  always  follow  a  crowd,  without  being 
able  to  give  any  adequate  reason  for  so  doing;  and  so  when  men  see  the  crowd 
going  to  the  Christian  Church,  they  join  without  knowing  why  ! 

II.  The  perplexities  by  wMch  the  nominal  adherents  of  the  Christian 
Church  are  tested.  We  read  elsewhere  that  "  the  mixed  multitude  that  was 
among  the  Israelites  fell  a  lusting"  (Num.  xi.  4).  Their  unhallowed  desires 
were  not  gratified.  Their  deliverance  had  not  been  so  glorious  as  they  had 
imagined.  Trial  was  before  them,  and  they  rebelled  against  the  first  priva- 
tions of  the  wilderness.  And  so  it  is,  nominal  members  of  the  Christian  Church 
are  soon  tested,  and  they  often  yield  to  the  trying  conditions  of  the  pilgrim 
Church  life.  1.  Tlie  nominal  members  of  the  Church  are  tested  by  the  outward  cir- 
cumstances of  the  Church.  If  the  Church  is  rich  and  in  favourable  social  con- 
ditions, then  the  mixed  multitude  will  follow  on  most  assiduously  ;  but  if,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  in  the  wilderness,  sorefooted,  without  food  and  with- 
out prestige,  then  they  fall  away.  The  temporal  condition  of  a  Church  is  often 
a  test  of  the  moial  sincerity  of  its  adherents.  Only  true  and  faithful  souls  will 
follow  a  Church  in  the  wilderness,  trusting  only  to  the  providence  of  God  for 
X  241 


CHAP.  xn.  BOMILETtC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


needed  help  and  succour.  2.  They  are  tested  by  the  jnlgrim  difficulties  of  the 
Church.  The  pilgrim  difficulties  of  the  Church  are  numerous  and  varied ;  and 
they  will  only  be  overcome  by  a  brave  and  trustful  spirit.  There  is  no  bread. 
How  is  it  to  be  obtained  1  And  few  indeed  will  follow  the  Church  when  it  ia 
apparently  destitute  of  bread.  That  is  the  time  when  the  mixed  multitude 
falter  and  become  weak.  They  have  not  faith  to  meet  the  emergency.  3.  They 
are  tested  by  the  pilgrim  requirements  of  the  Church.  The  Church  in  its  pilgrim 
condition  n-quires  strong  faitli  in  God,  great  courage  to  meet  the  difficulties  of 
the  wilderuess,  and  perseverance  so  that  it  may  not  grow  weary  of  the  march. 
Nominal  adherents  have  not  the  needful  moral  qualities  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  time,  and  hence  they  fall  away. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  37  39.     The  sons  of  Israel  Church  great  substance  when  He  seeth 

are  in  a  pilgrim  state  here  below.  it  good. 

From    countries    and     cities    with  Liberty  from  Egypt  is  Israel's  good 

habitations  God  sometimes  leads  His  portion  with  unleavened  cakes, 

people  to  pitch  in  booths.  In  working  liberty  for  his  Church 

Men,    women,    and    children    God  God   may   put    it   upon   some   hard- 
numbers  with  his  Church  or  Israel.  ship. 

Providence  so  ordering,  all  sorts  of  God  sometimes  prevents  the  provi- 

people  may  join  themselves  to  God's  dence  of  His   Church,  that  'He  may 

Church,  though  not  in  truth.  provide  for  it. 

God's  word  fails  not  in  giving  His 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versa  40-42. 

The  Pilgrim  Condition  of  Godly  Souls  in  the  Present  Life. 

I.  Tliat  the  pilgrim  condition  of  godly  souls  in  this  life  often  involves  long- 
continued  suffering  and  bondage.  The  Israelites  were  slaves  in  Egypt,  and 
this  was  part  of  the  discipline  through  which  they  had  to  pass  prior  to  their 
entrance  on  the  promised  land.  Their  bondage  was  severe,  and  it  was  long- 
continued.  It  was  somewhat  inexplicable  that  the  heirs  of  promise  should  be 
called  to  endure  such  pain  ;  but  the  children  of  God  are  not  exempt  from  even 
the  most  painful  discipline  of  life.  The  time  of  such  discipline  is  Divinely 
ordered  and  arranged,  and  at  the  longest  soon  comes  to  an  end,  though  the 
hours  and  days  are  lengthened  when  spent  in  sorrow  and  woe.  But  even  in 
this  condition  the  pilj:rim  soul  has  rich  promises  on  which  it  can  rely,  and 
which  tend  to  brigliten  its  future  with  hope.  This  captivity  is  productive  of 
moral  growth,  as  it  was  of  the  numerical  growth  of  Israel.  Hence  godly  souls  in 
the  present  life  are  in  a  pilgrim  condition  ;  they  are  passing  through  great  sor- 
rows, they  are  subject  to  much  painful  disciphne,  but  the  time  will  come  when 
they  shall  be  free  from  all  such  oppression  and  woe. 

II.  That  the  pilgrim  condition  of  godly  souls  in  this  life  is  often  called  into 
the  glad  experience  of  freedom,  and  to  realise  the  fulfilment  of  rich  promise. 

The  Israelites  are  now  freed  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt  ;  by  a  wondrous 
providence  they  are  led  out  from  the  tyranny  of  Pliaraoh.  They  realise  the 
promise  of  God  concerning  them.  And  so  the  pilgrim  cdnditiin  of  the  soul 
does  not  preclude  moments  of  glad  release  from  sufifering,  even  though  the 
suffering  may  com*  ii'  another  way,  for  the  pilgrim  only  exchanges  the  perils 
242 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xrt. 

of  Egypt  for  those  of  the  wilderness.  The  conditions  of  pilgrimage  change 
in  this  life,  though  the  fact  of  pilgrimage  is  unalterable.  But  kind.  Heaven 
makes  ample  and  welcome  provision  for  all  the  needs  and  exigencies  of  the 
pilgrim  life.  The  soul  is  guided  in  its  wilderness  march.  It  has  manna 
given.  It  has  the  refreshing  waters  of  Horeb.  But  many  souls  faint  and  fail 
in  the  desert  life ;  only  two  of  the  great  multitude  of  the  Israelites  were  per- 
mitted to  enter  Canaan.     The  journey  of  life  is  a  test  of  character. 

III.  That  the  pilgrim  condition  of  godly  souls  is  frequently  associated  with 
religious  ordinances  of  a  pious  character.  The  Israelites  were  to  celebrate  their 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt  by  the  observance  of  the  Passover. 
The  night  was  to  be  much  remembered  by  them  in  all  the  generations  of  the 
future,  and  was  to  be  consecrated  by  the  strict  performance  of  religious 
ceremonies.  And  so  the  soul  in  its  pilgrim  condition  has  many  pious  ordinances 
established  by  Heaven  to  remind  it  of  glad  experiences,  and  to  inspire  it  with 
continued  hope.  In  the  journey  of  life  there  are  many  feasts  unto  the  Lord, 
in  which  a  pious  soul  can  take  a  part. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  40-42.     The  heirs  of  Canaan  The  night  and  day  of  the  Church's 

may  sojourn  in  Egypt.  redemption  is  a  time  of  observation 

The   time   of   sojourning    is    deter-  toward  God. 
mined  by  God  for  His  Church  below.  The    children    of  the    Church    are 

The  longest  time  of  suffering  here  obligated  to  observe  God's  redemption 

has  its  appointed  end.  of  His  people. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Ver$es  43-51. 

Minute  Instructions  in  Eeference  to  the  Observance  of  the  Passover. 

I.  That  God  not  only  institutes  ordinances  for  men,  but  also  shows  in  what 
way  they  are  to  be  observed.  God  had  instituted  the  Passover,  and  now  He 
gives  to  the  Israelites  clear  injunctions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to 
observe  it.  The  ordinances  of  Heaven  are  not  to  be  kept  according  to  the 
fearful  and  arbitrary  dictates  of  the  human  mind,  but  according  to  the  revela- 
tion and  will  of  God.  God  tells  men  how  they  are  to  keep  His  ordinances. 
Thus  they  are  protected  against  unwisdom  and  presumption  in  reference  to 
them.  Men  are  liable  to  error  in  the  worship  of  the  Eternal,  especially  at  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  is  a  solemn  feast,  and  must  be  observed 
after  a  pattern  Divinely  made  known. 

II.  That  God  will  not  allow  any  stranger  to  the  death  of  Christ  to 
partake  of  His  Holy  Sacrament.  "  There  shall  no  stranger  eat  thereof."  It 
would  be  impossible  for  a  stranger  to  enter  fully  into  the  meaning  of  the 
Passover  ;  he  would  know  but  little  or  nothing  of  Israel's  deliverance  from  the 
bondage  of  Egypt  by  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  He  would  not,  therefore,  be  in 
sympathy  with  the  ordinance.  And  so  those  who  are  strangers  to  the  death 
of  Christ  ought  not,  and  cannot,  truly  come  to  the  sacramental  table  of  the 
Lord.  That  sacrament  finds  its  explanation  in  the  Cross,  and  no  one  can  enter 
into  it  who  has  not  realised  in  his  inner  nature  the  deliverance  and  blessing 
consequent  on  the  death  of  Christ.  The  believer  in  the  atonement  alone  can 
fully  realise  the  blessing  of  the  Lord's  table. 

III.  That  a  mere  hired  and  nominal  relation  to  the  Church  does  not  give 

243 


OHAP.  TO. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


a  true  right  to  the  Holy  Sacrament.  "  And  an  hired  servant  shall  not  eat 
tliei'eof."  There  would  be  many  sustaining  this  relationship  to  Israel,  as  there 
are  in  relation  to  the  Church  in  our  own  age.  There  are  many  hired  servants 
of  the  Church ;  they  are  nominally,  ami  perhaps  officially,  connected  with 
Christian  people,  but  they  are  not  of  the  true  Israel,  either  by  birth  or  by 
circumcision  ;  hence  they  have  no  right  to  take  part  in  the  Passover,  or  in  the 
Supper  of  the  Lord. 

IV.  That  circumcision  of  heart  is  necessary  in  order  to  partake  of  this  Holy 
Sacrament.  (Ver.  48.)  If  the  stranger  wished  to  keep  the  Passover,  he  was 
to  be  circumcised  ;  no  uncircumcised  person  was  to  eat  thereof  Nor  should 
any  one  eat  of  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  unless  he  be  circumcised  in  heart,  and 
be  brought  into  deep  sympathy  with  the  sign  of  the  Christian  life,  the  Cross. 
None  are  excluded  from  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  who  are  willing  to 
comply  with  the  moral  requirements  of  the  service. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES, 


Verses  43-51.  Faith  and  obedience 
make  all  proselytes  as  home-born,  as 
the  children  of  the  Church. 

The  table  of  the  Lord  must  not  be 
profaned  by  unhallowed  communicants. 

All  God's  Israel  must  observe  His 


ordinance  of  worship,  especially  His 
Passover. 

One  law  of  God  unites  them  that 
be  nigh  and  afar  off  in  Passover 
worship. 

One  law  of  God  makes  one  heart  of 
His  people  in  obedience. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XII. 


REV.  WM.  A  DAMSON. 


New  Year!  Ver.  2.  Hamilton  relates 
how  the  last  words  of  Mr  Hardcastle,  when 
dying,  were  :  "My  last  act  of  faith  I  wish  to 
be,  to  take  the  blood  of  Jesus,  as  the  hii,'h 
priest  did  when  he  entered  behind  the  veil  ; 
and  when  1  have  passed  the  veil,  I  would 
aj)[)ear  with  it  before  the  throne."  So  in 
making  the  transit  from  one  year  to  another, 
til  is  is  our  most  appropriate  exercise.  We 
see  much  sin  in  the  retrospect.  We  see  many 
a  i)roken  purpose,  many  a  misspent  hour, 
many  a  rash  and  unadvised  word,  when  we 
calmly  sit  down  to  reflect.  There  is  nothing 
for  us  liul  tlie  Ijlood  of  the  I  amb.  With  that 
atonement,  let  us — like  beliL-viiig  Israel  — 
begin  tlie  New  Year.  Beariui;  that  inlinitely 
efficacious  and  precious  blood,  let  us  pass 
witliin  the  veil  of  a  solemn  and  eventful 
future,  which  none  of  us  can  read.  Then  if, 
as  Israel's  host,  we  have  to  pass  the  swellings 
of  the  sea  within  the  year,  that  crimson  tide 
will  be  with  us — 

"Soothing  the  trembling  Chris  ian's  parting 
breath, 
And  whispering  life  amidst  the  waves  of 
death." 

244 


Passover-Relics!  Ver.  7.  Millington  says 
that  tlie  sprinkling  of  the  blood  upon  the  door- 
posts probably  gave  rise  to  certain  traditions 
and  customs  among  other  nations.  Pliny 
tells  how  houses  may  be  preserved  from  the 
penis  of  sorcery,  by  sprinkling  the  door-posta 
with  the  blood  of  the  hyaena;  while  in  another 
place  he  relates  how  tlie  newly-wedded  bride 
was  in  the  habit  of  anoinlinu:  the  dour-posts 
of  lier  liome  with  the  blood  of  a  wolf.  Tliese, 
like  many  other  heathen  relics  of  Scripture 
customs  and  ceremonies,  are  sat!  declensions 
from  the  lofty  and  sublime  ideals  in  llevela- 
tiou.  Though,  after  all,  beneath  their  float- 
ing nebulous  vapours  tliere  lies  the  solid  germ 
of  truth  :  tlie  human  conviction  of  the  neces- 
sity of  mediation  and  atonement  for  safety 
and  preservation.  So  that,  even  these  pasa- 
over-relics  echo  one  voice — 

"  The  Cross  unfolds  the  mystery, — Jesus  died; 
The  sinner  lives  ;  the  law  is  satisfied." 

— Conder. 

Passover-Safety  1  Ver.  13.  The  Israelites 
had  to  sprinkle  the  blood,  and  this  involved 
an  act  of  faith.     By  grace  were  they  saved. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xn. 


through  faith.  A  gentleman,  crossing  a 
dreary  moor,  came  at  length  upon  a  solitary 
cottage.  Glad  of  the  shelter,  he  could  not 
help  pondering  upon  the  loneliness  of  its 
inmates,  and  wondering  at  their  sell-security. 
In  the  morning,  when  about  to  proceed  on 
his  way,  he  inquired  of  its  occnpnnt,  wliether 
she  was  not  afraid  to  live  in  this  lonely  place. 
"  Oil  no  !  "  responded  his  humble  and  aged 
hostess;  "for  faith  closes  the  door  at  night, 
and  mercy  opens  it  in  the  mornint!:."  Having 
by  faith  sprinkled  the  atoning  blood  upon  the 
lintels,  Israel's  host  could  repose  securely 
until  Mercy  opened  the  door,  with  the  cry  : 
"The  hour  of  deliverance  has  come."  And 
BO  can  the  Israel  of  God  ! 

"  Who  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 
His  fronded  palms  in  air; 
Who  only  know  they  cannot  drift 

Beyond  His  love  and  care." — Whittier. 

Types  and  Shadows!  Ver.  3.  When  the 
miner,  in  the  American  prairies,  sinks  a  shaft 
to  strike  the  coal  formation,  he  finds  far 
down  the  images  of  beautiful  plants,  lying 
like  lacework  spread  out  upon  tables  of  ebony; 
images  of  ferns,  and  leaves,  and  flowers, 
which  millions  of  years  ago  perhaps  ceased, 
from  some  change  of  climate,  to  open  in 
the  cold  spring-time,  and  hence  to  fall  into 
autumn.  There  these  pictures  lie,  telling  us 
of  a  time  when  perpetual  summer-time  reigned, 
ami  that  wliere  tlie  drifting  snows  of  December 
fall,  tropical  birds  sang  and  fiuitered  in  palm- 
trees,  and  flowers  filled  the  whole  day  and 
night  with  perfume.  In  our  own  land,  when 
men  of  scientific  skill  ascend  the  lofty  moun- 
tains, they  perceive  traces  of  a  time  when 
huge  icebergs  grazed  their  peaks,  just  discern- 
ible above  the  waters  of  an  Arctic  Sea.  Yet 
all  these,  whether  tropical  or  arctic,  dimly 
shadowed  forth  more  perfect  adaptations  in 
nature  and  nature's  growth ;  and  so  all  the 
Bible  vegetation — the  ritual  growth,  as  well 
as  moral  and  vicarious  develojiment — were 
images  of  good  thinL;s  to  come;  shadows  of 
more  glorious  and  blessed  realities  of  life  and 
salvation  in  Christ.  But  just  as  there  are 
certain  more  clearly-defined  type-memorials 
perceived  by  the  scientific  student,  so,  ia 
Kevelation,  are  there  certain  rites  and  cere- 
monies more  distinctly  pr^'fignrative  of  the 
atoning  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Such  is  the 
Passover — dim  and  shadowy  memorial  of  that 
wondrous  Paschal  sacrifice — 

"  That  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound, 
That  cordial  for  our  fears." — Watts. 

Jewish  Passover!  Ver.  7.  Bonar  and 
M'Cheyne  record  a  visit  paid  to  a  family  of 
Jews  at  Jassy.  It  was  the  night  preceding 
the  day  of  Atonement;  on  the  eve  of  which 
solemn  day  it  is  the  Jewish  custom  to  kill  a 
cock  for  every  man,  and  a  hen  for  every 
woman.  In  the  morning,  the  ■"  Shochet "  or 
slayer,  going  round  to  the  houses,  arouses  the 
inmates  to  bring  out  the  fowls  to  be  killed  in 


a  proper  manner.  This,  says  Trench,  is  th« 
only  blood  that  is  shed  in  Israel  now.  Even 
the  paschal  lamb  is  no  more  slain.  A  cock 
and  lien,  killed  l)y  the  knife  of  the  Shochet, 
is  all  the  sacrifice  which  Israel  knows.  It  is 
for  this  wretched,  self-devised  sacrifice  that 
Israel  rejects  the  blood  of  the  "  Lamb  of 
God,"  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world  ! 

"Dear,  dying  Ltimb,  Thy  precious  blood 
Shall  never  lose  its  power." — Cotoper. 

Shelter !  Ver.  13.  In  the  East  Indies 
there  srrows  a  tree,  which  is  called  a  non- 
conductor of  lightning.  When  the  dreadful 
thunderstorms  burst  in  those  tropical  regions, 
the  liglitnings  would  strike  the  surrounding 
trees  of  the  forest,  but  never  touch  this  non- 
conductor. It  was  some  time  before  the  natives 
discovered  this  peculiar  property;  but,  once 
ascertained,  they  invariably  gathered  their 
flocks  and  families  beneath  these  singular 
trees,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  storms  gather- 
ing. No  matter  how  loud  the  thunder,  how 
vivid  the  fiery  gleams,  the  refugees  were  safe 
under  its  far-spreading  arms.  There  was  only 
one  danger,  which  arose  from  the  falling  of 
some  forest  giant  upon  it,  crushing  it  beneath 
the  weight  of  the  fall.  If,  however,  this  tree 
was  stronger  than  the  falling  trunk,  it  stood 
firm.  So  amid  the  storms  of  life  there  is  the 
Tree  of  Life,  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  beneath 
whose  extended  wings  fugitive  penitents  are 
safe.  No  lightnings  of  Divine  wrath  can  in- 
jure that  sacred  Tree  ;  and  such  is  its  almighty 
strength,  that  no  riven,  blasted  trunks  can 
crush  it  beneath  their  falling  weight.  Israel's 
firstborn,  safe  under  the  spreading  branches 
of  Divine  providence  and  truth,  were  types 
and  teachers  of  penitent  sinners,  who  avail 
themselves  of  the  salvation  promised  and  pre- 
sented beneath  the  outspread  arms  of  the 
Cross  of  Calvary — 

"  We  have  no  shelter  from  our  sin, 
But  in  Thy  wounded  side." — Alexander. 

Memorial  Feast!  Ver.  14.  A  lover  on 
the  west  coast  of  Scotland,  when  about  to 
leave  his  heath-clad  hills  and  shaggy  woods 
for  India,  led  his  betrothed  to  a  rugged  glen, 
through  whose  precipitous  channel  flowed  a 
foaminir  stream.  Clambering  down  its  steep 
and  rocky  sides,  amid  the  calls  and  tears  of 
the  maid,  he  reached  the  edge  of  the  flood, 
where  grew  a  lovely  "forget-me-not."  Ob- 
tained at  the  peril,  though  not  the  cost,  of  his 
life,  he  presented  it  to  her,  begging  that  she 
would  preserve  it  as  the  memorial  of  his  love. 
Far  more  wonderful  is  that  "  Crimson  Passion- 
Flower,"  which,  in  the  form  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  seems  to  say,  "  Forget- ile-not ;  "  this 
do  as  a  memorial  of  Me.  As  Thomas  Watson 
says,  "If  a  friend  give  us  a  ring  at  death,  we 
wear  it  to  keep  up  the  memory  of  our  friend." 
Much  more,  then,  oiinht  we  to  keep  up  the 
memorial  of  Christ-'s  death  in  the  Sacrament 

245 


OHIF.  XIL 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


"  Where  flowers  of  heaven,  divinely  fair, 
Unfold  their  happy  bloom." — Bonar. 

Supper-Songs!  Ver.  14.  If  ancient  history 
IB  wonby  of  credence,  Cleopatra  once  made  a 
great  feast  or  banquet  of  wine.  Into  the  cup 
which  she  presented  to  her  guest  she  placed  a 
jewel  worth  a  kini;<iom.  Into  tiie  sacred  cup 
which  Jesus  presents  to  His  people,  filled  with 
His  precious  hlood-shedding.  He  has  put  a 
pearl  of  great  price — His  Divine  love.  With 
such  eucharistic  joyfulness  does  this  cup  fill 
the.believing  recipient,  that,  like  the  Church 
in  the  Canticles,  he  exclaims  :  "  Thy  love  ia 
better  than  wine," — 

"  That  wine  of  love  can  be  obtained  of  none 
Save  Him,  who  trod  the  wine-press  all  alone." 

— Trench. 

Ordinances!  "Ver.  14-20.  Fuller  says  that 
as  it  was  necessary  for  the  patriarchs  to  fix 
tlieir  residence  near  a  well,  so  is  it  for  be- 
lievers to  fix  their  residence  near  ordinances. 
Tiiey  are  morally  beneficial.  They  refresh 
and  strengthen.  Yet  not  in  themselves.  As 
M'Cheyne  puts  it,  when  a  man  goes  thirsty  to 
a  well,  his  thirst  is  not  allayed  merely  by 
going  there.  An  English  sailor  having  escaped 
from  his  Moorish  captors  in  Africa,  found 
himself  thirsty  in  the  desert.  Night  came  on, 
and  his  thirst  increased.  Amid  tiie  shadows 
he  wandered  on ;  then  lay  down  under  a  tree 
with  his  thirst  still  unquenched.  Had  it  been 
day,  he  would  have  perceived  that  he  was 
lying  beside  a  cooling  spring.  He  had  come 
to  the  well,  but  his  thirst  was  not  allayed  by 
that  act;  on  the  contrary,  his  thirst  was 
increased  by  every  step  he  took.  In  the 
morning,  it  was  by  what  he  drew  out  of  the 
well  that  he  was  refreshed  and  strengthened. 
Just  so,  it  is  not  by  the  mere  act  or  exercise 
of  coming  to  ordinances  that  souls  obtain 
life  and  joyfulness;  but  by  the  tasting  of 
Jesus  in  the  ordinances.  Whose  flesh  is  meat 
indeed,  and  His  blood  drink  indeed — 

"His  fountains  are  deep.  His  waters  are  pure, 
And  Bweet  to  the  weary  soul." 

CommemoratlonB !  Ver.  14-20.  During  the 
reign  ot  the  Stuarts  over  the  two  kingdoms 
of  England  and  Scotland,  the  youthful  scion 
of  a  powerful  Scotcii  house,  whose  family 
had  once  coerced  their  youthful  monarch,  was 
in  reven<re  and  tear  confined  in  a  dungeon. 
After  upwards  of  twenty  years'  solitary  seclu- 
sion, where  he  beguiled  his  imprisonment 
with  the  education  of  a  mouse,  he  was  liber- 
ated. On  the  night  previous  to  his  liberation, 
he  and  the  person  through  whose  mediation 
his  freedom  had  been  secured,  partook  of  a 
humble  feast,  which  tiiey  always  afterwards 
celebrated  on  the  successive  anniversaries  of 
his  liberty.  With  some  such  feelings  of  joy- 
fulness and  commemorative  gratitude  must 
Israel  have  feasted  year  by  year.  Year  by 
year,  it  stirred  the  ashes  of  memory  in  the 
Jewinh  heart,  and  kindled  them  up  into  a  flame 
246 


of  hope ;  while  it  taught  them  to  look  for  a 
greater  prophet  than  Moses,  to  long  for  a 
grander  sacrificial  lamb  than  that  of  the 
passover,  and  to  hope  for  a  more  glorious 
salvation  than  freedom  from  temporal  oppres- 
sion and  bondage.  So  Christians  commemo- 
rate with  gratetul  praise  the  Feast  of  that 
great  Paschal  Lamb,  looking  in  joyful  an- 
ticipation to  that  full  and  final  freedom  in 
the  Heavenly  Canaan — 

"Where  peaceful  hills  and  holy  vales 
Sleep  in  eternal  day." 

Sprinkling  Sjrmbolism !  Ver.  23.  A  most 
significant  allusion  to  the  figurative  signi- 
ficance of  the  passover-blood  occurs  in  the 
prophecies  of  Ezekiel  (chap,  ix.),  where  the 
man  clothed  with  linen  is  directed  to  set  a 
mark  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  godly  to 
preserve  them  from  destruction.  The  same 
symbolic  reference  and  command  occur  in 
the  Book  of  Revelation  (chap,  vii.),  in  regard  to 
those  who  have  been  sealed  as  the  servants  of 
our  God  in  their  foreheads.  As  has  been 
aptly  remarked,  Egypt  was  but  a  symbol — 
a  glass,  into  which,  if  we  steadfastly  look,  we 
shall  see  a  greater  tragedy  enacting.  We 
see  the  great  drama  of  the  apocalypse — 
not  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  with  its  pyramids 
and  temples  ;  but  Europe,  with  its  ten  king- 
doms and  while  Alps.  We  see,  not  Moses 
demanding  the  liberty  of  the  Hebrew  cap- 
tives  in  the  name  of  Jehovah;  but  the  Re- 
formation walking  along  the  highway  to  the 
seven-hilled  city,  and  requiring  the  liberation 
of  Europe,  as  he  stands  on  the  marble  thresh- 
old of  the  Vatican.  We  see  not  the  tea 
successive  plagues  culminating  in  the  slaughter 
of  Pharaoh's  first-born  ;  but  the  fearful  judg- 
ments of  God  upon  her  ten  vassal -states. 
And  we  see  not  Ei;ypt's  first-born  ;  but  that 
crowning  scene  of  terror — the  last  awful  and 
nameless  plague,  prior  to  the  Final  Exodus 
of  God's  Church,  whose  members  are  sealed 
with  the  "Blood  of  the  Lamb,"  to  secure 
them  from  the  coming  slaughter,  and  to 
ensure  their  entrance — 

"  Into  the  new  Salem's  palace  hall, 
Their  everlasting  home." — Bonar. 

Crisis-Emotions!  Ver.  2L  The  night 
before  any  decisive  conflict  is  a  solemn  and 
anxious  season.  On  the  night  before  the 
battle  of  Ivry,  says  Hamilton,  which  was  to 
decide  whether  Henry  should  lose  his  life,  or 
gain  his  crown,  as  he  sat  pondering  a  map  of 
the  battle-field,  the  hair  on  one  side  of  the 
king's  head  turned  grey.  We  know  also  how 
the  commanders  felt  on  the  night  which 
raised  the  siege  of  Leyden — on  the  night 
before  Pharsalia,  and  on  the  eve  of  Blenheim  of 
Waterloo.  Moses  has  not  told  us  how  he  fell 
on  the  night  before  the  Exo<ius  ;  but  he  has 
given  us  some  interesting  glimpses  of  the 
scene,  or  rather  the  data  for  intioiiiicing  it. 
Chief  amongst  the  natural  facts  is  that  it  was 
April,  and  the  night  of  the  full  moon.     The 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  zn. 


Boft  and  silyery  light  fell  on  the  white  backs 
of  the  African  mountains  far  away,  and 
Btrcamed  almost  perpendicularly  on  the  mighty 
pyramids,  which,  like  the  spells  of  the  old 
necromancers,  invoke  a  host  of  spectres  from 
the  shadowy  graves  of  the  past, 

•*  Far  in  whose  realm  withdrawn. 

Old  empires  sit  in  sullenness  and  gloom. 
And  glorious  ages  gone, 

Lie   deep   within    the   shadow  of   whose 
tomb. " — Bryant. 

Hyssop!  Ver.  22.  Wiien  an  eastern  traveller 
Tisited  the  city  of  Sidoii,  its  French  consul, 
who  was  an  enthusiastic  botanist,  exhibited 
two  varieties  of  hyssop,  one  of  which  he 
thougiit  was  the  plant  used  l)y  Israel.  It  was 
a  very  small  green  plant,  like  a  moss  which 
covers  old  walls  in  damp  places.  Another, 
called  by  the  Arabs  Z'atar,  and  having  the 
fragrance  of  thyme,  with  a  hot  pungent  taste, 
and  long  slender  stems,  looked  more  suitable 
for  sprinkling  the  paschal  blood  on  the  lintels, 
&c.  This  also  grows  on  garden  walls,  and  is 
distinct  from  the  hyssop  of  English  druggists 
and  herbalists — a  neat,  fragrant,  labiate  plant. 
It  is  not  found  growing  on  the  walls  of  Pales- 
tine, but  wild  on  barren  and  dry  spots  of  land. 
Eosenmiiller  said  that  the  true  hyssop  was  in 
reality  a  marjoram — an  aromatic  plant  with 
white  flowers.  But  Dr.  Boyle  regards  the 
caper-plant  as  the  missing  hyssop,  which 
certainly  is  to  be  found,  in  Lower  Egypt, 
where  Israel  was,  as  well  as  on  Mount  Sinai, 
and  plentifully  around  the  ruins  of  the  Holy 
City.  It  is  a  trailing  shrub  with  broad  smooth 
leaves  and  white  flowers,  and  hangs  in  festoons 
from  rocks  and  walls.  Perhaps  it  was  em- 
ployed not  only  to  denote  lowliness  of  spirit, 
but  likewise  to  signify  cleansing  property, 
since  from  the  time  of  Hippocrates,  the  caper- 
plant  has  been  regarded  as  having  cleansing 
properties  useful  in  curing  diseases  closely 
allied  to  leprosy.  Here,  however,  it  implies 
humility.  Each  Israelite  who  grasped  it  with 
the  hand  of  faith,  as  he  sprinkled  the  door- 
posts of  his  house,  seemed  to  say — 

*'  Give  me  the  lowest  place ;  not  that  I  dare 
Ask  for  that  lowest  place,  but  Thou  hast 
died." — Eossetti. 

Eeliglous  Tuition !  Ver.  27.  Moses  might 
well  have  been  daunted  in  his  mission  to  in- 
struct Israel  in  Religion.  To  teach  a  set  of 
wild,  ignorant  boys  is  no  easy  matter.  The 
teacher  may  have  received  many  hints  and 
practical  suggestions  from  his  pastor ;  but 
the  task  will  still  be  arduous.  Just  so  with 
Moses:  God  had  counselled  him  in  many  points, 
and  furnished  him  with  useful  data  of  instruc- 
tion ;  still  it  would  prove  up-hill  work.  We 
find,  however,  that  he  grappled  to  the  difficulty 
with  spirit.  Arthur  Madden  did  the  same, 
when  divinely  sent  to  instruct  a  class  of  roughs 
in  the  hamlet  where  he  lived.  The  most 
discouraging  feeling  to  him  was  that  he  was 
only  brtakiiig  up  fallow  ground  for  another  to 


BOW  in  ;  that  he  was  only  commencing  a  work 
which  another  would  be  privileged  to  complete. 
And  if  Moses  thus  felt,  he  was  able  to  grasp 
the  fact  that  his  was  a  great  mission  of  instruct- 
ing Israel,  one  great  work  to  be  carried  on  from 
age  to  age,  employing  many  generations  of 
workers ;  and  that  therefore  his  duty  was  to 
work  with  miuht  and  main,  uprearing  in  the 
midst  of  Israers  vast  host  an  edifice  or  temple 
of  religious  principle,  which  would  last  longer 
than  the  pyramids,  those  gray  piles  of  hiero- 
glyphic grandeur  beneath  whose  shadows  they 
were  then  in  slavery,  and  which  have  survived 
the  language  which  the  Pharaohs  spoke — 

"  Preserving  its  dead  emblems  to  the  eye, 
Yet    hiding    from    the    mind    what    these 
reveal." — Montgomery. 

Divine  Dealings !     Ver,  29.     It  is  no  use  to 

coax  or  flatter  the  tiger,  which  has  seized  your 
babe,  and  whose  (eeth  have  met  in  its  little 
thigh.  You  must  thrust  the  flaming  brand  or 
the  glittering  spear  into  its  face  ;  then  it  will 
howl  and  drop  its  victim  in  the  shock  of  sudden 
pain.  How  fondly  will  you  staunch  the  bleed- 
ing wounds,  and  undo  the  cruel  injury  inflicted 
on  your  child  !  God  found  that  mild  measures 
would  not  influence  Pharaoh  to  release  his 
prey,  that  he  only  snarled,  and  bit  all  the 
more  cruelly.  No  wonder  that  He  hurled  His 
flaming  brand  or  glittering  sword  in  the  Egyp- 
tian lion's  face,  and  forced  him  to  let  go  his 
bruised  and  palpitating  victim.  How  tenderly 
God  bound  up  Israel's  wounds  when  He  had 
allured  their  host  into  the  wilderness  !  So  does 
He  deal  with  our  oppressors  and  ourselves. 
On  them  He  pours  His  righteous  judgments; 
while  on  His  own  He  showers  deliverances  : 
Why  ?  That  we  may  become  holy  as  He  is 
holy— 

"  Complete  thy  purpose,  that  we  may  become 
Thy  perfect  image,  0  our  God  and  Lord." 

Divine  Distinctions !      Ver.    30.      Israel's 

first-born  were  unharmed.  Side  by  side  stood 
two  houses.  The  one  was  that  of  a  puldican 
of  worthless  character,  who  took  pleasure  in 
giving  every  annoyance  to  God's  people,  and 
inflicting  injuries  upon  those  who  were  earnest 
Christians.  The  other  was  that  of  a  family 
which  honoured  God — hallowed  their  roof-tree 
and  daily  life  with  prayer,  and  hoped  for  an 
inheritance  in  heaven.  One  night,  the  pub- 
lican's house  caught  fire,  and  being  chiefly  of 
wood,  it  burnt  like  tinder.  The  family  at  the 
castle  and  the  people  of  the  village  gathered 
in  groups  to  arrest,  if  possible,  the  progress  of 
the  flames.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  their 
efibrts  were  fruitless,  and  that  the  fire  would 
speedily  spread  its  ravages  to  the  neighbour's 
cottage.  When  all  were  anxiously  watching 
the  fiery  element,  which  had  now  almost  wholly 
consumed  the  publican's  haunt,  suddenly  a 
tremendous  torrent  of  pelting  rain  fell,  hissing 
and  steaming  on  the  burning  wreck  and  the 
fire-cracked  ground,  and  soon  driving  many  of 
the  ui^wd  l^  suek  s-iulter  WxLlii:i  their  homes. 

2±7 


CHAP.  xn. 


HO  M I  LET  I C  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


That  Providence  saved  the  next  houge  from 
sliaring  the  fate  of  its  neisrhhour;  and  thus, 
as  God  preserved  Israel  wliile  He  punislied 
Pharaoh,  so  was  the  liome  of  Abner  Stone 
protected,  whilst  tliat  of  the  godless  Dan  Ford 
was  wholly  destroyed — 

"Angels  of  life  and  death  alike  are  Hia ; 
Without  His  leave  they  pass  no  threshold 
o'er." — LoiccU. 

Moral  Freedom  !  Ver.  31.  A  traveller,  who 
was  both  a  scliolar  and  a  higii-borii  gentleman, 
fell  into  ilie  hands  of  pirates,  and  was  carried 
off  to  some  robber  nest  on  the  Barbary  shore. 
There  for  the  rest  of  his  life  was  he  left  to 
languish,  rowing  the  yallej',  grooming  the 
charger,  and  tending  the  cattle  of  his  Moslem 
master.  Could  oni::ht  be  more  bitter  and  heart- 
breaking ?  He  had  tastes  whicli  couUi  no  longer 
be  cultivated,  longings  which  could  no  longer 
be  gratified,  relations  whu  could  no  longer  be 
visited,  and  spiritual  emotions  which  could  be 
confessed  only  to  incur  taunts  and  mockery. 
Something  like  this  was  the  experience  of  free- 
born  Israel,  and  how  welcome  freedom  !  Cer- 
tainly similar  to  this  was  the  condition  of  Adam 
when  he  fell  into  the  bondage  of  sin,  until  he 
became  familiarised  with  his  serfdom.  Even 
then,  there  comes  across  the  liuman  mind  a 
longing  to  taste  the  sweets  of  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  The  Paschal 
Lambpledges  our  deliverance  from  sin-tyranny. 
The  Blood  of  Sprinkling  gives  a  hajipy  exodus 
from  the  Egypt  of  Satan's  domination.  We 
have  redemption  through  His  blood — 

"Dearly  are  we  bought,  for  God 
Bought  us  with  His  own  heart's  blood." 

—Hai-t. 

Kneading  Troughs !  Ver.  34.  The  Egyp- 
tians, so  we  are  told,  used  large  troughs  for 
their  dough — kneading  it  will)  the  feet;  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  Israelites  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  same.  But  in  anticipation 
of  their  journey,  they  had  no  doubt  prepared 
small  wooden  bowls,  sucli  as  are  used  by  the 
Arabs  in  their  wanderings  now,  and  which 
serve  also  to  contain  the  cakes  when  baked. 
Harmer  says  that  the  Arabs  use  these  very 
troughs — which  in  travellins:  they  carry  in 
the  loose  folds  of  their  burnous — to  prepare 
cakes  for  strangers  in  the  very  desert  through 
whicli  Israel  journeyed.  And  thus  did  Israel 
teach  a  lesson  of  prudence  and  foresight  of 
jiroviding  for  the  future — 

"  Each  morn  the  bees  fly  forth  to  fill  the 
growing'  coml). 

And  levy  golden  tribute  of  the  uncomplain- 
ing flowers ; 

To-morrow  is  their  care ;  they  work  for 
food  to-morrow  ; 

But  man  deferreth  duty's  task,  and  loveth 
ease  to-day." — Tupper. 

Jewels!     Ver.  35.     The  gift  of  these  trea- 
sures was  a  tribute  from  the  conquered  to  the 
conquered      They  were  employed  by  Israel  in 
248 


making  beautiful  the  place  of  holiness. 
Sometimes,  writes  Spurgeon,  after  great 
battles,  monuments  are  raised  to  the  memory 
of  the  fight ;  and  of  what  are  they  composed  ? 
They  are  composed  of  weapons  of  death  and 
instruments  oi  war  surrendered  by  the  de- 
feated foe.  The  Egyptians  yielded  up  their 
bravery  to  Israel's  triumphant  host,  who 
turned  them  into  silver  trumpets  and  pillars 
— golden  bowls  and  tables.  And  the  day  is 
coming  when  the  fury,  and  wrath,  and  hatred 
shall  all  be  woven  into  a  song — when  the 
weapons  of  our  enemies  shall  serve  to  make 
monuments  to  the  praise  of  God — 

"  The    piercing    thorns    have     changed     to 
flowers ; 
The  spears  have  grown  to  sceptres  bright." 
—  Upham. 

National  Migration !  Ver.  37.  There  are 
numerous  migrations  of  great  Asiatic  and 
Tanar  trilies  on  record  ;  jjut  none  to  equal  this 
in  its  stupendous  character.  Scotland  was  a 
kingdom  in  Europe  for  almost  a  thousand  years 
before  its  union  with  England  in  1707.  It 
shows  a  long  line  of  kings.  It  made  wars — 
fought  great  battles — and  concluded  treaties. 
Yet,  when  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, it  became  entirely  united  to  England, 
its  population  was  little  more  than  the  half  of 
that  which  Moses  led  out  of  Eirypt.  Had  tha 
whole  Scottish  people  removed  en  masse  into 
the  adjoining  realm  of  England  in  one  night, 
what  a  stir  it  would  have  created  !  It  would 
have  been  for  ever  recorded  as  one  of  the 
most  remarkalile  in  European  history  ;  and 
yet  it  would  have  been  vastly  inferior  in 
importance  to  Israel's  national  migration, 
inasmuch  as  that  people  were  far  more 
numerous,  while  their  flocks  and  herds  were 
five  times  as  many  as  all  Scotland  could  have 
produced — 

"  What  sought  they  thus  afar  ! 
Bright  jewels  of  the  mine  ? 
The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  warf 
They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine  I " 
— Ueman*. 

PUgrim-Path  1  Ver.  37-39.  Watching  the 
heavy  mist  or  rain  clouds  rising  up  from  the 
horizon  towards  the  zenith,  we  naturally 
expect  them  to  obscure  the  deep  blue  vault 
overhead.  Sometimes  tins  is  not  the  case. 
The  up-soaring  masses  disappear  as  if  by 
magic  on  nearing  the  zenith.  This  is  owing 
to  these  waier-cloiids  coming  in  contact  with 
a  re::ioii  of  warm  air,  which  greedily  devours 
the  moisture  they  contain.  Such  is  the 
power  of  the  Divine  Life  in  the  soul  to  appro- 
priate the  water-drops  of  refreslmient  in  the 
clouds  of  affliction.  Sorrows  are  rain-clouds, 
and  from  them  the  believer  eagerly  draws  all 
spiritual  moisture  for  his  soul's  clearer  outline 
and  more  entire  conformity  to  the  image  of 
Christ.  Whatever  injuries  these  thunder  and 
lightning  clouds  of  sufiering  may  cause  to 
the  godless,   they  can  only  prove  abounding 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  xm. 


mercies  to  God's  children.  That  which 
proves  a  bane  to  tlie  sinner,  procures  a  bless- 
ing on  tlie  saint — 

*'  Confirming,  cleansing,  raising,  producing 
Strong  thouglits,  grave  tliougbts,  lasting  to 
tiie  end," — De  Vere. 

Affliction!  Ver.  40.  When  Moses  and 
Aaron  failed  in  their  first  attempt  with 
Pliaraoh,  and  brought  increased  oppression 
upon  tliem,  the  Israelites  looked  at  their  posi- 
tion as  dark,  indeed,  Tluis,  when  from  a 
distance  we  look  upon  a  thick  forest,  it 
appears  one  mass  of  gloomy  shade — dark, 
unbroken,  impenetrable.  But  as  we  draw 
near  and  enter  it,  we  find  it  intersected  by 
paths,  rugged  perhaps,  and  narrow,  yet  safe. 
!So  was  it  with  Israel,  as  they  passed  within 
the  dark  wood  of  adversity ;  they  found  paths 
in  the  plagues  of  Egypt — winding  and  rugged 
for  them,  it  may  be,  but  safe.  Tliey  looked 
up,  and  the  ligtit  from  above  struggled  through 
like  a  soft,  green  twilight ;  wliile  liere  and 
there  brilliant  sunbeams  of  Divine  truth  and 
love  glanced  like  diamond-shafts  through  the 
foliage,  and  showed  them  that  what  once 
a{)peared  all  gloom,  was  instinct  with  life  and 
liberty — less  with  bane  than  blessing.  So 
that 

"Dull  is  the  heart  that  loves  not  then 
The  deep  recess  of  the  wildwood  glen, 
Where  roe  and  red-deer  find  sheltering  den. 
When  the  sun  is  in  his  power." — Scott. 

Prompt  Otoedience!  Ver.  41,  When  a 
general  commands  his  army  to  march  at  the 
midnight  hour,  and  stand  tlieir  chance  of 
finding  shelter  and  sustenance  on  the  morrow, 
if  the  soldiers  refuse,  they  are  not  an  obedient, 
disciplined  host.  But  if,  at  the  reading  of 
the  orders,  they  at  once  break  up  quarters, 
however  dark  the  niglit,  and  however  dreary 
the  prospect,  then  they  march  in  obedience. 
The  obedience  must  not  be  forced,  but  cheer- 
ful. It  must  be  rendered  with  alacrity,  not 
amid  discontent  and  murmuring.  Israel's 
host  received  their  orders  to  march  at  the 
midnight  liour,  and  they  at  once  yielded. 
However  apparently  unreasonable  the  require- 
ment of  the  father,  it  is  the  little  child's  duty 
to  obey  ;  and  so  God's  children  readily  obey 
the  pilgrim-call — 


"  Only  guided  by  His  light, 
Only  mighty  in  His  might," 

—  Wesley. 

Freedom!  Ver.  51.  Stretching  from  one 
end  to  the  other  of  the  mighty  continent  of 
South  America  are  the  lofty  mountains  of  the 
Cordilleras.  On  the  summit  of  a  spur  of  the 
main  cliain,  at  a  distance  from  the  city  of 
Lima  in  Peru,  was  perched  a  house  of  ancient 
construction,  originally  liuilt  as  a  fortification 
to  command  the  pass  tiirough  the  mountains. 
Behind  it  rose  range  above  range  of  moun- 
tains, the  more  distant  towering  to  the  sky, 
and  covered  with  eternal  snows;  while  from 
its  windows  could  be  seen  the  fertile  plains  of 
Peru  stretching  away  to  the  ocean,  distin- 
guishable on  clear  days  by  a  silvery  line  in 
the  horizon.  During  the  rebellion  of  the 
hapless  Indian  descendants  of  the  Incas  of 
Peru  against  the  cruel  oppressions  of  the 
Spanish  conquerors,  this  building,  occupied 
by  an  English  merchant,  became  the  centre 
of  a  terrilde  struggle.  While  the  army  of  the 
Incas  rushed  impetuously  down  the  mountain 
side,  the  Spaniards  pressed  up  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  the  building,  as  the  kev  to  the  mountain 
pass.  The  English  owner  and  his  family 
remained  passive  spectators,  feeling  that  the 
first  to  reach  would  be  the  masters  of  the 
situation.  The  Spanish  soldiers  gained  first 
the  house  ;  but  no  sooner  had  they  barricaded 
their  positions,  than  the  Indian  warriors  sur- 
rounded and  besieged  them.  Desperate  was 
the  struggle ;  but,  step  by  step,  the  oppressed 
natives  gained  possession  of  the  outworks, 
walls,  gardens,  and  at  last  of  the  building 
itself.  All  this  was  through  the  bravery, 
prudence,  and  resolution  of  their  noble  leader 
Manco.  Thus,  step  by  step,  did  the  oppressed 
people  of  Israel  gain  their  liberty,  through 
the  undaunted  courage,  matcliless  judgment, 
and  iron  resolution  of  Moses,  their  leader; 
who  depended,  however,  not  on  human  arms, 
but  on  weapons  from  the  Divine  Armoury, 
and  the  dread  artillery  of  heaven.  A  like 
deliverance,  after  prolonged  struggles,  is  at 
hand  for  the  Christian  Church — 

"Already  she  is  on  her  august  way, 
And  marching  upward  to  her  final  goal." 

— Percival 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Critical  Notes.— 4.  The  montli  Abib.]— The  "month  of  the  ear-time,  according  to  tradition 
the  month  Nisan  in  the  later  Het)rew,  coriesponding  to  April "  (Fiirst).  16.  Token.]  The  same 
as  "sign  "in  ver.  9.  Frontlets.]  "  Bands  "  or  "fillets"  (Gesenius,  Fiirst,  Davies).  Probably 
explanatory  of  the  more  general  word  "  memorial  ''  in  ver.  9.  It  seems  equally  unwarranted 
either,  on  the  one  hand,  to  assert  that  these  passages  (verses  9  and  16,  with  Deut.  vi.  8,  and  xi. 
18),  were  intended  to  bear  an  exclusively  metaphorical  meaning;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  make 
them  a  warrant  for  the  elaborate  phylactenal  ceremonialism  developed  by  Hebrew  tradition. 
Wliy  sliQuld  not  injunctions  of  this  nature  be  left  just  where  Divine  wisdom  has  left  them?     If 

249 


CHAP.  xm.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


they  point  to  external  memorials,  well  :  these  need  not  be  indiscriminately  condemned.  But  if 
God  has  left  time,  manner,  and  degree  unordained,  v.iiy  slionld  human  authority  step  in  and 
bind  what  God  has  left  free?  Hence,  when  Kaliscli  says,  "Tradition  has  made  the  most 
extended  use  of  tlie  liberty  left  to  it  witli  regard  to  tlie  'I'elillin  by  the  indistinctness  of  the 
text,  and  has  compiled  very  minute  precepts  concerning  their  arrangement  and  their  use,"  wo 
admit  the  fact  of  the  "extended  use,"  Imt  we  altogether  demur  to  tiie  assumed  justification  of 
it  from  "the  indisiinctness  of  tlie  text."  The  indistinctness  of  general  divine  laws,  when 
rightly  construed,  means  the  fkeedom  of  the  subject  from  any  "minute  precepts"  as  to  the 
precise  method  of  obeying.  How  sad  that  Christians  as  well  as  Hebrews  sliould  be  so  slow  to 
learn  this  lesson  !  We  are  surpris'  d  that  even  Davies  (Heb.  Lex.  under  ri3i01t3^  should  draw 
upon  Hebrew  tradition  for  his  explanation  of  this  Biblical  term.  We  agree  with  Tregelles,  in 
Geseiiius'  Heb.  Lex.  (Bagster),  that  "it  requires  proof  that  the  Jewish  phylacteries  are  here  in- 
tended by  these  fillets  or  bandages."  Those  who  care  to  know  what  the  Jewish  phylacteries  were, 
liow  they  were  worn,  what  virtues  were  asL-ribed  to  them,  and  about  the  best  things  to  be  said  in 
their  favour,  should  by  all  means  consult  Kaliscli's  long  and  interesting  note  on  this  chapter. 
Above  all,  let  any,  disposed  to  ultra-ritualism,  ponder  well  the  woes  denounced  in  Matt,  xxiii. 
21.  A  pillar  of  cloud.]  Most  interesting  is  it  to  trace  the  Scripture  allusions  to  this  pillar. 
How  completely  the  Hebrew  camp  was  controlled  in  its  movements  by  it  may  be  seen  in  Num. 
ix.  15-23,  X.  33-36:  hints  as  to  its  form  may  be  found  in  its  name  and  in  Ps.  cv.  39,  and 
1  Cor.  X.  1  (cf.  Isa.  iv.  5)  :  that  God  spoke  from  it  is  directly  affirmed  in  Ps.  xcix.  7,  and  may 
be  more  fully  seen  in  chap.  xl.  34-38  (where,  however,  observe  the  definite  article,  p^'H.  <^e 
[well  known,  familiar]  cloud,"  the  cloud  of  guidance  which  had  gone  before  them  hitherto). 
(Lev.  i.  1,  Num.  i.  1,)  &e.  Some  have  thought  there  were  two  pillars,  one  of  cloud  and  the 
other  of  fire ;  but,  judging  simply  from  a  comparison  of  the  various  j>as8age8,  we  are  led  to 
conceive  of  the  whole  mutter  thus : — That  within  the  outer  shrine  of  cloud  was  placed  the 
central  symbol  of  glory  more  immediately  betokening  the  Divine  Presence;  that  in  the  dark- 
ness of  night,  this  inner  glory  shone  forth  throui^h  the  cloud  as  fire,  visible  from  afar  ;  that, 
when  the  tabernacle  was  completed,  the  cloud  rested  above  it,  and  the  glory  entered  within  it, 
and  ultimately  took  up  its  abode  beneath  the  outspread  wings  of  the  cherubim  ;  and  that  when 
the  camp  was  to  move  forward,  and  the  tabernacle  therefore  needed  to  be  taken  down,  the  glory 
resumed  its  original  place  of  enshrinement  within  the  cloud.  In  this  manner,  too,  chap,  xiv 
19,  20,  may  be  quite  simply  understood. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  \-U. 

The  Sanctification  of  the  First-born  to  the  Lord. 

The  Israelites  are  now  marching  out  of  Egypt.  It  was  a  great  exoJus,  and 
Moses  would  not  have  undertaken  the  leadership  of  it  but  for  the  consciousness 
which  he  had  that  God  was  with  him.  This  was  the  appropriate  time  to  remind 
the  children  of  Israel  of  their  moral  obligation  to  the  Divine  Being  who  had  so 
wonderfully  and  mercifully  delivered  them  from  a  condition  of  degrading  slavery. 
Hence  we  find  in  the  commencement  of  this  chapter  that  God  spoke  through 
Moses  to  the  emancipated  nation,  imposing  upon  them  ordinances  and  duties 
suitable  to  their  new  condition  of  life.  All  the  deliverances  of  the  soul  are  asso- 
ciated with  religious  duties  and  obligations  expressive  of  gratitude  and  devotion. 

I.  That  the  good  are  required  to  sanctify  their  first-born  unto  the  Lord. 

"  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Sanctify  unto  Me  all  the  first-born, 
whatsoever  openeth  the  womb  among  the  children  of  Israel,  both  of  man  and 
of  beast:  it  is  Mine."  Thus  it  is  the  duty  of  the  good  to  separate  unto  the 
Lord  the  first-born,  that  is  to  say,  the  most  excellent  of  their  possessions,  the 
most  valuable,  and  that  which  is  viewed  with  the  greatest  regard.  1.  TJm  sane- 
iification  of  the  first-horn  was  required  by  the  Divine  commandment.  God  told  Moses 
that  the  Israelites  were  to  sanctify  their  first-born  unto  Him.  It  M'as  not  left 
to  their  option.  It  was  not  the  outcome  of  human  device.  It  was  not  the  un- 
authorised suggestion  of  a  grateful  heart.  It  was  commanded  by  heaven,  other- 
wise it  would  never  have  occurred  to  man  to  sanctify  his  best  things  to  the 
Lord  ;  and  if  it  had,  he  would  probably  have  resisted  the  idea  as  antagonistic  to 
his  temporal  welfare.  This  duty  is  founded  upon  the  Divine  Creatorship,  and 
needed  to  be  clearly  and  authoritatively  revealed,  or  it  would  have  been  mis- 
250 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


understood  and  neglected.  Men  do  not  like  religious  duties  to  make  demands 
upon  their  property  ;  they  prefer  a  cheap  religion,  and  many  would  rather  do 
without  any  than  sanctify  their  first-born  to  the  Lord.  Tlie  Divine  command 
to  man  is  that  he  give  the  best  of  his  possessions — territorial,  physical,  domestic, 
mental,  moral,  and  spiritual — to  the  Lord.  2.  The  sandijicafion  of  the  first-horn 
was  a  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  Divine  mercy  in  sparing  the  first-born  from  the 
midnight  destruction.  The  first-born  of  the  Israelites  had  been  mercifully  pre- 
served from  the  stroke  of  the  Destroying  Angel,  which  had  inflicted  death  upon 
the  first-born  of  Egypt  in  the  silent  midnight  hour.  Hence  what  more  reason- 
able than  that  the  life  that  had  been  thus  spared  should  be  separated  unto  the 
Lord.  God  does  not  arbitrarily  and  unjustly  demand  the  property  of  men  ; 
He  only  requires  what  He  has  given,  and  what  He  has  preserved  from 
the  grave.  And  those  who  refuse  to  devote  their  best  things  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord  show  that  they  are  insensible  to  the  richest  mercy, 
and  therefore  to  the  highest  claims.  Heaven  never  asks  more  than  it  gives,  ur 
more  than  is  consistent  with  the  gratitude  of  a  devout  heart  to  besto-w^.  All  its 
requirements  are  based  upon  the  bestowment  of  past  mercy.  3.  The  sanctification 
of  the  first-horn  was  to  he  associated  with  the  deliverance  of  the  Israelites  from  the  hoiid- 
age  of  Effyj^t  (ver.  15).  By  the  separation  of  the  first-born  unto  the  Lord  an 
Israelite  would  have  many  and  varied  memories  awakened  within  him ;  he 
would  be  reminded  of  the  eventful  night  on  which  death  visited  every  Egyptian 
family,  of  the  departure  of  his  nation  from  a  cruel  bondage,  and  of  the  won- 
drous power  and  providence  of  God.  And  even  when  the  multitude  that  came 
out  from  Egypt  were  dead,  in  the  history  of  the  nation  of  Israel,  the  separation 
of  the  first-born  would  always  be  associated  with  the  idea  of  national  deliver- 
ance. And  so  with  the  good,  the  gift  of  their  best  things  and  most  excellent 
property  to  God  is  always  connected  with  their  soul-deliverances.  They  are 
glad  to  dedicate  their  first-born  to  the  Lord  in  remembrance  of  the  hour  of 
their  moral  freedom.     They  regard  this  duty  as  a  memorial  of  the  past. 

II.  That  the  good  in  sanctifying  their  first  'born  unto  the  Lord  are  not  called 
upon  to  give  up  the  sole  use  of  their  property,  but  to  redeem  and  to  put  it  to 
a  lawful  use.  "  But  all  the  first-born  of  My  children  I  redeem."  The  Israel- 
ites were  not  required  to  give  up  their  first-born  literally  to  tlie  Lord,  to  His 
service  in  the  Temple.  They  were  to  dedicate  them  to  the  Lord  by  sacrifice. 
And  in  this  we  have  set  forth  a  sublime  truth,  namely,  that  a  true  sanctification 
of  property  does  not  altogether  consist  in  giving  it  literally  to  God,  but  in  using 
it  for  Him,  and  thus,  in  a  higher  sense,  giving  it  to  Him  through  the  sacrifice 
of  the  cross.  If  men  were  literally  to  give  their  first-born  to  the  Lord,  much  of 
the  commerce  and  activity  of  the  world  w^ould  be  interrupted ;  but  by  the  re- 
demption of  the  cross  the  giving  consists  in  the  using  what  we  have  for  the 
highest  moral  purposes  of  life.  Who  would  not  desire  his  first-born  to  be  the 
Lord's?     God  is  worthy  of  the  best  we  can  give  Him. 

III.  That  the  good  are  required  to  connect  the  sanctification  of  their  first-born 
with  sacrifice.  "And  all  the  first-born  of  man  among  thy  children  shalt  thou 
redeem  (ver.  14).  This  redemption  was  to  be  by  sacrifice.  Thus  we  find  that 
Hannah,  presenting  Samuel  unto  the  Lord,  brought  a  sacrificial  offering  with 
her,  that  he  might  be  accepted  (1  Samuel  i.  24).  So  with  the  mother  of  our 
Lord.  That  which  is  born  in  sin  cannot  become  the  Lord's  but  by  this  constitu- 
tion of  mercy,  everywhere  set  forth,  and  having  its  fulfilment  in  Christ.  St 
Peter  contrasts  the  redemption  of  the  first-born  under  the  law  with  the  redemp- 
tion which  is  by  Christ  (1  Peter  i.  18,  19).  If  the  first-born  died  there  was  to 
be  no  redemption.  Christ  seeks  our  life.  He  wants  no  dead  thing  in  His  ser- 
vice. Such  provision  was  made  for  Israel  even  from  infancy ;  what  an  encour- 
agement to  present  our  children  unto  the  Lord  in  early  life!     But  parents  need 

251 


CHAP.  xra.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

reminding  of  this  duty.  1.  Because  they  are  liable  to  forget  the  service  which  past 
mercy  requires  of  them.  2.  Because  they  are  apt  to  be  selfish  in  the  use  of  their  pro- 
perty. 3.  Because  they  are  vot  sufficiently  spiritually  minded  to  see  God  in  their  pro- 
sperity,  and  therefore  forget  His  claims.  4.  Because  they  do  not  like  to  pay  the  r&- 
demption  price. 

IV.  That  the  good  are  to  teach  the  right  of  God  to  the  first-born,  to  their 
posterity  (ver.  14,  15).  Children  are  very  inquisitive.  They  will  ask  ques- 
tions, even  about  religious  matters.  At  such  times  they  should  be  carefully  and 
Bolemnly  instructed  in  Divine  truth.  The  family  is  the  best  school  for  the 
young.  These  questions  must  not  be  evaded.  Their  true  explanation  must  be 
given,  and  in  an  interesting  manner.  Children  should  be  brought  up  to  the 
ordinances  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  obligations  of  religion.  They  should  early 
be  taught  the  meaning  of  self-sacrifice,  and  the  moral  grandeur  of  giving  to  the 
Lord.  Even  the  j^ouiig  have  their  first-born,  which  they  can  be  taught  to  give 
to  the  Lord ;  and  if  they  grow  up  in  the  spirit  of  this  obligation  they  will,  in 
after  days,  impart  to  it  a  truer  meaning,  and  give  to  it  a  more  solemn  influence 
than  before  they  were  capable  of.  Lessons  :  1.  That  the  good  must  sanctify  their 
best  things  to  the  Lord.  2.  27iat  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  redemption  of  the  cross. 
3.  That  the  young  must  be  early  taught  their  obligation  to  the  Lord. 

The  Ordinances  of  the  Lord.     Ferses  5-16. 

We  read  that  Moses  had  previously  instituted  the  Passover,  and  had  made 
known  to  the  people  all  the  duties  connected  therewith.  This  repetition  was, 
however,  quite  necessary.  Men  are  dull  students  of  the  Divine  requirements ; 
they  are  very  liable  to  forget  the  mercies  of  God,  and  their  consequent  duty.  They 
need  to  be  constantly  reminded  thereof.  God  bestows  great  care  on  the  moral 
instruction  of  the  Church.  Let  us  strive  to  be  more  mindful  of  the  ordinances 
of  Jehovah. 

I.  That  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  must  he  observed  in  the  times  of 
prosperity.  "And  it  shall  be  wlien  the  Lord  shall  bring  thee  into  the  land  of 
tlie  Canaanites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the  Amorites,  and  the  Hivites,  and  the 
Jebusites,  which  He  sware  unto  thy  fathers  to  give  thee,  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,  that  thou  shalt  keep  this  service  in  this  month  "  (ver.  5).  In 
tiie  wilderness  the  Israelites  could  not  keep  this  feast,  as  they  were  fed  with 
manna,  and  had  neither  leavened  nor  unleavened  bread  at  their  command.  But 
there  was  a  danger  lest  when  they  got  into  the  fruitful  country  they  should 
forget  the  estate  from  whence  they  had  come,  and  therefore  Moses,  in  anticipation 
of  better  days  for  the  nation,  again  enjoins  this  service  as  obligatory.  The 
changing  fortunes  of  Israel  were  to  be  no  impediment  to  the  celebration  of  the 
Passover.  How  many  people  in  meagre  temporal  circumstances  attend  well  to 
all  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord,  m'Iio  in  times  of  prosperity  are  altogether  un- 
mindful of  them  !  They  forget  God  and  the  mighty  deliverance  He  lias  wrought 
for  them  in  the  splendour  and  plenty  of  their  success.  Prosperity  sometimes 
leads  to  atheism.  The  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  ought  to  lead  men 
nearer  to  God  in  thought,  ought  to  render  them  more  grateful  to  Him,  and 
ought  to  find  them  more  willing  to  celebrate  the  glory  of  His  wondrous  name. 
The  sacrament  of  the  Lord  should  not  be  neglected  in  the  prosperous  days  of 
life.     The  soul  needs  Jehovah  then  as  much  as  heretofore. 

II.  That  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  must  be  observed  with  great  sincerity 
of  heart.  "  Unleavened  bread  shall  be  eaten  seven  days ;  and  there  shall 
no  leavened  bread  be  seen  with  thee,  neither  shall  there  be  leaven  seen  with 
thee  in  all  thy  quarters "  (ver.  7).  And  so  those  who  attend  to  the  solemn 
ordinances  of  the  Lord  must  do  so  with  sincerity  of  heart,  without  reservation 

252 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xm. 

or  duplicity  of  motive.  They  must  purge  out  the  hidden  corruption  of  the  soul. 
They  must  avoid  the  appearance  of  evil ;  no  leavened  bread  must  be  seen  with 
them.  And  those  who  come  to  the  sacramental  table  of  the  Lord  must  be 
sincere  in  their  desire  to  be  pure,  must  be  reverent  in  their  disposition  as  they 
commemorate  His  death,  and  they  must  be  truly  grateful  for  their  deliverance 
from  the  bondage  of  sin.  Their  entire  life  must  be  in  sympathy  with  the  service 
^jhey  are  anxious  to  keep  worthily. 

III.  That  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  must  he  observed  with  true  intelligence. 

"  And  thou  shalt  show  thy  son  in  that  day,  saying.  This  is  done  because  of  that 
which  the  Lord  did  unto  me  when  I  came  forth  out  of  Egypt  "  (ver.  8,  9).  The 
ordinances  of  the  Lord  are  to  be  intelligently  observed.  They  are  to  be 
thoroughly  understood  by  the  Church,  in  their  intellectual  and  moral  signifi- 
cance. It  may  be  to  the  advantage  of  some  to  surround  their  Church  rites  with 
the  supposed  glory  of  mystery,  but  this  is  more  allied  to  heathenism  than  to 
Christianity.  Superstition  can  render  but  scant  worship.  The  sacraments  of 
Christianity  are  simple  and  intelligible ;  all  may  understand  their  import,  and 
ought  to  do  before  they  venture  to  observe  them.  They  have  interesting 
associations.  They  are  allied  to  the  most  eventful  histories  and  experiences  of 
the  soul. 

IV.  That  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  must  be  observed  with  parental 
solicitude.  "  And  it  shall  be  when  thy  son  asketh  thee  in  time  to  come,  saying, 
What  is  this  1  that  thou  shalt  say  unto  him,  By  strength  of  hand  the  Lord 
brought  us  out  from  Egypt,  from  the  house  of  bondage"  (ver.  14,  15).  Parents 
should  studiously  seek  to  instruct  the  young  in  tlie  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
their  religion,  and  in  the  reasons  on  which  they  are  founded  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  5-8). 
Children  should  early  know  the  stories  of  sacred  writ,  and  should  be  taught 
their  moral  significance.  The  honour  of  God  demands  this.  The  good  of  the 
youthful  soul  requires  this.  God  has  appointed  the  family  the  moral  nursery  of 
the  young.  Lessons  : — 1.  To  atte^id  to  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord.  2.  To 
attend  to  them  ai  the  most  a^vp-iate  time.  3.  To  attend  to  them  in  right  spirit 
and  temper. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VEESES. 

Verses  1,2.  In  the  day  of  deliverance  I.  Because  I  created  it. 

God  judgeth  meet  to  give  ordinances  II.  Because  I  preserved  it. 

to  the  Church.  III.  Because   I    endowed    it  with 

Jehovah  must  Himself  be  the  Author  everything  that  makes  it  valuable. 

of  all  ordinances  tending  to  His  service. 

God   by  His  ministers    may  make  d^ys  TO  BE  Remembered. 

known  His  ordinances  to  His  Church.  ^                ,,    .    ,  ^           . ,       ,    ^, 

rni  n        >    ^  /^       M  „  V  cioC    O,  ./xllLv    IrlUot'O    ctlVU/     U//t/LU     vivo 

ihe  nrst-born  are  God  s  proper  por-  ,     „         j      j;  •     ?     >?     rri 

,.       •     ^u           ij        A  -a       -n  1  people,  Mememoer  this  day.       inere  are 

tion  in  the  world,  and  He  will  have  ^  \  ■'    ^        •    ..i     i  •  ^          c       i 

,11                 '  certain  days  m  the  history  ot  each  one 

'"knc%  unto  Me  all  the  first-born:^  ^^  ^^  ^T^^^^^^  are  worthy  of  pre-eminent 

1.   A  command.      2.    A   duty.     3.  A  remembrance,  because  they  are  mflu- 

privilege.      4.    A  benediction.      5.    A  eutial  m  our  history,  and  will  be  to 

^      ,  *=>  our  destmy.     buch  was  the  case  with 

r    V      J'  ^^g  Israelites ;  the  day  on  which  they 

The  Divine  Eight  to  the  best  were  delivered  from  Egyptian  bondage 

THINGS  OF  Man.  was  memorable. 

"Ji  is  Mine."     This  is  the  language          I.    There  are  days  in  the  history 

of  God  in  reference  to  each  one  of  us.  of  individuals  which  ought  to  be  cele- 

It  is  Mine ;  —  brated.     As  the  day  of  Israel's  free- 

253 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


dom  would  be  remembered,  so  the  day 
of  the  soul's  freedom  from  the  captivity 
of  Satan  should  be  celebrated.  It  is 
well  to  observe  as  a  joyous  festival 
the  day  on  wluch  the  soul  found  peace 
with  God.  The  returning  of  the  day 
should  be  marked  by  a  return  of  the 
first  enthusiasm  and  devotion  of  the 
soul. 

II.  There  are  days  in  the  history 
of  Churches  which  ought  to  be  cele- 
brated. There  are  days  in  the  liistory 
of  eveiy  vigorous  Cliurch  in  which  it 
came  out  of  some  bondage,  in  which  it 
emerged  into  new  life,  in  whicli  it  en- 
tered upon  some  great  enterprise,  and 
these  are  worthy  of  remembrance. 
The  very  commemoration  of  such  times 
would  awaken  glad  memories  and  be- 
get new  strength. 

III.  There  are  days  in  the  history 
of  nations  which  ought  to  be  cele- 
brated. There  are  days  when  the  na- 
tion came  out  of  stern  bondage,  when 
it  entered  upon  an  improved  civilized 
life,  when  a  spirit  of  devotion  seemed 
to  possess  the  national  heart;  such 
times  ought  to  be  remembered. 

Verses  5-7.  Future  times  of  God's 
mercy  must  be  times  for  Israel's  duty. 

The  Canaan ites  shall  be  abolished, 
and  Israel  shall  flourish. 

It  is  well  to  consider  God's  oath  to 
His  Church  for  all  good  promised. 

The  Church  has  a  good  portion  in 
store. 

Verses  8-10.  The  instruction  of 
children  is  a  duty  upon  parents. 

God  commands  the  celebration  of  or- 
dinances, and  that  children  shall  be  in- 
structed in  them. 

The  reasons  of  Divine  ordinances 
must  be  understood  by  parents  and 
children. 


Sacramental  signs,  and  memorials 
of  God,  He  is  pleased  to  give  His 
Church. 

God  would  have  His  signal  memo- 
rials at  hand,  and  before  the  eyes  of 
His  peo])le. 

The  Passover  was  a  true  sacramen- 
tal sign  and  seal  of  God's  covenant. 

By  sacraments  rightly  used  God's 
covenant  is  confirmed  on  hearts  and  in 
profession. 

God's  mighty  and  gracious  redemp- 
tion is  a  just  cause  of  such  memorial. 

It  is  God's  prerogative  to  make  an- 
niversary memorials  of  His  mercies. 

Verses  11-13.  Jehovah  is  the 
beginning  and  end  of  His  own  or- 
dinances. 

All  that  God  requires  must  His 
f)eople  make  to  pass  from  them  to 
Him. 

God  has  a  property  in  all  creatures, 
be  they  ever  so  unclean. 

God  has  ordered  redemption  for 
unclean  by  putting  the  clean  in  their 
stead. 

A  price  has  God  set  for  mans  re- 
demption to  gain  a  Church  for  the 
first-born. 

The  law  of  the  first-born  has  its 
truth  and  accomplishment  in  Christ 
Jesus  (Col.  1-15). 

Verses  14-16.  Ancient  ordinances 
may  be  justly  questioned  in  succeeding 
ages  to  know  the  meaning  of  them. 

Reason  is  to  be  given  of  our  religion 
to  such  as  reasonably  demand  it. 

Redemption  mercies  are  to  be  re- 
corded and  reported  as  just  ground  of 
God's  ordinance. 

Oppositions  against  redemptions  are 
justly  declared  to  make  the  work 
glorious,  and  God's  peojile  obedient. 

God's  riHleeming  mercies  ought  to 
work  in  the  Church  eternal  memorials 
of  Him. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPU.— Verses  17-19. 

The  Way  of  God  in  Conducting  the  Life  of  the  Good. 

The  children  of  Israel  have  now  passed  from  the  hand  of  Pharaoh  into  the 
254 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


immediate  care  of  God,  a  transition  new  to  tiiem,  which  they  did  not  under- 
stand, and  which  would  be  a  long,  and  not  always  welcome,  discipline  to  them. 
This  discipline  commences  at  once  in  that  they  are  not  to  travel  the  nearest 
way  to  Canaan,  but  the  furthest.     We  observe : — 

I.  That  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  bring  the  good  to  a  place  of  rest.  Canaan 
had  been  promised  as  an  inheritance  to  the  Israelites.  Thither  was  the  Lord 
to  lead  them.  And  to  weary  human  life,  which  has  been  long  enslaved  by  sin, 
but  which  has  entered  into  the  freedom  of  the  gospel,  there  is  promised  a  destiny 
of  repose,  sweet  and  sacred.  Heaven  is  the  destined  resting-place  of  the  soul, 
and  thither  it  is  being  conducted  by  God.  This  is  the  design  of  God,  to  lead 
the  souls  of  the  good  into  eternal  repose.  This  is  the  end  of  all  the  discipline 
of  life. 

II.  That  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  bring  the  good  away  from  the  things  that 
would  be  unfriendly  to  their  welfare.  "  Not  through  the  way  of  the  land  of 
the  Philistines."  The  Philistines  were  a  warlike  people,  and  would  certainly 
have  interrupted  the  march  of  Israel  to  Canaan.  And  so  the  Divine  Being,  in 
leading  the  soul  to  its  destined  rest,  conducts  it  out  of  the  way  of  its  enemies. 
The  soul  is  not  wilfully  to  go  into  peril.  Many  men  have  not  been  led  by  tlie 
way  of  fortune,  or  social  distinction,  because  that  would  have  been  as  the  way 
of  the  Philistines  to  them.  God  selects  the  life-path  of  the  good.  He  selects 
it  wisely.  He  selects  it  kindly.  We  often  question  His  providence,  but  it  is 
because  of  our  ignorance  and  impatience. 

III.  That  it  is  often  the  way  of  God  to  bring  the  good  a  circuitous  route  to 
their  destination.  "But  God  led  the  people  about."  Had  God  so  ordained  it 
the  Israelites  might  have  reached  their  destination  in  five  or  six  days.  But  th'^ 
nearest  way  is  not  always  the  best.  This  is  true  in  commerce.  This  is  true  in 
worship.  This  is  true  in  moral  character.  The  shortest  way  to  be  rich  is  not 
always  the  best;  the  quickest  way  to  be  good  is  not  always  the  best.  Wisdom 
often  calls  men  to  the  longest  life-route.  It  is  often  ordained  by  heaven  that 
the  soul  shall  go  the  tedious  wilderness  journey.  Thus  is  it  prepared  for  Canaan. 
Thus  is  it  humbled.  Thus  is  it  taught  to  confide  in  God.  This  way  is  not  the 
most  pleasant,  but  it  is  morally  the  most  profitable.  The  Israel  of  God  needs 
the  discipline  of  the  long  way. 

IV.  That  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  bring  the  good  along  unwelcome  paths. 

"Through  the  way  of  the  wilderness  of  the  Red  Sea."  The  children  of  Israel, 
had  they  been  consulted,  would  not  have  chosen  the  wilderness  as  their  destined 
path.  They  would  not  have  chosen  to  face  the  Red  Sea.  They  would,  no 
doubt,  have  preferred  the  shorter  route.  It  is  well  that  we  have  not  to  be  the 
guides  of  our  own  lives,  that  we  have  a  heavenly  Guide.  But  why  did  God 
expose  the  Israelites  to  the  perils  of  the  wilderness  when  He  was  so  anxiou.<^  to 
shield  them  from  the  Philistines  ?  Because  the  wilderness  was  a  preferable  and 
needful  discipline ;  and  because  it  is  impossible  to  get  to  Canaan,  whichever 
route  is  taken,  without  perplexities.  But  God  is  always  with  the  good  in  their 
wanderings  in  the  wilderness. 

V.  That  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  bring  the  good  into  a  better  and  more 
thorough  knowledge  of  themselves.  The  children  of  Israel  were  not  taken  to 
Canaan  immediately  after  their  freedom  from  bondage ;  they  had  to  pursue  a 
long  journey  in  the  desert.  And  so  it  is  with  the  young  convert,  he  is  not  taken 
to  heaven  at  once,  but  is  conducted  through  the  discipline  of  life,  that  his  zeal, 
love,  and  faith  may  be  tested.  The  wilderness  life  will  reveal  him  to  himself. 
The  further  the  good  get  on  in  the  journey  of  life,  the  more  and  more  they  see 
the  depravity  of  their  hearts.  This  is  the  Divine  purpose.  Men  know  Uttle  of 
themselves  when  they  commence  the  Christian  course.    They  get  to  know  more 

255 


CHAP.  xin.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


in  tlie  desert.  Some  Christians  are  taken  to  luMven  through  a  long  route  of 
pain.  Tliey  long  for  home,  but  the  journey  is  piolouged.  It  is  hard  to  see  the 
reason  of  their  protracted  existence.  The  Divine  purpose  is  not  yet  accomplished 
in  them. 

VI.  That  it  is  the  way  of  God  to  bring  the  good  into  a  wise  exercise  of 
their  own  strength.  "  And  the  ciiildren  of  Israel  went  up  harnessed  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt."  It  is  somewhat  diflicult  to  give  the  exact  interpretation 
of  the  term  "  harnessed,"  but  it  probably  intimates  that  the  Israelites  were 
arranged  in  five  grand  divisions.  They  walked  in  battle  array.  And  so,  while 
it  is  the  way  of  God  to  conduct  human  life  to  its  destination,  it  is  also  the  duty 
of  man  to  exercise  his  o^vn  wisdom  and  strength,  so  that  he  may  do  all  to  aid 
the  plans  of  God  concerning  him.  LESSONS  : — 1.  TJuit  God  leads  men  from  Egypt 
to  Canaan.  2.  That  men  must  give  themselves  up  to  the  guidance  of  God.  3.  lliat 
life  is  often  through  a  long  wilderness.  4.  However  long  the  journey,  men  must  trust 
in  God. 

The  Tender  Consideration  Manifested  by  God  towards  the  Israelites. 

The  Christian  life  is  a  growth,  and  if  assailed  by  some  temptations  in  its 
infancy,  the  consequences  might  be  fatal.  He,  therefore,  who  commences  and 
maintains  the  process  of  our  salvation,  gradually  accustoms  His  soldiers  and 
servants  to  the  difficulties  of  their  w^arfare.  Their  faith,  love,  zeal,  and  self-denial 
are  thus  exercised  rather  than  oppressed.  The  text  confirms  this  consolatory  view 
of  the  Divine  procedure. 

L  The  circumstances  of  the  Israelites.  The  deliverance  of  the  chosen  tribes 
was  at  this  moment  like  the  first  rays  of  the  morning  spread  upon  the  moun- 
tains. They  had  been  redeemed  from  bondage.  They  were  commencing  their 
journey  to  the  promised  land,  every  spirit  filled  with  pleasure.  They  were 
confident  of  their  power  to  endure  the  trials  of  the  way.  The  heart-searching 
God  knew  their  deficiencies  ;  and  a  variety  of  circumstances  connected  with  theii 
feeble  faith  determined  Him  in  wisdom  to  divert  their  feet  towards  Canaan  by 
a  devious  path.  (1.)  The  Philisfines,  loho  lay  between  them  and  the  promised  inheri- 
tance, were  a  brave  and  warlike  people,  against  whom  the  sons  of  Jacob,  numerous  as 
they  were,  could  not  hope  to  succeed  in  battle.  Wisely  therefore  did  the  Lord  judge 
that  they  would  shrink  from  such  enemies.  Such  are  the  Christian's  foes.  They 
are  well  practised.  Satan  has  triumphed  over  man  in  every  age,  over  the  philo- 
sophy of  Greece,  the  wisdom  of  Rome,  and  the  refinement  of  Britain.  And 
thinkest  thou.  Christian,  that  the  enemies  of  thy  soul  are  enfeebled  ?  No  ! 
What,  then,  would  be  the  consequences  if  God  led  thee  past  them  to  Canaan  ? 
Wisely  and  gi-aciously  are  you  led  by  the  wilderness.  2.  The  Israelites  zvere  dis- 
armed, and  therefore  utterly  unable  to  cope  with  the  Philistines,  who  were  prepared 
with  every  means  of  defence  which  a  people  whose  delight  teas  in  war  could  inverd. 
The  young  believer  just  escaped  from  the  house  of  bondage  is  defenceless. 
His  enemies  are  armed.  He  cannot  expect  to  wield  the  sword  of  the  Spirit 
with  the  full  energy  of  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  fight  with  it.  3.  In 
thus  estimating  the  goodness  of  God  towards  the  children  of  Israel  in  their  need,  we 
miist  add  that  their  spirits  were  bowed  down  by  long  captivity.  The  hard  bondage  in 
mortar  and  brick  was  not  the  school  in  which  to  learn  courage.  Hence  Israel 
was  not  fitted  to  match  against  the  free  soldiers  of  Philistia.  The  slavery  of 
Satan  unfits  for  conflict  with  the  foes  of  the  soul. 

n.  The  dealing  of  God  towards  them.     God  might  have  made  Israel  at  peace 

with  the  Philistines;  or  have  given  them  courage  to  defeat  their  foe?.     But  this 

procedure  would  have  comprehended  less  of  moral  discipline.     1.  He  avoided  the 

nearest  way  to  tlie  promised  land,  and  led  them  by  the  way  of  the  wilderness.     The 

256 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xin. 


Israelites  would  be  astonished  at  the  line  of  march ;  they  would  be  disposed 
to  murmur.  Has  not  God  often  contradicted  your  desires  ?  You  ought  not  to 
impugn  His  wisdum.  The  passenger  ignorant  of  navigation  cannot  direct  the 
course  of  the  sliip.  The  shipmaster  knows  the  rocks;  God  knows  our  path  best. 
2.  The  Most  High  saw  fit,  not  only  that  His  chosen  tribes  should  avoid  the  shortest  way, 
but  that  they  should  pass  through  the  dangers  of  the  Bed  Sea,  and  sojourn  in  the 
wilderness  of  Zin.  Could  this  be  the  result  of  wisdom.  Clouds  and  darkness 
are  round  about  Him.  It  is  the  exclusive  province  of  unerring  wisdom  to  draw 
a  line  between  the  discipline  necessary  for  our  moral  good,  and  that  severity  of 
affliction,  which  might  overwhelm  us  with  despondency.  We  must  confide  in  our 
heavenly  Father.  3.  Never  then,  should  it  he  forgotten,  that  although  the  journey  of 
the  Israelites  was  contrary  to  their  expectations,  their  wishes,  and  their  clouded  judgment^ 
it  was  the  safest  and  the  best  path  to  Canaan. — Buddicorns  Christian  Exodus. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VMSES. 


Verse  17.  After  the  redemption  of 
His  Church,  God  provides  for  guiding 
it  to  rest. 

Nearest  ways  to  rest  with  men  are 
not  always  approved  by  God  for  His 
people. 

God  will  not  put  His  people  upon 
war  or  hard  trial,  until  He  train  them 
for  it. 

God's  special  care  of  His  Church  is 
to  keep  it  from  a  retreat  to  bondage 
after  redemption. 

"Although  that  was  near." — 1.  Yet 
it  was  not  a  wise  way.  2.  It  was  not 
a  safe  way.  3.  It  was  not  a  selected 
way. 

Verse  18.  The  way  of  the  wilder- 
ness : — 1.  Rough.  2.  Circuitous.  3. 
Unexpected.  4.  Testing.  5.  The 
best. 

The  way  of  the  wilderness  : — 1.  Men 
are  divinely  led  in  it.  2.  Men  must 
expect  difficulties  in  it.  3.  Men  will 
realise  many  comforts  in  it.  4.  Men 
may  develop  patience  in  it. 

God  orders  salvation  to  His  people 
as  it  pleaseth  Himself,  and  for  their 
good. 

God  in  wisdom  sometimes  translates 
His  Church  from  the  house  of  bondage 
to  a  wilderness. 

Wilderness  and  Red  Sea  paths  are 
the  ways  of  God's  people  here  below. 

Verse  19.  An  interesting  incident 
of  Israel's  departure  from  Egypt. 

The   Israelites   did   not   neglect   to 
take  the  bones  of  Joseph  with  them 
y 


in  their  march  out  of  Egyptian  bond* 
age.     In  this  we  have — 

I.  The  discharge  of  a  sacred  trusti 

"  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  brethren, 
I  die  :  and  God  will  surely  visit  you, 
and  bring  you  out  of  this  land  unto 
the  land  which  he  sware  to  Abraham, 
to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob"  (Gen.  1.  24,  25). 
Thus  it  was  the  wish  of  the  dying 
patriarch  that  his  bones  should,  in  the 
day  of  Israel's  freedom,  be  carried  in 
the  great  procession  of  emancipated 
slaves.  This  wish  was  regarded. 
Christianity  teaches  us  to  pay  some 
heed  to  the  last  requests  of  departing 
friends.  Many  people  are  heedless  of 
the  wishes  of  the  dead,  and  any  pro- 
mise made  to  them  is  speedily  for- 
gotten. Not  so  with  Moses,  he  revered 
the  sainted  dead.  How  many  young 
men  are  unmindful  of  the  requests  of 
their  buried  parents  ] 

II.  The   fulfilment   of  an   ancient 

prophecy.  "  And  Joseph  took  an  oath 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  God 
will  surely  visit  you,  and  ye  shall 
carry  up  my  bones  from  hence."  Good 
men  often  turn  prophets  in  their  last 
hours,  as  though  their  insight  into 
the  plans  and  purposes  of  God,  which 
will  be  given  in  heaven,  commenced  on 
earth.  The  last  few  words  of  life  are 
often  more  valual)le  and  impressive 
than  all  that  have  preceded.  God  can 
kindle  the  fire  of  prophecy  in  the  soul 
of  a  dying  saint,  that  the  sorrowful 
may  be  encouraged. 

257 


CHAP.  xm.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


in.  The   giving   of  a  timely   en-  IV.  The  bestowal  of  an  appropriate 

couragement.    ^\'hen  it  was  announced  honour    on    an   illustrious    ancestor. 

amongst  the  Israelites  that  the  bones  Joseph  was  an  ilhistrious  ancestor,  and 

of   Joseph  were   in    their    procession  was  worthy  of  the  regard  thus  paid  to 

they  would  be  inspired  and  encouraged  his  remains.     The  dead  bones  of  some 

by  the  fulfilment  of  the  ancient  pro-  men  are  worthy  of  more  respect  t'-  in 

phecy,  and  they  would  regard  this  as  the  entire  hves  of  many  who  are  liv- 

a  pledge  of  all  that  was  to  follow.  ing,  and  who  are  esteemed  great  in  the 

world. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse*  20,  21. 

The  Divine  Leadership  of  the  Good. 

The  children  of  Israel  have  now  left  Egypt,  and  are  boardering  on  the  edge 
of  the  wilderness.  They  have  left  Succoth,  the  place  of  booths.  They  are 
now  commencing  the  hardships  of  their  journey.  The  young  convert  has  soon 
to  encounter  the  stern  realities  of  the  Christian  life,  and  strangely  different  are 
they  from  those  anticipated.     But  in  all  wanderings  he  has  a  Divine  Guide, 

I.  That  the  good  are  divinely  led  in  the  wanderings  of  life.  "  And  the  Lord 
went  before  tliem."  The  cloud  here  named  was  the  symbol  of  the  Divine 
Presence  (Exod.  xvi.  10).  In  the  New  Testament,  clouds  are  often  spoken  of 
in  reference  to  Christ  (Acts  i.  9  ;  Rev.  i.  7).  1.  The  Israelites  were  not  left  to 
guide  themselves  in  the  wanderings  of  the  desert.  If  they  had  they  would  liave  been 
lost  in  the  wilderness.  When  men  are  freed  from  the  bondage  of  sin  it  is 
eminently  needful  that  they  should  be  led  by  the  same  hand  which  has  wrought 
their  freedom.  They  can  no  more  lead  than  free  themselves.  The  good  are 
dependent  upon  God  in  every  circumstance  of  their  life,  both  in  Egypt  and  in 
the  wilderness.  They  are  led  by  Him  through  the  wilderness  of  affliction  and 
woe.  They  are  led  by  Him  in  the  pillar  of  His  Providence,  by  the  pillar  of 
His  Book,  and  by  the  pillar  of  His  sacraments  and  ordinances.  7he  good  are 
not  left  to  the  guidance  of  reason  or  impulse,  if  they  were  they  would  often  go 
astray  ;  they  are  led  by  an  unerring  Guide.  They  have  a  Divine  companionship 
in  all  their  travels.  Hence  they  aie  safe,  and  ought  to  be  trustful  and  cheerful 
at  all  times.  1.  The  Israelites  were  led  hy  a  visiUe  guide.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and 
fire  was  visible  to  the  whole  camp  of  Israel.  What  a  huge  phenomenon  it  must 
have  been,  thus  to  be  within  view  of  such  a  multitude.  Christ  the  Guide  of  the 
Boul  has  appeared  to  men.  His  Divine  glory  was  wrapped  in  the  cloud  of  human 
nature,  else  none  could  have  endured  the  splendour  of  His  appearing.  "  The 
Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us"  (John  i.  14).  He  was  seen  by  men, 
<romen,  and  by  little  children.  He  sought  to  guide  their  feet  into  right  paths. 
But  He  is  no  longer  seen  by  the  bodily  eye.  He  has  entered  within  the  veil. 
He  is  now  only  visible  to  the  inner  eye  of  the  soul.  Faith  brings  Him  near  to 
us,  and  His  guidance  is  as  real  and  reliable  as  ever.  The  leadings  of  the  Un- 
seen are  more  in  harmony  with  the  spiritual  disjjensation  under  which  we  live, 
and  tax  the  nobler  ener<:ies  of  the  soul.  2.  The  Israelites  were  led  hy  a  conxpetent 
guide.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire  was  sure  to  pursue  the  right  way,  so  that 
the  children  of  Israel  would  not  be  lost  in  the  desert.  It  would  protect  them 
from  the  shining  of  the  sun  and  from  the  scorching  of  the  wind.  It  would  give 
them  the  illumination  they  needed  in  their  journeyings  at  night.  Hence  it  was 
indeed  a  competent  guide.  The  good  have  a  Guide,  quite  as  competent,  who 
knows  the  best  way  in  which  they  should  travel,  so  as  to  culture  them  for  their 
future  itilieritance  and  to  enhance  the  glory  of  God.  They  are  often  brought 
258 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


into  perplexing  circumstances,  but  the  hand  which  leads  is  always  able  to  pro- 
vide deliverance  from  enemies,  and  from  hunger  and  thirst.  The  good  are  alst 
protected  by  the  canopy  of  Divine  love,  which  is  carefully  spread  over  their  livesi 
(Isa.  iv.  5,  6  ;  Ps.  cxxi.  5).  They  have  Divine  illumination  in  the  night  time,  as 
they  must  travel  day  and  night  to  the  promised  land.  They  may  truly  say  in 
reference  to  their  life  journey,  "  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  Thou  art  with  me  (Ps. 
xxiii.  4).  3.  The  Israelites  were  led  by  a  faithfid  guide.  The  Israelites  were 
always  conducted  in  paths  which  were  ultimately  best  for  their  true  welfare,  even 
though  they  were  at  tlie  time  unwelcome.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire  nevex 
left  them  while  they  were  in  the  wilderness.  And  so  the  Divine  Guide  of  the 
Christian  life  is  faithful  to  the  moral  interests  of  those  whom  He  leads.  Ht 
yields  not  to  their  murmurings,  He  bears  long  Avith  their  rebellion,  He  remembers 
His  covenant,  though  often  His  anger  is  kindled.  But  notwithstanding  the 
wayward  conduct  of  the  good  the  Divine  Leadership  is  still  permitted  to  them 
(Ps.  xlviii.  14).  God  will  not  leave  His  Church.  He  loves  it.  He  has  re- 
deemed it.  There  is  none  other  to  help  it.  He  will  guide  it  to  the  end,  till 
the  Church  militant  comes  to  the  Church  triumphant. 

II.  That  the  good  are  often  divinely  led  during  the  wanderings  of  life  intc 
varied  and  unexpected  paths.  "  The  edge  of  the  wilderness."  The  Israelites 
would  no  doubt  be  greatly  jjerplexed  and  astonished  at  the  way  in  which  they 
were  being  led  to  the  land  of  promise.  They  would  know  it  to  be  circuitous. 
They  would  see  it  to  be  dangerous.  They  had  made  no  provision  for  it.  Their 
food  was  nearly  exhausted.  What  were  they  doing  1  Where  were  they  going ' 
Their  circumstances  were  getting  more  critical  every  hour.  They  were  obliged 
to  look  only  to  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire.  Hence  we  see — 1.  That  God 
sometimes  leads  His  people  contrary  to  their  expectation.  No  doubt  the  children  oi 
Israel  had  indulged  glowing  expectations  of  the  freedom  that  was  to  be  theirs,  and 
of  all  its  consequent  privileges.  But  how  greatly  were  they  mistaken.  And 
young  Christians  often  form  very  erroneous  notions  of  what  their  subsequen 
life  will  be  ;  they  little  expect,  in  the  glow  of  their  first  experience,  that  a  great 
wilderness  is  stretched  out  before  them.  2.  That  God  sonielimes  leads  His  people 
contrary  to  the  dictates  of  their  reason.  If  the  best  men  of  Israel  had  been  con- 
sulted as  to  the  path  they  were  to  take  to  Canaan,  not  one  of  them,  not  even 
Moses,  would  have  selected  that  divinely  chosen.  The  good  are  often  led  in 
ways  that  they  know  not,  and  which  they  consider  to  be  contrary  to  the  reason 
able  line  of  march,  but  faith  in  the  Lord  is  the  highest  reason,  and  this  they  must 
continually  exercise.  3.  That  God  always  leads  His  people  into  those  paths  which 
shall  yield  the  most  sacred  and  safe  discipline  to  them.  The  wilderness  journey  was  i 
way  of  severe  discipline  to  the  children  of  Israel,  whereas  the  shorter  routt 
would  have  been  a  discipline  beyond  their  present  strength  to  endure.  Goc 
was  considerate  to  them.  But  the  discipline  of  a  freed  life  advances  in  severity 
with  the  journey.  First  there  is  the  discipline  of  the  tents,  then  of  the  edge  o. 
the  wilderness,  and  then  of  the  Red  Sea,  each  manifesting  anew  the  power  and 
love  of  God.  If  the  way  were  not  rough  and  perplexing  there  would  have  beet 
no  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire,  there  would  have  been  no  manna,  there  would 
have  been  no  Horeb.  The  sorrow  of  life  is  permeated  with  the  love  of  God,  and 
hence  relieved  of  its  severity,  and  made  a  benediction  to  those  who  are  prayer- 
ful and  patient  under  it.  If  we  are  Christians,  we  must  follow  the  cloud, 
though  sometimes  with  weary  step,  yet  with  obedient  heart. 

III.  That  the  method  of  the  Divine  Leadership  is  adapted  to  the  changing 
circumstances  of  the  good.  "  By  day  in  a  pillar  of  cloud,  by  night  in  a  pillai 
of  fire."  The  life  of  the  good  has  its  alternations  of  day  and  night,  and  conse- 
quently needs  that  the  guidance  of  heaven  shall  be  peculiarly  adapted  thereto. 
When  the  night  is  dark  then  the  Divine  Leadership  is  as  a  fire,  can  be  readily 

259 


.HAP.  XIII.  UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


seen,  is  sublimely  majestic,  and  gives  evidence  of  solicitous  care  for  those  who 
are  in  need  uf  it.  There  are  times  in  the  history  of  the  soul  when  the  Bible  is 
all  atlume  to  it,  and  when  it  shines  with  a  lustre  hitherto  concealed.  Hence 
the  Divine  guidance  is  adapted  to  the  special  need  of  life.  In  the  dark  night 
of  sorrow  how  many  promises  have  passed,  in  majestic  grandeur,  through  the 
heavens  of  the  soul  Avitli  warming  and  consoling  influence.  God  does  not  guide 
the  good  in  the  day  time  of  prosperity  and  then  leave  them  in  the  hou?-  of  grief : 
He  says  to  them,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  "  At  eventide  there 
shall  be  light."  But  sometimes  the  light  is  at  the  back  of  the  Christian  suul, 
and  cannot  well  be  seen,  but  he  ma}^  be  always  sure  that  it  is  somewhere 
near  him,  even  in  the  darkest  providence,  even  though  it  may  be  hard  to  find 
(Exod.  xiv.  20). 

IV.  That  the  Divine  Leadership  should  not  be  mistaken  in  association  with 
the  ordinary  agencies  of  life.  No  Israelite  would  mistake  the  ordinary  cloud 
for  the  pillar  of  cloud  divinely  given.  He  would  distinctly  recognise,  and 
without  the  slightest  difficulty,  the  cloud  he  was  to  follow.  If  he  went  the 
wrong  path  it  would  be  through  wilful  neglect.  And  no  really  good  man  need 
mistake  the  fancied  voice  of  conscience  for  the  voice  of  God,  the  two  are 
distinct  phenomena,  and  may  be  readily  recognised  apart.  He  may  always 
know  the  cloud  he  is  to  follow.  The  principles  and  precepts  of  a  true  life  are 
clearly  revealed,  are  before  each  heart,  and  only  the  foolish  will  go  astray.  The 
truth  is  always  known  from  the  natural  inventions  of  men,  by  the  fire  it  gives 
forth  to  the  soul  in  trouble.  The  clouds  of  earth  are  minus  the  fire.  They 
cannot  give  light.     They  lack  the  Divine  glory.     Fire  is  an  emblem  of  God. 

V.  That  the  Divine  Leadership  is  solicitous  to  lead  the  good  to  the  promised 
and  peaceful  destiny.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire  was  given  to  lead  the 
children  of  Israel  to  Canaan.  And  it  is  for  this  purpose  that  God  now  guides 
His  people,  not  to  lead  them  into  the  secrets  of  human  learning,  not  to  lead 
them  into  the  wealth  of  commerce,  but  into  the  eternal  rest  of  the  soul ;  and 
how  welcome  will  it  be  after  the  fatigue  of  the  wilderness  life. 

Guide  me,  0  Thou  great  Jehovah  1  When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan, 

Pilgrim  through  this  barren  land;  Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside, 

I  am  weak,  but  Thou  art  mi<rhty;  Death  of  death,  and  hell's  destruction. 

Hold  me  with  Tliy  powerful  hand.  Land  me  safe  on  Canaan's  side. 

Bread  of  heaven  !  Soiii;s  of  praises 

Feed  me  now  and  evermore  I  I  will  ever  give  to  thee  1 

The  Cloudy  and  Fiery  Pillar  a  Symbol  of  the  Bible. 

I  As  the  pillar  of  cloud  was  given  to  guide  and  comfort,  so  the  Bible  is 
designed  to  lead  the  thought  and  console  the  sorrow  of  man.  The  cloud-pillar 
was  given  to  guide  the  Israelites  during  their  wanderings  in  the  wilderness,  and 
to  comfort  them  in  all  their  exigencies.  To  this  end  it  was  admirably  adapted. 
So  the  Bible  is  designed  to  guide  the  mind  into  all  the  rich  heritage  of  heavenly 
truth,  and  without  it  man  would  be  lost  in  the  wide  waste  of  error.  It  is  also 
intended  to  console  the  human  heart  in  all  the  troubled  moods  of  life,  when  its 
joys  grow  dim,  when  it  is  rendered  lonely  by  bereavement,  and  when  it  comes 
to  death.  At  such  times  the  Bible  is  our  chief  consolation,  it  enables  us  to 
sorrow  in  hope,  it  shows  us  One  who  is  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life. 

II.  As  the  pillar  combined  both  cloud  and  fire,  so  the  Bible  unites  illumina- 
tion and  mystery.  The  Israelites  saw  the  cloud,  but  it  concealed  more  than  it 
revealed.  God  dwelt  in  that  cloud.  He  dwelleth  in  light  which  no  man  can 
approach.  Yet  tiiere  was  light  in  the  cloud.  And  thus  it  seemed  to  combine 
natural  and  miraculous  phenomena.  Thus  is  it  with  the  Bible.  There  if 
260 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  XHL 


mystery  in  it  which  the  finest  genius  cannot  attain,  which  angelic  intelligence 
cannot  interpret,  and  which  eternity  may  not  simplify.  Deity  dwells  in  the 
volume,  and  we  expect  that  clouds  and  dai'kiiess  will  be  round  about  Him.  This 
is  the  God-ward  side'  to  the  revelation.  But  there  is  fire  in  the  book,  which 
illumines  the  doctrines  and  morality  of  the  Christian  life.  This  is  the  man-ward 
side  of  the  revelation.  The  Book  was  inspired  by  G-od,  and  was  about  God, 
here  is  the  supernatural ;  it  was  written  by  man  and  was  about  man,  here  is 
the  natural. 

III.  As  the  pillar  of  cloud  aided  the  outgoing  of  Israel  from  bondage  to 
rest,  so  the  Bible  is  the  best  help  man  can  have  in  walking  through  this  life 
to  the  next.  What  could  the  Israelites  have  done  in  the  wilderness  without 
the  pdlar  of  cloud  and  fire?  they  would  never  have  reached  Canaan.  And  man 
without  the  inspired  Word  of  God  would  be  in  utter  ignorance  and  danger. 
Moral  freedom  would  be  a  mockery  to  him,  for  there  would  be  nothing  to  take 
the  direction  or  culture  of  his  emancipated  energies.  They  walk  the  best  in  the 
wilderness  of  life  who  pay  the  most  heed  to  the  Word  of  God  (Ps.  cxix.  105). 
Lessons: — 1.  Be  thankful  for  the  Bible.  2.  Follow  the  directions  of  the  Bible.  3. 
Seek  the  consolation  of  the  Bible. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  20.  God's  redemptive  work 
is  progressive,  from  state  to  state. 

Whenever  God  brings  His  people 
in  the  way  of  redemption,  they  are 
encamped. 

Tlie  encamped  Church  : — 1.  Christ 
is  Captain.  2.  The  battle  before  it  in 
the  wilderness.  3.  Slavery  left  be- 
hind. 4.  Secure.  5.  Progressive.  6. 
Finally  triumphant. 

At  Etham : — 1.  We  know  not  the 
sorrow  of  the  future.  2.  We  know 
not  the  wondrous  events  of  the  future. 
3.  We  know  not  our  sins  of  the 
future.  4.  On  the  edge  of  the  wilder- 
ness we  are  on  the  verge  of  a  great 
mystery. 

Verses  21,  22.  Visible  signs  will 
God  give  of  His  presence  with  His 
Church. 

Signs  do  not  comprehend  God,  but 
represent  Him  graciously  to  His 
Church. 

The  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire  is  a 
standing  memorial  of  God's  care  over 
His  Church. 

Day  and  night  Providence  equally 
takes  care  of  the  good  of  God's  people. 

Guidance,  protection,  comfort,  and 
sanctification  are  in  the  use  of  God's 
signals. 


Israel's  cloud  and  fire  are  eminently 
distinct  from  those  of  the  world. 

Neither  the  hottest  day  nor  the 
darkest  night  shall  stop  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  Church. 

God  is  not  mutable  in  His  purpose 
and  work  of  grace  to  His  redeemed 
people. 

The  pillar  : — 1.  The  same  in  sub- 
stance, so  is  Christ.  2.  Firm  and  solid, 
yields  not  to  the  storm.  3.  All  could 
see  it,  all  can  see  Christ.  4.  It  was 
upraised,  the  life  of  the  good  must  be 
upward.  5.  It  never  failed.  6.  The 
boundless  grace  of  Jesus.  7.  Whom 
do  you  follow  1 

"The  Divine  Guide: — 1.  Acquainted 
with  the  way.  2.  Accessible.  3. 
Friendly.  4.  WilHng.  5.  Safe.  6. 
Continuous.     7.  Supreme. 

Some  can  guide  through  the  diflS 
culties  of  the  day,  but  they  cannot 
guide  through  the  dangers  of  the 
night ;  but  here  is  One  to  whom  the 
night  is  as  the  day,  "  To  go  by  day  and 
by  night."  What  if  He  awake  thee  to 
travel  through  the  night !  what  if  the 
cloud  move  when  the  world  is  asleep,  or 
when  enemies,  as  the  army  of  Pharaoh, 
are  behind  and  in  pursuit !  Thou  hast 
a  light,  and  that  light  is  darkness  to 
them :  they  cannot  come  nigh  thee  ftll 

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CHAP.  nn. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS 


the  night.  It  is  a  sweet  view  of  the 
condition  of  the  Church  in  all  these 
seasons  of  trial,  when  she  cannot  sleep 
and  rest  for  her  enemies,  but  is  awake 
to  the  midniglit  march,  or  the  mid- 
night watch.  There  is  a  light  within 
the  camp,  the  light  of  heaven,  the  fire 
of  the  Lord  flaming  over  every  tent. 
And  the  light  that  guides  is  the  light 
that  comforts.  Who  minds  travelling 
in  the  night  that  can  see  his  way  ]    And 


who  should  fear  following  the  shining 
of  the  Lord  1— {/F.  Seaton.) 

The  pillar  is  taken  away,  the  cloud 
is  no  more  by  day,  nor  the  fire  by 
night,  yet  is  there  light  in  the  Church, 
a  directing  light,  a  comforting  light,  a 
protecting  light — day-light  and  night- 
light.  And  serene  the  night,  and 
clieerful  the  day,  that  has  this  light. — 
(/r.  Staton.) 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XIII. 

BY 

REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 


Exodus-Symbolism!  Ver.  4.  This  was  a 
new  life  for  Israel.  As  it  had  its  new  scenes, 
new  wants,  new  duties,  and  new  occupations, 
BO  does  tlie  "new  life"  of  John  iii.  The 
world's  fair  and  alluring  landscaf)e,  with  its 
great  cities,  fruitful  fields  and  gardens,  were 
left  hehiud  ;  while  the  sandy  waste  and  wild 
mountain  fastnesses  of  the  pilgrim  path  to 
the  Heavenly  Canaan  take  their  place.  But 
they  were  free.  When  the  great  patriot  and 
martyr-president  of  the  United  States  con- 
templated the  liberation  of  the  African  slaves 
in  the  Southern  States,  he  was  met  by  the 
argument  that  by  freedom  the  negroes  would 
lose  much  worldly  comfort  and  pleasure  con- 
ferred on  them  by  their  masters.  His  response 
was  brief :  "  They  will  be  free."  Though 
Israel  lost  the  vision  of  fertile  vales,  of  sacred 
sycamore  groves,  of  richly-laden  fruit  orchards, 
&c.,  they  gained  their  freedom.  Liberty  was 
more  sweet,  more  priceless  than  the  splen- 
dours and  luxuries  of  Egypt.  Cliristian  f reed- 
men  prefer  the  bleak  and  barren  pilgrim- 
path  to  the  "pleasures  of  sin;  and,  like 
Israel,  they  look  forward  to  the  climax  of 
liberty,  that  rest  which  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God.  When  the  Church  has  reached 
the  ultima  tliule  of  her  wilderness-way,  then 
in  the  Celestial  Canaan — 

"The  jubilant  bell 
Will  ring  the  knell 
Of  slavery  for  ever." — Whittier. 

Chiistlan-Obedlence !  Ver.  17.  Bunyan 
places  the  "Slough  of  Despond"  between 
Christian's  slavery  and  Christian's  soldiery. 
While  in  Egypt,  the  Israelites  were  slaves; 
60  soon  as  they  escaped  from  Egypt,  they 
became  soldiers.  The  Christian  life  is  a 
warfare,  an<i  there  is  no  discharge  in  this 
war.  Once  enlisted,  Israel's  hosts  must  march 
under  the  banner  of  the  Captain  of  their 
Salvation.  And  so  is  it  with  the  sinner 
saved  through  grace.  He  is  bound  to  follow 
the  emblazoned  heraldry  of  the  "Pillar  of  the 
262 


Truth,"  whose  folds  wave  in  the  breezes  of  the 
Spirit.  Like  the  soldier,  who  dies  in  harness, 
all  his  armour  buckled  on  and  his  powers 
gathered  up  for  a  last  encounter,  the  Christian 
is  prepared  to  fight  to  tlie  last.  His  Pharaoh 
can  follow  him  to  the  brink  of  the  river,  but 
no  farther.     Therefore  he  obeys — 

"  I   have   no   plan  !      My  will   in   meekness 
bowed, 
I  trust  the  sign  that  will  not  let  me  stray." 

The  Right  Way!  "Ver.  18.  Two  centuries 
ago,  a  gallant  knight  was  commissioned  to 
conduct  a  noble  lady  from  the  Royal  Court  to 
a  southern  province  in  France.  Not  long 
after  he  had  set  out  on  his  journey,  they  put 
up  at  a  quiet  hostelry,  where  the  lady  and 
her  maid  of  honour  found  private  apartments. 
During  the  course  of  the  evening,  an  unknown 
friend  warned  the  cavalier  not  to  take  the 
shorter  and  best  road  next  morning,  but  to 
select  the  longer  and  more  rough  way,  on 
account  of  an  ambushment  which  had  been 
formed.  Thanking  his  kind  monitor,  he  next 
morning  proceeded  by  the  winding  and  tliffi- 
cult  route.  JIuch  shaken  by  the  stumbling 
of  the  horses,  the  lady  and  her  attendant 
vented  their  displeasure  upon  the  knight  for 
preferring  the  worst  and  longest  way  ;  but 
when  they  arrived  after  tedious  and  exhausting 
struggles  at  their  destination,  and  learned 
what  a  narrow  escape  they  had  had  from  the 
Jaws  of  death,  they  acknowledged  the  prudence 
and  perception,  the  foresight  and  faithfulness, 
of  their  leader.  The  Cliurch  of  God  may 
think  the  short  way  to  eternal  perfection  the 
best;  but  when  she  knows  as  she  also  is 
known,  then  will  her  song  be  on  the  borders 
of  the  jaspar-sardine  sea,  Just  and  true  are 
Thy  ways,  0  King  of  Saints  ! — 

"  Thou    must    pass    through     this    tangled, 
dreary  wild, 
If  thou  wouldst  reach  the  city  undefiled. 

Thy  peaceful  home  above." 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  SIIL 


Fire-PiUar!  Ver.  20,  21.  The  speaker's 
Commentary  gives  an  iuscription  of  the 
ancient  empire  of  Egypt,  in  whicli  the  gene- 
ral is  compared  to  a  flame  streaming  in 
advance  of  his  army.  On  a  well  -  known 
papyrus,  the  commander  of  an  expedition  is 
called  a  flame  in  the  darkness  at  tlie  liead  of 
bis  soldiers.  Burning  lights  were  carried 
before  the  armies  of  Egypt  and  other  ancient 
nations  on  tlie  marcii  to  battle.  The  march 
of  Alexander  the  Great — in  his  burning, 
eagle-like  swoop  eastward — was  preceded  by 
an  altar  of  silver,  on  vhich  flamed  "tlie 
sacred  and  eternal  fire  ;  "  and  by  huge  torches 
raised  on  lofty  poles,  the  fire  of  wliich  was 
visible  by  night,  and  the  smoke  by  day.  The 
Divine  Fire- Pillar  eclipsed  the  gleam  and 
glow  of  these  masses  of  light ;  wliile  it 
announced  to  Pharaoh  that  Israel  was  God's 
uimy.  Its  appearance — more  especially  when 
ii  moved  from  the  front  to  the  rear— was  a 
Ciiidlenge  of  defiance  to  Pharaoh,  as  well  as  an 
admonition  not  to  contend  with  Jehovah. 
W  lien  God  arouses  a  people  to  defend  their 
rights  with  the  Fire-Pillar  of  the  Huly  Bible, 
there  is  little  fear  of  the  result.  The 
Vaudois  of  the  Valleys  fought  under  the 
shelter  and  guidance  of  this  divine  pillar; 
and  their  foes  were  discomfited.     So — 

"  Mine  enemies  behold  it, — so  with  fears 
They  pause,  and  hesitate  to  venture  on," 

PlUar-Guldance !  Ver.  21,  When  Leech 
the  painter  was  a  boy,  he  was  placed  at  a 
boarding-school  where  he  had  to  spend  his 
vacations,  as  well  as  his  schooldays.  His 
mother  pined  to  see  her  boy,  but  the  rules  of 
the  school  precluded  her  from  gratifying  this 
desire.  She  therefore  hired  an  upper  room 
in  one  of  the  houses  overlooking  the  play- 
ground. Here  she  watched  her  little  boy. 
He  did  not  know  that  any  one  was  looking 
down  upon  him ;  but  that  eye  followed  him 
wherever  he  moved.  Within  the  cloudy 
canopy  was  the  omniscient  eye  of  Israel's 
ever- watchful  God.  True,  as  Law  remarks, 
the  eye  of  nature  sees  not  a  moving  or  a 
halting  mass;  but,  nevertheless,  the  eye  of 
faith  can  realize  the  Divine  watclifulness,  can 
trace  the  unseen  hand  of  heavenly  guidance, 
and  can  read  the  monitions  of  loving  faith- 
fulness. Wlien  thou  goest,  says  Solomon,  it 
shall  lead  thee ;  when  thou  sleepest,  it  shall 
ktep  thee;  when  thou  wakest,  it  shall  talk 
with  thee  :  for  the  commandment  is  a  lamp, 
and  the  law  is  light.  The  Light  of  Scri[iture 
is  the  Liglit  of  Life.  It  is  the  hand  of  Clirist; 
aye,  it  is  the  heart  of  Christ. 

"  Welcome  alike,  when  on  mine  eyelids  beat 
Ked  scorching  rays,  or  fades  the  evening 
light." 

Cloud-Shade  !  Ver.  21.  So  long  as  Israel 
remaine<l  in  Egypt,  Nature  furnished  them 
with  cool  shadows.  It  is  true  iliat  there  were 
no  groves  of  patrician  tnes  or  fiesli  j  laiita- 
tions,  such  as  make  up  the  beauty  and  rich- 


ness of  an  English  landscape  ;  but  still, 
its  scenes  were  adorned  with  tamarisks  and 
palms,  which  are  to  the  Egyptian  what  the 
bread  fruit-trees  . ire  for  the  Polynesian.  Even 
on  the  border  iuu  .  of  the  desert  there  bloomed 
bright,  sweet  gardens  of  jessamine  and  orange. 
In  the  beautiful  valleys  niyriails  of  roses  bur- 
dened tlie  air  with  fragrance.  So  that  as 
long  as  Israel  continued  in  Egypt  there  was 
abundance  of  natural  shade.  But  no  sooner 
did  they  enter  upon  the  sandy  barrenness  than 
God  gave  them  supernatural  sliades  in  the 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day.  M'Cheyne,  referring 
to  Isaiah  XXV.  5,  affords  some  idea  of  the 
importance  of  this  cloud  in  sandy  deserts, 
where  little  or  no  vegetation  existed,  so  that 
the  sunbeams  glance  along  the  level  waste  of 
the  wilderness,  scorching  hands  and  faces. 
He  says  that  about  mid-day,  when  the  heat 
was  Very  oppressive,  a  small  cloud,  scarcely 
observable  by  the  eye,  passed  over  the  disc 
of  the  burning  sun.  Immediately  the  intense 
heat  abated,  a  gentle  breeze  sprang  up,  an.^i 
the  travellers  were  refresiied.  So  God  warda 
His  pilgrim-church  from  the  scorching  raya 
of  the  sandy  desert  of  sin,  in  fulfilment  oJ 
His  promise  in  Psalm  cxxi.  6, 

"  He  is  a  shadow  from  the  noontide  heat. 
Although  a  burning  fiie  in  gloom  of  night." 

Night  and  Day !  Ver.  22.  Samuel  Riither- 
furd  quaintly  remarks  that  as  night  and  shadow 
are  good  for  flowers,  and  moonlight  and  dews 
are  better  than  continual  sun,  so  Christ's 
absence  is  of  special  use.  It  has  some 
nourishing  virtue  in  it,  and  giveth  up  sap  to 
humility.  It  furnishes  a  fair  occasion  for 
faith  to  put  forth  her  hand,  and  lay  hold  on 
what  it  does  not  see.  And  yet  God  was  not 
absent  during  the  night,  for  the  column  shone 
as  a  flaming  fire.  So  Clirist  is  never  really 
absent  from  the  true  Israel  of  His  Church. 
True,  the  night  often  recurs  to  them  as  to  the 
typical  Israel  ;  but  such  night  is  good.  When 
its  mantle  wraps  the  "spiritual  life,"  tiie 
Pillar  is  clad  in  robes  of  fire,  and  a  glory 
is  seen  which  before  was  invisible.  When 
gloom  oppresses  the  believer  on  his  pilgrim 
way,  then  unwonted  glories  illumine  the  road. 
The  smiling  face  of  Jesus  glows  from  out  the 
deep  and  darkling  shadows,  speaking  silently, 
yet  forcibly  :  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee. 

"  The  gleaming  token  from  afar  appears, 
To  show  God's  pilgrims  are  not  left  alone." 

Home-Longings  !  Ver.  18.  Imagine  some 
poor,  shipwrecked  mariner  cast  ashore  upon  a 
lonely  island  in  mid-ocean.  The  climate  of 
the  island  may  be  perpetual  summer — the 
flowers  niay  blossom  and  fruits  ripen  through 
all  the  year — the  forests  may  be  iuU  of 
singing  birds,  with  bright  plumage,  flashing 
like  meteors  in  the  shadows  of  the  tropical 
glades  —  the  air  may  be  daily  loaded  with 
sweet  perfumes,  wafted  by  the  balmy  breezes 
— the  skies  may  lie  genial,  and  the  whole 
year   one    continued   season   of    growth    and 

263 


no  MI  LET  I C  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


bloom  ;  but  will  that  castaway  sailor  be  satis- 
fied ?  Alone,  the  seeming  paradise  will  be  a 
prison.  He  will  long  for  his  distant  lionie 
beyond  the  melancholy  main.  Night  and 
morning  he  will  climb  the  rocky  bciirlit,  and 
scan  tlie  wide,  watery  horizon  for  some  friendly 
ship.  And  at  last,  when  the  white  sail  is 
Seen,  it  looks  to  him  as  the  white  wing  of  an 
angel  flying  to  his  rescue.  So  ought  Israel 
to  have  felt  in  Ivjypt !  And  so  ought  Israel's 
host  to  have  welcomed  the  "Ship  of  I'rovid- 
ence"  sent  to  convey  them  across  the  Arabian 
Sandy  Sea  to  their  home  in  Canaan !  But 
man  is  tliua  cast  away  by  his  own  folly,  and 
to  him  the  ship  of  Salvation  is  sent  to  bear 
him  across  the  stormy  sea  of  life  to  the  land 
of  rest,  the  home  of  the  soul. 

"  Dreams  cannot  picture  a  land  so  fair — 
Sorrow  and  death  may  not  enter  there." 
Hemam. 

Bible  -  Guidance  !  Ver.  21.  A  traveller 
relates  that  he  embarked  on  a  steamer  one 
beautiful  evening,  but  towards  morning  a 
dense  fog  enveloped  them.  No  observations 
could  be  made,  and  the  vessel  was  directed 
by  the  compass  alone.  They  were  lost  in  the 
fog  on  a  dangerous  coast,  and  dared  not  pro- 
ceed except  by  the  guidance  of  the  compass. 
In  an  hour  they  heard  a  fog-bell,  knew  where- 
abouts they  were,  and  soon  safely  reached  the 
desired  haven.  What  tlie  compass  was  to  the 
mariners  the  pillar  of  fire  was  designed  to  be 
to  Israel — to  direct  them  in  the  right  way. 
And  such  is  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  my 
compass,  my  pillar  of  fire,  which  guides  me 
safely  to  the  haven  of  rest. 

"  I  have  no  choice  !     The  pillar  of  the  cloud 
Precedes  me,  hour  by  hour,  to  mark  my 


Desert-Shadows !  Ver.  22.  Three  tra- 
vellers in  Egypt  decided  to  reach  the  Holy 
Land  by  traversing  the  sand-wastes  which 
separate  them  one  from  the  other.  Day  by 
day  the  heat  increased  its  oppressiveness. 
The  hillocks  of  sand — between  which  they 
slowly  moved  at  the  usual  pace  of  the  camel — 
reflected  the  sun's  rays  upon  ihem  until  their 
faces  glowed,  as  if  they  were  beside  a  burning, 
fiery  furnace.  Here  and  there  were  tufts  of 
verdant  plants  and  stunted  shrubs,  but  too 


small  to  afford  a  shadow  from  the  heat.  How 
great  a  blessing  the  pillar  of  the  cloud  must 
have  been  I  Towering  over  the  camp,  it  cast 
a  deliglitful  shadow  upon  the  sand,  over 
over  which  they  moved.  The  true  Israel — 
wandering  in  the  wilderness  of  the  world — are 
similarly  circumstanced.  They  have  nothing 
to  relieve  the  burning  beams  of  the  sun  save 
the  cloud  of  shadow  which  the  Word  of  God 
casts.  And  it  is  associated  with  the  assur- 
ances that  in  the  Promised  Land  of  Kev. 
chaps.  21  and  22,  there  shall  be  no  hung<!r, 
thirst,  or  burning  sun ;  but  green  shady 
pastures  and  living  fountains  of  waters — 

"  Shaded  on  either  side  by  trees  of  life 
Which  yielded  in  unwearyitig  interchange 
Their  ripe  vicissitude  of  monthly  fruits." 
Bickersteth. 

PiUar-Stabillty !  Ver.  22.  Whether  at 
sea  or  on  land,  the  vast  phenomena  of  water 
or  sand  columns  are  unstable.  The  cloudy 
sea  or  sand  masses  bend  quickly  before  a 
driving  breath ;  or  the  storm  beats  on  them, 
and  they  vanish.  A  vivid  account  of  such 
water-pillar  instabil'ty  is  given  in  "The 
Young  Castaways  ;"  while  a  similar  illustra- 
tion of  the  transitory  character  of  the  desert 
sand-columns  is  supplied  by  the  author  of  "The 
Tropical  World."  In  the  burning  deserts  of 
Peru,  when  a  strong  wind  blows,  huge  sand- 
spouts rise  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  feet,  ad- 
vance whirling  through  the  expansive  waste, 
encompass  the  laggard  traveller  over  these 
solitudes,  and  overweighted  at  the  summit 
totter  and  fall  from  toj)  to  base.  All  earthly 
pillar-shadows  or  shields,  guides  or  guards,  are 
uncertain  and  unstable  ;  but  the  Divine  Pillar 
of  Truth  mocks  the  lash  of  desert-hurricane  or 
water-floods.  Amidst  the  uproar  and  upheaval 
of  elements,  it  smiles  immovable  ;  for  against 
it,  the  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail.  No 
assaults  can  shake  this  magnificent  column  of 
salvation,  so  that  as  ancient  Israel,  God's  true 
people  may  trust  in  the  Lord  Jehovah,  for  in 
Him  is  everlasting  strength,  and  He  is  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever — 

"  E'en   in   the   wilderness,    He  gives    sweet 
sense 
Of    sure    protection,    when    by   dangers 
press'd." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


Critioal  Notes. — 2.  Pi-hahirotli.]  Probably  a  Coptic  word,  meaning  **the  place  of 
sedges" — Qesenius,  Fiirst,  Davies,  Kalisch.  We  can  scarcely  expect  to  determine  the  j)reci88 
route  taken  by  the  Israelites  in  tlieir  march  out  of  KL\vpt,  or  the  exact  spot  at  which  they 
crossed  the  Red  Sea.  "Positive  identifications,"  says  Kalisch,  "of  ancient  localities  are  the 
more  precarious  in  this  reirion,  as  it  is  certain  that  the  northern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  lias 
formeil  it.-elf,  in  the  course  of  centuries,  into  firm  land,  a  fact  whicii,  besides  other  reasims,  is 
indisputal.ly  established  by  the  circumstance  that  towns,  as  Muzza,  which  are  mentiuned  by 

264 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


the  ancients  as  sea-places  and  harbours,  are  now  situated  in  the  interior  of  the  land."  Two  or 
three  points  alone,  bearing  on  the  Israelite's  line  of  march,  seem  to  be  of  any  real  importance; 
viz.,  (1)  that  tlie  passage  through  the  sea  must  have  been  at  a  spot  where  the  bed  of  the  sea  was 
narrow  enough  to  be  crossed  by  the  Hebrew  host  in  one  night ;  (2)  that  the  breadth  of  the 
waters  must  yet  have  been  great  enough  to  make  the  passajie  on  "dry  land  "  the  evident  result 
of  Divine  interposition;  (3)  that,  relatively  to  the  ancient  extension  northward  of  the  Gulf,  the 
line  of  the  Israelites'  appro:ich  to  it  must  have  been  observalily  and  notoriously  too  far  to  the 
south,  to  consist  with  the  most  southerly  caravan  route  around  the  northern  point  of  the  Gulf; 
(4)  that  the  route  actually  taken  was  a  deflection  from  that  on  which  the  Hebrews  started,  so 
as  to  disappoint  natural  anticipation,  and  give  the  Egyptians  the  impression  that  their  late 
slaves  were  entangled  in  the  (Egyptian)  desert,  and  had  lost  their  way;  and  (5)  that  all  this 
took  place  under  express  Divine  guidance  (ch.  xiii.17,  18,  21,  22),  indeed  there  can  be  little  if  any 
doubt  that  Jehovah  Himself,  by  His  angel,  in  the  "cloudy  pillar,"  assumed  the  Leadership 
of  the  departing  host  at  least  as  far  back  as  where  the  short  north  road  to  the  laud  of  the 
riiilistiiies  was  left.  To  attribute  the  ordering  of  the  whole  line  of  march  to  the  Red  Sea  to 
the  sagacity  of  Moses,  as  Kalisch  does,  is  as  little  complimentary  to  him,  who  by  this  hyiiothesia 
missed  his  way,  as  it  is  reverential  to  the  sacred  narrative,  which  it  thus  hopelessly  contradicts. 
25.  Took  oJBf  their  chariot  ■wheels.]  "And  made  glide  out  their  chariot  wheels" — 
Kalisch.  "And  turneth  aside  the  wheels  of  their  chariots" — Young.  The  original  word 
ineins  to  "  make  depart,"  "turn  away,"  "put  aside,"  "remove,"  &c.  Hence,  and  from  the 
incongruity  of  supposing  any  farther  progress  made  in  wheelless  chariots,  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  the  rendering  of  the  English  version  conveys  the  true  meaning  of  the  narrative. 
More  in  keeping  with  the  context  would  be  the  more  general  notion  of  removing  the  wheels 
from  their  track,  causing  them  to  slip  away  so  as  to  make  progress  extremely  difficult.  Only, 
this  effect  should  clearly  be  connected  with  the  Divine  troubling  of  the  Egyptian  host. 
Precisely  how  the  cause  produced  this  effect  we  are  not  told  :  it  is  a  matter  of  little  or  no 
importance. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.  — Verges  1-4. 

The  Good  in  the  Trying  Situations  of  Life. 

The  children  of  Israel  had  now  arrived  near  the  head  of  the  Eed  Sea,  and  at 
the  limit  of  the  three  days'  journey  into  the  wilderness,  for  whicli  they  had 
appealed  to  Pharaoh.  It  was  a  critical  time  with  them.  Will  they  return  to 
Egypt  1  Will  they  go  forward  on  their  march  of  freedom  1  At  the  command 
of  God,  as  made  known  to  Moses,  they  continue  their  journey,  and  soon  find 
themselves  in  very  perilous  circumstances.  We  cannot  advance  far  into  life 
without  meeting  with  things  to  perplex  us.  The  Israelites  are  commanded  to 
change  the  direction  of  their  march  ;  now  they  go  south  to  a  place  called 
Pi-hahiroth.  They  could  not  have  been  in  a  more  trying  position,  and  yet  here 
they  are  Divinely  lead. 

I.  That  the  good  are  often  brought,  by  the  providence  of  God,  into  the 
most  trying  situations  in  life  (ver.  1).  The  children  of  Israel  were  commanded 
by  God  to  encamp  before  Pi-hahiroth,  between  Migdol  and  the  sea,  over  against 
Baalzephon  (ver.  1).  Here  they  are  led  south,  in  an  opposite  direction  to  the 
Land  of  Promise.  How  often  are  the  good  conducted  along  paths  which  are 
apparently  contrary  to  their  high  destiny.  Tliis  is  a  trial  of  their  faith.  If, 
at  such  times,  they  obey  the  Divine  word,  they  go  right,  even  though  they  may 
seem  to  be  going  wrong.  No  situation  could  have  been,  to  all  appearance,  more 
adverse  to  the  Israelites  than  that  into  which  they  are  now  Divinely  led.  The 
white  crest  of  the  great  billows  was  before  them.  The  huge  mountains, 
which  they  could  not  climb,  were  on  either  side  of  them.  Pharaoh  and  his 
enraged  hosts  were  behind  them.  It  was  indeed  a  trying  situation  for  them. 
They  could  not  help  themselves.  Their  best  prowess  was  vain,  they  could  not 
defeat  their  enemy.  Their  best  ingenuity  was  futile,  they  could  not  level  the 
mountains.  Here  they  are  brought  by  God  ;  this  is  to  the  carnal  mind  a 
mystery.  Thus,  we  have  a  type  of  the  trying  cirnmistances  into  which  the  good  are 
sometimes  conducted  by  the  wondrous  providence  of  God.  They  are  in  search  ot 
moral  freedom.      They  are  led  by  Heaven,  and  yet  are  brought  into  great 

265 


CHIP.  xiY.  nOMlLETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 

peril  Had  they  been  led  by  their  own  judgment,  they  would  have  avoided 
the  southward  route,  and  have  escaped  the  sorrow  in  which  they  now  find 
themselves.  But  the  sequel  of  this  history  proves  that  God's  way  is  the  wisest, 
even  though  it  be  the  roughest,  for  if  between  Migdol  and  the  sea  we  realise 
our  greatest  peril,  we  also  realise  His  richest  mercy  and  His  most  glorious  help. 
It  is  in  the  trying  situations  of  life  that  we  get  the  best  revelations  of  the  love 
and  power  of  God.  When  men  feel  that  they  cannot  help  themselves,  then 
God  helps  them.  Thus  they  are  humbled.  They  are  brought  to  despair  of 
creature  aids.  Then  the  promises  become  precious.  The  circumstances  of  life 
are  all  divinely  ordered  witli  immediate  reference  to  the  moral  culture  of  the 
good  ;  the  Israelites  were  taught  a  great  lesson  before  Pi-hahiroth.  When  God 
fixes  our  position,  it  is  sure  to  be  a  salutary  one,  even  though  it  be  perplexing. 

II.  That  the  trying  circumstances  into  whicli  the  good  are  providentially 
brought  are  vigilantly  observed  by  the  wicked.  "  For  Pharaoh  will  say  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  they  are  entangled  in  the  land ;  the  wilderness  hath  shut 
them  in  "  (ver.  3).  It  is  probable  that  Pharaoh  had  employed  spies  to  report 
to  him  the  movements  of  the  Israelites  ;  at  all  events,  he  would  be  kept  well 
informed  in  reference  thereto.  Thus  we  see  how  soon  the  wicked  repent  of  any 
good  action  they  may  have  done  :  they  uive  up  their  sins,  but  soon  go  after 
them  again.  The  besetting  sin  of  the  King  was  only  subdued  for  a  time  by 
judgment, — affliction  is  not  necessarily  regenerative.  It  would  seem  as  though 
the  Spirit  of  God  had  now  ceased  to  strive  with  Pharaoh,  and  that  he  is  given 
up  to  pride  and  malice.  Witli  the  keen  eye  of  a  warrior  he  sees  the  position  of 
Israel  in  the  wilderness.  1.  The  wicked  are  vigilant  observers  of  the  life  and  circum^ 
stances  of  the  good.  Pharaoh  watched  with  the  utmost  vigilance  the  flight  and 
circumstances  of  the  Israelites,  and  all  connected  with  their  march  was  eagerly 
reported  to  him.  Satan  sets  the  wicked  to  watch  the  good,  with  malicious  in- 
tent, that  they  may  observe  the  most  favourable  opportunity  of  doing  them 
moral  injury.  He  is  politic  in  his  effort  to  ruin  the  soul, — he  not  merely  leads 
a  host  against  it,  but  seeks  to  render  circumstances  helpful  to  its  overthrow. 
Hence,  when  the  good  are  in  difficulty,  they  are  generally  pursued  by  the  devil. 
2.  The  wicked  are  malicious  observers  of  the  life  and  circumstances  of  the  good.  Why 
did  Pharaoh  follow  the  Israelites  in  this  great  haste  1  Did  he  Avish  to  render 
them  assistance  in  their  perplexity,  and  to  aid  them  in  their  march  of  liberty  1 
No  !  he  came  to  render  their  circumstances  more  trying,  and,  if  possible,  to  com- 
plete their  defeat.  But  malice  is  not  always  right  in  its  calculations ;  it  cannot 
always  achieve  its  unholy  purpose,  especially  when  seeking  the  ruin  of  the  good. 
It  cannot  pierce  the  shield  which  Heaven  throws  round  about  the  life  committed 
to  its  care.  3.  The  wicked  are  politic  observers  of  the  life  and  circumstances  of  the 
good.  Pharaoh  watched  the  march  of  the  Israelites,  and  when  he  saw  them 
surrounded  by  the  mountains  and  the  waters,  he  sought  by  his  army  to  put  the 
final  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  escape.  And  so  Satan  watches  the  best  oppor- 
tunity of  frustrating  the  march  of  the  soul  into  freedom.  But  the  wicked  often 
misinterpret  the  providence  of  God  in  reference  to  the  good,  and  hence  pursue 
their  plans  to  their  own  ruin. 

III.  That  the  trying  situations  into  which  the  good  are  brought  are  de- 
signed ultimately  to  enhance  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  retribution  of  wicked 
men.  "  I  will  be  honoured  upon  Pliaraoh,"  "Tiiat  the  Egyptians  may  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord."  God  could  have  comlucted  the  Israelites  through  the  Red  Sea 
before  Pharaoh  came  to  their  encampment,  but  that  would  not  have  so  fully 
glorified  His  name, — it  W(nild  not  have  shown  the  terrible  retribution  of  sm. 
The  Divine  Being  so  works  the  deliverance  of  the  good  as  to  destroy  their 
enemies,  and  to  teach  a  lesson  of  trust  for  the  future.  Men  learn  much  about 
God  when  they  are  shut  in  by  the  land,  and  when  earthly  succour  is  denied 

2o() 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xiv. 

them  ;  they  learn  their  own  weakness  and  ihe  all-sufficiency  of  Jehovah.  God 
is  honoured  in  the  overthrow  of  the  sinful.  He  teaches  nations  by  terrible  judg- 
ments. Tims  all  tlie  trying  circumstances  in  which  tlie  good  are  placed  will 
work  the  glory  of  God.  Lessons: — 1.  Best  patienily  i7i  the  circumstances  in  tvhich 
God  has  placed  you.  2.  God  is  greater  than  all  the  hindrances  to  your  true  freedom. 
3.  Follow  God,  even  though  it  be  through  the  great  waters. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  1-4.     God  alone  orders  the  God  is  pleased  to  give  a  sufficient 

Church  in  all  its  varied  movements.  account  of  the  perplexity  of  His  people 

God's  orders  to  the  Church  are  gene-  beforehand, 
rally  made  known  through  His  mini-  The  plans  of  wicked  persecutors  are 

sters.  foreknown  to  God. 

Ministers  must  speak,  and  Israel  Upon  such  wicked  prospects  of  per- 
must  hear  the  mind  of  God  in  reference  secutors,  God  gives  them  up  to  heart- 
to  them.  hardening. 

God's  charge  sometimes  draws  the  God  provides  for  His  own  glory  in 

Church  back  again  when  they  are  for-  the  ruin  of  such  persecutors, 
ward  in  redemption.  Upon   the  discovery  of  God's  will, 

In    the   way   of    redemption,    God  the  Church  may  submit  calmly  to  sit 

brings   His  people   into   straits  over-  down  in  straits. 
whelming  to  sense. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  5-14. 

The  Good  Puksued  by  Old  Enemies. 

I.  That  the  good,  in  seejcing  to  come  out  of  the  bondage  of  sin,  are  frequently 
pursued  by  old  enemies.  Thus  was  it  with  the  cliildren  of  Israel.  They  had 
not  gone  far  on  their  march  of  freedom  before  Pharaoh  made  ready  his  chariot 
and  pursued  them.  He  pursued  them  with  great  hatred.  He  reproached  him- 
self for  letting  them  go  free.  And  thus  is  it  with  those  who  have  just  entered 
upon  the  freedom  of  the  soul,  and  who  are  setting  out  for  the  Land  of  Promise. 
They  are  pursued  by  old  enemies  before  they  have  passed  three  or  four  days' 
march.  1.  The  good  are  pursued  by  Satan.  As  Pharaoh  pursued  the  Israelites 
with  his  best  armaments,  so  Saian  gathers  his  chosen  chariots  and  Captains  and 
follows  the  young  Christian  with  all  the  energy  and  skill  he  can  command.  At 
first  Satan  appears  defeated,  like  Pharaoh  ;  but  he  does  not  like  to  lose  his 
profitable  servants,  he  will  not  without  a  desperate  struggle.  He  will  employ 
the  flower  of  his  army.  He  will  try  error.  He  will  try  despair.  He  will  tempt 
to  sin.  He  is  powerful.  He  has  great  resources.  He  is  gifted  with  cunning 
genius.  He  will  arouse  indwelling  corruption.  To  sense  all  seems  dark.  To 
faith  all  is  bright.  We  cannot  get  to  the  Promised  Land  without  much  resistance 
from  the  devil.  2.  The  good  are  pursued  by  wicked  habits.  When  the  good  enter 
upon  the  march  of  the  new  life,  they  soon  see  the  old  sinful  habits  con)ing  after 
them.  In  the  first  joy  of  freedom,  the  young  Christian  imagines  that  all  his 
sinful  past  is  overcome,  and  that  he  will  be  troubled  no  more  by  the  depraved 
habit  of  the  soul,  but  a  march  of  three  days  in  the  wilderness  will  convince  him 
of  his  error.  Habit  pursues  men  with  great  pertinacity,  even  to  the  end  of  life. 
The  habits  of  youth  are  not  easily  conquered,  hence  they  should  be  carefully 
formed,  or  they  may  impair  the  Christian  career  of  the  future.  3.  The  good  are 
pursued  by  wicked  companions.  When  the  good  are  first  freed  from  the  com- 
panionship of  Egypt,  they  may  imagine  that  they  leave  them  l)ehiud  for  ever, 
and  perhaps  will  be  a  little  surprised  to  find  them  shortly  afterwards  in  hot 
pursuit.     The  friendships  of  a  wicked  life  are  not  easily  got  rid  of, — thev  follow 

267 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


with  taunts  and  slaiiders  even  to  the  banks  of  the  Red  Sea.  These  are  a  terror 
to  many  a  godly  soul.  Thus  we  see  that  Satan  ))ursues  the  good  with  a  great 
army,  with  many  allies,  in  splendid  array,  and  often  strikes  fear  into  thuir 
hearts. 

II.  That  sometimes  the  circumstances  of  life  appear  to  favour  the  pursuit  of 

the  old  enemies  of  the  soul.  "  And  overtook  them  encamping  by  the  sea,"  &c., 
(ver.  9).  Thus  Pliaraoh  and  his  hosts  overtook  the  Israelites  when  they  were 
entangled  in  the  land,  and  when  they  had  not  the  opportunity  of  equal  conflict. 
The  host  of  Pharaoh  was  well  armed.  The  Israelites  were  without  arms  or  drill, 
they  were  a  disorderly  crowd.  Hell  always  pursues  the  soul  when  it  is  least 
prepared  for  the  attack,  in  the  hour  of  unusual  difhculty,  and  when  all  its 
resources  are  weak.  When  it  is  entangled  by  temptation,  by  the  deceitful 
allurements  of  the  world,  or  by  the  providential  circumstances  of  life — then 
Satan  comes  to  work  ruin.  How  often  do  circumstances  favour  the  pursuit  of 
our  old  enemies  when  they  would  awaken  passion,  pride,  or  selfishness  within 
us.  The  world  in  which  we  live  is  a  Pi-hahiroth,  and  the  devil  knows  it ;  but 
the  God  who  has  brought  us  from  Egypt  can  bring  us  from  before  Pi-hahiroth, 
if  we  trust  in  Him, —  He  is  greater  than  the  pursuing  enemies. 

III.  That  the  pursuit  of  the  old  enemies  of  the  soul  often  awakens  the 
sorrowful  apprehension  of  the  good.  "And  when  Pharaoh  drew  near,  the 
children  of  Israel  lifted  up  their  eyes,  and  behold  the  Egyptians  marched  after 
them,  and  they  were  sore  afraid  "  (ver.  10).  Thus,  when  the  Israelites  saw  the 
Egyptians  pursuing  them,  they  gave  way  to  fear  and  panio,  they  thought  only  of 
the  advancing  foe  and  their  oym  certain  destruction.  They  did  not  remember 
the  mercy  and  power  which  had  redeemed  them  from  the  tyranny  of  Egypt, 
they  did  not  call  to  mind  the  promise  which  had  been  given  them  of  Canaan, 
they  did  not  even  look  to  the  pillar  of  cloud  above  them.  And  thus,  how  often 
does  it  happen  that  when  the  good  are  followed  by  their  old  enemies,  they  for- 
get the  mercies  of  the  past,  the  power  of  God,  and  look  only  to  the  on-coming 
foe.  They  think  they  will  have  to  yield  to  the  prowess  of  Satan,  and  go  back 
to  the  old  bondage  of  the  soul.  But  we  see  in  this  narrative,  the  folly  of  allow- 
ing the  advance  of  old  enemies  to  awaken  terror  in  the  heart  of  the  good,  for 
they  are  only  advancing  that  the  power  of  God  may  be  seen  in  their  defeat. 
Good  people  of  melancholy  temperament  sometimes  think  that  they  made  a 
mistake  in  coming  out  of  Egypt,  and  that  they  will  never  reach  Canaan.  Such 
fears  are  dishonouring  to  the  grace  of  God. 

IV.  That  the  pursuit  of  the  old  enemies  of  the  soul  must  be  met  under  the 
guidance  of  Heaven.  "  Fear  ye  not,  stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  the 
Lord  which  He  will  show  you  to-day."  Thus  the  Israelites  were  to  leave  all  to 
God.  They  could  not  defeat  their  enemies,  they  were  not  required  to  do  so. 
They  could  not  dry  up  the  sea.  It  was  just  tlie  moment  for  Heaven  to  interfere, 
and  to  win  a  glorious  victory ;  and  so  with  the  good  who  are  pursued  by  sin  and 
Satan.  They  must  not  look  so  much  at  the  mountains  by  which  they  are  en- 
compassed— at  their  inward  corruption,  as  at  the  salvation  of  God  ;  they  must  be 
content  to  let  God  work  for  and  iti  them  to  the  destruction  of  Satan's  devices.  The 
human  soul  is  restless  and  likes  to  be  doing  something  to  escape  its  enemies;  God 
only  can  give  the  needed  aid.  The  penitent  sinner  cannot  deliver  himself  from  the 
enemies  which  pursue  ;  the  believer  cannot  deliver  himself  from  the  corruption  of 
the  evil  heart  of  unbelief;  God  must  work  in  both  cases.  Hence  in  thinking  of 
victory  over  our  spiritual  enemies,  we  have  not  to  contemplate  our  own  ability  to 
repulse  them,  but  the  Divine.  It  is  a  blessed  fact  that  God  adapts  the  method  of 
His  redemption  to  the  weak  con'iition  of  His  people.  1.  The  enemies  of  the  soul  are 
overcome  Inj  God.     He  alone  can  give  salvation  from  the  enmity  of  Satan,  from  the 

2tJS 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


weakness  of  self,  and  from  the  perilous  circumstances  of  tlie  wildei-ness  life.  2. 
The  soul  must  wait  patiently  the  outcome  of  this  aid.  Neither  Moses  nor  the  Israelites 
knew  in  what  way  the  Lord  would  deUver  tliem  from  their  advancing  enemy  ; 
tliey  had  to  wait  in  order  to  see  the  salvation  of  God.  The  good  know  not  by 
what  method  of  discipline  the  Lord  will  deliver  them  from  their  old  habits  of 
evil.  We  see  here  the  advantage  of  having  God  as  our  Helper,  in  that  He  can 
make  a  way  for  our  feet  througli  the  sea.  LESSONS ; — 1.  That  the  good,  being 
pursued  by  the  enemies  of  their  old  life,  are  in  constant  need  of  Divine  grace.  2.  That 
progress  in  the  freedom  of  the  sonl  is  in  sjjite  of  the  enmity  of  Satan.  3.  2'hat  all  moral 
progress  is  the  outcome  of  the  help  of  God  to  the  soul. 

THE  FOOLISH  WA  T  IN  WHICH  MANY  PEOPLE  ANTICIPA  TE  DIFFICULTIES. 

—  Verges  10-14. 

I.  That  many  people  meet  anticipated  difficulties  in  a  spirit  of  great  fear. 

"  And  when  Pharaoh  drew  near,  the  children  of  Israel  lifted  up  their  eyes,  and 
behold,  the  Egyptians  marched  after  them,  and  they  were  sore  afraid."  Thus, 
when  the  Israelites  saw  the  Egyptians  advancing  towards  them  in  battle  array, 
they  gave  way  to  fear.  They  imagined  immediate  destruction.  They  saw  only 
the  warlike  host.  And  in  this  way  men  anticipate  sorrow  now.  They  see  all 
the  circumstances  which  conspire  against  them  ;  and  at  once  imagine  that  the 
worst  will  befall  them.  They  look  to  self ;  they  look  not  to  God.  They  are 
filled  with  gloom.  Religion  ought  to  make  men  brave  and  trustful  in  the  face 
of  advancing  pei-plexities ;  God  is  more  than  all  that  can  oppose. 

II.  That  many  people  meet  anticipated  difficulty  in  a  spirit  of  complaint 
against  those  who  have  generously  aided  them  in  their  enterprise.     "And 

they  said  unto  Moses,  Because  there  were  no  graves  in  Eg^'pt  hast  thou  taken  us 
away  to  die  in  the  wilderness  1  Wherefore  hast  thou  dealt  thus  with  us,  to 
carry  us  forth  out  of  Egypt."  Thus,  when  the  Israelites  saw  the  Egyptians 
coming  after  them,  they  began  to  complain  against  Moses.  How  ungenerous  ! 
He  had  led  them  out  of  bondage.  He  was  their  best  friend,  yet  they  blame  him 
for  a  peril  he  could  not  help.  And  this  is  often  the  way  of  men,  when  all  g(jes 
well  in  the  enterprise  they  have  undertaken  little  of  praise  is  spoken,  but  when 
difficulties  are  seen  coming  much  of  blame  is  given.  The  best  iiiend  is  derided 
in  the  hour  of  dg,nger.  The  Israelites  not  merely  murmured  against  Moses,  but 
against  God.  Ami  any  man  who  murmurs  at  approaching  difficulty  is  not 
merely  in  conflict  with  secondary  agencies,  but  with  what  niay  turn  out  to  be  a 
sublime  providence  of  heaven.  Unbelief  sees  graves  where  there  are  none. 
Men  over-estimate  sorrow  in  meeting  it  before  it  comes  upon  them.  It  is  base 
to  turn  upon  men  who  have  spent  their  best  energy  and  wisdom  in  our  service, 
when  trouble  seems  to  threaten.  But  this  is  the  way  of  the  world,  a  momentary 
cloud  will  eclipse  a  lifetime  of  heroic  work, 

III.  That  many  people  meet  anticipated  difficulties  in  a  spirit  which  de- 
grades previous  events  of  a  glorious  character.  The  Israelites  now  reproach 
Moses  for  bringing  them  out  of  Egyptian  bond.ige, — they  intimate  that  death 
would  have  been  as  well  in  the  land  they  had  left  as  in  the  wilderness.  They 
had  no  public  spirit.  They  had  been  slaves  almost  too  long  to  learn  that  death 
in  freedom  is  preferable  to  life  in  slavery.  And  thus  men  who  meet  the  ap- 
proaching difficulties  of  life  in  a  spirit  of  fear  and  unbelief,  are  very  likely  to 
bring  contempt  upon  the  most  glorious  events  of  their  past  history,  they  will 
even  dajken  the  glad  memoir  of  national  freedom.  All  the  events  of  life  tend 
to  a  unity,  and  it  is  impossible  to  murmur  at  the  present  without  maligning  the 
past.  Sometimes  weak  people  will,  in  the  hour  of  anticipated  trial,  refer  to  their 
past  advice  as  the  wisest  that  could  have  been  followed,  and  which  if  taken 

2G9 


CHAP.  XIY. 


nOMlLETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


would  have  averted  the  threatening  danger ;  thus  they  unknowingly  make  their 
folly  their  glory. 

IV.  That  anticipated  difficulties  should  be  met  in  a  spirit  of  confidence  in 
God.  As  the  ditliciilties  advance  we  must  wait  and  see  the  salvation  ut'  God. 
We  must  not  allow  anticipated  trial  to  shut  out  the  vision  of  God  from  the 
soul.  View  the  Divine  purpose  in  tlie  sorrows  of  life,  that  they  are  a  discipline 
for  our  gijod ;  contemplate  the  promises  of  God  to  the  perplexed ;  and  in  all 
probability  the  enemies,  fears,  and  circumstances  which  harass  you  shall  be 
drowned  in  the  sea  in  a  vain  pui-suit.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  when  trials  threaten  we 
should  trust  in  God.  2.  Tlmt  fear  weakens  men  in  the  hour  of  trial.  3.  TJmt  it  is 
ungenerous  to  murmur  against  those  who  earnestly  seek  omr  good. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  5.  Under  providence,  tidings 
of  the  difficulties  and  fears  of  the 
Church  may  come  to  the  enemy  to 
move  them. 

Wicked  tyrants  take  occasion  from 
tidings  of  the  straits  of  the  Church  to 
plan  against  it. 

The  hearts  of  the  wicked  are  soon 
turned  from  forced  favours  to  hate 
God's  Israel. 

The  wicked  do  not  like  to  see  the 
freedom  of  the  good. 

Verses  6,  7.  Hardened  persons 
against  God  not  only  consult  but  are 
the  first  to  lead  in  persecuting  the 
Church.  .  .  .  Horses  and  chariots  are 
the  best  strength  of  earthly  powers. 

Wicked  men  want  no  auxiliaries  for 
their  work  of  iujurying  the  Church. 

An  attack  on  the  Church  :  1.  Well 
calculated.  2.  Grand  in  array.  3.  Ter- 
rible in  defeat. 

Verse  8.  Ten  times  hardening  in 
sin  calls  for  ten  times  hardening  in 
judgment. 

Such  tenfold  hardening  drives  men 
to  tenfold  more  wickedness  in  persecu- 
tion. 

The  high  hand  of  God  in  favouring 
His  Church  will  not  persuade  hardened 
sinners  from  persecition. 

Wlien  pride  of  enemies  sets  them 
against  the  Church,  God's  hand  will  be 
above  them. 

The  Infatuation  of  Sin. 

And  he  pirsucd  after  tlie  children  of 
Israel." 

270 


I.  The  infatuation  of  sin  is  seen  in 
that  favourable  circumstances  often 
awaken  in  men  their  old  desires  to  do 
evil.  The  King  of  Egypt  had  allowed 
the  Israelites  to  go  out  on  their  march 
of  freedom,  but  when  he  saw  them  en- 
tangled in  the  wilderness,  his  old  pas- 
sion came  back,  and  he  immediately 
sent  his  army  to  regain  possession  of 
them.  This  appeared  a  favourable  op- 
portunity for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
evil  purpose.  And  there  are  many  men 
who  yield  to  the  better  impulses  of 
their  nature,  but  they  commence  a  life 
of  sin  again  upon  the  first  temptation. 
The  heart  must  be  renewed,  or  the  old 
sins  will  come  forth  again  at  the  first 
opportunity. 

II,  The  infatuation  of  sin  is  seen  in 
that  it  takes  no  thought  of  God,  or  of 
consequences.  We  read  that  Pharaoh 
took  his  chariots  and  captains  on  the 
errand  on  which  he  was  bent.  He  did 
not  think  of  that  God  with  whom  he 
was  in  conflict,  and  whose  anger  he 
was  provoking.  He  tli ought  not  of 
what  might  be  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences to  himself  and  nation.  He 
little  imagined  that  not  one  of  his 
splendid  army  would  ever  return  from 
the  conflict,  and  that  he  was  making  all 
tlie  preparation  for  destruction.  And 
so  tliose  who  despise  the  good  impulses 
of  their  nature,  and  who  pursue  a  course 
of  sin,  think  not  of  God,  or  of  the  pro- 
bable consequences  of  their  conduct. 

in.  The  infatuation  of  sin  is  un- 
mindful of  the  past  painful  discipline 
it  has  experienced.    Had  not  I'haraoh 


EOMILETlC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  xtr. 


endured  enough  punisliment  in  the 
plagues  which  had  been  seat  upon  him 
in  the  past?  Had  they  not  destroyed 
the  wealth  and  hope  of  the  nation,  and 
yet  they  do  not  deter  him  from  setting 
out  again  on  his  old  sinful  course. 
Some  men  will  not  learn  wisdom  by 
past  experience,  and  thus  they  pursue 
their  sins  to  eternal  destruction.  Sin 
is  a  terrible  infatuation. 

Verses  9-12.  Providence  may  allow 
terrible  enemies  to  pursue  and  over- 
take the  pilgrim  Church. 

God's  mighty  hand  may  order  ene- 
mies to  see  His  Church  in  their  camp, 
but  not  hurt  them. 

God  may  open  the  eyes  of  the  re- 
deemed to  see  approaching  dangers. 

Such  discoveries  of  danger  may  affect 
unbelieving  souls  with  amazing  fear. 

Unbelief  in  danger  : — 1.  It  cries  out 
for  fear  of  death.  2.  It  unjustly  charges 
the  ministers  of  God.  3.  It  gives  men 
longings  after  bondage.  4.  It  seeks  to 
be  reckoned  a  prophet.  5.  It  forecasts 
danger  which  never  will  happen. 

Direction  in  Dilemma. 

Verse  13.  God's  great  design  in  all 
His  works  is  the  manifestation  of  His 
own  glory.  Any  aim  less  than  this 
would  be  unworthy  of  Himself.  It  is 
His  will  to  manifest  His  glory  to  man. 
But  how'?  Vanity  covers  the  eye  of 
man,  and  puts  a  high  estimate  on  self. 
Self  must  stand  out  of  the  way  that 
God  may  be  seen  ;  and  this  is  why  God 
brings  His  people  into  straits  that,  see- 
ing its  weakness,  it  may  behold  the 
majesty  of  God.  A  smooth  life  will  see 
but  little  of  the  glory  of  God.  Among 
the  huge  Atlantic  waves  of  bereavement 
and  reproach  we  learn  the  power  of 
Jehovah.  Trouble  gives  a  wealth  of 
knowledge  to  be  obtained  no  other 
way.  Our  text  exhibits  the  posture  in 
which  men  should  be  found  in  trouble. 

I.  A  picture  of  the  believer  when  lie 
is  reduced  to  great  straits.  "  Stand 
still,"  &c.  Here  are  two  things  con- 
spicuous : — 1.  What  is  to  he  done  ?  The 
man  is  in  difl&culty.  He  cannot  retreat. 
What  to  do  ]     Jbes^air  says,  "  Die." 


Not  so,  saith  the  God  of  our  salvation  ; 
He  loves  us  too  well  to  bid  us  yield  to 
despondency.  Cowardice  says,  "  Re- 
treat." Better  to  go  back  to  Egypt. 
Relinquish  the  ways  of  God.  The  sun 
turns  not  back  when  the  clouds  veil 
its  splendour.  Precipitancy  cries,  "  Do 
something,  there  is  no  time  to  be  lost." 
Presunvption  says,  "  Neck  or  nothing." 
March  into  the  sea.  Expect  a  miracle. 
But  we  are  to  stand  still, — we  are  to 
wait  in  prayer.  2.  What  is  to  be  seen  ? 
I  cannot  deliver  myself.  I  cannot  see 
how  God  can  deliver  me.  Soon  you 
shall  see  all  nature  and  all  providence 
subservient  to  God's  love.  You  shall 
be  a  wonder  to  yourself  You  shall  see 
your  enemies  utterly  destroyed. 

II.  I  take  the  text  in  reference  to 
the  sinner  brought  into  the  same  con- 
dition in  a  moral  sense.  You  are  being 
brought  out  of  the  Egypt  of  your  sins, 
and  to  feel  the  Divine  awakenings. 
You  have  as  yet  found  no  peace.  Your 
sins  are  around  you  1  What  are  you 
to  do  1  Stand  still !  The  sinner  can- 
not keep  the  law.  See  the  salvation 
of  God — ordained  of  old — wrought  by 
a  mediator.  Then  look — trust — now^. 
—  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

The  ministers  of  God  must  reason 
quietly  with  a  froward  people  in  the 
time  of  trial. 

God  seeks  by  His  ministers  to  remove 
the  unbelief  of  His  people. 

The  salvation  of  God  is  worth  look- 
ing unto  by  His  poor  creatures  in  faith. 

Salvation  : — 1.  Needed.  2.  Present. 
3.  Ofiered.  4.  Sufficient.  5.  Divine. 
6.  Visible.     7.  Neglected. 

Causes  of  fear  which  hinder  faith 
God  removes  at  His  pleasure. 

^'  For  the  Egyptians  whom  ye  have  seen 
to-day,  ye  shall  see  them  again  no  more 
for  ever." 

I.  Then  wicked  men  shall  perish  in 
the  very  hour  of  their  splendour  and 
pride.  "  The  Egyptians  whom  ye  have 
seen  to-day."  Now  Pharaoh  and  his 
army  are  advancing  in  all  their  strength 
and  splendour,  perhaps  on  no  previousf 
occasion  had  they  been  seen  in  such 
array.     But  the  hour  of  their  strength 

271 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


was  to  be  the  hour  of  their  weakness, 
— the  hour  of  their  ])ri(le  was  to  be  the 
hour  of  their  downfall.  When  sin  has 
collected  all  its  forces,  and  when  it  is 
ai)parently  in  best  array,  then  will  the 
providence  of  God  cause  it  to  be  seen 
no  more.  There  will  come  a  time  when 
sin  will  be  buried  in  the  waters  into 
which  it  has  pursued  the  good.  The 
collapse  of  sin  is  always  sudden  and 
unexpected.  What  a  joy  when  the  sin 
we  see  to-day  shall  be  seen  no  more  for 
ever.  All  the  providences  of  G-od  are 
working  to  this  end.  The  wicked  perish 
in  the  very  act  of  sin. 

II.  Then  wicked  men  are  often 
powerless  to  inflict  the  injury  they 
desire  upon  the  good.  Pharaoh  and  his 
army  were  stern  foes  of  Israel,  and  they 
were  viewed  with  great  terror.  The 
enemies  of  the  good  are  powerless  to 
injure  whom  God  ])roti'cts.  Their 
pursuit  is  vain.  The  Clmrch  is  often 
pursued,  but  tlie  injury  is  often  upon 
those  who  give  it  chase.  If  we  will 
but  trust  in  God,  the  enemies  we  see 
to-day, — the  scorn  of  the  world,    the 


pain  of  life,  the  inward  corruption  of 
the  soul,  and  our  doubts  and  fears, — 
shall  be  seen  no  more  for  ever:  they 
shall  be  overwhelmed  in  the  atoning 
sacrifice  of  the  cross,  as  were  the  Egyp- 
tians in  the  Red  Sea..  If  we  are  in- 
jured by  these  enemies  of  the  soul,  it 
is  because  of  our  unbelief 

III.  Then  the  wicked  and  the  good 
will  be  eternally  separated  in  the  life 
to  come.  As  the  freed  Israelites  were 
to  see  Pharaoh  and  his  army  no  more, 
so  the  good  in  heaven,  after  the  final 
deliverance  of  life,  shall  see  the  wicked 
no  more  for  ever.  In  heaven  this 
separation  will  be  complete  and  eternal. 
Now,  the  wheat  and  tares  grow  to- 
gether ;  not  so  then.  There  are  separa- 
tions going  on  in  this  life  based  on 
moral  character,  in  society,  in  com- 
merce, and  in  tlie  State.  This  is  a  pro- 
phecy of  the  future.  An  awful  thing 
to  be  for  ever  in  the  company  of  the 
lost.  A  sublime  privilege  to  be  for 
ever  in  the  company  of  the  pure. 
Nothing  that  can  defile  shall  enter 
heaven. 


MAIN  HOMILETIOS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  15-18. 

Progress  under  Difficulty. 

The  children  of  Israel  are  now  commanded,  in  their  perplexing  circumstances, 
to  move  forward  into  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea.  A  soul  anxious  to  go  forward 
will  find  paths  where  least  expected  and  in  the  most  unlikely  places. 

L  That  in  the  perplexing  circumstances  of  life,  progress  is  often  the  highest 
wisdom,  and  gives  the  best  solution  of  difficulty.  "  Speak  unto  the  children 
of  Israel,  that  they  go  forward."  When  men  have  learnt  to  "  stand  still,"  then 
they  are  prepared  to  "  go  forward."  Men  must  be  patient  before  they  can  be 
truly  active  and  energetic.  God  expects  men  to  co-operate  with  His  plan  and 
purpose  in  reference  to  their  deliverance  from  enemies ;  He  will  open  a  path  in 
the  waters,  but  they  must  walk  in  it.  To  move  forward  under  difficulty  13 
generally  to  find  it  vanish  at  every  step.  To  stand  still  looking  at  the  moun- 
tains is  not  the  way  to  get  beyond  them.  But  progress  at  such  a  time  must 
be  guided  by  the  providence  of  God,  and  not  by  the  reason  or  inclination. 
Men  must  stand  still  till  God  tells  them  to  go  forward,  then  they  will  l)e  de- 
fended by  His  power  and  led  by  His  wisdom.  God  always  gives  men  clear  in- 
dications when  they  are  to  go  forward;  the  cloud  moves  and  must  be  followed 
through  the  great  waters. 

II.  That  in  progress  under  difficulty  there  are  times  when  action  is  more 
needful  than  prayer.  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Wherefore  criest  thou 
unto  me  ?  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  go  forward."  Thus  it 
is  evident  that  Moses  had  been  praying  unto  the  Lord,  not  in  public  l)ut  in  the 
secret  place  of  the  heart.  The  «ood  man  can  pray  without  removing  from  the 
272 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xiv. 


busy  crowd.  The  prayer  is  not  recorded — hence  was,  no  doubt,  offered  silently. 
Certainly,  it  seemed  an  appropriate  time  for  prayer  on  the  part  of  the  great 
Leader,  as  his  position  in  reference  to  Israel  became  more  critical  every  moment. 
It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  know  when  to  pray  and  when  to  act ;  certain  it  is 
that  there  are  times  in  life  when  the  former  must  be  merged  in  the  latter.  Men 
require  to  go  forward  at  the  right  time  as  well  as  pray  at  the  right  time  ;  and  suc- 
cess in  any  enterprise  will  depend  upon  the  right  combination  of  the  two  duties. 
It  is  folly  to  stand  praying  when  surrounded  by  mountains,  armies,  and  seas, 
without  seeking  to  overcome  our  difficulties.  Prayer  without  action  will  not 
remove  physical  disease,  will  not  improve  social  position,  will  not  give  mental 
culture,  and  will  not  strengthen  moral  character.  Men  must  go  forward  as 
well  as  pray.  The  energetic  character  will  be  more  likely  to  neglect  the  latter, 
the  meditative  character  will  be  more  likely  to  neglect  the  former  ;— combine 
both.  Progress  under  difficulty  needs  strenuous  eff"ort.  At  such  times  effort 
must  be  hrave — must  go  into  the  waters ;  obedient — according  to  the  word  of  God  ; 
constant — must  not  halt  in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

III.  That  in  progress  under  difficulty  there  are  times  when  the  most  trivial 
instrumentalities  are  useful,  and  are  apparently  associated  with  great  results. 
"  But  lift  thou  up  thy  rod,  and  stretch  out  thine  hand  over  the  sea,  and  divide 
it;  and  the  children  of  Israel  shall  go  on  dry  ground  through  the  midst  of  the 
sea."  Thus  the  rod  of  Moses  was,  in  the  providence  of  God,  used  as  an  instru- 
ment for  the  dividing  of  the  Red  Sea.  We  know  right  well  that  the  rod  did 
not  in  reality  produce  the  result  here  recorded;  that  was  done  by  the  omnipotent 
arm  of  God,  of  which  the  lifting  up  of  the  little  rod  was  but  the  symbol.  It 
would  be  evident  to  all  that  a  miracle  was  wrought.  And  so,  in  the  progress  of 
men,  under  diificult  circumstances,  God  often  makes  use  of  little  instrumentali- 
ties, to  enhance  their  welfare,  that  the  power  of  heaven  may  be  visible  in  the 
events  of  earth, — that  there  may  be  an  appeal  to  sense,  and  that  the  result  may 
appear  more  sublime  in  contrast  with  the  petty  means  with  which  it  has  been 
associated.  Thus  providence  links  small  agencies  with  important  issues.  God 
can  employ  our  smallest  possessions  for  our  welfare.     Thus  He  dignifies  them. 

IV.  That  in  progress  under  difficulty  there  are  times  when  the  wicked  are 
obliged  to  recognise  the  supremacy  of  God.  "  And  the  Egyptians  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have  gotten  me  honour  upon  Pharaoh,  upon  his 
chariots,  and  upon  his  horsemen."  Thus  the  progress  which  the  good  make  under 
difficult  circumstances  bears  a  relation  to  the  wicked  who  are  pursuing  them. 
The  progress  of  the  good  is  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  the  providence  which 
secures  the  one  also  secures  the  other.  In  these  issues  men  cannot  but  recog- 
nise the  supremacy  of  God,  they  show  that  God  can  bring  to  naught  the  enmity 
of  the  wicked,  that  He  can  subdue  the  proud,  and  that  He  can  make  the  weak 
to  confound  the  mighty.  God  reveals  Himself  in  the  judgments  as  in  the 
mercies  of  life.  Lessons: — 1.  That  difficulties  are  not  to  prevent  progress.  2.  Thai 
Heaven  can  enable  men  to  overcome  the  greatest  hijidrances  to  progress.  3.  That  the 
progress  of  some  may  be  the  destruction  of  others. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  15.  Soul-Progress.  good  must  never  allow  sin  to  overtake 

T   mt,  1    1.     u         r  J  V  them  in  the  iourney  of  life.     Progress 

I.  The  soul  should  go  forward  be-  •  ir  i  i.  ^     e  *. 

.  ..     T^i         ,  IS  needtul  to  moral  safety. 

cause  enemies  are  in  pursuit.   Pharaoh  *' 

pursued  the  Israelites.     The  souls  of  II.  The  soul  should  go  forward  be- 

the  good  are  eagerly  pursued  by  moral  cause  glad  experiences  await  it-     The 

evil,  and  hence  are  under  the  necessity  exi)eriences  of  the  soul  increase  in  joy 

of  ever  keeping  in  advance  of  it.    The  as  progress  is  made  in  all  that  is  good 

z  273 


ohap.  xnr.  HO  MI  LET  IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

and  pure.     The  good  must  go  forward  tain  progress,  hope  to  inspire  progress, 

if  they  would  sinj;  tlie  liymu  of  triumph  and  Himself  as  the  destiny  of  progress, 

on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  wlien  Nothing  in  the  universe  stamis  still, 

their  enemies  are  destroyed.     Onward  Shall  the  soul  of  man  be  an  excep- 

there  are  grander  visions  of  God  to  be  tion? 

obtained,  there  are  richer  fields  of  truth  _^  -,/.   -.o    t     •     /-.    i,       , 

to  be  explored,  and  there  are  nobler  ^^^^^'^  16-18    It  is  God's  pleasure 

thinus   of  character   to    be   obtained,  sometimes  that  His  ministers   should 

Then  onward  to  Canaan.  use  signals  for  working  miracles. 

1  he  sea  shall  be  dry  ground  to  the 
III.  The  soul  should  go  forward  he-  Church  when  God  doth  promise  it. 
cause  God  gives  abundant  grace  to  help  Promises  to  the  Church  become 
it.  God  has  made  the  soul  capable  of  threatenings  to  the  wicked, 
infinite  moral  progress  ;  it  cannot  be  God  is  glorified  in  the  destruction  of 
satisfied  with  the  present.  He  gives  persecuting  enemies  after  their  heart- 
grace  to  enable  progress,  food  to  sus-  hardening. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORA PH.— Verses  19-22. 

The  Divine  Presence  in  its  Relation  to  the  Life  of  the  Good. 

The  angel  of  God  went  before  the  camp  of  Israel.  Who  was  this  angel  ?  It 
was  no  created  messenger.  It  was  none  other  than  the  Son  of  God  (ver.  24). 
The  same  appeared  to  Moses  in  the  burning  bush.  The  same  wrestled  with 
Jacob.  All  who  set  themselves  against  the  good  are  in  reality  in  conflict  with 
the  Son  of  God.     They  are  engaged  in  a  hopeless  task,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

I.  That  the  Divine  presence  is  not  always  straight  before  the  inner  eye  of  the 
Christian,  and  its  apparent  absence  may  occasion  a  momentary  perplexity. 
"And  the  angel  of  God,  which  went  before  the  camp  of  Israel,  removed  and 
went  behind  them."  So  far  on  the  journey  the  pillar  of  cloud  had  remained  in 
front  of  the  Israelites,  so  that  all  could  easily  see  and  derive  comfort  from  it. 
And  so  the  presence  of  God  is  generally  before  the  eye  of  the  pure  soul,  that  it 
can  be  closely  followed  ;  and  if  it  remove  from  this  position  anxiety  is  awakened. 
When  life  is  an  uneventful  march  in  the  desert,  the  Divine  presence  is  ahead ; 
but  when  the  march  becomes  eventful,  then  the  movements  of  God  are  adapted 
thereto.  Christ  adapts  the  manifestation  of  Himself  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  Christian  life.  He  is  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  people  He  guides. 
Why  is  He  absent  from  the  eye  of  the  soul  1  has  sorrow  come  between  ?  has 
sin  grieved  Him  ?  or  has  He  only  removed  for  our  good  1  He  is  lovingly  near, 
even  though  we  see  Him  not. 

II.  That  though  the  Divine  presence  be  removed  from  before  the  eye  of  the 
Christian,  yet  it  is  somewhere  near  him,  exercising  a  beneficent  ministry 
toward  his  life.  "  And  stood  behind  them."  Thus,  though  the  Divine  presence 
had  removed  from  before  the  eye  of  the  Israelites,  it  had  not  forsaken  them, 
Christ  never  leaves  His  people  while  they  are  in  the  wilderness  :  He  knows  that 
they  cannot  do  without  Him.  Sorrow  may  come.  All  may  be  dark.  Christ 
may  be  unseen.  We  may  be  sure  He  is  somewhere  near  us.  If  we  look  in  the 
rear  we  shall  find  Him.  He  does  not  always  sustain  the  same  position  to  our 
life.  He  thus  educates  His  people  to  seek  for  Him.  All  His  movements  are 
for  the  good  of  the  life  He  leads.  He  goes  to  the  rear  to  hide  our  enemies  from 
view. 

III.  That  loving  adaptations  of  the  Divine  presence  to  the  need  of  the 
Christian  life  is  the  comfort,  protection,  and  illumination  of  all  pilgrim  souls. 
"But  it  gave  light  by  night  to  these:    so  that  the  one  came  not   near   the 

274 


BOMILETtC  COMMENT  ART:  EXODUS.  cSaP.  iir. 


other  all  the  night."  Thus  the  movements  of  the  Divine  presence  are  adapted 
to  the  need  of  the  Christian  life.  The  Egyptians  were  following  Israel.  God 
came  between  His  people  and  their  foes.  So  He  does  now.  He  comes  between 
us  and  our  sins  and  difficulties,  or  they  would  overtake  and  ruin  us.  See  His 
mercy.  See  His  power.  We  know  not  what  blessings  we  receive  through  the 
movement  of  the  Divine  presence  to  the  rear  of  us.  We  get  light  in  the  night  of 
sorrow.  We  get  comfort  in  the  hour  of  trial.  We  get  protection  in  the  time  of 
danger.  The  presence  of  Christ  is  always  found  where  His  people  most  nesd 
it.  Few  earthly  friends  come  between  us  and  our  troubles;  Christ  our  best 
friend. 

IV.  That  the  Divine  presence  presents  a  different  aspect  to  the  good  from 
what  it  does  to  the  ungodly  multitude.  "  It,  was  a  cloud  and  darkness  to 
them."  Thus,  to  the  good,  the  Divine  presence  is  always  as  a  beauteous,  refresh- 
ing, and  guiding  light;  but  to  the  unholy  crowd  it  is  ever  as  gloomy  and  mys- 
terious as  a  dark  cloud.  We  cannot  wonder  that  the  men  of  the  w^rld  call 
religion  a  thing  of  sadness  :  they  do  not  get  a  right  vision  of  God.  Eeligion  is 
a  joy.  It  lights  up  the  darkest  night  of  the  soul.  We  see  God  from  the  stand- 
point of  our  own  character.  To  the  sinful  He  is  as  a  cloud  ;  to  the  pure  He  is 
as  a  light.  Truth  has  a  dual  aspect.  The  cross  has  a  dual  aspect, — to  some 
foolishness,  to  others  wisdom.  The  Gospel  is  to  some  the  savour  of  life,  to  others 
the  savour  of  death.  All  the  great  objects  of  the  moral  universe  are  seen  as 
lights  or  clouds.  Our  state  of  heart  will  determine  the  vision.  Only  a  pure 
heart  can  see  God.  LESSONS  : — 1.  That  the  Divine  presence  is  near  to  each  one  of 
lis.  2.  That  the  Divine  presence  is  especially  t/ie  comfort  of  the  good.  3.  l%at  the 
Divine  presence  is  adapted  to  the  need  of  the  soul. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  19,  20.  The  movements  of  working  salvation  when  God  corn- 
Christ  : — 1.   Adapted  to   the  need   of  mands. 

the  Church.     2.  Discomforting  to  ene-  Jehovah  assists  the  signal  obedience 

mies.     3.  A  signal  for  victory.  of  His  servants  to  give  them  salvation. 

The  interposition  of  God  keeps  the  All   miracles   of  raising  winds  and 

wicked    world    from    destroying    the  cleaving   seas   must   be   attributed  to 

Church.  Jehovah. 

The    same   means   God    makes    to  The  drowning  waters  are  made  walls 

darken  His  enemies  which  lighten  His  to  God's  people  at  His  word  ;  so  all 

people.  afflictions  are  good  by  promise. 

Waters  may  be  made  walls  ;  dangers 

Verses   21,   22,     God's  instruments  may  be  made  by  the  grace  of  God  into 

must  be  obedient  to  doing  signs  for  safeguards. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  23-29. 

The  Divine  Troubling  of  the  Wicked. 

I.  That  the  Divine  troubling  of  the  wicked  takes  place  in  the  midst  of  their 
presumption  and  sin.  "  And  the  Egyptians  pursued,  and  went  in  after  them  to 
the  midst  of  the  sea."  Thus  we  see  that  tlie  Egyptians  were  at  this  time  in  full 
pursuit  of  the  Israelites,  and  were  presumptuously  following  them  into  the 
miraculously  divided  waters.  Hence  they  were  in  direct  opposition  to  the  com- 
mand of  God, — they  were  seeking  the  bondage  and  ruin  of  a  vast  people.  They 
were  animated  by  their  besettmg  sin, — an  intense  spirit  of  selfish  despotism.  Sin 
has  immense  power  of  will.  It  is  careless  of  the  greatest  peril,  it  will  pursue  its 
design  into  the  waters  of  the  Eed  Sea,  and  will  venture  on  paths  which  are  only 

275 


OTAP.  xiT.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS 


safe  for  the  people  of  God,  and  in  which  it  can  easily  be  destroyed.  It  does  not 
always  act  witli  sufficient  culculatiou  and  caution  ;  it  rushes  blindly  to  its  awful 
aestiny.  It  was  when  the  Eg^yptians  were  in  the  midst  of  the  waters  that  they 
were  troubled  by  God.  It  is  easy  fw  God  to  trouble  the  sinner  in  the  midst  of  his  sin. 
When  the  sinner  is  hottest  in  pursuit  and  surest  of  success  in  his  unlioly  aim, 
then  the  Divine  Being  can  trouble  him  through  the  cloud.  Belshazzar  was  thus 
troubled  in  the  hour  of  his  impious  feast  (Dan.  v.  9).  Thus  the  wicked  are 
troubled  when  they  are  engaged  in  their  most  desperate  attempts  at  evil ;  when 
they  are  least  expecting  disaster,  they  are  troubled  by  the  smitings  of  an  alarmed 
conscience, — they  are  troubled  by  the  hand  of  God.  The  Divine  eye  looks 
through  the  cloud  upon  the  exploits  of  the  wicked. 

II.  That  the  Divine  troubling  of  the  wicked  causes  the  mad  schemes  in 
which  they  are  engaged  to  drag  heavily.  "And  took  off  their  chariot  wheels, 
that  they  drave  them  heavily."  Tlie  Egyptians  had  got  their  best  armaments 
with  them, — their  strongest  chariots,  their  finest  horses,  their  most  skilful  men, 
and  all  was  in  splendid  battle  array.  And  yet  their  chariots  drave  heavily! 
Why  1  Were  they  not  well  made  1  Were  they  not  well  managed  1  Yes  ;  but 
they  were  troubled  by  God.  Thus  God  can  bring  to  nauglit  the  best  prepara- 
tions of  the  sinner  for  his  cruel  designs ;  He  can  render  useless  the  finest  chariots. 
The  sinner  finds  it  hard  work  to  drive  his  car.  The  Divine  troubling  is  an  im- 
pediment to  the  enterprise  of  the  evil-doer  ;  in  this  way  the  success  of  evil  to 
an  alarming  extent  is  prevented,  and  the  safety  of  the  Church  is  attained.  Sin 
cannot  prosper,  because  it  is  against  God.  It  is  a  mercy  that  the  chariots  of  sin 
drag  heavily,  or  men  would  ride  to  hell  more  quickly  than  they  do. 

III.  That  the  Divine  troubling  of  the  wicked  sometimes  causes  them  to  wish 
to  retreat  from  their  evil  designs  when  it  is  too  late.  "  So  that  tlie  Egyptians 
said,  Let  us  flee  from  the  face  of  Israel,  for  the  Lord  fighteth  for  them  against 
the  Egyptians."  Why  did  the  Egyptians  wish  to  flee?  Were  they  not  well 
armed )  Was  not  their  King  with  them  1  Were  they  not  brave  1  Were  they 
not  near  to  the  slaves  they  wished  to  recapture  ?  There  are  times  when 
sinners  are  obliged  to  see  that  their  wicked  enterprises  are  vain,  and  that  they 
cannot  succeed.  They  are  obliged  to  acknowledge  the  failure  of  their  best 
energies.  They  soon  know  when  they  are  troubled  by  the  Lord.  Then  they 
wish  to  make  the  best  escape  they  can,  but  it  is  too  late.  Let  us  beware  of  the 
folly  and  danger  of  pursuing  a  life  of  sin  so  long  that  there  can  be  no  escape 
therefrom.  It  is  dangerous  to  delay  conversion.  Some  men  will  never  retreat 
from  sin  till  they  are  troubled  by  God,  and  then  perhaps  they  cannot. 

IV.  That  the  Divine  troubling  of  the  wicked  will  in  all  probability  culmi- 
nate in  their  utter  ruin  and  destruction.  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Stretch  out  thine  hand  over  the  sea,  that  the  waters  may  come  again  upon  the 
Egyptians,  upon  their  chariots,  and  upon  their  horsemen.  .  .  .  There  remained 
not  so  much  as  one  of  them."  Here,  then,  we  have  a  picture  of  what  will  be  the 
end  of  those  who  sin  against  God,  and  who  provoke  His  troubling  ministries. 
God  can  employ  many  agencies  to  work  their  ruin.  The  waters  will  obey  His 
behest.  There  are  many  rods  by  which  they  may  be  smitten.  Then  the  dis- 
play of  sin,  the  best  strength  of  sin,  and  all  the  allies  of  sin  will  yield  to  the 
retributive  hand  of  God.  The  end  of  sin  is  to  be  buried  in  the  great  waters. 
The  sinner  is  walking  to  an  awful  destiny.  Lessons  : — 1.  Thai  the  wicked  are 
sure  to  be  Divinely  troubled.  2.  That  it  is  vain  to  seek  to  bring  the  Church  into  bond- 
age.    3.  That  the  end  of  sin  is  death. 


276 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xit. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  22,  23.     The  Church  is  pnr-  voice  of  conscience.     2.  By  the  painful 

sued  : — 1.    By   cruel  tyrants.      2.  By  discipline  of  life.     3.  By  the  failure  of 

combined  enemies.     3.  Into  hazardous  their  best  concerted  schemes, 
places.     4.  By  intense  hatred. 

The  folly  of   sin  : — 1.  It  will  rush  Verses  25-28.  Morning  and  evening 

into  dangerous  places.     2.  It  will  risk  may  not  be  the  same  to  the  wicked  for 

all  its  best  agencies.     3.  It  will  go  be-  their  hopes. 

yond  the  possibility  of  retreat.  God  will  stop  the  movements  of  per- 

The  enterprise  of  the  wicked  : — 1.  secuting  powers  in  His  due  and  proper 

Divinely  observed.     2.  Easily  troubled.  time. 

3.  Terribly  defeated.  Persecutors  always  find  that  Jeho- 

Sinners   are   troubled  : — 1.   By   the  vah  fights  for  His  Church. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  29-31. 

The  Salvation  of  the  Good. 

I.  That  the  good  are  saved  while  in  the  very  midst  of  agencies  which  might 
be  hostile  to  them.  "  But  the  children  of  Israel  walked  upon  dry  land  in  the 
midst  of  the  sea."  Thus  the  Israelites  were  saved  while  they  were  surrounded 
by  the  waters  of  the  Eed  Sea.  Their  situation  was  perilous,  yet  it  was  safe. 
Tlie  waters  were  made  into  a  wall  of  protection.  And  so  the  good  are  saved  in 
this  world,  even  while  they  are  surrounded  by  sinful  men,  by  influences  and 
maxims  which  are  naturally  prejudicial  to  their  moral  safety.  They  are  saved 
in  the  waters.  God  makes  safe  paths  in  this  wicked  world  for  the  good  to  walk 
in  ;  He  makes  even  the  adverse  influences  of  life  to  minister  to  the  defence  of  His 
people.  The  Israelites  were  not  drowned  even  though  they  were  surrounded  by 
the  waters  ;  the  good  need  not  be  lost  because  they  are  encompassed  by  sin. 
Religion  enables  a  man  to  walk  circumspectly  in  the  midst  of  moral  perils,  and 
to  go  where  duty  leads.  The  salvation  of  God  does  not  take  men  out  of  the 
difficult  circumstances  of  life,  but  guides  through  them. 

II.  That  the  good  are  saved  notwithstanding  all  the  hindrances  and  enemies 
which  may  pursue  them.  "  Thus  the  Lord  saved  Israel  that  day  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Egyptians ;  and  Israel  saw  the  Egyptians  dead  upon  the  sea- 
shore." The  Israelites  had  many  enemies  to  their  deliverance ;  they  had 
by  Divine  aid  to  overcome  many  obstacles.  And  every  man  has  many  impedi- 
ments to  his  salvation  by  the  grace  of  God, — he  has  a  carnal  mind,  a  corrupt 
heart,  a  wicked  companionship,  and  even  the  temporal  circumstances  of  life  may 
conspire  against  him,  yet  all  these  shall  be  overcome  by  the  help  of  God,  as 
were  the  Egyptians.  The  salvation  of  God  is  co-extensive  with  all  hindrances 
and  with  all  enemies, — it  gives  a  man  to  see  all  his  past  sins  dead  upon  the  sea- 
shore of  a  new  life. 

III.  That  the  good  are  inspired  by  their  salvation  with  trustful  and  reverent 
feelings  toward  God.  "  And  Israel  saw  that  great  work  which  the  Lord  did 
upon  the  Egyptians  :  and  the  people  feared  the  Lord,  and  believed  the  Lord,  and 
His  servant  Moses."  Thus  salvation  of  the  soul  is  a  great  work,  because  sin  is 
great,  because  mercy  is  great,  and  because  the  enemies  overcome  are  great.  God 
is  its  Author  ;  He  only  can  destroy  the  Egyptian  of  sin.  Salvation  inspires  rever- 
ence. It  awakens  trust.  It  animates  with  a  respect  for  the  ministers  of  God  ;  the 
people  believed  Moses.  This  is  the  end  of  God's  dealings  with  men,  to  increase 
all  good  duties  within  them  to  Himself  Let  us  never  distrust  God,  or  wrong  His 
ministers.     Thus  we  see  that  the  Red  Sea  which  threatened  destruction  to  the 

277 


OHAP.  ZIT. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Israelites  proved  the  greatest  benefit  to  them.  And  the  pain  of  correction  of  sin 
ends  in  the  joy  of  salvation.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  the  way  uf  salvationis  opened  up 
by  Christ  as  was  the  path  to  the  Red  Sea.  2.  That  men  may  be  saved  from  all  their 
moral  enemies.  3.  That  the  salvation  of  God  should  beget  reverence  and  trust  within 
the  soul.     4.  Are  you  saved  ? 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VEHSES. 


Verses  29-31.  The  divided  sea  is  a 
type  of  baptism,  and,  consequently,  of 
all  that  which  is  requisite  to  purify  the 
soul  from  sin.  The  Red  Sea  of  the 
Redeemer's  blood  is  the  abyss  into 
which  the  sins  of  believers  are  so 
deeply  plunged  that,  if  sought  for,  they 
can  never  be  found ;  the  sea  which 
swallows  up  and  overwhelms  Satan 
with  all  his  host,  and  the  old  man,  and 
quickens  in  us  a  new  man,  who  after 
God  is  created  in  righteousness  and 
true  holiness.     This  precious  blood  of 


Christ,  who  offered  Himself  to  God  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  is  that  which  alone 
perfectly  cleanses  our  consciences  from 
dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God. 
Not,  indeed,  as  indispensably  neces- 
sary as  this  blood,  and  the  viviiying 
Spirit  inseparably  united  with  it,  yet 
serviceable  for  the  purification  from  sin, 
and  the  mortification  of  corrupt  nature, 
are  the  various  trials  which  are  not 
wanting  to  the  true  Christian.  {Krum- 
macher.) 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XIV, 


>T 


REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 


Exodns— Route  I  Ver.  2.  It  is  supposed  that 
Moses  started  from  Rameses  with  the  main 
body — that  other  divisions  took  their  route 
from  different  points  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  If 
BO,  all  would  meet  at  Succoth— the  place  of 
booths.  Thence,  they  proceeded  to  Etham 
(Pithorn)  on  the  edge  of  the  wilderness,  about 
three  or  four  miles  west  of  the  head  of  the 
Gulf  of  Suez.  Thence  their  natural  route 
would  be  round  its  head  into  the  Sinaitic  pen- 
insula. But  God  ordered  them  to  turn  and 
encamp  before  Pi-hahiroth.  There  were  two 
ways  by  which  Israel  could  reach  Canaan:  the 
near  thr^iugh  Philistia — the  far  by  tlie  wilder- 
ness. The  near  or  direct  route  to  Palestine 
and  to  Sinai  itself  lay  between  Lake  Tim.sah 
and  the  Bitter  Lakes.  These  lakes  at  that 
time  formed  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  and  near 
them  stood  the  frontier  city  of  Ethani.  They 
are  now  distinct  from  the  gulf,  but  communi- 
cate with  it  by  means  of  the  Suez  Canal — that 
wonderful  structure  which  run.s  across  the 
straight  course  of  Israel  to  Palestine  and  to 
Sinai.  These  lakes  were  a  kind  of  salt  water 
marsh — the  higher  grounds  being  dotted  on 
the  eastern  side  with  tamarisk  >hiubs,  and 
Btrewn  with  shells,  presenting  ;iliii.>st  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  sea-beach.  Tliii'i.p;)i  ihis  region 
Israel  wished  to  pass  as  the  neai  c,  t,  auii,  there- 
fore, the  most  natural  route  to  Sy  i  ia  and  Sinai ; 
but  God  selected  for  them  the  far  path.  1. 
Israel  was  incapable  of  contending  with  the 
warlike   hosts  of  the   Philistines.     2.  Israel 

278 


must  acquire  vigour  and  experience  through 
the  moral  discipline  of  the  wilderness.  3. 
Israel  must  receive  instruction  in  the  great 
principles  of  Divine  morality  and  truth  at  the 
foot  of  Sinai.  Therefore,  at  Etham,  the  way 
was  suddenly  changed  ;  and  Israel  was  directed 
to  march  towards  Pi-habiroth,  i.e.,  the  place 
where  sedge  grows — or,  the  bed  of  reeds. 
Clearly  this  was  a  more  or  less  marshy  loca- 
lity, and  would  prove  a  terrible  barrier  to  any 
beleaguered  host.  Behind  it  stood  the  frontier 
watch-tower  (jf  Migdol,  and  on  the  other  hand 
was  Baalzei)hon,  another  watch-tower  towards 
the  sea.  Thus  surrounded  and  entangled,  they 
would  seem  an  easy  prey  for  the  vengeful  and 
pursuing  foe,  who,  with  twin -horsed  chariots, 
drove  madly  over  meads  and  sands  in  fierce 
array.  Like  the  prophet's  servant,  Israel  saw 
but  the  human  foe ;  while  Moses,  like  the 
prophet  himself,  descried  the  Divine  Friend. 
The  eye  of  faith  saw 
"  The    distant    hills    with    flaming    chariots 

gleam. 
The  wild  waste  valleys   with  God's  legions 

teem. " — Shipton. 

First  Steps!  Ver.  2.  An  emigrant's  first 
night  at  sea,  or  in  the  remote  backwoods, 
how  dreary  the  scene  !  How  lonely  hia 
heart !  How  weary  the  frame  I  How  full 
of  home-longings  the  heait!  Often  during 
the  silent  night-watches,  he  hears  the  fitful 
moaning  of  the  wind  and  wave  at  sea,  or  the 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XIV. 


screech  and  howl  of  the  beasts  of  prey  on  land, 
he  wishes  himself  back  in  the  old  country — 
wishes  that  he  had  never  left  the  familiar 
haunt,  even  though  but  the  land  of  brown 
heath  and  shaggy  wood.  The  emigrant  host  of 
Israel  were  thus  circumstanced.  The  first  joy 
of  setting  out  had  subsided  ;  the  terrors  of  tiie 
desert,  the  mounts,  and  the  sea — the  weari- 
ness, the  hunger,  and  tLirst  of  their  long  march 
over  yielding  sand  and  amid  soaking  marsh, 
now  made  them  long  for  Egypt.  The  green 
pastures  of  Goshen — the  waving  palms — the 
blooming  gardens — the  shining  water-courses 
of  their  forsaken  homes  rise  up  before  them. 
They  become  heartsick.  So  the  Christian  pil- 
grim— as  he  plunges  into  the  Slough  of  De- 
spond, falls  heavily  on  the  jagged  rock,  and 
cuts  himself  cruelly,  or  is  pursued  by  armed 
robbers — wishes  himself  back  in  the  city,  with 
its  palaces  of  marble  and  gold — its  halls  of 
beauty  and  light — its  homes  of  gaiety  and 
merriment.  It  is  the  first  backwater  of  temp- 
tation— the  early  subsidence  of  the  flood  of 
spiritual  enthusiasm ! 

"  When  the  sky  is  black  and  lowering,  when 
the  {)ath  in  life  is  drear, 
Upward  lift  thy  steadfast  glances ;  'mid  the 
maze  of  sorrow  here." — Luther. 

Entangled !  Ver.  3.  History  tells  too  vividly 
the  story  of  Flodden  field.  The  strongly  em- 
battled host  of  Scotland,  with  its  Royal  leader 
— the  well-nigh  impregnable  position,  which 
made  Surrey's  heart  sink  as  he  led  his  English 
ranks  within  sight  of  it — the  inexplicable  folly 
of  the  brave  monarch  in  forsaking  the  pLice  of 
safety,  and  placing  his  army  in  such  a  position 
as  to  make  defeat  certain,  are  all  too  familiar 
to  the  schoolboy.  The  Scottish  soldiers  won- 
dered, yet  obeyed.  Israel  wondered  at  the 
course  their  leader  took,  but  they  followed. 
They  do  not  know  where  they  are  going,  or 
why  they  are  being  led  into  an  inextricable 
network  of  difficulties.  Well  might  Pharaoh, 
trained  in  all  the  art  of  military  tactics,  feel 
confident  that  the  vast  host  were  at  the  mercy 
of  his  panoplied  warriors.  It  is  said  that  when 
the  gallant  six  hundred  were  bidden  ride  into 
the  jaws  of  death  at  Balaclava,  they  looked  at 
each  other  significantly  and  obeyed.  Each 
read  his  fellow-soldier's  glance  to  mean  :  "A 
mad  act,  ending  in  our  death  ;  but  English 
soldiers  always  obey."  The  Russian  chroni- 
cler has  left  on  record  that  the  Muscovite 
generals  and  staff  were  confident  of  the  total 
hemming  in  of  the  English  armies  upon  the 
Crimean  sea-shore.  Pharaoh  had  a  similar  con- 
viction that  an  easy  triumph,  ending  in  the 
complete  extirpation  of  his  hated  serfs,  was 
before  him.     He  was  soon  to  learn  that 

"  Morning  is  ever  the  daughter  of  night ; 
All  that  is  black  will  be  all  that  is  bright." 

Christian  Life !  Ver.  5.  Israel  probably 
thought  th.it,  once  freed  from  bondage,  all  per- 
secution from  Egypt  was  over.  When  they  were 
deceived  they  cxptClcJ  UOLUiug  bu;  death,    A 


party  sailing  down  the  Amazon  bivouacked  on 
an  open  glade  near  the  bank.  Whilst  resting 
here,  they  were  suddenly  aware  of  an  approach- 
ing foe  in  the  shape  of  a  group  of  shaggy, 
naked  savages,  armed  with  bows  and  spears 
and  blow  pipes.  They  rushed  at  once  to  the 
canoe,  and  pushed  out  from  the  shore,  only  in 
time  to  escape  a  flight  of  poisoned  arrows. 
Once  more  on  the  river  they  thought  them- 
selves safe  from  all  pursuit.  Quietly  they 
pad<lled  down  the  stream  attracted  by  the 
lavish  tropical  vegetation,  and  the  brilliantly- 
plumaged  birds.  Night  came  on,  and  as  they 
were  preparing  for  slumber,  they  were  alarmed 
to  find  three  large  war-canoes  in  hot  pursuit. 
They  had  reckoned  themselves  entirely  free 
from  their  pursuers.  So  with  the  young 
Pilgrim  !  When  he  left  the  City  of  Destruc- 
tion, he  looked  to  have  no  more  persecution  ; 
but  he  soon  discovered  his  mistake.  Israel 
is  pursued  !  But  the  discipline  is  good  :  for 
are  not  the  winds  and  tempests  the  scliool  of 
the  sailor-boy  ?  Sharpe  remarks  that  it  is  not 
every  calamity  that  is  a  curse,  and  early  adver- 
sity is  often  a  blessing.  It  was  so  with 
youthful  Israel;  and  it  is  so  with  the  young 
Christian. 

*'  Many  a  foe  is  a  friend  in  disguise, 
Many  a  trouble  a  blessing  most  true, 
Helping  the  heart  to  be  happy  and  wise, 
With  love  ever  precious,  and  joys  ever  new." 
— Tupper. 

Misgivings!  Ver.  10.  1.  Who  does  not 
admire  and  appreciate  "  Swiss  Family  Robin- 
son "  ?  It  is  perused  and  reperused  with  avi- 
dity and  ever  fresh  interest  by  the  young  ; 
and  yet,  too  often  its  beauties  are  lost  sight  of. 
One  of  the  most  touching  scenes  in  the  book 
is  where  the  father,  exhausted  by  toil,  dis- 
tracted by  anxiety,  gives  way  to  despair,  and 
ventures  to  question  whether  he  had  at  all 
acted  rightly  and  wisely  in  leaving  his  native 
Switzerland.  It  was  a  time  of  great  dread  and 
danger.  2.  The  emigrant  finds  himself  in  the 
Brazilian  forest.  He  has  been  struggling  to 
hew  down  the  giant  trees,  twisted  and  fas- 
tened together  with  the  tortuous  and  tough 
lianas,  in  order  to  make  a  clearing  for  corn  or 
maize.  He  finds  himself  unequal  to  the  task, 
surrounded  by  difficulties,  and  succumbing 
to  the  enervating  effects  of  extreme  exertions 
in  a  tropical  climate.  Withal,  he  hears  that 
the  native  Indians  are  in  an  unsettled  condi- 
tion, and  likely  at  any  moment  to  attack  his 
humble  wooden  home.  He  wislies  himself 
safe  back  in  Old  England  !  3.  It  is  said  ot 
Luther  that  there  were  moments  when  he 
half-regi  etted  having  launched  on  the  Refor- 
mation path.  Firm  as  the  Eddystone  Light- 
house while  the  waves  toss,  and  roar,  and  leap 
against  its  base  and  sides,  the  solitary  monk 
stood  at  the  Imperial  Diet  of  Woims,  unawed 
by  the  presence,  unterrified  by  the  power  oi 
emperor,  princes,  and  cardinals.  But  when 
alona.  how  he  was  readv  to  sink — to  wish  h'm- 
BcU  ouck  lU  tkt  ^LucL  clu.Bc^icd  secluaiuu  oi 

27y 


CHAP.  ZIT. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


his  monastery.   All  Christians  have  this  strain  : 
especiully 

"  When  truth  is  overborne,  and  error  reigns, 
When  clamour  lords  it  over  patient  love. " 

— Bonar. 

Red  Sea  fears !  Ver.  11.  As  the  Passover 
showed  Low  guilt  might  be  expiated  and  judg- 
ment escaped,  so  this  passage  shows  how 
those  whose  truilt  is  removed  shall  be  re- 
deemed fi-om  all  eviL  "  And  if  God  spared  not 
His  own  Sou,  but  delivered  Hiui  up  for  us  all, 
how  shall  He  not  much  more  with  Him  freely 
give  us  all  things?  "  But  Isiael  had  not  yet 
learned  this  great  truth.  They  were  ignorant, 
credulous,  and  impulsive,  as  bond-serfs  always 
are — whether  as  the  Helots  of  ancient  Sparta 
or  the  Negroes  of  modern  America.  They  had 
never  been  accustomed  to  habits  of  order, 
reflection,  or  self-command.  The  boudage-life 
had  shut  them  up  in  religious  ignorance,  if  not 
absolute  indifiference.  They  could  not,  there- 
fore, rest,  as  Moses  did,  upon  "  the  Great  Re- 
deemer." Already,  they  felt  themselves  back 
among  the  brick-kilns  and  slime-pits  of  Egypt, 
with  the  cruel  lash  now  become  a  scourge  of 
scorpions.  Had  Pharaoh's  host  rushed  for- 
ward, what  a  confusion  would  have  ensued. 
When  the  great  theatre  of  Santiago  in  Chili 
took  fire  on  the  Papal  Feast  day,  the  vast 
throngs  trampled  each  other  to  death  in  the 
effort  to  escape.  Had  the  chariots  and 
chivalry  of  Egypt  rushed  upon  the  undisci- 
plined host,  how  they  would  have  trodden 
upon  one  another  in  desperate  struggle  of 
flightl  But  Pharaoh,  confident  of  his  prey,  is 
willing  to  wait  till  the  morrow's  dawn.  The 
Bun  has  already  set.  The  moon,  which  was 
full  on  the  night  of  the  departure  out  of 
Egypt,  will  not  rise  for  three  or  four  hours. 
Egypt's  host  encamps  for  the  night.  Egypt's 
monarch  bids  sentinels  to  be  posted  to  watch 
the  fugitive  camp,  and  summons  his  nobles  and 
officers  to  a  council  to  decide  whether  the 
Israelites  shall  be  driven,  at  dawn,  into  the 
depths  of  the  sea,  or  back  again  to  tbeir  former 
bondage.     And  of  Israel  it  might  be  said — 

"  Yet  with  despairing  face 

Their  way  they  would  retrace  ; 

Or  on  this  desert  place 

Sink  down  and  die." — French, 

Sure  provision !  Ver.  13.  Isaac  was  young 
in  the  Divine  life,  and  perplexed  himself  sadly 
about  the  sacrificial  lamb  ;  but  Abraham,  who 
had  more  than  once  experitnced  the  Divine 
faithfulness,  was  content  to  "  wait  on  the  pro- 
vidence of  God."  The  Israelites  were  coiu- 
patatively  inexperienced  in  the  ways  of  God  ; 
whereas  Moses,  who  had  learned  their  mys- 
teries often  during  the  Midianite  exile,  could 
exhort  his  trembling  host  to  stand  still  and 
see  the  salvation  of  God.  He  knew  that  God 
had  become  their  salvation  in  the  wonderful 
works  and  feast  in  Egypt  ;  therefore,  he  was 
confident  that  He  would  not  forsake  them  now. 
A  carrier   hastening  homewards  through  the 

280 


drifting  snow  came  upon  a  human  form.  I 
was  that  of  a  mother  frozen  to  death  in  seek 
ing  to  save  her  infant's  life.  Tenderly  he  b(>r» 
the  babe  home,  adopted  it  as  his  own  child 
and  brought  it  up  iu  comfort  and  kindness. 
As  the  child  grew  up,  he  felt  that  the  one  whc 
had  rescued  and  saved  him  would  never  fail 
to  keep  him  iu  time  of  need.  So  with  Moses, 
he  was  sure  that  God,  who  had  delivered  and 
adopted  Israel  as  "  His  firstborn,"  would  not 
suffer  His  chosen  child  to  be  without  sufficient 
succour. 

"  Then  rouse  thee  from  desponding  sleep, 
Nor  by  the  wayside  lingering  weep  ; 
Nor  fear  to  seek  Him  farther  iu  the  wild." 

Pharaoh's  army !  Ver.  7.  Dr.  Kitto  com- 
ments that  to  the  student  of  Egyptian  anti- 
quities, there  is  something  of  much  interest 
in  these  allusions  to  the  forces  of  Egypt.  They 
were  composed  solely  of  chariots  ;  and  this  is 
entirely  iu  accordance  with  the  existing  testi- 
mony of  the  monuments,  which  exhibit  no 
kind  of  military  force  but  war-chariots  aud  in- 
fautry.  In  a  hot  pursuit  like  this,  the  in- 
fantry could,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
take  no  part ;  and  there  being  no  mouuted 
cavalry,  the  matter  was  left  entirely  to  the 
chariot-warriors.  On  the  other  hand.  Milling- 
ton  assumes  that  there  were  horsemen  as  well 
as  charioteers,  since  Moses  aud  Miriam  speak 
of  cavalry  in  their  hymn  in  Exod.  xv.  21. 
Satan  knows  well  the  forces  wherewith  to 
hunt  the  fugitive  slave.  He  will  not  will- 
ingly suffer  one  poor  slave  to  escape.  Even 
when  we  have  turned  from  our  sin-serfdom  to 
follow  the  guidance  of  God's  Word,  he  pur- 
sues with  mauifold  temptations — not  feeble 
ones,  from  whose  pursuit  we  can  escape,  but 
charioteers  which  come  thundering  down  upon 
us.  Even  as  the  eagle  swoops  upon  the  newly 
fledged  dove,  for  the  first  time  pluming  its 
pinions  in  the  sunny  air — even  as  the  tawny 
lion  or  spotted  panther  springs  upon  .the  slen- 
der, untried,  sylphlike  fawn  ;  so  Satan's  legions 
rush  down  upon  the  believer's  soul,  confident 
of  an  easy  triumph.  But  the  Christian  must 
not  despond. 

"Oh  !    bear   me    up,    when    this   weak   flesh 
despairs. 
And  the  one  arm  which  faith  can  lean  on  ia 

the  Lord's." 

Divine  paths!  Vers.  9-12  Krummacher 
relates  how  a  wanderer  had  to  go  a  long  and 
dangerous  journey  over  a  rugged  and  rocky 
mountain.  The  road  was  pointed  out  to  hiiu 
by  a  guide  clearly  and  di.-^tinctly,  tog'  ther  with 
all  the  bye-ways  aud  precipices  of  which  he 
must  beware.  He  gave  him  also  a  leaf  of 
paper  desciibing  the  way  exactly.  The  wan- 
derer obseived  all  this  attentively  ;  but  as  he 
journeyed  the  rocks  grew  steeper — the  path 
seemed  to  lose  itself  iu  lonely  dreary  ravines. 
Discouraged,  he  meditated  a  return  by  the 
way  he  came,  when  he  heard  a  voice  exclaim- 
iug,    "  Take    cou/age,    aud    follow    me."     H« 


EOMILETW  COM  MEN  TAR  r.  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XIV. 


looked  round  and  beheld  the  guide.  Thpy 
walked  on  between  the  ravines,  and  precipices, 
and  rushing  mountain  torrents,  until  they 
reached  a  lovely  valley,  where  blossomed 
myrtle  and  pomegranate  trees.  Thus  was 
Israel  led.  There  they  were,  a  Sea  before 
them  far  wider  than  their  familiar  Nile,  and 
with  the  wild  tumult  of  its  waters  very  ter- 
rible  :  a  sea  before  them,  and  on  tlieir  rear, 
with  his  jingling  chargers  and  sounding 
chariots,  an  angry  and  juthless  despot.  Un- 
armed and  unused  to  conflict,  to  face  round 
and  fight  was  for  a  flock  of  sLee)!  to  charge 
a  pack  of  wolves  or  lions,  and  across  that 
gulf  they  had  neither  wings  to  fly  nor  boats 
to  ferry.  In  their  moment  of  despair  came 
their  Deliverer.     The  man  of  God 

*'  O'er  the  wide  waters  lifts  his  mighty  rod, 
And    onward    treads, — the     circling    waves 
retreat."  — Heber. 

Providence  I  Ver.  13.  A  small  boat  on 
the  wide  sea  !  A  crew  of  three  shipwrecked 
mariners  in  the  Eastern  seas  !  In  the  dis- 
tance, a  Malay  prow  heading  straight  for  the 
boat  with  long  sweeps.  The  boat  sees  the  foe, 
and  struggles  desperately  by  hard  rowing  to 
escape ;  but  the  pursuer  gains  fast.  The  efibrt 
is  useless  : — the  oars  are  unshipped,  and  so,~in 
the  pirates  have  seized  the  boat,  fastened  it  to 
the  clumsy  stern  of  their  war-prow,  and 
dragged  the  sailors  on  board.  Hardly  is  this 
done,  and  the  head  of  the  native  vessel  once 
more  headed  East,  than  a  fearful  hurricane 
comes  on.  Those  who  have  never  been  in  the 
seas  of  the  East  Indian  Archipelago  can  form 
little  idea  of  the  appalling  fury  of  these  torna- 
does. They  last  only  for  a  short  period,  but 
the  wildness  of  the  tempest  passes  expression. 
The  natives  struggled  with  the  winds  and 
waves, — every  moment  expecting  to  be  hurled 
beneath  the  vast  mountain-masses  of  water. 
Again  and  again,  had  they  given  up  all  hope, 
when  mast,  and  sail,  and  Inilwarks  were 
wrenched  away,  and,  borne  on  by  the  breeze, 
fell  at  some  distance  into  the  foaming  deep. 
But  the  storm  lulled  as  quickly  as  it  arose  : 
the  vessel  was  borne  towards  the  shore  of  an 
island,  and  all  landed.  As  soon  as  the  Malays 
had  restored  their  vessel,  they  set  sail,  leaving 
the  manners  behind.  They  had  been  saved 
their  cruel  fate  in  having  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  pirate  crew,  but  they  now  realised  that 
this  very  capture  was  a  great  blessing.  Their 
own  frail  shell  of  a  boat  was  shattered  to  pieces 
at  the  first  onset  of  the  blast,  so  that  had  they 
been  in  her,  they  must  have  inevitably 
perished.  The  Christian  often  finds  hinjself 
pursued  by  foes,  or  surrounded  by  dangers ; 
but  let  him  hold  fast  to  the  conviction  that 
all  things  work  together  for  good,  and  he  will 
Boon  find,  like  Israel,  that  the  very  things 
which  seem  to  bar  his  progress  and  mar  his 
prospects,  become  the  means  of  safety  and 
deUverance. 

"  His  love  can  turn  earth's  worst  and  least 
Into  a  conqueror's  royal  feast."     — Keble, 


Forward !  Ver.  15.  "To  stand  still  when 
the  voice  of  God's  Providence  cries  :  '  Q« 
Forward,' quenches  the  light  of  hope  in  the 
heart,  and  opens  every  avenue  of  the  soul  for 
the  incoming  of  the  powers  of  darkness." 
Sometimes  it  does  a  man  good  to  be  brought 
into  Bucli  a  strait  that  he  must  choose  one  of 
__two  courses  immediately  and  forever.  In  the 
days  of  persecution,  the  tlireat  of  instant  mar- 
tyrdom has  induced  some  to  st-and  up  for 
Jesus,  when  they  might  have  lived  and  died 
without  making  the  choice,  had  they  supposed 
they  could  have  a  long  and  peaceful  lifetime  to 
choose  in.  Viewed  from  the  under  and  im- 
perfect human  side,  Israel's  crisis  was  a  i)iti- 
able  position,  but  from  its  Godward  side  none 
could  have  been  more  profitable.  It  was  the 
making  of  Israel's  after  life  for  God.  Even  so 
with  young  Christians  ;  a  great  crucial  trial  is 
often  their  lifelong  salvation.  Old  Humphrey 
has  a  good  paper  against  wandering  from  tlie 
path  of  duty,  suggested  by  a  notice  at  the 
entrance  of  a  park  :  "  Take  notice  !  In  walk- 
ing through  these  grounds,  you  are  requested 
to  keep  the  footpath."  Bower  says  that  Bun- 
yan  has  supplied  the  same  tlieme  for  solemn 
warning,  in  the  pilgrim's  straying  into  Bypath- 
meadow. 

"  Keep  your  right-hand  path  with  care, 
Though  crags  obstruct,  and  brambles  tear  ; 
You  just  discern  a  narrow  track — 
Enter  there,  and  turn  not  baek." 

— Barbauld, 

Red  Sea  Obedience !  Ver.  15,  Quaint  but 
truthful  was  the  sentiment  of  a  negro  preacher, 
whilst  discoursing  on  the  duty  of  implicit 
obedience  :  "  If  the  Lord  tells  me  in  His  Book 
that  I  am  to  jump  through  a  stone  wall,  I  will 
do  it  ;  for  jumping  at  it  belongs  to  me — going 
through  it  belongs  to  God."  Moses  receives  a 
command  to  cross  the  Rea  Sea  :  his  duty  was 
obedience — God's  promise  was  deliverance. 
So  felt  the  noble  Swiss  champion  Zwiiigle.  To 
go  forward  appeared  terrible,  but  God  required 
obedience.  He  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  Red 
Sea — the  veiy  point  to  which  the  guiding- 
pillar  of  Providence  brought  him  ;  and,  like  the 
pursuing  Egyptians,  the  Romish  myrmidons 
closed  upon  hnn,  ramping  and  ravening  for  his 
death.  But  just  as  they  were  about  to  clutch 
their  prey  the  sea  sundered,  the  host  was 
troubled,  and  as  the  waters  stood  up  on  either 
side,  the  fervent,  high-souled  Switzer  passed 
through  into  Gospel  Freedom. 

"  Let   not  my   peace   be   broken  when   the 
wrong 
Conquers  the  right;  but  let  me  still  wait 

on  ; 
The  day  of  right  is  coming,  late,  but  long." 

Confidence!  Ver.  15.  Mariners  speak  of 
a  "  frigate  bird" — to  be  seen  in  ail  climes,  yet 
never  to  be  observed  near  the  earth.  This 
bird  of  heaven  floats  grandly  on  ;  so  that 
while  men  in  the  far  north  see  him  at  mid- 
night floating  amid  the  northern  coruscations, 

281 


OHAF.  XIT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


men  in  the  tropics  observe  him  at  hottest 
noon,  sheening  liis  plumage  all  a  glow,  with 
the  out-flashing  sunbeaiua,  while  they  shelter 
from  the  burning  heat  beneath  the  cool  veran- 
dah-shade. Such  should  be  the  Christian's 
hope — no  diversity  of  atmosphere  should  afF  ct 
its  life  and  vigour.  Far  above  storms  and 
tempests,  whether  ice  or  heat  prevail,  it  should 
soar  serenely  on,  until  God  swallows  it  up 
in  Love.  As  Samuel  llutherfurd  puts  it  : 
"  Faint  not,  for  the  miles  to  heaven  are  but 
few  and  short." 

"  Thou  must  not  stop— thou  must  not  stay — 
God  speed  thee,  pilgrim,  on  thy  way." 

Go  Forward!  Ver.  15.  This  is  the  watch- 
word of  progress  for  the  world.  Obedience  to 
it  is  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  It  makes  all 
the  difference  between  success  and  failure — 
life  and  death — redemption  and  perdition.  It 
is  tlie  vigorous  pilgrim  that  climbs  the  danger- 
ous steep — that  bridges  the  mighty  stream — 
that  opens  fountains  in  the  desert — that 
makes  the  wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose. 
Obedience  discovers  and  tames  the  most  terri- 
ble forces  in  nature  ;  and  puts  them  into  iron- 
harness  to  work  for  man.  Obedience  is  the 
might  hand  that  lifts  the  cloud  of  ignorance 
from  the  human  mind — the  majestic  presence 
that  scares  away  the  horrid  spectres  of  fear 
and  superstition — the  mysterious  power  that 
stretches  the  iron  nerve  for  the  electric  thrill 
of  thought  to  pass  with  lightning  speed  over 
the  mountains  and  seas.     Go  Forward — 

"  To  see  avenging  wrath  in  heayen  above — 
A  gathering  tempest — clouds  of   blighting 

woe — 
Teeming  destruction  on  the  vanquish 'd  foe." 

— Mark. 

Eescue !  Ver,  16-18.  A  boy  found  him- 
self in  a  field,  pursued  by  an  infuriate  bull. 
Conscious  that  his  only  chance  of  escape  was  to 
hasten  to  the  gate,  he  turned  and  fle!d.  Nearer 
the  animal  came,  until  he  fancied  that  he  could 
feel  its  hot  breath.  In  a  moment  he  realised 
that  there  would  be  no  chance  to  open  the  gate 
in  time  to  escape  the  angry  animal's  rage.  On 
the  point  of  yielding  himself  up  as  lost,  he 
was  surprised  to  see  the  gate  suddenly  open. 
Gathering  fresh  energy,  he  sprang  forward, 
and  sped  through  the  open  way.  •Quickly  the 
gate  closed,  and  just  as  the  strong  bar  fell  in 
its  place,  the  mad  beast's  head  crashed  against 
the  wood-work.  What  an  escape  !  A  friend 
Lad  seen  his  danger — had  hurried  along  the 
road — and  had  reached  the  gate  just  in  lime 
to  open  it,  and  save  the  youth.  God's  Great 
Hand  (see  ver.  31)  divided  the  n)ighty  waters 
— opened  the  gateway  for  Israel's  fugitive 
legions,  who  passed  along  as  through  towering 
walls  of  crystal.  The  wattMs  saw  Thee,  0 
God,  the  waters  saw  Thee  ;  they  were  afraid; 
the  depths  also  were  troublud.  They  moved 
aside  to  Israel's  host,  who  trusted  in  Qod  to 
deliver  them. 

282 


"  And  such  the  trust  that  still  were  mine, 
Though  stormy  winds  swept  o'er  the  brine. 
And  though  the  tempest's  fiery  breath 
Roused  me  from  sleep  to  wreck  and  death." 
—  Waiard. 

Divine  Interposition !  Ver.  20.  Tlie  pillar 
symbolised  the  Bible.  As  the  pillar  inter- 
posed divinely  between  Israel  and  tiieir  foes, 
so  the  Bible  steps  in,  and  protects  God'a 
people.  At  the  battle  of  Frederichsburg,  a 
soldier  carried  a  Bible  in  his  pocket.  During 
the  eni^agement  a  ball  pierced  the  book 
through  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
stopped  at  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  His 
life  was  thus  spared ;  as  but  for  the  interposi- 
tion of  the  Bible,  the  bullet  would  have  pene- 
trated his  heart.  The  presence  of  Christ  in 
the  Word,  makes  it  to  the  righteous  a  light  to 
their  feet  and  a  lamp  to  their  path.  How 
dark  to  the  unbelieving  Pharaoh  and  his  host 
of  mail-clad  charioteers  !  On  what  a  scene  that 
night  did  the  light  from  the  fire-pillar  shine — 
did  the  darkness  from  tiie  cloud-pillar  shadow  \ 
Safely  the  little  feet  of  Hebrew  children  tn  d 
the  coral-strewn  depths,  where  never  before  a 
living  foot  had  left  its  impress.  Not  so  Pha- 
raoh's host  in  the  gloom,  deep  anil  intense, 
that  brooded  over  them.  Ignorant  of  God — 
enveloped  in  darkness,  they  did  not  know  that 
the  waters  had  been  riven,  and  tiiat  the  ground 
over  which  their  chariots  were  rapidly  rolling 
was  the  bottom  of  the  Red  Sea  covered  with 
large  tiees  or  plants  of  white  coral.  How 
often  the  Word  of  God  is  dark  to  unbelievers ! 
They  cannot  see  the  miraculous  workings  of 
God's  Great  Hand.  Blindly  they  grope  on 
in  their  relentless  persecution  of  God's  people, 
until  the  dawnlightof  eternity  flashes  on  them; 
and  too  late  they  discover  their  perilous  posi- 
tion, as  the  Waves  of  Judgment  roll  in  and 
over. 

"  How  sinks  his  soul ! 
What   black    despair — what   horror    fills    hia 

heart !  " — Thomson. 

Refuge!  Ver.  21.  Many  figures  are  em- 
ployed to  convey  the  shelter  which  sinners 
have  from  the  fires  of  wrath — as  well  as  which 
saints  enjoy  when  waves  of  temptation  sweep 
over  a  nation  or  community.  Others  have 
also  been  hailed  to  enforce  the  haiisbreadth 
escape  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  as  being 
saved  yet  so  as  by  fire  ;  or  as  our  Enf,'lisli  pro- 
veib  of  homely  phrase  says,  "by  the  skin  of 
his  teeth. "  All  these  mit^ht  be  illustrated  of 
the  incident  of  a  prairie-fire.  Schomburgh 
descri'oes  such  a  scene.  We  had  not  pene- 
trated far  into  the  plain,  when  we  saw  to  the 
south-east  high  columns  of  smoke  ascending 
to  the  skies — the  sure  signs  of  a  savannah  con- 
flagration. As  the  burning  torrent  would 
most  likely  roll  in  our  direction,  we  were  full 
alive  to  the  extreme  peril  of  our  situation,  for 
in  whatever  direction  we  gazed,  we  nowhere 
saw  a  darker  patch  in  the  grass  plain  announc- 
ing the  refuge  of  a  water-pool.  We  could 
already  distinguish  the  flames  of  the  advancing 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


column — already  hear  the  bursting  and  crack- 
ling of  the  reeds,  when  fortunately  the  sharp 
eye  of  the  Indians  discovered  a  small  eminence 
in  front  of  us  only  sparingly  covered  with 
Vegetation,  and  to  this  we  now  careered  as  if 
death  were  pursuing  us.  Half  a  minute  later 
we  could  not  have  been  alive  to  relate  this 
hairsbreadth  escape  from  a  fiery  fate.  As  the 
smoke  and  flames  overtook  us,  we  reached  our 
vantage  ground,  to  await  the  dreadful  deci- 
Biou.  We  were  in  tlie  midst  of  the  blaze. 
Two  arms  of  fire  enciicled  the  base  on  the 
little  hillock  on  which  we  stood,  and  united 
before  us  in  a  waving  mass,  which — rolling 
Dnwards — receded  farther  and  farther  from 
our  gaze.  We  were  saved — the  fire  having 
found  nothing  at  the  base  or  on  the  slopes  of 
the  eminence  upon  which  to  feed.  When  the 
sinner's  eyes  first  descry  the  advancing  flames 
of  wrath,  he  looks  around  for  water  in  which 
to  plunge,  but  all  in  vain.  There  is  no  salva- 
tion in  man,  and  he  is  ready  to  despair.  His 
attention  is  called  to  the  rock,  whereon  is  no 
guile  or  defilement  of  sin  upon  which  the  fires 
of  hell  can  lay  hold.  To  this  he  hastens  : 
■when  my  heart  is  overwhelmed,  I  will  look  to 
the  Rock  that  is  higher  than  I.  Here  stand- 
ing, all  is  well ;  the  flames  and  fumes  of  judg- 
ment roll  on  their  way ;  and  while  whole 
swarms  of  voracious  vultures,  which  have  fol- 
lowed in  circling  flight  the  fiery  column, 
pounce  upon  the  half-calcined  buffaloes,  ante- 
lopes, and  agotis,  the  sheltered  sinner,  saved 
through  grace,  retraces  his  step.s — striking  to- 
wards the  city  of  the  living  Go  i.  What  a 
picture  also  of  the  Last  Judgment,  when  all 
who  are  not  found  in  Christ,  become  the  prey 
of  evil  angels ;  and  while  the  redeemed  know 
no  alarms — 

"  Though    heaven's  wide  concave   glow    with 
lightnings  dire, 
All  ether  flaming,  and  all  earth  on  fire." 
— Thomson. 

Convictions!  Ver.  23-29.  Away  on  the 
Pampa  dell  Sacramento  roam  wild  tribes  of 
Indians.  Of  all,  the  Cashiboos  are  the  most 
savage  and  warlike.  Equally  cunning  as 
fierce,  when  they  see  the  traveller  they  do  not 
attack  him  at  once  in  the  broad  day.  They 
watch  and  track  him  to  his  sleeping-place,  and 
when  he  is  locked  in  slumber  deep,  they  spring 
upon  him  for  the  cannibal  feast.  Sometimes 
the  sleeper  is  aroused  in  time  to  defend  him- 
self. When  these  wild,  subtle  savages  find 
that  they  have  no  chance  of  success,  they  re- 
tire. But  it  is  only  to  watch  and  wait,  until 
some  other  night  arrives  when  they  may  renew 
the  attack  with  more  success.  Pharaoh's  lusts 
sought  his  destruction.  Again  and  again, 
did  they  spring  upon  him  in  his  sleep  of  self- 
indulgence  ;  but  he  awoke  to  timely — though 
alas  !  transient — repentance.  With  cruel  craft 
and  confidence  did  they  persist,  until  at  last 
they  accomplished  their  remorseless  purpose — 

"  Until,  at  last,  the  crushing  torrent  fell, 
And  swept  from   earth  the  pampered  child 
of  hell." 


Wheels  Dragging !    Ver.   25.     It  is  some- 

timt^s  of  God's  mercy,  remarks  Beecher,  that 
men  in  the  eager  pursuit  of  worldly  ag- 
grandisement are  baffled.  They  are  like  a  train 
going  down  au  inclined  plane — putting  on 
the  break  is  not  pleasant,  but  it  keeps  the  car 
on  the  track.  A  man  was  driving  furiously 
down  a  hill  in  the  direction  of  the  seaport, 
where  he  was  to  embark  for  California.  The 
caiTiage  wheel  struck  against  a  stone,  and  was 
shattered  to  pieces.  Bruised  and  angry,  he 
curso  his  adverse  fate,  which  forced  him  to 
trudge  for  miles  along  the  ro.id,  only  to  find 
on  arrival  that  the  vessel  had  sailed.  But  this 
"drag  upon  the  wheel"  proved  a  mercy  in 
disguise  ;  for  the  same  night,  the  stormy  wind 
arose,  and  swept  the  depai'ted  ship  beneath  its 
mountain  waves.  How  often,  God  makes  a 
man's  chariot  wheels  drag  heavily  in  mercy  to 
his  soul,  when  he  will  not  see  it.  Persist! i  t^ 
in  his  course,  he  finds  himself  at  last  sinkii  g 
beneath  the  Waves  of  W^oe,  like  Pharaoh — 

"  Whose  heart  of  adamant. 
Had  led  him  to  assay  the  ocean  depths, 
And  satisfy  his  lust  on  Israel  there." 

— Bickersteth. 

Death!  Ver.  28-30.  Pharaoh  and  his 
charioteer  had  the  same  watery  grave.  What 
a  pill  for  pride  !  Napoleon  the  Great  must 
die  as  well  as  the  meanest  of  his  camp-fol- 
lowers. When  Xerxes  wept  over  his  three 
million  warriors  as  the  sure  prey  of  relentless 
death,  he  probably  forgot  for  the  moment  that 
his  own  ambitious  heait  would  be  pierced  by 
the  same  sharp  dart.  The  waters  of  death  lie 
before  us  all — whether  proud  or  poor,  prince 
or  pauper.  Monarch  and  slave  alike  are  swal- 
lowed up  there,  as  the  waves  of  the  Red  Sea 
make  no  distinction  between  mighty  Pharaoh 
and  the  meanest  of  his  host.  What  then  will 
be  the  gain  ? 

"  Can  storied  urn,  or  monumental  bust, 

Back    to    its    mansion    call    the    fleeting 
breath  ? 
Can  glory's  voice  awake  the  silent  dust  ? 
Or  flattery  soothe  the   dull  cold  ear   of 
death?" 

Contrast !  Ver.  23.  In  some  respects 
Pharaoh  and  Nebuchadnezzar  resembled  each 
other.  Both  held  the  Israelites  in  captivity — 
both  were  of  mighty  and  lofty  spirit — and 
both  oppressed  the  children  of  the  captives — 
both  were  warned  by  a  holy  prophet — and  on 
both  dread  judgments  descended.  But  here 
the  resemblance  stops.  In  Pharaoh,  we  be- 
hold a  man  whom  no  chastisement  coulti 
reclaim — whom  no  grief  could  eSectually 
humble.  He  had  trembled  at  the  awful 
tlmnder  from  heaven — and  started  as  the  fierce 
fire  ran  along  the  ground.  He  had  seen  the 
clouds  of  locusts  darken  in  the  sky — had  be- 
held the  river  ruuniijg  blood — and  had  swelled 
the  wail  of  a  natiim  when  his  first-boin  was 
smitten  with  death.  Yet  Pharaoh  never  truly 
repented.  His  heart,  like  the  hardened  rock, 
returned   sparks  of   fire   for   the    blows   that 

283 


CHAP.  XT. 


BOM  I  LET  10  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


struck  it.     He  died,  as  he  had  lived,  in  open 
rebellion  against  God. 

"  Mercy's  boon  refused 
Shall  fall  in  judgment  on  the  soul  perverse 
That  slights  the  gift." — Mant. 

Pharaoh's  body  I  Ver.  30.  At  dawn,  the 
surf-beaten  shore  was  strewn  with  the  carcases 
of  Egypt's  chivalry.  Among  them  lay  the 
corpse  of  tlie  proud  and  stubborn  monarch — a 
piey  to  the  hosts  of  vultures  that  darkened 
tile  air,  and  to  the  motley  gioups  of  wild 
beasts  that  lined  the  shores.  The  Egyptians 
considered  this  as  the  greatest  of  all  misfor- 
tunes ;  and  it  was  sujiposed  that  the  soul 
could  find  no  rest  until  the  body  was  interred. 
The  ancient  poets  frequently  represented  these 
souls  as  visiting  their  friends  on  earth  to  an- 
nounce where  their  bodies  were  to  be  searched 
for  that  they  might  be  buried.  In  Egypt 
these  burials  were  associated  with  remarkable 
ceremonies  ;  but  were  such  for  Pharaoh  ?  Ap- 
parently, the  Israelites  took  the  golden  orna- 
ments and  jewellery,  as  well  as  the  richly 
wrought  weapons  of  the  dead ;  so  that  Pha- 
raoh's body  would  share  the  fate  of  the  others. 
The  jackals  of  the  desert  and  the  vultures  of 
the  air — symbolised  by  the  jackal  and  vulture- 
headed  coLisBal  stone  gods  of  Thebes — would 
soon  devour  them.  Near  Thebes,  the  Lybian 
hills  for  nearly  five  miles  have  been  converted 
into  a  labyrinth  of  sepulchres,  where  all  the 
kings  lie  in  glory — every  one  in  his  own  house. 
Among  them  is  the  tomb  of  Pharaoh,  the  wide 
extent  of  whose  dominion,  at  the  time  of  his 
destruction  in  the  Red  Sea,  is  indicated  by  five 
lines  of  tribute  bearers — offering  gifts  of  ivory, 
apes,  leopards,  skins,  gold,  and  other  valu- 
ables. On  it  are  sculptured  pictures  of  masons 
at  work  upon  monstrous  sphinxes — no  doubt 
captive  workmen,  perhaps  Israelite  slaves — 
masses  of  masonry 

"  Which  now  are  turned  to  dust. 
And  overgrown  with  black  oblivious  rust." 
— Spenser. 

Deliverance  1  Ver.  31.  Mr.  Bower  says 
that  temptations  resemble  the  rocks  which 
rest  their  jagged  sides  above  the  waves  when 
it  is  low  water.  No  vessel  dares  come  near 
them.  But  after  a  while  the  tide  comes 
sweeping  into  the  bay,  and  buries  the  rocks 
under  a  flood  of  water,  so  that  the  largest 
ships  may  ride  in  safety  above  their  teeth  of 


death — as  v^ell  as  the  lightest  skiff.  Ko  doubt 
Israel  thought  their  difficulties  of  deliveranca 
very  great — incapable  ot  being  surmounted; 
but  when  the  sea  of  God's  Providence  swept 
in  upon  the  land  of  Egypt,  they  were  borne 
high  above  tiie  jagged  rocks  towards  the 
haven  where  He  would  have  them  be.  There- 
fore— 

"  Man's  wisdom  is  to  seek 
His  strength  in  God  alone  ; 
For  e'en  an  angel  would  be  weak 
Who  trusted  in  his  own." — Cowper. 

Sin's  End !  Ver.  1 3.  There  is  a  marvellous 
tenacity  of  life  in  sin,  which  has  therefore 
secured  for  it  the  simile  of  the  fabled  Hydra 
destroyed  by  Hercules.  The  sea-anemone  is 
not  unlike  sin  :  1.  In  its  beauty ;  2.  in  its 
voracity ;  and  3.  in  its  tenacity  of  life.  It 
would  be  diflBcult  to  find  anything  more  beau- 
tiful than  the  sea-anemones,  emulating  the 
daisies  of  the  field  when  they  expand  their 
lustrous  discs.  Yet  this  wonderful  daisy  of 
the  waters — this  flower-like  creature  which 
charms  the  dullest  eye,  is  a  very  shark  for 
voracity.  Crustaceans  larger  than  itself  are 
gulped  into  its  miser-stomach,  and  woe  to  the 
nimble  Cyclops  and  annelide  which  comes  with- 
in its  reach.  But  its  voracity  of  appetite 
seems  almost  surpassed  by  its  uncommon  tena- 
city of  life.  Dip  it  into  water  warm  enough 
to  raise  blisters  on  the  skin — expose  it  to  the 
frost  of  winter — place  it  under  the  exhausted 
bell  of  an  air-pump,  its  powerful  vital  principle 
will  triumph  over  all  these  ordeals.  Cut  off 
the  tentacles,  and  new  ones  sprout  forth  ;  nay, 
divide  the  animal  in  two,  and  like  the  Lernean 
hydra,  it  will  produce  a  reduplication  uf  itself. 
Possessing  such  wonderful  powers  of  repro- 
duction, there  is,  however,  one  means  of  de- 
struction ;  for  these  aj)parently  indestructible 
creatures  die  wlien  plunged  into  fresh  water. 
And  such  is  sin — oftentimes  graceful  and  be- 
witching in  beauty;  always  voracious,  devour- 
ing all  good  that  comes  in  its  way  ;  yet  sus- 
ceptible only  to  destruction  when  plunged  in 
the  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life — when 
placed  under  the  mortifying  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

"  Let  the  water  and  the  blood, 

From  Thy  riven  side  which  flow'd, 

Be  of  sin  the  double  cure, 

Cleanse  me  from  its  guilt  and  power." 
— Toplady. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  This  Song-.] — In  order  fully  to  appreciate  the  exquisite  beauties  of  thif 
Song,  several  conditions  must  be  observed  ;  among  them  we  may  name  the  following  : — 
(1.)  The  existence  of  parallelisms  should  he  made  evident  to  the  eye  : — 

(Ver.  6.)       Thy  right  hand,  Jehovah  I  has  become  famous  in  vigour: 
Tuy  uiouT  HAND,  Jchovah  1  dashes  in  pieces  the  foe. 
284 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xt. 


(2.)  The  vivid  sequence  of  the  two  Hebrew  tenses,  the  Perfect  and  the  Imperfect,  should  bi 
noticed : — 

(Ver.  6.)      Roaring  Deeps  cover^  them.    ('Imp.  the  act  of  covering  passes  before  the  eye.) 
They  have  gone  down*  into  the  raging  deptlis  like  a  stone, 

(^Perfect :  result,  they  are  not  to  be  found.) 

(Ver.  12.)     Thou  hast  stretched  forth  thine  hand.  (Completed  act.) 

Earth  swallows  them  up.  (Sequel  :  abruptly  thrown  in,  as 

next  following.) 

(Ver.  14.)     Peoples  have  heard,  — ihey  tremble.         (How  much  vividness  in  a  single  line.) 
(3.)  Rapid  changes  of  arrangement,  adding  immensely  to  the  life  and  movement  of   the 
poem,  should  be  observed : — 

(Ver.  15.)     1  Then  have  been  amazed  ||  the  chiefs  of  Edom.    (Verb  first :  then  nominative. 
I  The  mighty  ones  of  Moab  ||  there  has  seized  them — a  quaking  ! 

(Object  first,  abruptly  set  alone,    with    great   boldness  ; 

then  verb,  with  objective  pronoun;  then  sulj'-ct  last. 

1  They  have  melted  away  ||  all  the  dwellers  in  Canaan.         (Same  as  first  line.) 

(4.)  The  force  of  particular  terms,  giving  a  poetical  colouring  to  the  composition,  should  be 

noted;  as,  ver.  6,   /IQn/l,   "roaring  deeps;"  /l7l^Q,    "raging   depths;"  ver.   10,  "they 

Bank,"  rather,  *^^^   "  they  rolled,  like  lead,"  they  were  bowled  in  from  the  Egyptian  side, 

clean  down  into  the  sea,  ihe  verb  tzalal  strikes  the  car  with  the  roll. 

(5.)  Special  beauties  remain,  too  numerous  to  be  named.  Conspicuous  among  them  is  the 
breathless  haste  with  wiiich  stroke  follows  stroke  in  ver.  9. 

Said  the  foe  :  I  will  pursue  !  overtake  !  divide  spoil  1 

(6.)  The  prophetic  element  of  the  poem  fitly  crowns  the  whole.  "  It  has  always  appeared  to 
me,"  says  Dr.  Margoliouth,  on  verse  17  ("  Poetry  of  the  Hebrew  Pentateuch,"  p.  72),  "  that 
this  is  the  verse  from  which  we  may  most  clearly  discover  the  inspiration  of  the  ode.  Very 
splendid  and  very  striking  is  the  description  of  the  past  scene,  but  tliis  vision  of  the  future  it 
is  which  stamps  the  composition  as  Divine.  I  know  of  nothing  equal  to  it  in  the  whole  range 
of  poetry.  The  contrast  is  so  beautiful  and  yet  so  natural.  Amidst  the  outpouring  of 
gratitude  and  triumph,  hope  and  faith  are  kept  in  view.  And  from  the  consideration  of  what 
had  been  achieved,  the  poet  feels  assured  that  the  Holy  One  would  not  '  suffer  his  truth  to 
fail.'  "  No  wonder  that  determined  rationalism  should  stumble  against  this  prophetic  rock. 
"  The  language  implies,"  says  Dr.  S.  Davidson  ("  On  a  Fresh  Revision  of  the  English  Old 
Testament,"  pp.  120-1),  "that  the  passage  across  tlie  Jordan  had  taken  place,  that  Jerusalem 
was  occupied  by  the  Israelites,  and  Solomon's  Temple  built.  Tlie  verbs  refer  to  things  done  ; 
and  tlie  poem,  Jehovistic  in  its  present  form,  is  much  later  than  Moses."  Alas!  that  "weak 
faith  "  should  "  choose  the  harder  side  !  "  Wi  h  sad  satisfaction  we  leave  our  English  scholar 
to  the  German-Jewish  scholar  Kalisch,  who  says — "  We  must  call  attention  to  the  prophetic 
instinct,  with  which  tlie  poet,  just  at  this  moment,  when  tlie  Israelitish  nation  happened  to  be 
between  Egypt  and  Palestine,  both  as  regards  time  and  place,  when  they  left  the  land  of  their 
ignominy  wiih  mixed  feelings  of  joy  and  apprehension,  and  impatiently  longed  to  reach  tha 
promised  abode  of  their  future  glory,  that  he  just  then  described  that  double  relation  with  so 
firm  a  hand  and  such  characteristic  traits.  And  thus  lias  that  which  many  critics  consider  aa 
a  historical  anticipation,  carrying  us  into  the  times  of  David  and  Solomon,  been  enobled  into 
a  poetic  beauty  by  the  sanctity  of  prophetic  inspiration." 

27.  Elim.] — Probably  =  "  palms,"  Ges.  Fii.  Dav.  By  many  identified  with  Wadi  Gharendel, 
"situated  2^  miles  S.  of  Howarah,  and  2  miles  N.  of  Tor,  in  a  very  beautiful  valley  of  almost 
one  English  mile  in  length,  and  abounding  in  good  water.  Even  according  to  the  most 
recent  travellers,  excellent  fountains,  and  a  great  number  of  trees,  especially  tameriska  and 
palm-trees,  are  still  found  in  that  valley,  so  that  it  is  generally  chosen  as  one  of  chief  etationa 
on  the  journey  to  Sinai." — Kalisch. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-22. 

The  Song  of  the  Soul  after  a  Timely  Deliverance  from  Danger. 

We  can  almost  realise  the  scene  which  this  chapter  brings  before  us.  There 
are  warriors  and  their  horses  struggling  in  the  midst  of  the  returning  waters. 
But  soon  all  is  over.  The  dead  are  washed  by  the  swelling  tide  to  the  feet 
of  the  rejoicing  Israelites.  God  is  victorious.  His  people  are  free.  They  sing 
His  praise.    The  mercy  of  God  should  ahvays  awaken  the  soul  to  jubilant  song. 

285 


OEAP.  XV.  BOMILETW  COMMBSTARY:  EXODUS. 


I.  The  Deliverance  of  Israel.     The  Israelites  had  been  in  great  and  alarming 

danger.  Tliey  were  encamped  against  Pi-hahiroth.  Mountains  were  on  each  side 
of  them.  The  Egyptians  were  pursuing  beiiind  them,  Tiie  sea  was  before  them. 
They  had,  humanly  speaking,  no  metliod  of  escape.  The  foe  was  proud  and  deter- 
mined. They  had  not  courage  or  the  means  of  war.  God  came  to  their  aid  in 
this  extremity,  and  delivered  them  in  wondrous  fashion.  He  is  the  best  Helper 
of  the  good  in  the  hour  of  perplexity.  His  mercy  is  rich.  His  power  is  great. 
It  is  not  the  way  of  God  to  leave  His  people  to  their  fate  when  they  are  exposed  to 
ten-ible  dangers.  He  might  have  told  the  Israelites  to  give  battle  to  their 
enemies.  He  might  have  intimated  that  they  should  help  themselves  out  of 
their  difficulty.  He  had  brought  them  out  of  Egypt,  and  was  it  not  right 
that  henceforth  they  should  protect  themselves  '\  It  is  ever  the  way  of 
Heaven  to  help  the  defenceless  out  of  the  hand  of  their  fierce  foe.  This 
deliverance  was  wondrous.  The  Israelites  were  brought  on  dry  land  through 
the  midst  of  the  sea.  This  was  the  last  way  of  escape  they  would  have 
expected.  They  would  as  soon  have  expected  to  see  the  mountains  levelled 
to  a  plain,  to  have  seen  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh  vanish  into  air.  God  is  never 
at  a  loss  for  a  method  whereby  to  deliver  the  good  out  of  the  hand  of  their 
enemies.  He  can  do  it  in  the  most  unexpected  manner.  All  the  agencies  of 
nature  are  ready  to  aid  His  Divine  purpose.  Has  He  not  many  times  in  your 
life  made  a  way  for  your  feet  through  the  sea  1  This  deliverance  was 
joyous.  Who  can  imagine  the  feelings  of  the  Israelites  as  they  went  down 
into  the  path  opened  for  them  in  the  waters.  Their  first  steps  would  probably 
be  taken  in  fear,  but  they  would  soon  gain  courage,  and  each  heart  would 
feel  the  presence  of  God.  And  when  they  saw  their  enemies  dead  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  a  sense  of  glad  relief  would  rise  in  each  heart.  We  all 
know  the  joy  of  deliverance  from  a  gieat  danger.  This  deliverance  was 
i^edive.  "  Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his  hosts  hath  He  cast  into  the  sea  :  his 
chosen  captains  also  are  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea  The  depths  have  covered 
them ;  they  sank  into  the  bottom  as  a  stone."  God  never  works  for  His 
people  a  questionable  deliverance.  Their  foes  shall  never  trouble  them  again 
if  He  takes  them  in  hand.  This  deliverance  was  awe-inspiring.  When  the 
Israelites  reflected  on  their  march  through  the  sea,  and  on  the  scene  of  panic 
and  death  which  they  had  witnessed,  we  can  conceive  how  reverent  would  be 
their  feeling  ;  they  would  fear  that  God  who  had  wrought  all  this  destruction. 
They  would  feel  that  if  He  had  been  merciful  to  them  He  had  likewise  treated 
His  enemies  wnth  terrible  justice.  Surely  Israel  would  learn  a  lesson  here 
never  to  be  forgotten.  And  all  our  deliverances  from  danger  should  tend  to 
give  us  clear  views  of  the  character  of  God,  and  should  lead  us  to  reverence 
the  Divine  name. 

II.  The  Song  of  Israel.  "  Then  sang  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  this 
song."  This  song  was  dictated  by  the  Infinite  Spirit.  It  w^as  not  only  sung 
to  the  Lord,  but  it  was  composed  by  the  Lord.  The  grandeur  and  beauty  of 
its  construction  exceed  beyond  comparison  the  greatest  intellect  of  man.  The 
song  is  descriptive.  It  is  historic.  It  is  ijrojihetic.  It  will  never  die  away 
from  human  lips  ;  the  Song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  will  continue  in  heaven. 
It  is  the  first  of  inspired  celebrations,  and  it  will  be  the  last.  How  sweet 
will  be  the  heavenly  song  when  all  the  foes  of  the  soul  are  for  ever  defeated  ! 
This  song  is  composed  of  many  parts  ;  it  comijines  vengeance  and  grace,  de- 
struction and  deliverance.  It  sets  forth  God's  final  victory  over  all  enemies. 
His  power  shall  triumph  over  the  pride  and  presunipiion  of  man.  This 
victory  shall  be  celebrated  by  all  the  redeemed.  The  world  sings  not  hymns 
like  these  It  is  well  to  express  gratitude  in  song.  The  Israelites  did  not 
thanklessly  or  indolently  receive  the  deliverance  which  God  had  wrought  out 
i:86 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  Vt. 

for  them.  They  gave  thanks  for  it  (Gen.  xiv.  18  ;  Judges  v.  2).  The  healed 
cripple  praised  God  (Acts  iii.  8).  It  is  well  for  the  soul  to  sing  the  praises  of 
God.  It  is  well  to  celebrate  His  name  in  verse.  Verse  is  more  expressive. 
It  is  more  inspiring.  It  embodies  deeper  pathos.  It  is  better  remembered. 
It  is  more  tuneful.  The  mercy  of  God  fills  the  soul  with  poetic  emotion.  It 
renders  song  spontaneous.  2he  Israelites  sang  this  hymn  immediately  after  thei 
deliverance.  They  permitted  no  delay.  In  this  they  acted  wisely.  There 
should  be  no  delay  in  praising  God.  The  song  should  go  up  to  Him  while 
the  deliverance  is  had  in  lively  remembrance,  and  when  the  heart  is  hot  with 
gratitude.  We  should  sing  quickly  after  mercy.  Delay  will  render  the  music 
of  the  soul  less  sweet.  The  individuality  of  the  song,  "  I  will  sing  unto  the 
Lord."  Each  Israelite  sang  this  hymn,  he  did  not  loose  his  sense  of  indivi- 
duality in  the  great  congregation.  Each  heart  uttered  its  own  gratitude. 
Others  cannot  give  thanks  to  God  for  me.  The  reality  of  the  song.  The 
Israelites  did  not  merely  utter  the  words  here  recorded,  but  intensely  felt 
them.  They  sang  with  the  spirit.  They  felt  the  gratitude  tliey  expressed.  This 
song  ascribes  all  the  p-aise  to  God  for  the  wondrous  deliverance  wrought  for  Israel. 
"  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord."  This  is  the  chief  feature  of  the  hymn.  God  is 
the  best  theme  of  spiritual  song.  The  Israelites  did  not  praise  Moses  their 
noble  leader ;  they  did  not  celebrate  their  own  energy  or  fortune  ;  but  God 
alone.  All  our  praise  is  due  to  the  Divine  name.  They  celebrated  the  holiness, 
power,  glory,  mercy,  and  sup-emacy  of  God,  This  song  is  expressive  of  love  to  God. 
"  The  Lord  is  my  strength,"  "  my  salvation,"  "  my  God,"  "  my  father's  God." 
Here  is  faith,  relationship,  hope,  love,  pathos  ;  these  elements  should  be  found 
in  all  the  songs  of  the  soul.  This  song  recognises  the  duties  of  the  soul.  "I  will 
prepare  him  a  habitation."  "I  will  exalt  him."  Song  is  not  enough  ;  it  must 
be  followed  by  activity  and  by  a  holy  life.  We  must  exalt  God  in  the  life  as 
well  as  in  the  hymn.  Lessons  : — 1,  Let  no  deliverance  pass  without  praise. 
2.  Let  all  the  praise  of  the  soul  be  directed  to  God.  3.  The  Divine  character  should  be 
celebrated  by  the  Church.     4.  Make  life  a  constant  hymn. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse    1.      The    ministers   of  God  Being,  as  manifested  in  Christ.     6.  A 

should  lead  the  praise  of  the  Church.  communicative  Being,  as  imparted  by 

Permanent   resolutions  of  praising  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Jehovah  are  becoming  His  Church. 

The   exceeding   excellency   of  God  H-  What  is  it  to  exalt  Him  ? 

in    Himself    is   the   true    subject    of  1-  Not  by  tall  spires.     2.   Not  by 

praise.  gorgeous  ritual.     3.  To  adore  Him  as 

The  judgment  of  God  on  persecuting  the  object  of  our  worship.     4.  To  give 

powers  must   be    celebrated    by   the  Him  the  chief  place  in  our  affections. 

Church.  {W.  W.  Wythe.) 

Verses  2,  3.     The  Living  God.  The  Pathos  of  Theology. 

**My  Father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  Him."  ,,  ,,    „  .?    .    />  7,. 

*                      '  "  i/y  Fathers  God." 

I.  Who    was    the     God    of     our  L  "  My  Father's  God."— Then  reli- 

Fathers?  gion  was  no  new  thing  to  them.    They 

1.  A  pure  Being — not  the  "  chance  "  were  not  surprised  when  they  heard 

of  the  atheist.     2.  A  conscious  Being,  the  name  of  God  associated  with  their 

not  the  "mere  law"  of  the  deist.     3.  A  victory.      Religion  should  not  be  an 

ptrsonal  Being,  not  '*  the  all"  of  the  originality  to  us;  it  should  not  be  a 

pantheist.     4.  A  perfect  Being,  as  re-  novel    sensation ;    it   should    be    the 

vealed  in  the  Bible.     5.  An  emotional  common  breath  of  our  daily  life,  and 

287 


OB  AT.  XT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


the  mention  of  the  name  of  God  ought 
to  excite  no  amazement. 

II.  -'My  Father's  God."— Then 
their  fathers'  religion  was  not  con- 
cealed from  them.  They  knew  that 
their  fathers  had  a  God.  We  know 
notliing  of  the  religion  of  some  men 
until  we  are  informed  of  it. by  public 
advertisement.  We  cannot  read  this 
liook  without  being  impressed  with 
the  fact  tliat  the  men  who  made  the 
world's  history  were  men  who  liA-^ed  in 
communion  with  the  Unseen.  Is  it 
possible  that  your  child  is  unaware 
that  A'ou  have  a  God  ] 

III  "My  Father's  God."— Yet  it 
does  not  follow  that  the  father  and 
the  child  must  have  the  same  God. 
Religion  is  not  hereditary.  You  have 
the  power  to  sever  the  connection 
between  yourself  and  the  God  of  your 
fathers.  You  may  shut  God  out  from 
your  heart. 

IV.  "  My  Father's  God."— Then  we 
are  debtors  to  the  religion  past. 
There  are  some  results  of  goodness  we 
inherit  independently  of  our  own  will. 
The  age  inherits  the  civilisation  of  the 
past.  The  child  is  the  better  for  his 
father's  temperance.  To-day  we  are 
inheriting  the  results  of  martyrdoms, 
which  stretch  far  back  into  the  grey 
past  of  history.  {City  Temple.) 

Jehovah's  relation  to  the  good  : — 
1.  Near.  2.  Sweet.  3.  Joytul.  4. 
Saving.     5.  Faithful. 

Praise  to  God  : — 1.  Cheerful.  2. 
Grateful.     3.  Mighty.     4.  United. 

The  best  answer  of  Israel's  relation 
to  God  is  to  make  a  habitation  for 
Him. 

High  praises  from  the  Church  to 
Jehovah  are  suitable  to  His  exalted 
mercies. 

Jehovah  alone  is  the  mighty  warrior 
for  His  Church  in  the  world. 

Verses  4-8.  The  right  hand  of 
Jehovah  is  glorious  in  saving  Israel. 

The  same  enemies  that  rise  against 
Israel  rise  against  God. 

Wicked  persecutors  are  as  stubble, 
God's  wrath  as  fire. 

Such  great   things   hath  God  done 
and  will  do  for  Israel's  deliverance. 
288 


Versi's  9,  10.  The  pride  of  perse- 
cutors iiiake.s  them  utter  their  boastings 
in  defiance  of  God. 

Madness  and  folly  makes  wicked 
enemies  to  threaten  what  they  cannot 
do. 

The  blast  of  God's  mouth  defeats  all 
the  boastings  of  enemies. 

Irrecoverably  can  God  destroy  all 
enemies  that  seek  to  destroy  His  IsraeL 

Verses  11-13.  God's  future  provi- 
dence as  well  as   past  deliverance  is 

matter  of  praise. 

Mercy  is  the  rule  of  all  God's  con- 
duct to  His  Church  here  below. 

God  has  saved  and  will  redeem  His 
Israel  out  of  all  their  troubles. 

God's  holy  habitation  is  the  destiny 
of  all  providential  guidance. 

God's  strength  secures  the  conduct 
of  the  Church  to  His  holy  habitation. 

Verses  14-16.  Tidings  of  God's 
appearance  for  His  Church  against 
enemies  will  make  nations  fear. 

Princes  and  powers  shall  be  aston- 
ished at  God's  vindicating  His  Israel. 

Trembling  shall  hold  fast  mighty 
enemies  when  God  sends  word  of 
vengeance. 

God's  possession  of  His  Church  is 
the  ground  of  all  His  appearance 
against  enemies  for  them. 

Verse  1 7.  Israel's  Lord  alone  makes 
arid  establishes  their  place  of  rest  for 
them. 

Israel's  last  rest  is  God's  mountain 
of  inheritance,  His  own  sanctuary. 

God's  mercy  is  to  make  His  dwelling 
"with  Israel. 

Verses  18,  19.  Tlie  eternity  ot 
Jehovah's  kingdom  in  Christ  is  a  most 
undoubted  truth. 

The  everlastingness  of  Christ's 
Government  must  be  the  burden  of  the 
song  of  the  Church. 

God,  by  His  judgments,  makes 
known  His  kinghood. 

Verse  20.  Women  also  have  their 
place  and  work  in  the  spiritual  worship 
of  God. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xv. 


The  Old  Testament  had  its  peculiar      in   memory   of    mercies,    the    Church 
rites   in   service   not   to   be    followed      must  go  on  in  its  pilgrimage. 
now.  From  Pk,ed  Sea  deliverances  to  wil- 

derness travels  is  Israel's  motion. 
Verses  21,  22.     After  worship  done  Hard  travels  and  piercing  thirst  is 

sometimes  the  lot  of  the  Church. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAORAPH.— Verses  23-26. 

The  Disappointments  of  Human  Life. 

The  children  of  Israel  are  now  in  joyful  mood.  God  has  won  for  them  a 
great,  and,  as  it  would  appear,  a  final  victory  over  their  inveterate  enemy. 
They  appreciate  the  deliverance,  and  have  celebrated  it  in  song.  The  last  notes 
of  the  hymn  have  died  away.  The  Israelites  are  now  travelling  onwards. 
But  new  needs  arise.  They  require  water  to  quench  their  thirst.  Life  is  not 
a  long-continued  song  of  triumph,  it  soon  turns  to  want  again.  The  experiences 
of  life  are  varied  and  changeful,  and  soon  pass  from  joy  to  sorrow. 

I.  That  the  disappointments  which  men  experience  frequently  occur  in 
connection  with  the  apparently  trivial  things  of  life.  "  They  could  not  drink 
of  the  waters  of  Marah."  The  Israelites  had  passed  three  days  in  the  wilder- 
ness without  finding  water.  The  march  long.  The  climate  hot.  The  fatigue 
great.  And  so  men  have  frequently  to  pursue  life  for  a  time  in  the  absence  of  needful 
things.  This  shows  them  their  dependence  upon  God.  If  man  never  lacked 
any  good  thing,  he  would  imagine  that  life  was  self-supporting,  and  that  he 
could  do  without  the  aid  of  heaven.  The  absence  of  needful  good  teaches  men 
to  value  its  return.  In  this  country  we  have  plenty  of  water,  it  comes  to  us 
through  unnumbered  channels.  If  we  were  called  to  journey  without  it  we 
should  prize  it  more.  The  common  gifts  of  God  are  beyond  price.  Israel, 
no  doubt,  watched  eagerly  for  Avater.  Men  soon  become  anxious  when  the 
temporal  supplies  of  life  fail.  Now  it  is  found.  What  joy  in  tlie  camp,  as  the 
news  is  conveyed  from  one  rank  to  another.  But  the  water  is  bitter/  We  cannot 
judge  of  earthly  things  according  to  their  appearance.  The  water  looked  all  right. 
It  tasted  bitter.  Many  things  in  the  world  look  well,  but  experience  proves 
them  bitter  to  the  taste.  The  world  itself  appears  as  though  it  would  quench 
the  moral  thirst  of  man,  he  welcomes  it  with  song,  but  soon  finds  it  bitter  to  his 
soul.  It  is  well  that  some  things  are  bitter,  or  men  would  take  them  in  poison- 
ous draughts.  All  the  waters  of  life  are  embittered  by  sin.  They  look  well,  but 
are  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  Thus  we  see  that  men  are  disappointed  in 
reference  to  the  ordinary  things  of  daily  life.  We  are  not  often  disappointed  in 
great  things.  Life  has  not  many  great  occasions  in  it.  Little  things  fret  and 
perplex  us.  We  are  disappointed  by  the  appearance  of  things  ;  the  business, 
the  friendship,  and  the  pleasure  looked  well,  but  taste  badly.  Sin  looks  well ; 
but  tastes  bitter.  Men  are  deceived  in  the  commonest  things  of  life.  Israel  did 
not  expect  trial,  they  had  only  just  finished  singing  theu"  hymn  of  praise.^  Dis- 
appointment comes  soon  upon  joy.  It  is  the  way  of  God  thus  to  exercise  the 
faith  and  patience  of  His  people.  At  Marah  the  cloud  was  before  Israel.  God 
is  with  the  good  in  their  sorrows. 

II.  That  the  disappointments  of  life  seem  far  more  frequently  to  lead  men 
to  murmuring  than  to  prayer.  "And  the  people  murmured  against  Moses, 
saying,  What  shall  we  drink  1 "  Thus  the  Israelites  gave  way  to  murmuring ;  only 
one  man  amongst  them  prayed.  And  in  the  disappointments  of  life  only  one 
man  in  a  crowd  will  seek  communion  with  Heaven.  Grumbling  is  more  natural 
than  prayer.  The  former  is  folly.  The  latter  is  healing.  Man  Hkes  to  have 
all  his  own  way.     He  ought  to  submit  to  the  will  of  God.     The  best  servantg 

2  A  289 


CHAP.  XV.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EluDUS. 

of  God  are  complained  against.  Tlie  healing  ministries  of  life  are  revealed  to  tJu 
p-raying  spirit.  When  men  murmur  they  are  deaf  to  the  voice  of  God;  they  are 
blind  to  the  remedy  He  would  disclose  to  them.  Prayer  will  sweeten  bitter 
waters  more  quickly  than  aught  else.  Men  murmur  at  the  disappointments  of  life, 
recall  not  the  desponding  meviwies  of  past  help.  ]Men  soon  murnmr  when  they  are 
displeased.  Would  it  not  have  been  wiser  if  these  Isruelites  had  called  to  mind 
the  deliverance  which  God  had  wrought  out  for  them  in  the  past  ]  Had  He  not 
brought  them  out  of  Egyut.  and  through  the  waters  of  the  Ked  Sea  as  on  dry 
land,  and  saved  them  from  life-long  enemies  ?  Had  He  done  this  that  He  might 
destroy  them  with  thirst  a  few  days  afterwards  ?  Certainly  not.  But  unbe- 
lief views  things  on  the  dark  side.  It  only  looks  at  the  bitter  waters  it  can- 
not sweeten.  And  shall  we  murmur  at  the  disappointments  of  life,  when  we 
remember  the  Divine  mercies  of  the  past  ]  Men  often  murmur  about  the  disap- 
f ointments  of  life  to  those  who  are  the  least  to  blame  foi'  them,  and  wJlo  perhaps  are 
likewise  suffering  from  them.  The  Israelites  murmured  at  Moses.  He  was  a  good 
man.  He  was  their  best  friend.  He  had  not  made  the  waters  bitter.  He  was 
as  thirsty  as  any  of  them.  How  cowardly.  How  cruel.  How  discouraging. 
But  Moses  was  a  true  man,  and  found  his  refuge  in  prayer.  Ministers  should 
imitate  his  example.     Crowds  are  fickle  in  their  moods. 

III.  That  the  aisappointments  of  life  are  often  removed  and  made  a 
blessing  to  them  by  the  kindly  aid  of  Heaven.  "  And  the  Lord  showed  him 
a  tree,  which  when  he  had  cast  into  the  waters,  the  waters  were  made  sweet." 
Aluaes  prayed  when  the  people  murmured.  He  did  not  hold  an  altercation  with 
them,  in  answer  to  prayer  the  remedy  was  revealed,  and  the  waters  became 
-ji  the  sweeter  for  having  been  bitter.  The  tree  had  no  healing  virtue  in  it. 
It  was  tiie  means  used  by  God,,  and  shows  His  rule  over  all  the  things  of  His 
universe.  We  must  not  abuse  a  single  tree  in  God's  universe,  it  contains  sacred 
possibilities.  Men  must  employ  secondary  causes  to  heal  their  disappointments. 
Prayer  shows  where  they  are  to  be  found.  God  can  make  a  way  out  of  the 
greatest  trial.  We  must  do  as  Heaven  tells  us  in  the  hour  of  grief,  for  if  we 
refuse  to  cast  the  tree  into  the  bitter  waters  they  will  not  be  sweetened. 

IV.  That  when  the  disappointments  of  life  are  removed,  then  God  admo- 
nishes men  in  reference  to  their  future  conduct.  "  And  said,  If  thou  wilt 
diligently  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  do  that  which  is 
right  in  His  sight,  and  will  give  ear  to  His  commandments,  and  keep  all  His 
statutes,  I  will  put  none  of  these  diseases  upon  thee,  which  I  have  brought 
upon  the  Egyptians ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  that  healeth  thee." 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VERSES. 

Versus  23,  24.     After  worship  done  God's  faithful  ones  shall  never  seek 

in   memory   of  mercies,    the    Church  His  face  in  vain, 
must  go  on  its  pilgrimage.  God  will  show  His  servants  how  to 

Monuments  of  trial  God  sometimes  turn    bitter    into    sweet,    when    they 

sets  up  iu  the  names  of  places  for  pos-  truly  seek  Him. 
terity.  Obedience  must  use  the  appointed 

Carnal     Israelites    soon     exchange  means  to  receive  the  desired  issue, 
worship  for  discontent.  Where   God   gives   mercies  to  His 

Foolish    unbelieving   creatures   are  people.  He  also  gives  laws  and  judg- 

running  to  creatures  for  drink  rather  ments. 

Marah  and  Elim.      The  alternating 
Verses   25-27.      When    unbelievers      experiences  of  human  life 
are  murmuring  under  trial,  God's  ser- 
vants are  ])raying. 
290 


BOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OSAP.  XT. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XT. 

BY 

REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 


Red  Seal  Ver.  1-22.  One  dark  and 
stormy  niirht,  a  vessel  was  wrecked  on  a  rocky 
island  off  the  coast  of  Scotland.  The  crew 
had  watched  with  terror  the  wliite  waves  as 
they  dashed  on  the  stately  cliffs,  and  felt  that 
to  be  driven  upon  those  rocks  was  to  seal  their 
doom.  The  cabin  was  filled  with  water,  and 
the  captain's  wife  was  drowned.  The  sailors 
climbed  into  the  rigging  and  prayed  as  they 
never  had  before,  that  God  would  have  mercy 
upon  tliem.  But  the  cruel  waves  drove  the 
vi  ssel  on  and  on,  till  the  very  foot  of  the 
awful  cliff  was  reached.  Oh  !  if  they  could 
only  reach  its  top  !  There  would  be  safety, 
and,  no  doubt,  friendly  hands  to  help  them. 
But  how  was  the  top  to  be  gained.  Alas  ! 
there  they  were — fated  and  doomed  to  perish. 
J)eapair  had  fastened  hard  upon  them — their 
escape  was  hopeless.  See  !  their  attention  has 
been  aroused  to  something  on  the  face  of  the 
cliff.  It  is  a  slender  rope  ladder,  up  which 
they  climbed  in  succession  as  rapidly  as  their 
benumljed  fingers  would  permit.  Israel's 
escape  seemed  as  hopeless :  when  the  Lord 
showed  them  the  path  through  a  crystal 
gallery  with  a  blood-red  gate. 

**  With  limbs  that  falter,  and  with  hearts  that 
swell, 
Down,  down  they  pass,  a  steep  and  slippery 
dell." 

Pathway!     Ver.  19.     Israel's  way  through 
the  Ked  Sea  has  been  called  a  crystal  gallery 
with    a  blood-red   gate.       The   gate  was  the 
Paschal  Feast.    It  is  through  the  gate  way  of  the 
Lamb  of  God's  bleeding  sacrifice  that  believers 
pass  ere  they  can  enter  upon  the  crystal  path- 
way of   spiritual  baptism.       Both    are   super- 
natural— Divine.     Some   have  supposed  that 
Israel  crossed  the  fords  near   the  head  waters 
of  the  sea  at  low  tide,  and  that  Pharaoh  and 
Lis  hosts  were  overwhelmed  by  the  returning 
tide.     But  this  is  untrue.     An  English  gentle- 
man and  author  who  had  committed  himself 
publicly  to  the  defence  of  this  theory,  on  exa- 
mining the  ground,  abandoned  it  as   utterly 
untenable  and  absurd.      Dr.  Alton  says  that 
Napoleon  at  Suez  attempted  to  establish  this 
by  crossing  the  waters  at  ebb  tide.     In  regard 
to  bis  effort  in  this  way,  it  has  been  remarked 
by  the  author  of  "Eotlien"  that  Napoleon  and 
his  horsemen  manai^ed  tlie  matter  more  after 
the  failure  of  the  Egyptians  than  the  success 
of  the  Israelites.      It  is  said  that  Napoleon  fell 
from    his  horse  into   the   sea,    and  was  only 
dragged  out  by  the  assistance  of  the  natives 
on   shore.     True   or  untrue,  it   is  clear   that 
Napoleon   was  wrong.     No  ebb  tide  w:is  this 
'*  dividing  of  the  waters  ;"  but,  as  in  ver.  31, 
"  the  power  of  the  Great  Hand."     It  was  the 
Great  Hand  of  God  which  had  done  this  ;  as 


the  dukes  of  Edom  and  the  mighty  men  of 
Moab,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan 
realised,  as — 

**  Far  over  the  sea, 
In  its  melody. 
The  shout  of  the  free 
Sounded  merrily  ! " 

Freedom !  Ver.  2.  I  liave  seen  the  caged 
eagle  beating  violently  against  the  iron  bars  of 
his  prison — his  plumes  soiled  and  torn,  his 
strong  wings  drooping,  the  light  of  bis  glori- 
ous eye  dimmed,  the  pulse  of  his  proud  heart 
panting  in  vain  for  conflict  with  the  careering 
clouds  and  mountain  blasts.  At  first  Israel  de- 
murred to  freedom  when  Jehovah  proffered  it 
by  Moses,  but  gradually  longings  for  freedom 
sprang  up,  and  they  struggled  hard  to  he  free. 
And  as  the  eagle  when  the  bars  are  broken, 
or  the  links  are  shivered,  springs  into  the  air, 
rejoicing  in  the  freedom  of  his  mountain 
home,  so  Israel  was  glad  when  their  hosti 
marched  forth  from  Egyptian  bondage, — like 
the  proud  denizen  of  the  air 

"  Clasping  the  crag  with  hooked  hands. 
Close  to  the  sun  in  lonely  lands." 

Sea  !  Ver.  10.  Some  idea— faint,  we  ad- 
mit— may  be  formed  of  the  effect  of  the  sea 
suddenly  plunging  back  into  a  channel  ten  or 
twelve  miles  broad,  by  comparing  it  with  that 
of  the  stupendous  Falls  of  Niagara, — one  of 
the  wonders  of  the  world.  This  cataract, 
whose  name  signifies  "the  thunder  of  the 
waters,"  is  divided  by  an  island  into  two  dis- 
tinct falls  ;  and  more  than  113,000,000  of 
gallons  of  water  are  precipitated  down  these 
falls  in  one  minute.  Little  in  comparison  with 
this  mighty  waterfall  upon  Pharaoh.  Never 
had  such  a  scene  been  witnessed  since  that 
awful  time  when  all  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  were  broken  up  at  the  Deluge  !  Down 
on  the  warriors  of  Egypt — down  upon  chariots 
and  horsemen — fell  tlie  accumulated  heaps  of 
crushing  waters,  foaming,  roaring,  sweeping 
away  the  pomp  and  pride  of  the  mighty,  as 
straws  are  swept  whirling  down  the  rushing 
cascade.  The  magnificent  display  of  power 
more  than  justifies  verses  10  and  11. 

**  Lord  !  list  to  the  voice 
Of  those  that  rejoice. 
Ascribing  to  Thee 
All  the  victory  ! " 

Chariots!  Ver.  9,  10.  What  a  contrast 
between  the  gilded  car  of  Pharaoh  and  the 
golden  chariot  of  Elijah.  Its  circling  wheels 
woke  no  eclios  amongst  the  rocks,  and  left  no 
impression  on  the  sands.  It  came  from 
heaven,  and  heaven  was  its  bourne.     Not  ft 

291 


OBAF.  XV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


drop  of  tlie  chilly  wa'ers  of  the  grave  dimmed 
its  brilliant  surface.  It  was  the  chariot  of 
devotion,  as  was  Pliaraoh's  that  of  amhition. 
The  spirit  of  devotion  descemis  from  heaveu  ; 
it  is  sent  by  our  God  to  bear  His  servants  up- 
wards towards  Him.  Not  all  the  waters  of 
death  shall  quench  or  dim  its  glory.  His 
people  are  safe. 

"They  onward    tread;    the    circling    waves 
retreat, 
la   hoarse  deep  murmurs  from  their  holy 
feet." 

Deliverance— Joy  !  Verses  11-13.  On  the 
last  day  of  April  1687,  ten  thousand  French 
ami  twelve  thousand  Sardinian  troops  pursued 
the  Vaudois  of  the  Valleys  until  they  had 
hemmed  tliem,  to  all  appearances  hopelessly, 
in  the  Balsille.  The  French  General  De 
Catinat  burned  to  revenge  previous  defeats  of 
his  troops,  and  vowed  complete  extermination 
of  tlie  fugitives; — "  Every  one  of  them  shall 
be  hanged  in  the  evening."  So  burned 
Pharaoh  as  he  pursued  after  Israel,  and 
hemmed  their  host  in  upon  the  sea.  But  by 
and  by  came  to  Pignerol  tlie  tidinirs  that 
twenty  thousand  of  the  choicest  chivalry  of 
France  and  Saniinia,  with  their  destructive 
artillery,  had  been  unable  to  injure  as  much 
as  one  of  the  Vaudois  fuLjitives.  Whilst  ilie 
broken  and  shattered  columns  fled, — their 
labours  frustrated,  their  schemes  disconcerted, 
their  valour  mocked  and  insulted  ;  the  little 
band  of  Waldensians,  with  heads  uncovered 
and  hands  clasped  towariis  heaven,  chaunted 
in  strains  of  deep  and  thrilling  melody  their 
triumph  of  praise.  Every  rock  and  mountain 
echoed  back  the  wild  glad  chorus — 
"  Supported  by  our  living  Head, 
And  by  the  God  of  battles  led 
To  life  and  victory  !  " 

Timbrels !  Ver.  20.  These  were  a  kind  of 
tambourine,  called  by  Kalisch,  "hand-drums." 
It  consists  of  a  hoop  of  wood  or  metal,  of 
about  one  handsbreadtli,  and  covered  over  with 
leather.  It  is  still  a  very  favourite  instru- 
ment in  the  East  on  festive  and  sacred  occa- 
sions. Dancing  invariably  accompanied  their 
use.  Miriam  seems  to  have  been  the  leader  ; 
as  appears  to  have  been  the  case  with  David 
hundreds  of  years  afterwards.  Jl'Cheyne 
mentions  that  this  is  done  in  Poland  to  this 
day  ;  and  he  himself  witnessed,  on  one  occa- 
sion, a  venerable  Jewish  Rabbi  lead  off  a  whole 
company  of  Jewish  devotees  in  this  fashion  in 
the  "  procession  of  the  law."  He  beiran  his 
dance  with  the  words,  "Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel  that  they  go  forward." 
Lady  Montague,  in  her  letters,  mentions  the 
same  of  Jewish  females,  stating  that  the  great 
lady  leads  the  dance,  and  is  followed  by  a 
troop  of  young  girls  who  imitate  her  steps. 
If  she  sings,  they  make  up  the  chorus.  And, 
as  Hamilton  remarks,  perhaps  there  never  was 
a  gush  of  purer  gratiimlo  than  poured  from 
the  lips  of  all  as  Miriam's  timlirel  led  the 
dance.     As  one  after  another  the  swell  bore 

292 


helpless  to  their  feet  the  steed  in  gorgeous 
hausings,  or  his  stiff  and  stalwart  panoplied 
rider,  the  exultation  leaped  up  a-new,  "  Shout, 
Israel !  lor  the  Lord  hath  triumphed." 

"  How  solemn  and  sweet, 
As  the  waters  meet, 
Was  pealing  aloni; 
The  triumphing  song  !" 

Music-influences !  Ver.  21.  Despondent 
soldiers  on  the  march  have  been  known  to 
stop  and  listen  to  music  stealing  far  over  the 
waters,  and  to  be  aroused  to  vii;oious  effort 
in  the  march.  Travellers,  hearing  strains 
floating  from  the  windows  of  some  palace  or 
mansion,  have  been  cheered  to  increase  their 
pace  homeward.  So,  saints,  as  they  war  or 
journey,  listen  to  the  exultant  symjdionies 
poured  over  the  walls  and  battlements  of 
heaven,  and,  setting  their  feet  to  tlie  measure 
of  the  eternal  hymn,  press  onwards  towards 
the  city,  within  whose  fadeless  palace  halls 
shall  be  sung  the  everlasting  jubilee. 

"  Hark  !  how  th'  adoring  hosts  above 
With  songs  surround  the  throne, 
Ten  thousand  thousand  are  their  tongues, 
But  all  their  hearts  are  one." 

Marah-waters  !  Ver.  23.  Captain  Palmer 
says  that  for  three  days'  journey  southward 
along  the  coast,  the  desert  plain  is,  practically 
spenking,  waterless,  there  being  only  a  few 
wretched  brackish  springs,  about  one  in  every 
buiulred  square  miles,  of  which  the  water  is 
unfit  for  use.  It  was  after  three  days  that  the 
minstrels  l)ecame  muruiurers  for  water.  The 
sensation  which  we  call  thirst  is  no  more  like 
the  mad  and  raging  fever-ihirst  of  the  desert, 
than  our  cool  and  verdant  plains  are  like  the 
baked  and  blistering  rocks  of  that  burning 
wilderness.  So  that  Israel  miiilit  well  be 
bitter  in  their  spirit  when  they  came  upon  a 
bitter  spring.  There  is  still  a  salt  and  liitter 
fountain  here.  The  "Speaker's  Commentary" 
says  that  Wellstead  tasted  the  waters  and 
muttered  the  word  "  Marah  !  "  whereon  his 
Bedawin  guide  exclaimed,  "  You  speak  the 
word  of  truth  ;  they  are  indeed  marah."  The 
early  Christian  Chuivh  met  with  their  marah 
as  they  first  entered  on  the  pilgrim- way. 
That  marah  is  still  in  the  wilderness-life  of 
the  Church,  so  that  her  successive  members 
taste  and  cry,  "  Marah  !"  But  there  is  a  tree 
whose  leaves  drop  sweetness,  and  whose  taste 
is  balm.  Bedawin  had  no  tree  to  cast  into 
Wellstead's  marah,  but  the  Christian  has. 
Jesus,  the  Tree  of  Life,  extends  His  bending 
branches  to  the  anxious  touch,  making  each 
stagnant  marsh  a  rivulet  of  health,  turning 
the  bitterest  brook  into  a  fountain  of  living 
waters — 

"  Tiie  Cross  on  which  the  Saviour  died 
And  conquer'd  for  His  saints. 
This  is  the  tree,  by  faith  applied. 
Which  sweetens  all  complaints." 

Marah-bitterness !  Ver.  25.  Pure,  cool, 
and  pellucid  water  is  the  gift  of  God.    As  it 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAT,  xn. 


comes  from  heaven,  it  is  always  clear  and 
uncontaminated.  It  is  only  in  earth's  reser- 
voirs that  it  sometimes  gels  muddied.  Tnere 
arc  salts  of  copper  in  the  soil  through  which 
the  current  percolates — the  smoke  and  soot  of 
city-life  defile  its  excellence — the  maiichineel 
slieds  its  deadly  fruits  into  the  fountain. 
Adam's  life  was  a  pure  gift,  from  God  ;  hut  he 
defiled  it.  iMan  sullies  the  purity  of  God's 
blessings — turns  tliem  into  M:iraii-hitterness. 
The  blessing  was  good  enough  till  once  it 
came  to  man  ;  but  the  biiter  soil  made  the 
fountain  bitter.  If  the  cup  which  catches 
the  morning  shower  was  clear  as  crystal,  and 
if  the  atmosphere  were  not  already  contami- 
nated by  the  smoke  and  soot  of  human  de- 
eires,  the  blessings  would  remain  pure.  But 
man  makes  them  marah. 

"  Yet  there's  a  wonder-working  wood, 
I've  heard  believers  say. 
Can  make  those  bitter  waters  good, 
And  take  tlie  curse  away." 

Ellm— Ssmibolism  !  Ver.  27.  This  is  now 
called  "  Gharandel."  It  is  still  a  pleasant 
place,  having  water  in  abundance,  grass,  and 
palm-trees.  Kalisch  beautifully  applies  Elim 
to  the  Lord's-day.  The  traveller,  on  a  rough 
and  dusty  road,  when  from  time  to  time  he 


finds  by  the  wayside  a  quiet  green  resting- 
place,  from  which  he  may  look  iiack  on  the 
way  he  has  come,  and  also  forward  to  tlie  end 
of  his  journey,  will  surely  slop  at  it  for  a  little 
with  thankfulness.  And  what  are  l^hy  Sab- 
batlis,  O  Lord,  wi  h  their  sweet  services  and 
their  solemn  hours,  but  fresh  and  peaceful 
oases  such  as  these,  inviting  me  to  put  away 
for  a  moment  the  troubles  and  the  fatigues  of 
the  highway  of  life,  that  I  may  bieulhe  awhile 
and  gather  new  strength  fur  my  journey.  Ye 
giddy  crowd,  who  run  and  run  on,  without 
looking  round,  until  ye  slide  into  the  grave, 
Oh  !  look  at  thet^e  oases  provided  for  you  by 
God,  who  pities  you  more  than  you  do  your- 
selves :  "  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let 
my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning!"  says  the 
Ps.ilniist.  And  "let  my  right  hand  forget  its 
cunninL'',  and  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof 
of  my  mouth,"  if  I  ever  forget  you,  ye 
solemn,  holy  hours  j)repared  for  me  by  God  in 
the  place  where  His  glory  dwells,  and  where 
He  invites  me  to  enjoy  His  own  rest  ! 

"  Elim  !  sweet  foretaste  of  rest  and  of  blessing, 
Soon  must  be  left  for  the  lengthening  way  ; 
But   it   is    well    that  Thy  pilgrims  should 

gather 
Courage    and    strength    for  the  wearisome 

day." 


CHAPTER   XVL 


Critical  TToTES. — 13.  Q,uails.]  Heb.  "jy^,  "  so  called  from  its  fatness  "  (Gesenius).  Ac- 
cording to  all  accounts,  the  "  quail  "  abound.s  in  those  regions. 

15.  Manna.]  It  is  evidently  premature  to  take  the  Heb.  ^Q  as  a  proper  name  in  this 
place,  although  afterwards  it  becnrae  that,  Onr  choice  lies  prol)ably  between  the  two  ren- 
derings given  in  the  margin  of  the  authorised  version.  "What  is  this?"  or,  "This  is  a 
portion."  Kiilisch  and  Young  decide  for  the  former  ;  Davies  adopts  the  latter.  Kalisch 
eulaiges  considerably  on  various  natural  productions  analogous  to  the  substance  on  which 
the  Israelites  were  sustained,  and  which  he  distiuguishes  as  "  air-nianna  "  and  "  tree-manna  ;  " 
but,  after  all,  he  has  to  admit  that  a  miracle  is  here  recorded.  Dr.  Tregelles  (in  Ges.  Heb. 
Lex.  on  the  word)  says  :  "  No  one  who  simply  credits  the  inspired  history  of  the  giving 
of  the  manna  can  doubt  that  it  was  something  miraculously  given  to  the  Israelites,  and 
that  it  differed  in  its  nature  from  anything  now  known."  The  following  are  all  the  occur- 
rences of  the  word  "manna"  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  :  Exod.  xvi.  15,  31,  33,  35  ; 
Num.  xi.  6,  7,  9  ;  Deut.  viii.  3,  16  ;  Josh.  v.  12  ;  Neh.  ix.  20  ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  24;  John  vi.  31,  49, 
68;  Heb.  ix.  4;  Rev.  ii.  17.  The  type  was  "hidden"  in  "the  golden  pot"  inside  the  ark; 
wis  carried  into  Canaan,  and  preserved  there  as  a  memorial  of  the  heavenly  food  so  long  sup- 
plied in  the  desert  ;  for  which,  however,  there  was  no  further  need,  and  therefoi-e  it  was  no 
longer  given,  and  what  was  preserved  was  not  "eaten."  The  antitype — Chiist,  the  true 
heavenly  bread — is  eaten  both  in  the  desert  (John  vi.)  and  in  Paradise  (Rev.  ii.).  Christ  as 
the  bread  of  life  can  never  be  superseded. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-3. 

MURMURINGS. 

We  find  the  Israelites  now  in  a  very  important  and  interesting  stage  of  their 
great  journey  between  Elim  and  Sinai ;  the  former  the  place  of  joyous  rest,  and 
the  latter  the  place  of  stern  law.  This  period  of  their  march  is  marked  by 
much  ingratitude,  and  by  the  abundant  mercy  of  God.  The  Israelites  are  mur 
muring  for  want  of  bread.     We  observe — 

293 


CHAP.  xn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


I.  That  people  will  murmur  immediately  after  the  happiest  experiences  of 
life.  The  cliildreu  of  Israel  had  left  Elim  as  the  last  sta^e  of  their  inarch  ; 
they  had  only  just  left  the  wells  of  water  and  the  three  score  and  ten  palm 
trees,  and  yet  immediately  after  this  they  commence  to  nuirraur  against  the 
servant  of  God.  And  so  it  is  with  men  in  our  own  time,  they  will  murmur  after 
the  richest  mercies  have  been  permitted  to  them.  1.  The  murmurijiys  of  Israel 
were  general.  The  complaint  seems  to  have  been  ex{)ressed  by  the  princes  of  the 
people  as  well  as  by  the  people  themselves.  The  elders  murmured.  We 
should  certainly  have  thought  that  they  would  not  have  been  guilty  of  such 
conduct, — they  ouglit  to  have  known  better,  and  ought  to  have  set  the  people  a 
better  example.  They  ought  to  have  helped  Moses  in  this  perplexity.  The 
best  men,  and  the  most  useful,  are  sometimes  given  to  the  sin  of  complaining 
against  the  Divine  providence  of  daily  life.  The  lack  of  temporal  resource 
awakens  them  to  discontent ;  man  is  very  sensitive  on  the  side  of  his  physical 
nature.  2.  The  murmurings  of  Israel  ivere  ungrateful.  The  Israelites  had  just 
seen  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God  in  their  own  deliverance  and  in  the 
destruction  of  the  Egyptians.  The  wrecked  army  ought  to  have  made  them 
afraid  of  murmuring  against  the  Author  of  such  desolation  :  their  own  safety 
ought  to  have  banished  all  thought  of  distrust  from  their  minds.  But  the  judg- 
ments and  mercies  of  life  do  not  deter  men  from  discontent ;  the  most  afflicted 
and  the  most  wealthy  alike  share  this  unholy  sentiment.  Even  after  the  bitter 
has  been  made  sweet,  the  soul  will  indulge  ungenerous  thoughts  of  God.  What 
ingratitude  for  a  son  to  murmur  against  his  father,  for  a  scliolar  to  murnmr 
against  his  teacher,  and  for  a  slave  to  murmur  against  his  benevolent  emanci- 
pator ;  yet  this  is  but  a  faint  emblem  of  tiie  vast  ingratitude  men  show  to  God 
day  by  day.  How  soon  the  mercy  of  God  is  forgotten  ;  we  soon  forget  our  Red 
Sea  deliverances, — the  mercies  of  the  night  are  forgotten  in  the  morning.  If 
we  forget  the  Divine  mercy  to  us,  we  shall  be  sure  to  indulge  a  murmuring 
spirit.  3.  The  murmurings  of  Israel  were  inconsiderate.  The  Israelites  did  not 
think  that  they  were  in  a  condition  of  life  in  which  they  should  expect  some 
hardship.  They  were  only  freed  slaves  travelling  in  a  wilderness.  Their  hope 
was  in  the  future,  in  the  promised  Canaan.  And  so  all  the  murnmrlngs  of  men 
should  be  silenced  by  the  fact  that  this  life  is  probationary,  and  tliat  it  is  only 
preparatory  to  another,  in  which  every  real  need  will  be  eternally  supplied. 
Discontent  is  an  evidence  that  we  centre  our  thoughts  too  much  on  this  world. 
How  inconsiderate  are  men  in  their  murmurings  ;  some  want  bread,  some  want 
rain,  some  want  gold,  and  others  want  social  position,  as  though  it  would  be  well 
for  each  to  have  that  which  he  desired.  Want  is  a  salutary  discipline.  If  we 
were  considerate  of  the  providence  of  God,  of  the  discipline  of  life,  and  of  the 
welfare  of  others,  there  would  be  much  less  grumbling  in  the  world.  4.  The 
murmurings  of  Israel  were  Divinely  regarded.  God  heard  the  murmurings  of 
Israel  and  sent  them  food.  It  would  have  been  better  if  prayer  had  done  the 
work  which  seems  to  have  been  accomplished  by  discontent.  God  sees  the  dis- 
content of  the  soul.  He  sometimes  answers  its  cry  in  anger,  and  sometimes  in 
compassion.     How  mercifully  He  bears  with  the  murmurings  of  men  ! 

II.  That  people  will  murmur  against  those  who  are  rendering  them  the 
greatest  service.  The  Israelites  thus  murmured  against  these  two  ministers  of 
God.  These  men  of  God  had  only  a  little  time  ago  brought  them  out  of  bend- 
age,  and  given  them  a  freedom  in  which  they  greatly  rejoiced.  And  ministers 
have  often  to  contend  with  murmuring  congregations.  The  things  regarded  as 
joys  at  first  are  afterwards  by  discontent  turned  into  sorrows.  At  first  con- 
version is  welcomed  as  a  great  blessing,  but  when  the  difficulties  of  the  wilder- 
ness are  experienced,  then  the  scml  commences  to  murmur  at  the  truth  which 
set  it  free.     Men  often  grumble  at  the  agencies  which  have  given  them  freed '^m. 

294 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xvi. 


They  think  more  of  secondary  agencies  than  they  ought,  they  think  more  of 
Moses  and  Aaron  than  of  the  God  whose  servants  they  are.  This  is  cruel  and 
foolish,  for  the  secondary  agents  are  in  need  of  bread  quite  as  much  as  the  mul- 
titude they  lead,  and  cannot  produce  it  without  Divine  warrant.  1.  Thus  the 
conduct  of  Israel  was  unreasonable.  2.  This  conduct  of  Israel  was  cruel  and  culpable. 
3.  This  conduct  of  Israel  is  often  repeated  in  the  world  now.  And  thus  discontented 
people  often  murmur  at  those  who  do  not  deserve  it ;  they  often  murmur  to 
those  who  can  render  them  no  assistance ;  they  often  act  as  thougli  there  were 
no  God  to  help  them  ;  and  they  present  a  sad  spectacle  of  weakness  to  those 
who  behold  them  in  this  unhappy  mood.  (1.)  They  are  unmindful  of  happy  memo- 
ries— of  freedom  from  slavery.  (2.)  They  are  unmindfid  of  helpful  sej-nce  —  Moses 
and  Aaron  had  aided  them  in  their  march.  (3.)  They  are  unmindful  of  happy 
destiny — they  were  being  led  to  Canaan.  Yet  they  murmured  at  the  men  who 
were  thus  befriending  tliem.  We  are  not  to  interpret  our  life  work  by  the  mur- 
murings  of  others.     Discontented  people  do  not  know  their  true  friends. 

III.  That  people  when  murmuring  often  manifest  a  degrading  inclination 
of  soul.  "  Would  to  God  we  had  died  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  when  we  sat  by  the  flesh-pots,  and  when  we  did  eat  bread  to  the  full " 
(ver.  3).  As  though  they  had  said,  We  care  not  for  our  deliverance  out  of 
Egyptian  bondage,  we  are  no  better  even  under  His  guidance  than  we  were 
under  the  rule  of  Pharaoh.  1.  Thus  the  Israelites  were  blind  to  the  advantages  of 
their  new  condilion  of  life.  They  thought  that  they  had  not  bettered  their  condi- 
tion by  exchanging  Egypt  for  the  wilderness.  They  measured  their  welfare  by 
their  temporal  circumstances ;  they  could  not  see  through  tliese  a  sublime  im- 
provement in  their  method  of  life.  How  many  men  measure  their  success  in  life 
by  the  condition  of  their  flesh-pots.  They  prefer  well-tilled  flesh-pots  and  slavery 
to  hunger  and  freedom.  And  often  is  it  thus  with  the  Christian ;  he  is  ren- 
dered sad  by  the  difiiculties  of  the  wilderness-path  to  heaven.  He  experiences 
longings  after  the  old  life  of  the  soul.  Then  there  were  times  of  enjoyment. 
Then  food  was  abundant.  There  were  not  all  these  constant  difficulties  which 
are  now  realised.  True,  sin  was  a  hard  service,  and  at  times  was  followed 
by  severe  mental  anguish,  but  it  was  soon  appeased  and  removed,  and  thus 
the  young  Christian  is  tempted  in  gloomy  mood  to  think  the  present  incom- 
parable to  the  past.  He  sees  not  the  worth  of  moral  freedom.  He  sees  not  the 
glory  of  being  led  by  God.  He  sees  not  the  shield  by  which  he  is  protected. 
He  sees  not  the  splendid  destiny  awaiting  him.  If  he  saw  these  things  as  he 
ought,  neither  a  temporary  trial,  nor  the  iiesh-pots  of  his  sinful  life,  would  lead 
him  to  cast  a  longing  look  to  the  past.  Satan  often  tempts  the  soul  to  apostacy, 
by  presenting  the  past  life  of  sin  in  all  its  attractiveness,  and  by  magnifying  the 
difficulties  of  the  Christian  journey.  2.  Thus  the  Israelites  were  in  danger  of  a 
degrading  and  cowardly  retreat  to  their  old  condition  of  life.  If  they  had  returned  to 
Egypt,  how  degrading  and  cowardly  would  have  been  their  conduct.  What  an 
utter  lack  of  confidence  would  they  have  shown  in  the  Supreme  Being.  And  if 
men,  who  have  once  entered  into  the  freedom  of  the  Christian  life,  return  to 
their  old  habits,  they  will  indeed  degrade  their  manhood,  and  beat  a  cowardly 
retreat,  wliich  will  gladden  hell,  and  which  will  awaken  the  ridicule  of  the 
world.  God  has  provided  for  tlie  pure  soul  something  better  than  the  flesh-pots 
of  its  old  life.  Some  men  always  make  the  past  brighter  than  the  present ;  they 
love  the  flesh-pots. 

IV.  That  people  when  murmuring  often  anticipate  evils  which  never  will 
happen.  "  For  ye  have  brought  us  forth  into  the  wilderness,  to  kill  this  whole 
assembly  with  hunger  "  (ver.  3).  Here  was  unbelief  on  the  part  of  Israel. 
They  had  no  more  trust  in  God  than  to  suppose  that  He  was  making  all  these 
deliverances  for  them  simply  to  lead  them  to  a  grave.     Truly  God  does  not 

295 


OHAF.zn.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


save  men  to  destroy  them.  When  men  are  converted  it  is  that  they  may  be 
made  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  and  not  that  they  may 
perish  ultimately  in  their  sins.  Here  was  hopelessness  on  the  part  of"  Israel. 
The  Divine  help  they  had  received  in  the  past  should  have  made  them  hopeful 
in  the  moment  of  trial.  Men  want  to  be  more  hopeful  in  their  spiritual  life 
than  to  imagine  that  they  are  going  to  die  in  this  way ;  they  have  everything 
to  inspire  hope.  And  thus  many  murmuring  Christians  anticipate  perils  they 
will  never  experience  ;  a  murmuring  spirit  fills  life  with  fictitious  evils,  it  will 
dig  graves  in  the  most  fragrant  gardens.  LESSONS  : — 1.  Let  us  have  more 
respect  far  the  joys  of  the  Christian  life  than  to  wurviur  at  its  sorrows.  2.  Let  us  be 
too  grateful  to  the  helpers  of  our  spiritual  life  than  to  grumble  at  them.  3.  Let  us 
never  cast  a  degrading  look  at  the  fancied  joys  of  the  old  life  of  the  soul.  4.  Let  us 
look  to  God  rather  than  to  our  difficulties. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse   1.    Comfortable    stations   in  Verses  2,  3.     Multitudes  of  sinners 

this  life  God  will  have  His  Church  to  are  usually  stirring  up  all  to  murmur 

leave  (Matt.  xvii.  4.)  upon  changes. 

Dreadful   and   barren  deserts   does  Wilderness    trials    put   unbelievers 

God  appoint  for  His  Church,  instead  of  in  the  visible  Church  to  the  test. 

better  places,  for  trial.  God   and    His   ministers   suffer   all 

The    saddest   deserts   are    but    the  indignities  from  unbelieving  sinners. 

way  of  the  Church  into  the  mountain  Unbelieving   sinners  are   ready   to 

of  God.  imprecate  destruction  on  themselves  in 

The  days  of  the  travel  and  redemp-  time  of  temptation, 

tion   of    the   Church    are   punctually  God's  most  gracious  acts  are  changed 

remembered  by  God.  by  the  wicked  to  be  their  destruction. 


MAIN  HOMILETIOS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.-  Verset  4-21. 

The  Falling  of  the  Manna. 

//  is  indeed  an  oft-repeated  saying  that  life  is  a  pilgrimage,  hut  how  seldom  do  we 
thoroughly  realise  the  entire  meaning  of  these  words.  We  seldom  reali.se  the  fact 
that  physically  we  are  {massing  from  one  stage  to  another,  from  infancy  to  child- 
hood, from  childhood  to  manhood,  and  from  manhood  to  old  age.  The  bright 
dreams  of  childhood  are  for  ever  gone.  The  privileges  and  difficulties  of  school 
life  are  now  but  a  recollection.  The  business  activities  of  life  have  broken 
upon  us  in  all  their  stern  reality.  And  it  may  be  that  the  dim  vision  and 
sombre  shades  of  old  age  are  upon  us.  Thus  life  no  sooner  opens  its  petals  to 
the  sun  than  it  passes  into  the  grave  from  whence  it  sprang.  We  have  physi- 
cally no  continuing  city  here.  Intellectually,  life  is  a  pilgrimage.  In  our  mental 
life  we  are  constantly  passing  from  one  stage  to  another,  from  ignorance  to 
dawning  knowledge,  from  dawning  knowledge  to  a  ])erception  of  the  infinity 
before  us,  and  so  on  until  the  part  knowledge  of  earth  shall  break  into  the  un- 
veiled splendour  of  truth  in  heaven.  A-nd  morally,  life  is  a  pilgrimage.  Our  souls 
are  ever  travelling  from  one  experience  to  anotlier  ;  it  may  be  from  one  bondage 
to  another,  or  from  a  wretched  past  to  a  pure  and  sublime  future.  All  pure 
Bouls  are  migratory.  They  rest  not  long  in  one  condition.  They  prefer  entering 
upon  the  mysteries  and  visions  of  the  future  to  lingering  on  the  things  and 
scenes  around  them ;  they  arc  inspired  by  a  ln)ly  desire  after  progress.  They 
press  forward  to  the  Canaan  of  being,  to  the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 
And  thus  the  life  of  man  in  every  department  is  one  great  pilgrimage,  often 
tiring  and  trying,  but  never  far  from  the  presence  and  leadings  of  the  great 
296 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


God,  otherwise  the  pain  and  mystery  of  the  i^ilgrimage  would  be  more  than  we 
could  endure.  God  is  before  the  life  of  each  one  of  us,  whether  we  recognise  Him 
or  not.  That  in  the  pilgrimage  of  life  there  is  a  wondrous  interchange  of  glad  and 
sad  experiences,  all  consistent  ivith  true  progress.  The  Israelites  had  only  a  little 
while  ago  stood  in  terror  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  Sea  ;  they  had  murmured  in 
disappointment  at  the  bitter  waters  of  Marah  ;  they  had  rested  in  joy  at  the 
wells  and  under  the  welcome  shade  of  Elim ;  an<l  now  they  hunger  in  the 
wilderness  of  Sin.  Thus  we  see  through  what  a  diversity  of  experience  they  were 
brought,  both  hopeful  and  sad,  in  the  line  of  their  progress.  And  progress  is 
always  thus  characterised.  There  is  no  progress  without  pain  ;  the  progress  of 
the  body  into  the  full  vigour  of  life,  the  advancement  of  the  mind  into  the 
heritage  of  knowledge,  and  the  effort  of  the  soul  to  attain  its  high  destiny,  is 
inseparable  from  anguish.  In  the  pathway  of  each  advancing  spirit  there  will 
be  many  bitter  waters,  there  will  come  a  time  Avhen  it  will  hunger  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sin.  But  if  progress  is  a  pain  it  is  also  a  joy,  it  leads  past  Elim  as  well 
as  through  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  and  though  the  transition  from  one  to  the 
other  may  be  unwelcome,  it  is  permitted  in  the  mercy  of  God,  it  is  a  healthful 
discipline,  and  it  will  render  the  soul  all  the  richer  in  sublime  experience  of 
Divine  help.  And  thus  joy  and  sorrow  alternate  in  a  progressive  life.  Mono- 
tony of  feeling  is  misery  to  a  great  soul.  Some  men  always  feel  alike.  They 
have  no  great  tide  within  which  breaks  into  billows  on  the  sliore  of  their  souls. 
Their  life  is  stagnant.  Sorrow  lends  to  joy  its  richest  meaning,  gives  to  it  its 
rainbow  hue,  and  places  in  its  hand  the  instrument  from  whence  comes  its 
sweetest  music.  It  is  part  of  the  complement  of  the  inner  life,  and  without  it 
a  great  joy  would  be  impossible.  Both  joy  and  sorrow  exercise  an  improving 
ministry  toward  human  life,  the  former  as  the  day,  in  which  the  ordinary  work 
of  duty  is  accomplished,  and  the  latter  as  the  night,  in  which  the  stars  of  promihe 
burn  brilliantly,  and  tlie  gentle  dews  descend  upon  the  soul.  Sorrow  often 
reveals  men  to  themselves,  and  gives  them  in  their  murmuring  mood  a  hint  of 
the  corruption  yet  remaining  witliin  their  soul.     We  observe — 

I.  That  the  temporal  supplies  of  life  are  the  gift  of  God.  "  Behold  I 
will  rain  bread  from  heaven  for  you."  1.  This  supply  of  bread  was  miraculous. 
Some  would  have  us  believe  that  the  supply  of  manna  in  the  wilderness  was  a 
natural  phenomenon  ;  they  tell  us  of  the  manna  of  Arabia  which  was  sold  in 
apothecaries'  shops.  They  say  that  out  of  the  earth  there  issued  a  certain  sweet 
vapour,  which,  being  drawn  up  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  was  purged  from  its 
earthlmess,  and  made  pure,  then  with  the  cold  of  the  night  it  was  hardened, 
and  before  morning  fell  upon  the  earth  like  dew,  and  so  was  kept  for  man. 
They  say  it  was  small,  white,  sweet,  and  that  it  fell  with  the  dew.  But 
whether  this  wondrous  kind  of  food  or  medicine  was  known  at  the  time  of  the 
falling  of  the  manna  we  are  not  careful  to  inquire  ;  we  are  certain  it  could  not 
have  been  the  bread  which  is  here  said  to  have  come  from  heaven.  The  manna 
on  which  Israel  fed  was  previously  announced  by  God  to  Moses,  was  indepen- 
dent of  all  the  conditions  of  climate  or  weather,  continued  in  great  abundance 
for  forty  years,  fell  not  on  the  Sabbath,  and  ceased  when  it  was  no  longer 
needed.  Surely  here,  if  anywhere,  we  must  recognise  the  miraculous  hand  of 
God.  In  all  this  we  have  a  type  of  things  spiritual.  Christ  is  the  true  manna  of 
the  soul,  and  is  not  He  a  miraculous  gift  ?  He  came  down  from  heaven.  He 
came  into  the  world  after  a  miraculous  fashion,  and  was  in  Himself  the  highest 
embodiment  of  miracle.  Have  not  men  endeavoured  to  explain  His  Person, 
His  work,  and  His  life  on  natural  hypothesis  ?  Have  they  not  said  that  He  was 
the  product  of  the  age  in  which  He  lived,  and  that  all  the  apparent  grandeur  of 
His  life  was  attributable  more  to  the  superstitions  of  the  folk  then  living  than 
to  the  inherent  Divinity  of  His  own  soul  ?    But  as  the  manna  was  not  the  out- 

297 


CHAP.  XVI.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


come  of  the  earth  on  which  it  was  found,  as  it  was  not  the  outcome  of  the 

physical  laws  of  the  universe,  neither  was  Christ  the  product  of  the  earth  on 

which  He  trod,  or  the  imagined  hero   of  a  deluded  people.     Fancied  manna 

cannot  feed  men,  and   the  natural  manna  of  the  world  cannot  nourish  the 

immortal  soul ;  hence  if  Christ  had   not  been  what  He  professed  to  be,  the 

Divine  Saviour  of  men.  He  could  not  have  satisfied  their  moral  nature,  He  could 

not  have  won    their  confidence ;  their  soul-hunger  would  have  proved  Him 

false.     Does  Christ  satisfy  your  soul  in  all  the  extent  of  its  need  ?  if  so,  this  is 

a  proof  to  you  far  stronger  than  any  logical  argument  could  be,  that  He  is  what 

He  professes  to  be,  ami  that  He  is,  in  a  unique  and  unfailing  sense,  from  heaven. 

Was    the   manna   white,    and   was   not   Christ    innocent  1      Was    the   manna 

small,   and  was  not  Christ  small  amongst  men  ?    He  was  not  found  amongst 

the    Herods  and   the   Caesars,   but  amongst   the   humble  and  the  poor.      He 

was   despised    and    rejected    of  men.       Was   the    manna   sweet,    and    is    not 

Christ    sweeter   than    honey  and   the   honeycomb  ]     Was    the   manna  round, 

and  is  not  Christ   without  termination  in   His  life  and  resources  1      2.    This 

supply  of  bread  was  adapted  to  the  need  of  Israel.     The  Israelites  are  in  need 

of  something  to  sustain  their  lives,  and,,  unless  it  is  speedily  sent,  they  will 

perish  in  the  wilderness.     What  course  did  the  Divine  Being  pursue?     Did 

He  cause  beautiful  flowers  to  spring  up  around  the  starving  people  1     Did  He 

rain  pearls  from  the  skies  1     Did  He  light  up  the  landscape  with  unusual  glow, 

to  charm  the  suff'erers  out  of  the  thought  of  their  peril  ?     No.    He  sent  them 

bread,  which  was  suited  to  the  oldest  as  well  as  to  the  youngest,  and  in  suSi- 

cient  quantity  to  supply  the  want  of  all.    And  this  is  the  way  in  which  the 

Divine  Being  responds  to  the  need  of  man.     He  does  not  mock  it.     He  does  not 

disappoint  it.     He  meets  it  in  the  best  and  wisest  manner.     God  supplies  the 

temporal  need  of  the  universe.     The  eyes  of  all  living  wait  upon  Thee,  and  Thou 

givest  them  their  meat  in  due  season,  &c.     God  gives  the  world  its  bread.     You 

would  not  think  so,  though,  to  look  out  upon  the  conduct  of  men.     Some  men 

deny  His  existence.      Some  profane  His  name.     The  great   multitude  reject 

His  rule ;  and  thousands  downright  abuse  the  gifts  of  His  hand.     When  the 

Great  of  the  earth  spread  a  banquet,  they  are  approached  with  respect,  they  are 

courted  by  favour,  and  all  sit  together  in  hapjnness  and  joy  ;  not  one  discordant 

voice  is  heard.     But,  alas  !  the  munificence  of  Heaven  is  met  in  a  very  different 

spirit.     I  say  to  every  rebel  soul,  You  are  fed  by  God;  and  I  ask,  if  you  do  not 

owe  Him  something  of  gratitude  1     Is  it  wise  to  reject  Him  who  could  in  a 

moment  hurry  your  life  into  the  grave  1     Men  look  to  the  fields  and  say,  "Thou 

hast  given  me  corn  ; "  they  look  to  the  hills  and  sa}',  "Thou  hast  given  me 

water  ;"  they  look  to  the  seas  and  say,  "  Thou  hast  brought  me  merchandise  ;" 

and  they  look  to  their  own  industry  and  say,  "  Thou  art  my  stay."     But  who 

clothed  the  smiling  fields  with  corn  ]    who  caused   the   silvery  rill  to  flow  1 

who  meted  out  the  great  waters  1  and  who  gave  thee  thy  brain  and  thine  hand  ? 

You  say,  "  I  sowed  the  seed."     Yes  ;  but  who  made  it  grow  ]      You  say,  "  The 

sun."      But  who  kindled  the  fires  of  that  central  orb  ?     We  need  to  be  more 

spiritually-minded  in  the  recei)tion  of  the  ordinary  gifts  of  life,  to  look  through 

secondary  causes  to  the  great  First  Cause  of  all  our  temporal  good.   And  does  not 

the  Diviiu  Being  equally  meet  our  moral  need?     As  the  Israelites  were  in  need 

of  bread  to  preserve  them  from  starvation,  so  was  not  mankind  morally  in  great 

need  of  Christ  1     The  soul  was,  indeed,  perishing  of  hunger,  and  then  it  was 

that  Christ  Avas  given  to  appease  it.     The  need  was  great,  man  could  not  satisfy 

the  cravings  of  his  moral  nature, — the  philosophy  and  the  conventional  tloctrine 

of  the  old  teachers  were  exhausted  and  vain  ;  and  in  this  moment  of  the  world's 

unspoken  anguish,   the   Br(!ad   of  Life  was  given.     "  When  we  were   without 

strength,  in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly.      Christ  is  suited  to  all;  has 

enough  for  all     3.  This  supply  of  bread  was  undeserved  by  Israel.     When  the 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Israelites  began  to  feel  their  need  of  food  they  commenced  to  murmur.  They 
were  murmuring  against  Moses,  and  in  reality  against  the  God  he  represented. 
Thus  we  see  how  the  temporal  perplexities  of  life  test  men,  and  often  reveal  the 
hidden  corruption  of  the  heart.  Many  who  would  sing  loudly  and  joyously  the 
hymn  at  the  banks  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  who  might  imagine  that  they  would  no 
longer  sin  against  God,  and  that  all  evil  was  removed  from  their  hearts,  would 
find  that  there  was  unsuspected  evil  within  them.  Trial  often  makes  terrible 
revelations  to  men  of  their  inward  heart ;  it  is  often  as  the  surprise  in  nature, 
which  suddenly  opens  up  to  the  vision  a  lonely  and  rugged  path  which  before 
had  been  unobserved.  These  people  were  murmuring ;  would  it  not  have  been 
better  if  they  had  been  p-aying  ?  The  former  could  not  avail  them  much,  the 
latter  would.  Many  men  in  trouble  murmur  when  they  ought  to  pray.  And 
yet,  strange  to  say,  these  murmurings  were  answered,  and  apparently  discontent 
had  the  same  effect  as  devotion.  But  it  was  only  in  outward  appearance  that 
the  effect  was  the  same ;  inwardly  and  really  it  was  very  diff'erent.  The 
manna  came  the  same,  but  the  inward  feeling  of  Israel  was  not  what  prayer 
would  have  made  it.  If  they  had  substituted  prayer  for  murmuring,  their 
hearts  would  have  been  penitent  instead  of  hard, — thankful  instead  of  dubious. 
We  should  always  regard  not  merely  the  outward  answer  to  prayer,  but  also 
the  inward  feeling  which  is  awakened  by  it,  else  we  may  imagine  that, it  is  as 
wise  to  murmur  as  to  pray.  A  murnmnng  soul  may  get  bread  ;  a  praying  soul 
will  get  bread  and  grace  too.  This  shows  that  all  our  mercies  are  not  of 
merit,  but  of  the  Divine  compassion, — we  do  not  get  them  because  we  deserve, 
but  because  without  them  we  should  die.  We  should  not  have  been  surprised 
if  an  angel  near  had  withdrawn  his  gleaming  weapon  and  smote  the  rebels 
dead  ;  or  if  the  earth  had  opened  to  swallow  them  up.  But  God's  ways  are  not 
as  our  ways,  nor  are  His  thoughts  as  our  thoughts.  God  crowns  the  thankless 
with  His  mercy  ;  of  this  we  have  abundant  evidence  every  day.  There  is  great 
encouragement  here  for  the  penitent  ;  for  if  God  responded  to  the  cry  of  dis- 
content, will  He  not  much  more  to  the  cry  of  penitence  ]  And  was  not  Christ  an 
undeserved  gift  ?  When  He  came  to  Bethlehem,  did  the  world  deserve  Him  1 
The  world  did  not  ask  for  Him,  It  was  murmuring  in  its  sin,  and  knew  not 
where  to  look  for  relief.  And  when  He  came  He  was  rejected  and  despised  of 
men.  And  do  we  deserve  Him  1  We  have  neglected  Him  ;  and  even  if  we  have 
yielded  to  Him  it  is  after  long  entreaty,  and  in  but  a  partial  degree.  We  none 
of  us  deserved  to  be  saved  from  sin  and  hell,  and  our  salvation  is  of  the  infinite 
mercy  of  God. 

II.  That  the  temporal  supplies  of  life  necessitate  the  timely  labour  of  man. 
Thus  we  see  that  God  rained  manna  from  the  heavens,  but  the  Israelites  had  to 
gather  it,  or  they  would  perish.  It  is  not  the  way  of  God  to  feed  men  indepen- 
dent of  their  own  industry.  God  does  His  part  in  giving  man  what  he  could 
not  otherwise  obtain,  and  then  he  must  collect  and  use  the  gifts  thus  bestowed. 
We  see  this  in  everyday  life.  God  makes  the  great  mountains,  and  man  digs 
into  them  to  obtain  their  treasures ;  God  metes  out  the  ocean,  and  man  builds 
ships  by  which  to  navigate  it ;  God  gives  intellect  and  sympathy,  and  'men 
must  solve  the  problem  and  compassionate  woe.  And  thus  in  the  conduct  of 
the  universe  man  is  a  co-worker  with  God.  It  is  in  this  co-operation  that  he 
develops  his  best  genius,  and  that  he  realises  true  dignity.  If  it  had  been  the 
way  of  Heaven  to  give  the  world  the  manna,  without  any  toil  on  its  part,  the 
world  would  have  been  lacking  in  its  greatest  men,  in  its  richest  biographies, 
and  in  all  those  qualities  which  ennoble  wherever  they  are  seen.  We  should  not 
have  had  Stephenson.  We  should  not  have  had  Newton.  We  should  not  have 
had  Howard ;  or  perhaps  we  might  have  had  them,  but  their  names  would  have 
been  without  meaning,  and  theLr  lives  without  greatness.     There  would  have 

299 


CHAP.  xn.  EOMILETIC  COM  MEN  TAR  Y :  EXO  D  US. 


been  no  manna  on  the  fields  of  civilisation,  philanthropy,  and  science  for  them  to 
have  gathered.  It  is  well  that  the  world  has  to  gatiier  its  own  manna,  for  in 
gathering  manna  it  not  only  gathers  food,  but  ap[)eiite  to  enjoy  it,  conscience 
to  approve  it,  and  industry  to  consecrate  it.  A  man  who  gathers  his  own 
manna  Hkewise  gathers  innumerable  blessings  with  it.  This  is  true  physically, 
mentally,  and  s[)iritually.  It  would  be  the  ruin  of  the  universe  if  its  manna 
were  gathered  for  it.  Industry  would  lack  inspiration.  Life  would  lack  motive. 
And  so  it  is  moixiUy.  We  must  gather  the  spritual  manna.  As  we  have  the  iron 
in  the  mountain,  the  pearls  in  ihe  ocean,  the  gold  in  the  mine,  and  the  corn  in 
the  fields,  so  we  have  Christ  in  the  ordinances,  Christ  in  the  promises,  Christ  in 
the  Bible,  Christ  in  the  pulpit,  and  Christ  in  the  biographies  of  the  good  ;  but 
Christ  in  the  Bible  is  of  more  use  to  you  than  gold  in  the  mine.  He  must 
be  gathered  by  all  the  best  energies  of  the  soul.  Then  only  will  He  become 
the  nourishment  of  our  moral  nature.  Ah,  yes  !  This  spiritual  manna  is  all 
around  us,  but  few  gather  it.  The  harvest  truly  is  great,  but  the  labourers  are 
few.  Have  you  gathered  any  manna  to-day?  1.  Men  must  gather  diligently.  We 
can  imagine  how  diligently  the  Israelites  would  watch  for  the  first  oi)portu- 
nity,  and  how  eagerly  would  they  embrace  it,  to  collect  their  needed  supplies. 
Some  would  be  up  and  out  with  the  first  touch  of  morning  light,  and  others 
would  be  seen  leaving  their  tents  just  as  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun  were  meltmg 
the  manna.  In  every  community  there  are  diligent  and  idle  men.  God  hates 
idleness.  In  the  world  to-day  we  find  men  diligently  gathering  the  manna  of 
secular  life.  They  are  up  at  it  long  before  the  burning  sun  removes  their  oppor- 
tunity. Would  that  they  were  as  diligent  in  gathering  the  manna  of  the  soul. 
We  even  find  that  the  men  who  Avork  hardest  to  feed  the  body,  sometimes  mani- 
fest the  greatest  indolence  in  reference  to  the  cravings  of  the  soul.  They  would 
not  let  a  day  pass  without  secular  toil,  but  they  let  years  pass  without 
moral  activity.  Be  diligent  in  seeking  Christ  and  in  reading  the  Scriptures. 
2.  Men  must  gather  early.  The  Israelites  were  to  go  out  early  in  the  morning 
and  gather  the  manna,  before  the  sun  came  and  melted  it.  They  were  to  take 
time  while  time  served.  The  early  morning  is  the  best  time  for  gathering  the 
manna  of  the  body  and  also  the  manna  of  the  soul.  Would  not  the  Israelites 
find  the  air  more  balmy,  the  scene  more  calming,  and  nature  more  sportive 
in  the  early  morn  1  Men  who  work  in  the  morning  get  nature's  richest 
benediction.  And  no  morning  should  pass  away  without  gathering  the  spiritual 
manna.  When  the  busy  world  is  quiet,  and  wlien  only  a  stray  Israelite  is  seen, 
then  is  the  time  to  commune  with  God,  and  to  prepare  the  soul  for  the  moral 
wear  and  tear  of  the  day.  And  we  would  say  to  the  young,  Commence  early  to 
gather  manna ;  if  you  work  hard  in  early  manhood,  you  Avill  not  want  in  old 
age.  But.  above  all,  gather  Christ  in  the  early  morning  of  life,  when  the  soul 
is  fresh  and  fragrant  with  early  dew  and  flower.  The  mercy  of  God  falls  early 
near  the  soul,  it  is  there  long  belore  we  go  to  seek  it.  3.  Men  must  gather  con- 
stantly. The  Israelites  did  not  gather  manna  one  day  and  then  neglect  it  a  day 
or  two.  They  gathered  every  morning,  else  they  would  have  experienced  want, 
and  finally,  they  would  have  perished.  And  if  men  wish  to  obtain  temporal 
prosperity,  it  will  not  do  to  neglect  business  a  day  or  two  in  the  week.  My 
brother,  must  not  the  spiritual  manna  be  constantly  gathered  ?  Wid  it  feed  your 
soul  to-day  to  know  tiiat  you  received  Christ  a  week  ago  1  Some  people  are 
very  fitful  in  their  moral  gathering, — one  day  they  are  out  early  seeking  manna, 
and  then  they  ntglect  it  for  a  week.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  that  they  have  a 
weak  spiritual  life.  The  supply  is  constant.  The  manna  lasted  all  through  the 
wilderness  journey.  The  Divine  compassion  fails  not.  His  mercy  is  everlasting. 
Chiist  is  an  eternal  Saviour,  and  the  soul  of  man  needs  Him  every  hour.  Is  it 
not  foolish  and  unwise  to  deprive  our  souls  of  the  bread  of  heaven  when  it  falls 
at  our  tent  regularly  every  morning  *?  4.  Men  must  gather  trustfully.  When  the 
300 


IlOMlLETiG  COMMENTARY:  EXODVS,  chap.  xvi. 


Israelites  gathered  the  manna,  they  had  no  misgiving  as  to  its  continuance  day 
by  dav.  When  they  closed  the  tent  at  night  they  had  not  a  doubt  but  that 
it  woukl  be  ready  for  them  in  the  morning.  They  doubted  not  the  providence 
of  God.  They  were  not  anxious  in  reletence  to  it.  The  manna  came  down 
from  the  heavens  without  the  intervention  of  natural  agencies,  even  at  night, 
when  Israel  was  asleep,  and  was  found  with  the  dew  in  the  morning.  How 
could  they  doubt  such  a  Providence  as  this  1  We  should  be  trustful  of  God  in 
reference  to  our  temporal  resources.  His  providence  is  ever  active  for  our 
good,  even  at  night  when  all  is  dark  and  silent.  The  grass  grows  at  night. 
Tlie  fruits  grow  at  night.  Night  does  not  interrupt  the  munificent  operations 
of  God.  If  He  then  causes  all  things  thus  to  minister,  independent  of 
our  activity,  to  our  support,  we  ought  to  be  trustful  of  Him.  We  should 
remember  that  if  all  the  natural  sources  of  prosperity  fail,  He  can  rain  bread 
from  the  skies,  or  send  the  raven  with  it.  It  is  the  design  of  Providence  that 
men  should  trust  it  day  by  day.  The  faithfulness  of  God  is  great. ,  The  clothes 
of  Israel  did  not  wax  old,  their  shoes  did  not  wear  out,  the  water  of  the  rock 
followed  them,  and  the  manna  failed  them  not.  The  same  providence  is  over  us 
now,  and  therefore  we  need  not  fear.  And  we  must  he  trustful  from  day  to  day  in 
reference  to  the  supplies  of  the  soul.  If  God  gives  daily  bread  to  thy  body,  do  you 
think  He  will  fail  thy  soul  ?  No.  He  will  every  morning  keep  thee  well  supplied 
with  grace,  thy  robe  of  righteousness  shall  not  wax  old,  thy  shoes  of  service 
shall  never  wear  out,  and  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit  shall  be  your  daily 
portion.  Then  trust  in  God.  The  manna  ceased  when  they  got  to  Canaan. 
The  manna  of  the  soul  shall  be  sweeter  and  richer  to  our  taste  in  heaven. 
Tlien  the  gathering  will  be  no  effort.  The  soul  will  know  no  fear  about  the 
morrow. 

III.  That  the  temporal  supplies  of  life  should  be  acquired  in  proportion  to 
human  need.  "  Gather  of  it,  every  man  according  to  his  eating  ;  an  omer  for 
every  man."  Appetite  is  the  law  of  universal  gathering.  This  is  true  in  the  com- 
mercial realm  of  life  ;  the  gaining  of  wealth  depends  much  upon  the  desire  with 
which  it  is  pursued.  This  is  true  mentally ;  a  man  will  never  gain  more  know- 
ledge than  he  has  an  appetite  for.  And  this  is  true  spiritually  ;  a  man  will 
never  get  more  good  out  of  the  Bible  and  out  of  the  ministry  of  the  "Word  than 
he  has  appetite  for.  Men  say  "  That  sermon  did  not  feed  me  ;  that  service  was 
barren  to  my  soul,"  and  they  blame  the  preacher  ;  it  would  often  be  far  more 
to  the  point  if  they  blamed  their  own  lack  of  ai)petite.  They  will  always  take 
away  frum  the  sanctuary  in  proportion  to  the  hunger  they  bring.  "  Blessed  are 
they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled."  The 
design  of  this  injunction  was  to  prevent  greed  and  to  awaken  a  sense  of  depen- 
dence on  God.  The  manna  was  not  to  be  hoarded.  Wealth  is  ruinous  when  it 
makes  a  man  imagine  that  he  is  independent  of  God,  and  that  he  has  got  such 
an  abundance  of  supphes  that  he  can  feed  himself  Men  cannot  be  indepen- 
dent in  this  world.  It  is  not  proper  that  they  should.  The  wealthiest  are  as 
dependent  upon  God  as  are  the  humblest.  Hoarded  wealth  is  useless.  Wealth 
is  only  truly  useful  as  it  supplies  need,  and  as  it  leads  to  benevolence.  Truly  a 
man  is  worth  what  he  uses  and  what  he  gives.  What  he  hoards  he  wastes. 
Hoarded  wealth  is  apt  to  breed  moral  reptiles,  covetousness,  ambition,  pride, 
loss  of  moral  sensibility,  and  loss  of  self-respect.  If  riches  increase  set  not  your 
heart  upon  them.  Aim  to  be  rich  toward  God.  You  cannot  hoard  grace.  You 
must  go  out  and  gather  it  every  day.  Hoarded  grace  soon  evaporates  (ver. 
17,  18).  "  Some  gathered  more  and  some  less,"&c.  The  richest  man  only  gets 
his  living,  and  does  not  the  poor  do  the  same  'I  Daniel  looks  as  well  and  happy 
upon  the  pulse  and  water  as  those  who  feed  upon  the  King's  allowance.  God 
will  make  the  little  of  a  beheving  soul  stretch  to  an  omer.     There  was  exac^ 

301 


BO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Bufl&ciency  for  all.     And  so  there  is  in  Christ.     The  vilest  have  enough.     The 
best  have  none  to  spare. 

IV.  That  in  gathering  the  temporal  supplies  of  life  men  must  have  respect 
to  the  commandments  and  sacred  institutions  of  God.  "  And  he  said  unto 
them,  This  is  that  -which  the  Lord  hath  said,  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the 
holy  Sabbaih  unto  the  Lord  :  bake  that  which  ye  will  bake  to-day,  and  seethe 
that  ye  will  seethe  ;  and  that  which  reniaiueth  over  lay  up  for  you  to  be  kept 
until  the  morning  (ver.  23).  Thus  we  see  that  God  has  great  regard  for  His 
Sabbath,  the  day  hallowed  by  Himself  at  the  end  of  the  week  of  creation.  Man 
must  not  pursue  his  secular  engagements  on  this  day  of  rest.  He  has  six 
days  for  himself,  and  God  claims  the  seventh.  The  Israelites  lost  nothing  by 
their  Sabbath  rest,  the  manna  came  in  double  quantity  the  day  before.  Men 
lose  nothing  by  keeping  the  Sabbath.  Its  rest  is  sweet  and  invigorating.  Its 
contemplation  is  he]i)ful  to  the  life  of  the  soul.  This  dispensation  is  more 
spiritual  than  the  Jewish,  and  therefore  the  day  should  be  regarded  with 
greater  reverence  of  spirit.  There  is  here  a  contrast  between  the  manna  of 
Israel  and  the  manna  of  the  soul ;  the  former  could  not  be  gathered  on  tlie 
Sabbath,  the  latter  may  be  collected  in  largest  quantities  on  that  day.  The 
pure  soul  can  get  a  rich  feast  of  Christ  on  tiie  Sabbath,  and  anticipates  the 
richer  feast  in  heaven.  1.  Have  you  gathered  and  eaten  this  manna  ?  Manna  on 
the  ground  is  no  use  to  you.  Manna  in  the  tent  is  profitless.  Manna  in  the 
soul  alone  will  save  you.  Have  you  eaten  1  If  not,  what  neglect  !  No  excuse 
can  be  given.  Do  you  turn  away  from  this  spiritual  manna  1  There  must  be 
some  disease.  Send  for  the  Great  Physician.  2.  What  return  are  you  making  to 
God  for  the  gift  of  this  manna  ?  Are  you  giving  to  Him  a  due  proportion  of 
your  substance  ?  Does  His  food  make  you  strong  for  service  %  You  have  had 
the  manna  for  many  years  ;  you  must  make  the  best  return  you  can,  else  your 
confusion  at  the  last  will  be  terrible. 


The  Manna  as  Typical  of  Christ. 

"We  have  every  right  to  regard  the  manna  which  fell  around  the  tents  of 
Israel  as  typical  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Such  is  the  inspired  testimony  of 
the  apostle  (1  Cor.  x.  3).  Our  Lord  has  expressly  and  minutely  applied  the 
nourishment  afforded  by  the  manna  to  the  virtue  of  His  atoning  sacrifice  (John 
vi.  32-51).     We  observe  — 

I.  That  as  the  manna  met  a  great  need  in  the  case  of  Israel,  so  Christ  met 
a  great  need  in  the  experiences  of  the  human  soul.  The  Israelites  had  exhausted 
all  the  food  which  they  had  brought  witli  them  out  of  Egypt,  and  were  in  the 
wilderness  without  any  means  of  sustenance.  They  had  no  bread,  and  knew  not 
how  to  obtain  any.  They  were  helpless.  They  were  murmuring.  They  might 
soon  perish.  Thus  they  were  in  great  need  of  the  manna.  And  did  not  Christ 
meet  an  equally  strong  need  of  the  human  soul  1  The  world  had  exhausted  all 
its  means  of  moral  sustenance.  It  had  nothing  to  ajjpease  its  moral  hunger. 
It  was  perishing  for  lack  of  spiritual  knowledge.  Then  Christ  came  and  fed  it 
with  the  bread  of  life.  The  soul  cannot  do  without  Christ  in  the  wilderness  of 
life  ;  without  Him  it  must  i)erish.  He  is  adapted  to  our  moral  need,  and  can 
alone  give  permanent  satisfaction  to  the  better  desires  of  man.  Christ  is  the 
only  food  of  the  soul.     Creeds  cannot  nourish  it.     Sin  cannot  feed  it. 

II.  That  as  the  manna  was  not  understood  by  Israel,  so  Christ  was  not 
anderstood  by  those  to  whom  He  came.  The  name  of  manna  was  not  given 
by  God  Himself,  but  l)y  the  children  of  Israel.  "And  when  the  children  of 
Israel  saw  it,  they  said  one  to  another,  It  is  manna :  for  they  wist  not  what  it 

302 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTAHY .  LXODVS. 


cHak  rr  . 


was."  It  is  most  probable  that  the  word  signifies  "portion"  or  gift,  because  it 
was  evidently  the  gift  of  God;  and  as  tliey  did  nut  know  its  nature,  they  could 
not  chose  any  better  term  whereby  to  describe  it.  And  was  not  Christ  a  great 
mystery  to  the  men  of  His  day  ]  They  did  not  understand  His  person.  They 
could  not  interpret  His  miracles.  They  were  amazed  at  His  claim  and  at  His 
language.  There  was  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  legarding  Him.  Some  ad- 
mitted His  Divinity.  Some  said  He  had  a  devil.  Some  said  He  was  mad. 
His  disciples  asked,  "  What  manner  of  man  is  this  1 "  (Matt.  viii.  27).  Christ 
asked,  "Whom  say  the  people  that  1  am^  and  they  said  John  the  Baptist,  but  some 
say  Elias,  and  others  that  one  of  the  old  prophets  is  risen  again."  The  world  by 
wisdom  knew  not  God.  If  the  world  had  known  Christ,  it  would  not  have 
rejected  and  crucified  Him.  It  has  hardly  yet  obtained  a  complete  knowledge 
of  Him. 

III.  That  as  the  manna  made  provision  for  all  Israel,  so  Christ  is  provided 
as  a  Saviour  for  the  entire  world.  The  manna  fell  around  all  the  tents  of  Israel 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the  need  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child.  If 
any  lacked  food  it  was  because  they  would  not  gather  it.  And  so  the  benefits 
of  Christ's  death  are  available  to  all, — are  within  easy  reach  of  all ;  and  if  any 
perish  from  soul-hunger,  it  will  be  through  their  own  wilful  and  woeful  neglect. 
Christ  is  not  merely  provided  as  a  feast  for  the  rich  ;  the  poor  are  welcome  to 
His  banquet,  without  money  and  without  price.  He  is  free  to  all  seeking 
souls,  but  He  must  be  appropriated  in  time,  while  the  opportunity  is  given.  All 
can  receive  Him  by  faith. 

IV.  That  as  the  manna  descended  in  the  night,  and  was  accompanied  by 
the  dew,  so  Christ  comes  to  the  soul  in  quietude,  and  is  accompanied  by  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  manna  descended  during  the  night,  and  was 
ready  for  the  use  of  Israel  in  the  early  morning.  Did  not  Christ  descend 
unseen  and  unknown  during  the  dark  night  of  the  Old  Testament  dispensation, 
and  was  He  not  found  by  men  who  waited  for  the  bright  morning  1  Simeon 
was  one  of  the  early  watchers  and  gatherers  of  this  welcome  food.  Christ  comes 
into  the  soul  when  it  is  free  from  worldly  excitement, — when  it  is  quiet.  The 
manna  and  the  dew  were  found  together.  And  do  we  not  know  that  the  gentle 
dew  of  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanies  the  gift  of  Christ  to  the  soul — there  never 
can  be  the  latter  without  the  former. 

V.  That  as  the  manna  had  to  be  gathered  early  every  day,  so  Christ  must 
early  be  sought  by  the  penitent  soul.  The  Israelites  were  up  early  seeking 
the  manna.  They  had  not  to  be  self-indulgent.  They  had  not  to  be  slothful. 
And  so  there  must  be  no  self-indulgence  in  the  life  of  the  good.  The  food  of 
the  soul  should  be  sought  early  every  day. 

VI.  That  as  the  manna  was  white  and  sweet,  so  Christ  is  pure  in  Himself, 
and  welcome  to  the  taste.  The  whiteness  of  the  manna  signifies  the  innocence 
of  Christ ;  and  the  sweetness  of  the  manna  signifies  how  welcome  He  is  to  the 
taste  of  a  refined  soul.  Christ  is  sweet  in  His  life,  in  the  promises,  and  in  His 
word.  He  is  sweeter  than  honey  and  the  honeycomb.  We  cannot  have  too 
much  of  Him. 

VII.  That  as  the  manna  was  a  test  to  Israel,  so  Christ  is  a  test  of 
universal  character.  The  Israelites  were  test<'d  by  the  gift  of  the  manna  as  to 
whether  they  would  obey  God  in  His  commandments  and  institutions.  And  so 
Christ  is  set  for  the  rise  and  fall  of  many,  and  the  way  in  which  men  receive 
or  reject  His  will  concerning  them,  will  their  present  character  and  eternal 
destiny  be  determined.     Christ  is  the  great  test  of  men.     Lessons  : — 1.  That 

303 


CHAP.  m. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


every  man  has  the  opportunity  of  seeking  Christ.  2.  That  Christ  alone  can  nourish 
and  sustain  the  human  soul.  3.  That  Christ  is  sweet  to  the  taste  of  penitent  souls. 
4,  That  we  should  seek  to  induce p^'ishing  mortals  to  gather  thvi  manyia. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses  4,  5.  Jehovah  turns  His  con- 
solations unto  the  trials  of  His  dearest 
servants, 

Godwin  not  leave  His  ministers  com- 
fortless when  striving  with  a  rebellious 
people. 

Jehovah  calls  His  abused  ministers  to 
look  from  men  to  Himself. 

God  can  make  heaven  give  bread 
when  earth  denies  it. 

It  is  easy  with  God  to  make  bread 
plenty  in  greatest  scarcity. 

Daily  bread  is  a  sweet  portion  which 
God  allows  unto  His  people. 

God's  mercies  are  His  trials  of  men 
to  see  whether  they  will  obey  Him. 

Verses  6-8.  God's  ministers  in- 
structed and  comforted  by  Him,  are 
engaged  to  instruct  and  comfort  His 
people. 

God's  evening  and  morning  provid- 
ences may  convince  men  that  He  is 
their  Redeemer. 

The  glol'y  of  grace  God  sometimes 
shows  to  murmurers. 

A  murmuring  against  ministers  is 
taken  by  God  to  be  against  Himself. 

Humble  souls  are  content  to  be  no- 
thing in  redemption,  that  God  may 
be  all. 

Verses  9,  10.  God's  ministers  op- 
pressed with  murmurings  cannot  do 
better  than  call  all  the  people  to  God. 

God  hears  the  murmurings  of  sin- 
ners against  His  ministers,  and  calls 
them  to  account. 

God's  ministers  must  summon  souls 
to  God,  and  the  faithful  do  it  at  His 
command. 

Souls  shall  be  brought  to  see  God's 
appearing  in  a  sad  Wiiy,  who  rise  up 
against  Him. 

Verses  11,  12.  God  Himself  owns 
■what  His  servants  have  s^Doken  for 
Him  in  His  name. 

It  is  no  strange  thing  for  God  to 
304 


speak  twice  to  His  oppressed  servants 
to  support  tliem. 

In  greatest  straits  God  can  make 
evening  and  morning  to  bring  season- 
able supplies  to  His  people. 

Jehovah  will  make  His  people  know 
Him,  and  that  He  keeps  the  covenant, 
thougii  they  break  it. 

Verses  13-15.  God  of  His  grace  can 
give  the  sweetest  nourishment  to  un- 
wortiiy  sinners  at  His  pleasure. 

God  keeps  His  time  in  performing 
His  promise  to  His  people. 

Gud's  performance  of  promise  is  full 
and  large  unto  His  Israel. 

Mercies  promised  are  ordered  to 
come  seasonably,  evening  and  morning. 

God  can  make  His  dew  bring  and 
hide  bread  for  His  people. 

Natural  coverings  removed,  God  can 
discover  His  hidden  mercies  unto  the 
good. 

The  best  of  bread  from  God  may 
seem  a  small  and  dispicable  thing  to 
man. 

God's  own  Israel,  in  taking  cogniz- 
ance of  His  greatest  mercies,  may  be  at 
a  loss  what  to  think  about  them. 

It  is  a  blessing  to  have  a  choice 
interpreter  of  God's  mercies  to  His 
Church. 

Common  bread  has  a  spiritual  use 
and  meaning. 

Verses  16-18.  As  God  promised 
bread,  so  He  commands  labour  to 
gather  it. 

Sufficiency  God  allows,  and  for  that 
men  must  take  pains. 

God's  omer  or  measure  is  enough 
for  the  portion  of  every  soul. 

All  souls  in  families  God  will  have 
cared  for,  even  such  as  cannot  labour 
for  themselves. 

Obedience  must  be  given  to  God's 
command  of  labour. 

All  are  not  labouring  alike  for  daily 
food,  some  more,  some  less. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Food  convenient  for  every  man's  eat- 
ing is  a  good  portion  from  God. 

Verses  19,  20.     Hoarded  wealth. 

I.  That  we  find  many  men  in  this 
life  who  are  endeavouring  to  hoard 
their  gains.  We  find  that  several  of 
these  Israelites,  notwithstanding  the 
clear  command  of  Moses,  endeavoured 
to  keep  the  manna  until  the  morning. 
The  Word  of  God  tells  men  that  they 
are  not  to  attempt  an  undue  hoarding 
of  wealth,  it  tells  them  not  to  be 
worldly-minded,  and  not  to  be  covet- 
ous. But,  notwithstanding  these  dis- 
tinct requirements,  there  are  multitudes 
who  go  counter  to  them,  and  who  keep 
the  produce  of  their  industry  until  it 
becomes  loathsome.  Men  have  many 
excuses  for  hoarding :  they  plead  a 
provident  example,  a  needy  future,  a 
large  family,  and  thus  they  palliate 
miserliness.  Gathering  should  be 
limited  to  human  requirement. 

II.  That  an  endeavour  to  hoard 
wealth  manifests  a  sad  distrust  of  the 
Providence  of  God.  Why  did  these 
disobedient  Israelites  endeavour  to 
keep  the  manna  until  the  morrow  1 
Were  they  animated  by  mere  curiosity 
to  see  the  result  ]  Were  they  greedy, 
and  anxious  to  be  better  off  than  their 
comrades]  Were  they  over-anxious 
and  fearful  lest  the  manna  should  not 
fall   on   the  morrow?     Why  do   men 


hoard  wealth  in  thess  days?  Is  it  not 
often  to  increase  their  luxury,  to 
strengthen  their  social  position,  and  to 
feed  their  ambition?  Miserliness  abuses 
the  good  gifts  of  God.  It  is  a  sad  dis- 
trust of  Divine  Providence.  God  will 
feed  all  who  are  willing  to  sit  at  His 
banquet,  and  to  the  end  of  their  days. 
Hoarded  wealth  gives  no  enjoyment. 
It  introduces  bitter  elements  into  life. 
It  renders  men  no  richer.  It  only  be- 
comes so  much  lumber  to  them.  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  tho 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? 

III.  That  hoarded  wealth  is  very 
liable  to  become  morally  degenerate 
and  corrupt.  The  manna  that  these 
Israelites  left  until  the  morning  became 
corrupt,  and  bred  worms.  And  so 
hoarded  wealth  will  always  degenerate 
in  value,  in  useableness,  and  in  power 
to  give  enjoyment.  In  the  view  of  all 
right-minded  souls  it  will  be  corrupt. 
It  breeds  all  that  is  degrading  to  an 
immortal  soul,  capable  of  the  riches  of 
a  pure  moral  character.  Lay  not  up 
for  yourselves  treasure  on  earth,  &c. 

God's  law  orders  His  allowance  how 
to  be  used  by  His  people,  and  not  to  be 
abused. 

Foolish  men  refuse  to  hear  and  obey 
the  just  laws  given  to  them. 

Mercies  abused  by  sinners  are  ac- 
cursed by  God,  and  aggravate  their 
sin. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.— Verses  22-30. 

The  Sabbath  in  its  Relation  to  Secular  Toil. 

We  see  in  this  narrative  how  very  slow  men  are  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  Divine  Word  and  command,  especially  if  it  appears  to  contradict  the  usual 
method  of  things.  When  the  elders  saw  the  people  gathering  on  the  Friday 
enough  manna  for  two  days,  they  came  and  told  Moses,  imagining  that  tiie  law 
was  being  broken,  and  they  were  not  satisfied  until  he  had  assured  them  that 
the  conduct  they  reported  was  right.  Men  are  indeed  slow  to  understand  the 
laws  of  God  concerning  them,  especially  as  regards  their  secular  toil. 

I.  That  man  must  not  engage  in  secular  toil  on  the  Sabbath.  The  Israelites 
were  commanded  to  gather  twice  as  much  manna  on  the  Friday  as  they  needed, 
in  order  that  they  might  have  suflScient  for  the  day  of  rest.  What  was  thus 
preserved  did  not  become  offensive.  It  had  the  blessing  of  God.  Thus  we  see 
the  Divine  regard  paid  for  the  Sabbath  in  the  wilderness.  If  Israel  thus  rested 
from  gathering  manna  on  the  Sabbath,  ought  not  men  much  more  to  rest  from 
2  B  305 


CHAP.  XVI.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


the  secular  engagements  of  life  ?  And  if  God  has  such  respect  for  this  day, 
ought  not  men  to  respect  it  likewise  ?  Men  must  not  even  earn  their  daily- 
bread  on  the  Lord's-day, — they  must  provide  it  before.  If  food  is  not  to  be 
earned  on  this  day,  surely  pleasure  should  be  excluded  from  it,  and  all  vain 
jesting.     We  should  always  regard  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath. 

II.  That  men  engaged  in  secular  toil  on  the  Sabbath  will  as  a  rule  find 
their  labour  vain  and  profitless.  Some  of  the  Israelites  went  out  into  the 
fields  on  the  Sabbath,  as  they  were  wont  to  do  morning  by  morning,  but  they 
found  nothing.  And  men  who  go  into  their  fields,  and  warehouses,  and  markets, 
and  museums  on  the  day  of  rest,  generally  go  with  like  result ;  they  bestow  hard 
labour  for  no  result.  They  do  not  realise  the  money  tliey  expected.  They 
do  not  obtain  the  pleasure  they  desired.  They  do  not  get  the  education  they 
intended.  The  man  who  goes  out  to  work  on  the  Lord's  day  will  in  the  long 
run  find  nothing.  He  will  lack  the  physical  rest  needful  to  diligent  toil  ;  men 
cannot  work  seven  days  running  all  the  year  through.  He  will  lack  the  respect 
of  pious  customers.  He  will,  above  all,  lack  the  blessing  of  God,  witliout  which 
all  hope  of  prosperity  is  vain. 

m.  That  men  engaged  in  secular  toil  on  the  Sabbath  show  plainly  that 
they  have  no  regard  for  the  commands  of  God.  These  Israelites  had  been 
Divinely  commanded  not  to  go  out  to  gather  manna  on  the  Sabbath,  as  on  that 
day  none  would  fall  ;  yet  they  went.  "And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  How 
long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  commandments  and  my  laws."  Men  who  pursue 
their  secular  toil  on  the  day  of  rest  show  to  the  world  very  clearly  that  they  are 
devoid  of  reverence  for  the  Supreme  Being,  and  that  they  are  lacking  in  good 
moral  character.  The  way  in  which  a  man  spends  the  Lord's-day  is  an  index 
to  his  soul-life  and  to  his  character  :  only  vile  men  will  throw  off  all  the 
restraint  of  God's  law,  and  if  they  will  do  this  in  one  tiling  they  will  in 
another.  They  are  outcasts  in  society.  They  are  selling  their  souls  for 
gain. 

IV.  That  men  engaged  in  secular  toil  on  the  Sabbath  have  no  delight 
in  the  culture  of  their  moral  nature.  It  is  especially  on  the  day  of  rest 
that  men  of  secular  toil  have  the  leisure  and  opportunity  for  soul-culture, 
by  inward  meditation,  by  earnest  devotion,  by  wise  reading,  and  by  the 
ministry  of  the  sanctuary.  And  a  man  who  pursues  his  work  on  the  Sabbath, 
thereby  testifies  that  he  cares  not  for  these  important  things.  He  does  not  wish 
to  reflect  on  his  inner  life.  He  does  not  wish  to  remember  God.  He  does  not 
wish  to  refresh  his  soul  after  the  activity  of  the  week.  He  declares  that  he 
wishes  to  go  ignorant  and  careless  through  time  into  the  mystery  of  eternity. 
Lessons  :—  1.  Thai  men  should  ivork  harder  on  Saturday  \f  necessary  in  oi'der  to  get 
the  rest  of  Sicnday.  2.  That  men  who  disobey  the  laws  of  God  in  human  life  make 
no  gain  thereby.  3.  Tliat  the  Sabbath  miist  be  regarded  as  a  day  of  s^ritual  rest 
unto  the  Lord. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verse  22.     When   God   orders   the  a  rest  unto  Jehovah,  He  hath  said  it, 

manna  to  be  cared  for,  it  is  duty  to  He  terminates  it. 

gather  bread  for  two  days.  Reserves    of    food    for    to-morrow 

God  expects  an  account  of  mercies  when  God  commands  shall  prove  no 

received  by  His  ministers.  cur.se. 

Direction  from  God  is  to  be  expected  God's   rest    and    man's   repast    are 

for  the  right  use  of  mercies  received.  made  very  consistent  by  Jehovah. 

Verses  23-26.     The  holy  Sabbath  is          Verses  27-30.     God's  fairest  offers 
306 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTART:  EXODUS. 


and  sweetest  commands  are  accounted  God's  bountiful  blessing  on  the  Sab- 
grievous  by  some.  bath  ought  to   shame  those  who  de- 
God  frustrates  sinners  who  think  to  grade  it. 
gain  by  breaking  the  Sabbath. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPff.— Verses  32-3e. 

An  Instructive  Memorial. 

I.  By  whom  the  memorial  was  enjoined.  "  This  is  the  thing  which  the  Lord 
commanded."  Tliis  memorial  was  not  the  outcome  of  superstitious  feeling  on 
the  part  of  tlie  Israelites,  nor  of  their  deep  devotion  of  heart.  They  would  not 
have  thought  of  it  of  themselves.  They  were  Divinely  commanded  to  it.  It  does 
not  readily  occur  to  men  to  make  memorials  of  the  mercy  of  God.  And  yet 
there  is  eminent  need  of  such  memorials.  Men  are  liable  to  forget  the  Divine 
goodness.  They  require  something  to  continually  remind  them  of  it.  The  gifts 
we  bestow  upon  others  are  long  remembered ;  those  we  receive  are  soon  for- 
gotten. We  have  need  to  set  up  memorials  in  our  lives,  which  shall  call  upon 
our  souls  to  remember  the  benefits  of  the  Lord.  It  is  the  will  of  heaven  that 
its  gifts  should  be  held  in  constant  remembrance. 

II.  In  what  the  memorial  consisted.  "  Fill  an  omer  of  it  to  be  kept  for  your 
generations."  1.  This  memorial  was  reasonable.  Thus  the  Israelites  were  re- 
quired to  fill  an  omer  with  the  manna,  and  keep  it  as  a  memorial  of  the  won- 
drous providence  which  had  so  long  supplied  their  temporal  need.  What  could 
have  been  more  reasonable  than  such  a  memorial,  which  was  eminently  adapted 
to  recall  the  circumstances  it  was  designed  to  commemorate.  The  good  must 
lay  up  a  sacred  deposit  of  their  everyday  experiences  and  mercies  before  the 
Lord.  The  memorials  of  the  soul  must  consist  of  its  own  inner  experiences. 
2.  This  memorial  was  expressive.  It  was  expressive  of  the  great  need  of  Israel,  of 
the  abundant  and  appropriate  mercy  of  God.  An  omer  of  manna  was  preserved 
which  showed  that  the  heavenly  supply  was  not  scanty.  The  memorials  of  the 
soul  must  set  forth  the  infinitude  of  the  Divine  compassion,  and  the  riches  of 
Divine  grace.  3.  This  memorial  was  instructive.  It  not  merely  reminded  the 
Israelites  of  the  goodness  of  God  to  them,  but  it  would  give  an  instructive  and 
encouraging  view  of  the  Divine  character  and  providence  to  the  generations  of 
the  future.  The  memorials  of  the  parents  should  be  such  as  to  instruct  and  aid 
the  children  in  their  religious  life.  4.  This  memmial  was  valuable.  The  manna 
was  kept  in  a  golden  pot — (Heb.  ix.  2).  It  was  not  put  into  a  common  ve.ssel. 
And  the  memorials  of  the  soul  should  not  find  expression  in  valueless  things, 
but  in  the  richest  treasures  of  man.     God  is  worthy  our  best  off"erings. 

III.  Where  the  memorial  was  deposited.  "  And  lay  it  up  before  the  Lord." 
"  So  Aaron  laid  it  up  before  the  Testimony,  to  be  kept."  And  so  this  memo- 
rial was  laid  up  before  the  Lord,  in  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  Thus  we  must 
keep  the  memorials  of  the  soul  in  devout  spirit,  and  with  a  constant  trust  in  the 
mediatorial  work  of  Christ.  In  celebrating  the  Divine  providence,  we  must  not 
be  animated  by  a  regard  for  a  religious  display,  but  by  a  desire  to  lay  up  a 
memorial  of  our  best  gratitude  before  the  Lord.  As  Aaron  laid  up  the  pot  of 
manna  before  the  Testimony,  so  Christ  alone  can  render  our  memorials  accept- 
able to  God. 

IV.  The  design  the  memorial  contemplated.  "  That  ye  may  see  the  bread 
wherewith  I  have  fed  you  in  the  wilderness  "  "  To  be  kept  for  your  genera^ 
tions."  The  Israelites  would  enter  Canaan,  and  then  would  return  to  the  pro- 
duce of  the  field  :  hence  they  needed  something  to  remind  them  of  their  wilder- 

307 


CHAP.  XVI.  HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EXOD  US. 


ness  condition.  The  mercy  given  in  adversity  must  be  remembered  in  pro- 
sperity. In  heaven  the  soul  will  have  memorials  of  the  nieicy  wiiich  charac- 
terised its  life  on  earth.  This  pot  of  manna  was  also  designed  to  teach  the 
generations  to  come  the  goodness  and  faithfulness  of  God,  Every  generation 
should  seek  to  leave  behind  it  new  and  encouraging  revelations  of  tiie  Divii.e 
character,  which  shall  lead  those  who  follow  to  see  more  clearly  the  merciful 
providence  of  God.  Each  generation  leaves  a  moral  deposit  behind  it,  for  good 
or  evil.  Lessons  : — 1.  The  soul  must  have  a  memoiial  of  the  Divine  mercy.  2.  The 
memorial  of  the  soul  must  consist  of  the  best  things  it  possesses.  3.  T/ie  memorial  of 
the  soul  will  liave  respect  to  the  redemptive  wwk  of  Christ. 

An  Instructive  Memorial. 

Why  was  this  "  omer  of  manna  "  to  be  sacredly  preserved  from  generation  to 
generation  ]  The  only  reason  assigned  is,  "  that  your  generations  may  see  the 
bread  wherewith  I  have  fed  you  in  the  wilderness."  Whatever  God  does  or 
commands  to  be  done  is  for  wise  and  worthy  reasons.  Let  us  reverently  seek 
to  ascertain  what  was  the  Divine  reason  in  arranging  for  succeeding  generations 
of  the  Israelites  to  see  this  manna,  with  which  He  had  fed  their  fathers  in  the 
wilderness.  We  suggest  that  it  was  this,  Because  the  sight  of  it  was  calculated  to 
p'omote  their  moral  improvement  by  suggesting  and  impressing  important  trutJis. 
Without  mentioning  certain  suggestions  of  the  manna  Avhicli  have  been  noticed 
in  the  exposition  of  the  previous  verses,  that  which  was  contained  in  the  pot  for 
preservation  would  be  an  impressive  memorial  of 

L  The  infinite  resources  of  God.  Here  are  three  millions  of  persons  in  the 
desert  without  food.  That  which  they  brought  out  of  Egypt  with  them  they 
have  consumed.  And,  though  they  have  flocks  and  herds  with  them,  they  are 
not  to  be  eaten  for  food  but  kept  for  sacrifices.  Whence  shall  they  obtain  food? 
The  prospect  seems  to  them  exceedingly  dark,  and  they  utter  loud  and  bitter 
complaints  against  their  leaders.  In  this  extremity,  the  Lord  ajjpears  for  them 
and  provides  the  manna.  This  provision  was  undoubtedly  miraculous.  The 
writer  of  the  article  on  "  Manna,"  in  "  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,"  says, 
that  "  the  natural  products  of  the  Arabian  deserts  and  other  Oriental  regions 
which  bear  the  name  of  manna,  have  not  the  qualities  or  uses  ascribed  to  the 
manna  of  Scripture."  And,  after  pointing  out  many  points  of  contrast,  he 
says,  "  The  manna  of  Scripture  we  therefore  regard  as  wholly  miraculous,  and 
not  in  any  respect  a  product  of  nature."  The  resources  of  the  Lord  are  infinite. 
No  matter  how  dark  and  discouraging  our  circumstances  and  our  prospects  may 
be,  if  God  be  for  us  inexhaustible  treasures  are  ours.  He  can  spread  our  table 
in  the  barren  wilderness,  so  that  for  foriy  years  we  shall  lack  no  good  thing. 
At  His  command  the  flinty  rock  shall  pour  forth  copious  streams,  so  that  the 
dry  and  thirsty  land  shall  become  a  land  of  refreshment  and  delight.  If  it  were 
possible  to  exhaust  the  resources  of  the  material  universe,  still  the  people  of 
God  are  rich  by  reason  of  their  interest  in  Him,  whose  resources  are  equal  to 
all  the  needs  of  His  vast  universe, — whose  resources  are  indeed  infinite.  We 
rejoice  in  "  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  "  He  is  able  to  do  for  us  exceed- 
ing abundantly,"  &c. 

II.  The  great  goodness  of  God.  His  goodness  is  strikingly  exemplified  in 
several  things  of  which  this  manna  would  be  a  memorial.  1.  The  supply  of  7nanna 
was  undeserved.  These  unbelieving,  murmuring,  rebellious  Israelites  merited  no 
kindness  from  God.  Had  they  received  their  deserts  they  would  have  been  left 
to  die  of  famine.  "  He  has  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,"  &c.  2.  The  sxipply 
was  ample.  There  was  sufficient  for  every  one  and  for  all.  If  any  one  lacked 
provisions  it  was  not  because  of  any  deficiency  in  the  supply.  So  the  blesaings 
3U8 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


of  redemption  and  of  providence  are  ample  for  all  the  needs  of  all  men,  every- 
where, and  in  all  ages.  3.  The  supply  was  free.  All  the  Israelites  might  avail 
themselves  of  it.  Every  morning  they  -would  go  out  into  the  open  wilderness 
and  gather  it.  An  illustration  of  the  sufficiency  and  freeness  of  the  provisions 
of  Divine  grace.  "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters  ;  and  he 
that  hath  no  money,"  &c.  4.  The  sxipphj  was  pleasant.  The  taste  of  the  manna 
was  like  fresh  oil,  and  like  wafers  made  with  honey,  equally  agreeable  to  all 
palates.  The  provisions  of  Christianity  are  not  only  wholesome  but  pleasant 
also.  The  prophet  Isaiah  represents  them  as  "a  feast  of  fat  things  full  of 
marrow,  of  wines  on  the  lees,  well  refined."  Our  Lord  also  compares  them  to 
a  gi-eat  feast.  A  feast  of  delightful  experiences,  exalted  hopes,  blessed  fellovv- 
shi])s,  &c.  Thus  the  manna  would  remind  the  generations  of  the  great  goodness 
of  God  to  their  ancestors. 

III.  The  unvarying  faithfulness  of  God.  "The  children  of  Israel  did  eat 
manna  forty  years  until  they  came  to  a  land  inhabited  ;  they  did  eat  manna 
until  they  came  unto  the  borders  of  the  land  of  Canaan."  During  the  forty 
years,  the  supply  of  manna  never  failed  them.  With  undeviating  regularity, 
God  bestowed  it  upon  them  until  they  came  to  the  borders  of  Canaan,  where 
there  was  abundance  of  provisions.  The  Divine  faithfulness  is  the  more  con- 
spicuous when  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  people's  conduct.  God  was  invariably 
faithful  to  them  and  to  His  promise,  notwitstanding  their — 1.  Inconstancy.  2. 
Ingratitude.  3.  Oft-repeated  rebellion.  Notwithstanding  the  extreme  provocation 
which  He  received  from  them,  He  continued  to  send  them  manna  from  heaven 
until  they  needed  it  no  longer.  "  If  we  believe  not,  yet  He  abideth  faithful : 
He  cannot  deny  Himself"  The  manna  would  remind  the  generations  of  this 
unfailing  faithfulness. 

IV.  The  abiding  presence  of  God  with  them.  When  the  Israelites  attempted 
to  keep  the  manna  in  their  tents  from  one  day  to  another,  "  it  bred  worms  and 
stank."  But  in  the  manna  which  was  kept  by  the  command  of  God  we  have  a 
perpetual  miracle  by  which  it  was  kept  pure  and  sweet.  And  that  perpetual 
miracle  was  a  proof  of  the  perpetual  presence  of  God  with  them, — a  proof  that 
the  faithful  God  was  with  them  even  as  He  was  with  their  fathers. 

And  thus,  the  manna  being  such  a  memorial  of  the  doings,  character,  and 
presence  of  God,  it  would  be — 

V.  An  encouragement  to  trust  in  God.  "  God's  miracles  and  mercies  are  to 
be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance,  for  our  encouragement  to  trust  in  Him  at 
all  times." 

Conclusion.  Ponder  well  two  facts : — 1.  The  history  of  one  generation  may 
benefit  all  succeeding  generations.  History  furnishes  patterns  and  beacons,  encour- 
agements and  warnings.  Let  us  heed  them.  2.  The  obligation  of  every  generation 
to  profit  by  the  history  of  its  predecessors.  Every  fresh  generation  enters  upon  its 
career  with  greater  advantages  and  responsibilities  than  those  which  have  gone 
before.  We  ought  to  be  wiser,  braver,  holier  than  our  fatliers.  But  are  we  1 
—  William  Jones. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  32-36.      Mercies   of  old   to  monuments,  that    He   did   not  bring 

His  Church  God  would  have  known  to  Israel  out  of  Egypt  to  destroy  them, 

succeeding  generations.  Wilderness   mercies   are   contempo- 

Men  may  see  that  the  best  provision  rary  with  wilderness  conditions, 
of  God's  Church  has  been  in  its  wilder-  God  Avill  carry  His  Israel  through  all 
ness  condition.  wilderness   trials   unto   their  Canaan- 
God    confutes    murmurers   by    His  rest. 

309 


CHAP.  XTI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XVI, 


REV.   WM.  ADAMSON. 


Elim-Slnal!  Ver.  1.  The  scene  of  the 
miracles  of  quails  and  manna  was  strikina;!}' 
appropriate.  Professor  Palmer  in  his  Desert 
of  the  Exodus  irives  a  vivid  description  of  the 
scene  and  sufferings.  Familiar  as  we  liad 
grown  with  desert  scenes,  we  were  not  pre- 
pared for  such  utter  and  oppressive  desolation 
as  this.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  there 
stretched  a  dull,  flat,  sandy  waste — unrelieved 
by  any  green  or  livinu;  thing.  The  next 
morning  he  and  his  friends  a<;ain  set  out, 
passing  over  a  tr^ct  of  sand  equally  dreary 
with  that  of  the  day  before.  It  was,  however, 
covered  witii  a  sombre  carpet  of  hard,  black 
flints  ;  thus  affording  a  firmer  foothold  for  the 
pedestrian.  But  alike  on  the  sand  as  on  the 
rock,  tlie  sun  shone  with  a  fierce  glare — 
Bcorching  and  blistering  their  hands  and  faces. 
Such  no  doubt  was  the  experience  of  Israel. 
And  such  is  the  Christian's  life-path.  Be- 
lievers journey  along  bare  sandy  wastes,  or 
bleak  rocky  plains  ;  with  the  burning  sun  of 
worldly  persecution.  No  wonder  they  were 
weak,  those  Israel  hosts.  The  Lord  pitieth 
His  children.  He  pitied  Israel,  when,  as  the 
Psalmist  says,  hungry  and  thirsty  their  soul 
fainted  in  them. 

Divine  Ways  !  Ver.  1,  We  learn  lessons 
ofttimes  when  the  head  is  low;  just  as,  when 
the  sun  is  set,  the  stars  come  out  in  their 
blessed  beauty,  and  darkness  shows  us  worlds 
of  light  we  never  saw  Ky  day.  In  the  glad 
summer  time,  when  the  leaves  are  on  the  trees, 
we  go  into  the  woodlands,  and  we  sport  among 
their  branches.  They  arch  over  us,  hiding 
from  us  the  other  world,  and  causing  us  to 
revel  in  the  beauty  and  blessedness  of  this. 
But  the  blasts  of  winter  come  and  scatter  the 
leaves  ;  then  the  light  of  heaven  comes  in 
between,  to  remind  us  that  our  sufficiency  is 
of  God.  No  doul)t  during  the  five  or  six 
weeks  after  the  Red  Sea  Triumph,  the  host  had 
gradually  been  losing  sight  of  God — slowly 
but  too  surely  forgetting  their  entire  depend- 
ence upon  heaven.  So  the  8up[)lie8  run  short, 
and  Israel  is  reminded  that  man  lives  not  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  thatproceedeth 
out  of  the  mouth  of  God.  Such  are  the  ways 
of  God  in  the  Christian  life.  We  begin  to 
forget  our  dependence  on  the  great  Deliverer  ; 
80  He  arres's  our  sources  of  sustenance — stays 
the  flowing  channels  of  grace — stops  the  sun- 
shine in  the  heavens — laiid  strips  our  trees  of 
their  bright  green  and  glossy  foliage.  Then 
we  remember  what  helpless  creatures  we  are, 
and  are  reminded  that  our  sufficiency  is  of 
God. 

"  With  shattered  pride,  ami  prostrate  iieart. 
We  seek  the  sad-forgotten  God," — Cook. 
310 


Human  Murmurs!  Ver.  2.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  murmuring  must  have  been  a 
malady  characteristic  of  the  Hehrew  people, 
or  else  a  disease  peculiar  to  the  desert.  Tiiey 
were  always  murmuring.  And  such  is  man! 
The  noxious  weed — the  root  of  bitterness, 
with  its  cleaving  burrs  and  envenomed  spines, 
has  not  become  a  fossil-flora.  It  is  still 
only  too  prevalent.  Of  an  Englishman,  the 
foreigner  says  that  it  is  his  nature  to  grumble, 
and  he  himself  claims  it  as  his  firerogative.  Alas! 
it  is  man's  propensity.  As  Dr.  Todd  tells  of 
the  farmer,  he  murmured  when  the  rain  fell 
because  it  would  injure  the  wheat — and  when 
the  sun  shone  becau.se  it  would  damage  the 
rye — and  when  the  air  was  cold  because  it 
would  nip  the  grass.  He  thought  himself  the 
one  especial  targe:  at  whose  prosperity  and 
peace  Nature  was  bent  on  a  perpetual  flight  of 
arrowy  shafts.  So  Israel  !  And  so  man  !  He 
forircts  not  only  that  others  feel  the  pointed 
barli,  but  also  that  there  is  a  design  in  it  all. 
Moreover,  murmuring  never  travels  alone.  He 
is  an  invader  followed  by  a  motley  host  of 
plunderers.  As  Thomas  Brooks  puts  it,  mur- 
muring is  a  sin  that  lireeds  and  brings  forth 
many  sins  at  once  ;  and  so  doth  the  River  Nile 
bring  forth  many  crocodiles,  and  the  scorpion 
many  serpents.  On  the  edge  of  some  plan- 
tations we  read  a  notice: — "Manirais  and 
spring-guns!"  Murmuring  and  peevish  dis- 
content is  such  a  tangled  thicket,  closely  set 
with  guns  and  snares.  So  Israel  found  to  hia 
cost: — "Unto  whom  I  sware  in  my  wrath, 
that  they  should  not  enter  into  my  rest." 
Christians  should  be  the  last  to  murmur. 

*'  As  brooks,  and  torrents,  rivers,  all 
Increase  the  gulf  in  which  they  fall. 
Such  thoughts,  by  gathering  up  the  rills 
Of  lesser  griefs,  spread  real  ills  ; 
And  witii  their  gloomy  sliades  conceal 
The  landmarks  hope  would  else  reveal." 
— Dianiet. 


Backslidings !  Ver.  3.  Watching  the  golden 
eagle,  as  he  basks  in  the  noon's  broad-light — 
balances  with  motionless  wings  in  the  high  vault 
of  heaven — or  rushes  forth  like  the  thunderbolt 
to  meet  the  clouds  on  the  pathway  of  the  blast, 
can  you  conceive  thai  he  would  give  up  his 
free  and  joyous  life  to  drag  out  a  weary  bond- 
age in  a  narrow  and  stifliu'j:  cage  ?  Would  not 
that  kingly  bird— that  cloud-cleaving  bird — 
prefer  death  to  slaviiy.  Foolish  Israel  I  They 
longed  to  give  up  their  freedom  for  the  foul 
bondage  of  Egypt.  How  often  God's  spir.tual 
Israel  are  thus  tempted  to  go  back  to  the 
serfdom  of  sin  I — 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CUAP.  XVi« 


••  Shall  I  back  to  Egypt  go, 
To  my  flesh  corruption  sow  ? 
No,  with  sin  I  cannot  dwell ; 
Sin  is  worse  then  death  and  hell." 

— Wesley. 

Murmur-Mischiefs  1  Ver.  4-16.  Murmur- 
ing is  a  mercy-embittering  sin — a  misery-sow- 
ing sin.  As  the  sweetest  tilings  put  into  a 
sour  vessel  become  sour,  or  put  ini-o  a  bitter 
vessel  bitter;  so  murmuring  puts  gall  and 
wormwood  into  every  cup  of  mercy.  Here 
was  Israel  in  mercy  out  of  Egypt — beyond  the 
barrier  to  Egypt's  hate;  and  yet  in  this  mercy 
they  saw  only  misery.  Herodotus  tells  us  of 
a  people  in  Africa,  who  lived  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mount  Atlas,  that  their  daily 
custom  was  to  curse  the  sun,  because  his  ex- 
cessive heat  scorched  them.  Did  the  Ataura- 
tians  forget  that  to  the  sun  which  they  cursed, 
they  were  indebted  for  ligiit — for  food — for 
the  fertility  of  their  country — for  countless 
mercies  without  which  their  continued  exist- 
ence had  been  impossible.  Ah  !  we  make  our 
mercies  our  miseries  They  wished  for  gloom 
as  Israel  wished  for  Egypt.  But  they  forgot 
the  brick-kilns,  when  they  remembered  the 
flesh-pots ;  and  they  overlooked  the  task- 
master's rods,  when  they  recalled  the  onions 
and  garlic.  The  little  flower  wished  to  be 
planted  higher,  and  the  cold  wind  blew  and 
nipped  it.  Then  it  wished  to  be  planted  in 
the  sun,  and  the  sun  burnt  it.  What  murmur- 
mischiefs  it  experienced.  No,  no  !  we  are 
best  just  as  God  places  us. 

"  Whate'er  my  God  ordains  is  right, 
Here  will  I  take  my  stand, 
Though  sorrow,  need,  or  death  make  earth 
For  me  a  desert  land." — Winkworth. 

Manna-Nature !  "Ver.  15.  Efforts  have 
been  made  to  do  away  with  the  supernatural 
aspect  of  this  incident,  by  suggesting  that  this 
was  nothing  else  than  the  exudation  from  the 
Tamarisk,  to  which  the  name  "manna"  has 
been  given.  No  doubt  the  name  was  given  to 
this  gum,  which  exudes  from  the  large  eastern 
tamarisk-tree,  in  the  belief  that  such  was 
Israel's  source  of  supply.  But  this  was  a  sup- 
position based  on  ignorance,  and  utterly  with- 
out warrant  from  the  narrative  itself.  It  is 
true  that  the  tamarisk-shrub  thrives  in  arid 
sandy  situations,  and  that  it  is  even  now  abun- 
dant in  the  Sinaitic  peninsula  ;  but  how  could  a 
host  of  such  tamarisks  daily  supply  such  a  vast 
assemblage  with  exudations  sufficient?  Then 
again,  it  has  yet  to  be  proved  that  this  gum 
would  be  at  all  salutary  or  nutritive  as  an  arti- 
cle of  constant  and  substantial  good  ;  whereas 
Israel  subsisted  for  forty  years  on  manna.  The 
monks  of  St.  Catherine  on  Sinai  may  gather 
the  Tamarisk  gum,  and  sell  it  at  a  high  price 
to  Europeans  as  Israel's  veritable  sustenance  ; 
but  they  nevt-r  can  justify  their  assertion  to 
sensible  minds.  The  same  holds  good  of  the 
German  idea  of  the  honey-dew  exudings  from 
the  oamel's  thorn,  or  iudiuu  luauna.     By  de- 


nial on  the  part  of  Rationalists  of  any  super- 
natural manna,  they  only  increase  the  difficul- 
ties, and  render  more  numerous,  if  not  greater, 
miracles  necessary.  It  is  far  more  credible 
that  the  supply  was  miraculous;  and  that 
Israel  was  so  perplexed  by  this  new  atom-like 
tliintr,  that,  familiar  as  they  were  with  the 
gums  and  honev-dews  of  the  East,  they  ex- 
claimed—"  What  is  it  ?" 

"  A  while  asro  we  hungered,  but  Thy  great 
love  has  given 
A  food  so  sweet  and  strange  that  it  seems 
like  bread  from  heaven. 

Supplies!  Ver.  4.  An  opulent  person 
makes  the  tour  of  Europe,  durinir  wliich  time 
his  funds  run  short.  But  he  comforts  himself 
with  reflecting  that  he  has  a  sufficient  stock  in 
the  bank,  which  he  can  draw  out  at  any  time 
by  writing  to  his  cashiers.  The  Israelites 
were  in  a  foreign  land,  far  from  home,  with- 
out supplies  ;  whereupon  they  drew  upon  God 
by  prayer,  and  faith,  and  liumble  waiting. 
God  honoured  their  bill  at  siglit,  and  issued  to 
them  from  time  to  .time  such  remittances  aa 
were  sufficient  to  carry  them  in  safety  to  the 
end  of  their  journey.  And  so  He  does  with 
the  Christian  passover-pilgrim.  To  him  the 
promises  are  all  yea  and  amen.  No  good  thing 
is  withheld  from  the  patient,  persevering  be- 
liever. Me  accepts  God's  promises — draws 
upon  them — and  never  finds  them  dishonoured 
at  the  Throne  of  Grace. 

"  I  look  to  Thee  in  every  need,  and  never  look 
in  vain ; 
I  feel  Thy  strong  and  tender  love,  and  all  is 
well  again." 

Sabbath!  Ver.  23.  At  the  very  time  that 
Israel  was  so  engrossed  with  the  material,  i.e., 
with  the  body — God  reminded  them  of  the 
importance  of  the  moral,  i.e.,  of  the  soul.  Aa 
Kalisch  remarks,  the  Sabbath  here  introduced 
is  admirably  calculated  to  disclose  the  internal 
end  of  the  Sabbnth.  And  what  was  that  end  ? 
The  perfect  harmonising  and  reconciling  of 
the  material  and  moral — of  the  physical  and 
spiritual — life  of  man.  And  most  worthy  of 
notice  is  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath  was  here 
fully  recognised  as  an  institution — not  of  re- 
cent date — but  as  it  was,  an  ordinance  co-eval 
with  Creation  itself;  nay,  as  Maut  says,  the 
perpetual  memory  of  the  Maker's  rest.  So 
that  the  manna  preaches  with  Wisdom's  voice 
— cries  loudly  on  us  to  hallow  the  iSabliath-day 
— proclaims  distinctly  the  law  of  righteous 
condemtiation  for  neglect  or  misuse — and 
points  plainly  to  the  fruits  of  obedience  to  the 
Divine  behest.  As  Beecher  says,  the  world 
without  a  Sabbath  wotild  be  like  a  man  with- 
out a  smile — like  a  summer  without  a  flower — 
like  a  homestead  without  a  garden.  It  is  the 
green  oasis — the  little  grassy  meadow  in  the 
wilderness.  Wilberforce  exclaimed  :  "  Oh  I 
what  a  blessing  is  Sunday,  interposed  between 
the  waves  of  worldly  business,  like  the  Divine 
path  of  Israel  through   the  paited    .Jordan." 

311 


OHAF.  XVI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Yet  that  day's  joys  are  in  proportion  to  our 
week's  provision  ;  and  neglect  of  Jesus  during 
the  preceding  davs,  will  deprive  us  of  enjoying 
His  grace  on  the  Sabbiuh.  And  so  with  pre- 
parations in  time  for  the  endless  Sabbath  of 
heaven.     Therefore — 

"  Now  in  the  morning  sunlight,  and  now  at 
life's  decaj', 
We  gather  of   the    portion   appointed   for 

THAT  DAT." 

Quail  and  Manna  Lessons!  Ver.  13-15. 
Clearly  we  are  taught:  1.  Apprehension  of  our 
dependence  on  God.  2.  Ap[)reeiation  of  the 
goodness  of  God.  3.  Approbation  of  the  Sab- 
batic rest  in  God.  It  is  remarkable  in  the 
manna  that,  while  what  was  left  on  the  ground 
melted  before  the  orient  beams,  and  what  was 
left  in  the  house  bred  worms  and  stank,  no 
such  results  are  produced  on  the  Tamarisk 
manna  or  Judean  honey-dew.  There  is  no 
Buch  tendency  to  decomposition  in  them. 
What  does  this  teach,  if  not  the  entire  depend- 
ence of  God's  Church  and  peo[ile  upon  daily 
Bupplies  of  grace  in  Christ  ?  It  bath  pleased 
the  Father  that  in  Him  should  all  fulness 
dwell.  How  expressive,  then,  the  petition  in 
the  Lord's  Prayer:  "  Give  us  tliis  day  our  suffi- 
cient Bread."  Jesus  is  that  sufficing  Bread — 
sufficing  in  Himself — sufficing  to  us. 

"  Shall  I  then  ever  weary  of  this  rich  store  of 
Thine, 
And   wish,   with  thankless  murmurs,  that 
other  gifts  were  mine  ?  " 

Manna-SymboUsm  !  Ver.  15.  Law  remarks 
that  this  miracle  is  a  wreath  of  combined 
wonders.  By  it,  Jehovah  designed  to  teach 
mysterious  truths — momentous  lessons — as  to 
soul-food.  Goodness  in  bestowing  food  is 
taper-grace  beside  the  shinings  of  redemption's 
gift.  1.  Jesus  is  that  Bread  from  heaven, 
which  descended  during  this  dark  world's 
night  upon  the  sands  of  time.  2.  The  dew 
was  a  fit  mantle  for  this  heaven-sent  food ; 
and  BO  the  means  of  grace  are  lovely  caskets  of 
the  heavenly  treasure.  3.  But,  even  as  the 
dews  had  neither  taste  nor  vital  juice,  so  the 
means  of  grace  are  nothing'  without  Clirist. 
4.  At  early  dawn  must  Israel  seek  ;  and  it  is 
they   who  seek    Jesus    early   who  fitid    .Him. 

6.  Sweet  was  their  daily  portion — nourishing 
and  bringing  pleasure  to  their  lips;  and  His 
fruit  is  sweet  unto  the  taste.  He  is  all  sweet- 
ness to  the  feasting  soul ;  so  that  finding  Him, 
we  find  an  ever-satisfying  portion,  and  possess 
an  unfading  paradise  of  joy  in  Him  all  our 
pilgrim  way  to  the  cold  Jordanic  wave.  6. 
Every  one  of  the  mighty  host  had  enough  and 
no  more;  and  even  so,  the  countless  m.vriads 
of  Messiah's  followers,  ransomed  from  sin- 
bondage,  have  sufficiency  in  Christ.  They 
have  enough,  but  none  to  spprf.,  as  the  wise 
virgins   informed    their   foolish   companions. 

7.  The  manna  was  free  to  all,  and  needed  not 

312 


the  wealth  of  Croesus  to  procure ;  so  Jesus,  the 
Living  Bread,  is  the  gift  of  God.  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only-begot- 
ten Sou  1 

"Oh,    Thou,    whose    loving- kindness     this 
manna  Feast  hath  spread. 
Give  me  a  higher  relish  for  Him,  the  pil- 
grim's Bread." 

Quail-Emblems !  Ver.  13.  This  was  the 
Hebrew  slav,  or  common  quail,  so  called  from 
the  sound  it  makes.  It  resembles  a  partridge, 
only  smaller  in  size.  It  is  migratory — cross- 
ing the  Mediterranean  in  the  autumn  in  im- 
mense flocks,  and  returning  in  spring.  In  cross- 
ing this  sea,  they  alight  on  some  of  the  islands, 
which  on  that  account  were  called  Ortigia.  We 
are  told  that  notliing  is  easier  than  to  catch 
these  birds  when  they  have  recently  arrived, 
exhausted  by  their  aerial  pilgrimage.  Dr. 
Bonar  says  that  when  he  and  his  companions 
were  traversing  the  desert  of  Sinai,  they  were 
sometimes  attracted  by  flocks  of  pigeon-look- 
ing birds,  which  their  Bedawin  guides  called 
quails.  Dr.  Donne  quaintly  remarks  that 
particular  mercies  are  the  feathers  of  God's 
wings.  They  are  that  cloud  of  quails,  which 
hovered  over  the  host  of  Israel  at  eveutide. 
And  thus — 

"  Each  mercy  sent  when  sorrows  lower, 
Each  blessing  of  the  winged  hour, 
All  we  enjoy  and  all  we  love, 
Bring  with  them  lessons  from  above." 

— Bryant. 

Israel's  Life-Food  I  Ver.  35.  The  history 
of  Israel  is  a  typical  history.  The  slavery  in 
Egypt  represented  the  bondage  in  which  we 
are  naturally  held  ;  while  the  deliverance  by 
Moses  is  symbolic  of  our  redemption  by  Christ, 
The  wanderings  in  the  desert  pre-figure  the 
Christian  pilgrimage  on  earth;  while  the 
Canaan  at  which  the  host  arrived  over  Jordan 
is  emblematic  of  the  rest  that  remaineth  be- 
yond the  chill  waters  of  the  River  of  Death. 
And  so  with  reference  to  the  life-food  of 
Israel.  They  had  it  in  the  wilderness,  but  no 
further.  The  sacraments  cease  in  the  Heavenly 
Canaan.  There  is  no  temple  therein — no 
place  for  sacraments — no  need  for  channels  of 
grace.  Christ  will  be  all  in  all  there;  for  the 
Lord  God  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  there- 
of. Not  from  ordinances  shall  we  then  draw 
our  nutriment.  The  Redeemer  will  be  all  in 
all  to  our  souls,  and  from  Him  alone  and 
directly  shall  we  draw  the  only  material  of 
everlasting  happiness  and  ever-increasing 
goodness.  It  is  under  that  apprehension  of 
our  Life-food  here — 

"  That,  feeding  on  His  bounties,  we  shall  our 
strengh  renew. 
And    with  untiring   spirit  our  desert-way 
pursue." 


HOMILETW  COMMJiNTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XVL 


Trust!      Ver.  9,  10.     "When  my  heart  is 
overwhelmed  within   me,    I  will  look  to  the 
Rock  that  is  higher  than  1"  (Ps.  Ixi.  2).   When 
I  have  slipped  upon  the  ice-slopes  of  personal 
experience,  and  fallen  into  the  crevasse  of  de- 
spondency, I  will  cast  myself  upon  the  waters 
of  the  river  of  Providence.     Wandering  one 
day  over  the  Alps,  a  chamois-hunter  made  a 
mis-step,  and  fell  more  than  a  hundred  feet  to 
the  very  bottom  of  one  of  those  horrid  cre- 
vices in  the  ice.      It  was  impossible  for  him  to 
get  up ;  the  sides  were  too  slippery,  and  there 
were   no  means  of  climbing.     He   cried   out 
ever  so  loud,  but  no  human  ear  could  hear. 
There   was  nothing  but  death   before   him — 
cold,  cruel,  relentless  death.      What  could  he 
do  ?     The  water  came  pouring  down  in  a  flood, 
and  this  stream  he  followed  until  he  enteied  a 
great  cavern,   high-arched,  ice-ribbed.     There 
the  water  gurgled,  and  boiled,  and  disappeared. 
He  could  see  no  exit ;  but  there   must  be  one 
somewhere,   for  that  living  stream  found  its 
■way  out.     One  thing  remained  for  him.     He 
looked  up  at  the  blue  sky — commended  him- 
self  to   God's   protection — and   then,   with    a 
strong  effort,   threw   himself  bodily  into  that 
gush  of  water.     A  moment   after  he  found 
himself  thrown   on    the  green    grass   of   the 
valley  of  Chamouni,    with   the  noonday  sun 
shining   above    his   head,    and   the   blooming 
flowers  of  the  mountain  about  him.     What  a 
type  of  Christian  experience  !     When  walking 
over  the  ice  fields  of  our  own  experience,  we 
make  a  mis-step  which  precipitates  us  into  the 
deep  chasm  of  doubt,  despondency,  or  despair. 
There  is  no  possible  means  of  escape  but  one, 
and  that  is,  to  throw  ourselves  into  the  mov- 
ing, foaming  waters  of  the  stream  of  Provi- 
dence.    Trust  God.     Thy  will  be  done.     Yet 
let  it  be — not   with    presumption,   but   with 
prayer.     Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord  ;  and 
you  will  find  that  though  the  flood  has  nearly 
stifled  you,  it  has  at  the  same  moment  been 
bearing    you    on — underground    it    may    be, 
through  darkness  and  uproar  it  may  be — safe 
into  the  green  pastures  of  His  truth  and  by 
the  still  waters  of  His  faithfulne^^s,  surrounded 
by  the  flowers  of  grace,   with   the  canopy  of 
Divine  protection  over  your  heads.  "  For  Thou 
hast  delivered  my  soul  from  death,  and  my 
feet  from  falling,  that  I  may  walk  before  Thee 
in  the  land  of  the  living"  (Ps.  Ivi.  13).     Thus 
did  Moses  call  on  the  people  to  trust  God — to 
cast  themselves  by  prayer  and   supplication 
into  the  deep  waters  of  Divine  faithfulness,  in 
the  full  persuasion  that  He  would  supply  all 
their  need. 

*•  In  spite  of  many  broken  dreams, 

This  have  I  truly  learned  to  say — 
Prayers  which  I  thought  unanswered  once 
Are  answered  in  God's  own  best  way." 
— Carey. 

Divine  Promises !  Ver.  11,  12.  The  ropes 
which  are  used  in  lifting  the  heavy  masses  of 
iron  ore  out  of  the  mine  to  the  earth's  surface, 
are  all  tested  before  being  employed  in  this 
service.     Each  strand  ia  tried  separately  by 


having  a  strain  put  upon  it  equal  to  that 
which  the  whole  of  them  will  have  to  sustain 
when  combined.  God's  promises  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  great  cable — each  strand  has  been 
tested — they  cannot  be  broken  !  Moses  laid 
hold  of  this  rope,  and  God  drew  him  and  Israel 
out  of  the  pit  of  Egypt,  that  in  the  furnaces  of 
Arabia,  He  might  mould  and  weld  them  into 
vessels  of  honour.  Many  a  time  Israel  broke 
their  covenant  engagements,  but  God  never. 
His  promises  were  true,  as  the  host  found 
again  and  again  during  their  wilderness- wan- 
derings from  Him. 

"  So  in  darkest  dispensations, 
Doth  my  faithful  Lord  appear, 
With  His  richest  consolations. 
To  re-animate  and  cheer." — Pearce. 

Sabbath!  Ver.  28.  On  the  sides  of  an 
English  coal  mine,  limestone  is  in  constant 
process  of  formation,  caused  by  the  trickling 
of  water  through  the  rocks.  This  water  con- 
tains a  great  many  particles  of  lime,  which 
are  deposited  in  the  mine,  and,  as  the  water 
passes  off,  these  become  hard,  and  form  the 
limestone.  This  stone  would  always  be  white, 
like  white  marble,  were  it  not  that  men  are 
working  in  the  mine,  and  as  the  black  dust 
rises  from  the  coal,  it  mixes  with  the  soft 
lime,  and  in  that  way  a  black  stone  is  formed. 
Now,  in  the  night,  when  there  is  no  coal-dust 
rising,  the  stuue  is  white ;  then  again,  the 
next  day,  when  the  miners  are  at  work,  an- 
other black  layer  is  formed,  and  so  on  alter- 
nately black  and  white  through  the  week  until 
Sabbath  comes.  Then  if  the  miners  keep  holy 
the  Sabbath,  a  much  larger  layer  of  white 
stone  will  be  formed  than  before.  There  will 
be  the  white  stont^  of  Saturday  night,  and  the 
whole  day  and  night  of  the  Sabbath,  so  that 
every  seventh  day  the  white  layer  will  be 
about  three  times  aS  thick  as  any  of  the  others. 
But  if  the  men  work  on  tha  Sabbath  they  see 
it  marked  against  them  in  the  stone.  Hence 
the  miners  call  it  "  the  Sunday  stone."  How 
they  need  to  be  very  careful  to  observe  this 
holy  day,  when  they  would  see  their  violation 
of  God's  command  thus  written  down  in  stone 
— an  image  of  the  indelible  record  in  heaven  ! 

* '  Heaven  here ;  man  on  those  hills  of  myrrh 
and  flowers  ; 
A  gleam  of  glory  after  six  day's  showers." 
—  Vaughan. 

Sabbath-Rest  !  Ver.  25.  Like  the  pilgrim, 
the  Christian  sits  down  by  this  well  in  the 
desert — for  what  to  him  is  the  Sabbath  but 
a  fountain  in  a  land  of  drought, — a  palm- 
tree  in  the  midst  of  the  great  wilderness  ;  and 
as  he  drinks  of  the  refreshing  waters  of  this 
palm-shaded  fountain,  he  is  reminded  of  that 
rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God. 
When,  as  Cuminiug  says,  that  last  Sabbath 
comes — the  Sabbath  of  all  creation — the  heart, 
wearied  with  tumultuous  beatings,  shall  have 
rest ;  and  the  soul,  fevered  with  its  anxieties, 
shall   have   peace.     The  sun  of  that  Sabbath 

313 


UO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


will  never  set  nor  bide  bis  splendours  in  a 
cloud.  Our  earthly  Sabhatbs  are  but  dim 
reflections  of  the  heavenly  Sabbath,  cast  upon 
the  earth,  dimmed  by  the  transit  of  their  raya 
from  80  great  a  height  and  so  distant  a  world. 
They  are  but — 

"  The  preludes  of  a  feast  that  cannot  cloy, 
And    the    bright    out-courts    of    immortal 
glory  !  — Barton. 

Memorial  Gratitude!  Ver.  32.  Bi.shop 
Hutton  was  once  travelling  between  Wensley- 
dale  and  Ingleton,  when  he  suddenly  dis- 
mounted, delivered  his  ste^  to  the  care  of 
one  of  his  attendants,  retired  to  a  particular 
spot  at  some  distance  from  the  highway,  and 
knelt  down  in  prayer  for  some  time.  On  his 
return,  he  was  asked  his  reason  for  this  action  ? 
His  reply  was  significant,  "  When  I  was  a  poor 
boy,  I  travelled  over  that  cold  and  black 
mountain  without  shoes  or  stockings.  In  my 
extremity,  I  disturbed  a  cow  on  the  identical 
spot  where  I  have  just  prayed,  to  obtain  a 
little  warmth  from  the  spot  where  the  animal 
was  lying."  This  good  man  felt  grateful  to 
God  for  all  He  had  done  for  Him  since  that 
moment,  and  had  knelt  down  by  this  memo- 
rial to  praise  God.  Jehovah  orders  memo- 
rials of  mercies  to  be  set  up — kept  in  view — 
held  in  remembrance,  so  that  we  may  always 
be  confident  and  contented. 

"  To  remember,  though  gloomy  the  present 
may  be. 
That  the  Master  is  coming,  and  coming  to 
me."  — Patterson. 

Memorial  Mercies !  Ver.  33.  "  The  Lord's 
mercies  are  new  every  morning."  "What  an 
assurance  this  is  to  carry  with  us  in  all  our 
wayfaring  through  this  world  !  The  future  is 
always  dark  to  us  ;  but  then  there  are  the 
memorial-mercies  of  the  past  to  be  recalled.  A 
veil  hides  the  future  from  our  sight,  but  the 
past  has  lights  here  and  there — the  mercies 
of  times  of  adversity  shining  afar  to  cheer  us 
— what  is  under  the  shadows  in  front  of  us — 
what  is  behind  the  veil  suspended  before  us — 
what  is  advancing  out  of  the  imperious  mist 
towards  us,  none  of  us  can  know,  but  we  may 
all  see  the  memorials  of  the  past.  Like  clear, 
flaming  letters  on  a  black  velvet  background 
they  stand  out.  ''  The  Lord's  mercies  are  new 
every  morning."  It  is  as  though  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  went  before  us  and  set  up  these 
memorial-mercies  to  cheer  us  whenever  we 
halt  in  weakness — to  encourage  us  whenever 
we  hesitate  in  fearfulness,  and  to  incite  us  to 
gratitude  whenever  we  are  disposed  to  un- 
thankfulness. 

"  Thy  mercies,  Lord,  are  like  the  sun 
Whose  beams  undo  what  sable  night  hath 

done  ! 
Or,  like  those  streams,  the  current  of  whose 

course. 
Restrained  awhile,  run  with  a  swifter  force." 
— Quarles. 
314 


Memorials !  Ver.  33.  In  deepest  rocks, 
which  have  withstood  all  the  assailing  influ- 
ences of  time,  geologists  find  the  outlines  of 
ferns  of  former  ages,  lined  with  the  most 
delicate  tracery,  or  distinct  impressions  of  the 
feet  of  birds  and  .inimals  wliich  are  now  lost 
to  earth.  Th^-y  remove  these  choice  speci- 
mens from  their  rocky  beds  and  place  them 
among  coUecti'ins  which  the  learned  pour  over 
with  thoughtful  and  profitable  interest.  Of 
all  the  abundance  of  living  grace,  verdure, 
and  activity,  which  covered  the  earth  through 
remote  ages,  only  here  and  there,  and  that 
very  rarely,  some  specimens  like  these  speak. 
Such  records  of  Nature's  workings  are  but 
seldom  written  in  solid  rock,  but  one  line 
written  there  suggests  forests  of  graceful 
waving  fronds,  with  their  bending  shadows 
in  clear  waters,  or  a  host  of  strange  and  now 
unknown  animals  which  once  animated  the 
world.  That  line  whispers  of  a  great  flood,  in 
which  this  life  was  submerged — of  sleepy 
eyes  in  which  the  moist  bed  where  so  much 
is  written,  changed  to  stern  rock,  holding 
securely  a  valuable  historic  record,  which  at 
last  is  given  to  those  who  grope  for  glowing 
facts  among  dull  stones.  Nov*',  as  the  life, 
structure,  and  habits  of  myriads  of  plants 
and  animals  are  suggestively  unfolded  through 
means  of  impressions  in  stone  of  comparatively 
few  individual  specimens  ;  so  history,  cnlling 
comparatively  few  lives  as  representatives  of 
the  world's  thought,  leaves  untukl  the  births, 
deeds,  and  deaths  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
children  of  the  earth  ;  and  when  death  claims 
them,  they  go  back  to  her  receptive  bosom, 
leaving  no  lasting  record  here.  And  it  is  from 
the  memorials  set  up  in  the  Arabian  wilda 
that  we  not  only  sj-llable  out  the  goodness  of 
God  in  supplying  Israel's  wants,  and  providing 
for  their  necessities,  but  also  infer  that  many 
more  mercies  were  tlieir  lot  than  the  Bible 
leaves  on  record.  It  is  by  searching  the  plains 
of  Holy  Scripture  that  we  come  upon  records 
of  God's  providence  designed  to  encourage  us 
to  look  hopefully  to  our  own  future. 

"  The  present  is  enough  for  common  souls, 
Who,  never  looking  forward,  are  indeed 
Mere  clay,  wherein  the  footprints  of  their 

age 
Are  petrified  for  ever." — Lowell. 

Sufficiency!  Ver.  35.  In  the  forests  of 
Guiana  grows  the  towering  mora.  Its  top- 
most branch,  when  naked  with  age  or  dried  by 
accident,  is  the  favourite  resort  of  the  toncar. 
Many  a  time,  says  Waterton,  has  this  singnlar 
bird  felt  the  shot  faintly  strike  him  from  the 
gun  of  the  fowler  below,  and  owed  his  life  to 
the  distance  betwixt  them.  The  wild  fig- 
tree,  as  large  as  a  common  English  apple-tree, 
often  rears  itself  from  one  of  the  thick 
branches  at  the  top  of  the  mora,  as  when  a 
man  stands  on  the  shoulders  of  another  man. 
When  its  fruit  is  ripe,  the  birds  resort  to  them 
for  nourishment;  and  it  was  to  an  indigested 
seed  passing  through  the  body  of  a  bird  which 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xvn. 


had  perched   on  the  mora,  that   the  fig-tree  receiving  no  more   succour   from   their  late 

first  owed   its  elevated  station  there.     Thus,  foster-parent,  droop  and  perish   in  their  turn, 

unconsciously,   did  some    bird    contribute,    if  How  often  is  it  so  with   churches  of  earthly 

not  to  its  own  future  sustenance,  certainly  to  growth.      They    spread,   minds  nestle  in  the 

the  after-support  and  nutriment  of  its  fellow  branches,  and  leave  behind  them  seeds  which 

birds  or  progeny.     But  how  did  this  seed  ger-  germinate,  afi'ordiug  nutriment  to  succeeding 

minate  into  a  fig-tree  ?     The  sap  of  the  mora  generations  of  minds,  who  in  turn  leave  germs 

supplied  it  with. growing  powers,  and  raised  it  of   vines  ;    but  all    this   growth  at  last  bows 

into  full  bearing;  and  now  in  its  turn,  it  is  down  the  mother  church,  when  foster-parents 

doomed  to  contribute  a  poition  of  its  own  sap  and  progeny  fall.      Not  so  with  Jesus  Christ 

and    juices  towards  the  growth   of   different  — He  is  that  giant  mora  whose  resources  never 

species  of  vines,  the  seeds   of  which  also  the  fail.       On    Him   millions    of    figs    and    vines 

birds  deposited  on  its  branches.     These  soon  gi"ow,  without  lack  of   moisture,   for  it  hath 

vegetate  and  bear  fruit  in  great  quantities,  so  jileased   the    Father   that    in    Him  should  all 

that  the  mora  has  much  to  do  to  supply  uour-  fulness   dwell;    and  He  is    the   Fountain    of 

ishnient  for  sucli  a  profuse  and  prolific  mass  Life, 
of  vegetation.      What   with   calls    from    vines 

and  fig-tree,    the   mora    is  unable   to  support  "  The  Bread, 

her    charge,    languishes  —  dies;    whereupon.  Given  from  His  hands,  feeds  thousands  and  to 
the  fig-tree,  with  its  usurping  progeny  of  vines,  spare. "  — Bickersteth. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  After  their  journeys.]— Literally,  "their  breakings  up,"  alluding  to 
nomad  life,  and  bringing  vividly  before  the  mind  the  pulling  up  of  the  tent-stakes  and  general 
break  up  of  the  camp,  incident  to  the  passage  of  a  people  through  the  desert.  The  places  of 
encampment  would  naturally  become  landmarks  to  be  counted  in,  remembered,  and  recorded. 
Cf.  especially  Num.  xxxiii. — The  commandment  of  the  Lord.]  That  is,  through  the  guiding 
pillar  of  cloud  and  fire.     Cf.  C.  N.  on  chap.  xiii.  21,  22. 

2.  Tempt] — More  exactly,  "  put  to  the  proof;"  for  so  the  word  HDJ  signifies.  God  did 
put  Abraham  to  the  proof — which  was  right :  Israel  did  put  God  to  the  proof — which  was  wrong. 
Proof  in  abundance  had  already  been  given  that  Jehovah  was  among  His  people.  The  want  of 
water  was  a  sore  trial,  but  might  itself  have  assured  them  that  a  sui)ply  would  soon  come.  The 
daily  provision  of  food  by  a  miracle,  added  to  all  the  foregoing  tokens  of  Jehovah's  presence, 
should  have  controlled  the  spirit  of  the  people,  and  confined  their  application  to  earnest  believ- 
ing petition. 

6.  Stand  .  ,  .  upon  the  rock.] — This  incident,  especially  when  conceived  according  to  the 
vividness  of  the  original,  is  most  pleasing  and  satisfying  to  the  imagination  of  faith.  "  Behold 
Me  !  standing  before  thee  there  upon  the  rock."  It  is  from  Him  who  is  standing  upon  the 
rock  that  the  waters  really  flow.  By  this  Divine  action,  of  taking  up  such  a  position,  the  Source 
and  Medium  are  in  a  m.uiner  identified.  This  is  the  first  rock-smiting  recorded  ;  the  second  is 
narrated  in  Num.  xx.  It  is  no  doubt  to  this  first,  more  illustrious,  instance  that  the  Apostle 
alludes  in  1  Cor.  x.  4.  The  outflow  now  caused  ajipears  to  have  been  kept  up  for  some  time  ; 
and  the  desert  of  Sinai  being  near  wherein  Israel  remained  for  about  a  year,  this  rock  "fol- 
lowed them  "  with  its  welcome  stream,  becoming  thereby  typical  of  spiritual  blessing.  "That 
rock  was  {i.e.,  represented)  the  Christ."  An  experience  in  the  desert  such  as  this,  even  if  con- 
tinued only  for  a  few  months,  would  worthily  serve  as  a  type  to  be  carried  down  the  ages  : 
it  is,  however,  to  be  noticed,  that  we  do  not  read  of  the  Hebrews  again  suffering  from  thirst 
till  years  have  elapsed,  and  then  it  is  in  a  locality  a  long  way  from  this  smitten  rock  in 
Horeb. 

16.  The  Lord  hath  sworn.] — A  far-fetched  if  not  an  impossible  rendering.  The  words  ara 
literally  — 

"  For  (or  because)  a  hand  upon  (or  against)  the  throne  of  Jah  ; 
War  for  Jehovah  with  Amalek  from  generation,  generation." 

"  If  the  hand  refer  to  Amalek  (Kalisch),  the  sentence  runs  thus — '  because  his  (Amalek's)  hand 
was  against  the  throne  of  Yah  (the  Kingdom  of  God,  which  includes  His  people),  ftc'  The 
meaning  is  here  simple  and  easy;  the  connection  with  what  goes  before  is  sufficiently  plain  ; 
and  the  reason  assigned  for  perpetual  war  until  Amalek  be  extirpated,  is  intelligible  and  euit« 

315 


CHAP,  xvn.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


able." — (Murphy).  "This  on  the  whole  seeuis  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  explanation." — 
(Speaker' .s  Coiuuieutary.)  Some  scholars  (Gesenius,  Fiirst,  Davies)  think  the  rare  word  D3, 
"  throne,"  to  be  an  error  for  QJ,  "  banner;  "  and  one  of  them  (Fiirst)  proposes  the  following 
translation  :  "The  memorial  is  upon  the  banner  of  God, — 'Jehovah  wages  war  with  Amalek 
from  generation  to  generation.'  " 

MAIN  IIOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.- Verm  1-7. 
HOREB  -y   OR,  THE  NeEDFUL  ThINGS  OF  LiFE  PROVIDENTIALLY  SUPPLIED. 

The  expression,  "  after  their  journeys,"  in  ver.  1,  would  lead  us  to  expect 
that  there  was  a  station  or  two  between  the  wilderness  of  Sin  and  Eepliidim. 
And  on  reference  to  Numbers  xxxiii.  12-14,  we  find  that  there  were  Dophkah 
and  Alush.  Nothing  of  importance  occurred  at  these  places.  The  Israelites 
were  not  tempted.  God  was  not  displeased.  The  life  of  man  is  not  always 
eventful.  It  has  many  halting-places  destitute  of  moral  interest.  But  these 
are  soon  exchanged  for  scenes  of  trial.  Moral  character  is  developed  better  at 
Rephidim  than  at  Dophkah  and  Alush. 

I.  That  men  are  sometimes  brought  into  great  straits  through  lack  of  the 
ordinary  things  of  life.  "  And  there  was  no  water  for  the  people  to  drink." 
Thus  the  Israelites  lacked  water.  They  had  lacked  bread  only  a  few  days 
previously.  It  is  not  the  lot  of  man  to  he  long  free  from  trial  of  some  kiiid. 
Trials  come  successively.  This  was  the  case  with  Job.  Joseph  escapes  the  pit 
and  is  put  into  the  dungeon.  David  passes  from  the  cave  of  Adullam  to  the 
wilds  of  Engedi.  They  are  diversified  according  to  the  station  in  which  our  tent 
is  fixed.  Every  sphere  of  life  has  something  of  perplexity  connected  with  it, 
which  tests  our  moral  nature  and  brings  the  mercy  of  God  near  to  us.  We 
must  learn  both  how  to  want  and  how  to  abound,  to  be  sorrowful  and  yet  always 
rejoicing.  Thus  by  the  varied  trials  of  life  man  is  made  to  feel  that  earth  cannot 
give  him  abiding  satisfaction,  and  he  is  led  to  anticipate  the  rest  of  heaven.  Each 
sorrow  in  the  wilderness  would  lead  the  true  Israelite  to  long  for  the  land  of 
promise  ;  and  so  all  the  vicissitudes  of  earth  should  create  desires  for  the  eternal 
satisfaction  of  heaven.  The  believer  must  not  think  of  undisturbed  repose  while 
in  the  flesh.  Life  is  a  school  in  which  sorrow  is  the  first  teacher,  and  in  which 
we  may  learn  the  meaning  of  self.  In  the  best  gardens  of  earth  there  are  graves  j 
the  garden  of  heaven  is  in  eternal  bloom.  Tliere  the  wilderness  is  unknown, 
and  hunger  and  thirst  are  not  experienced.  The  Lamb  feeds  them.  They 
drink  of  the  River  of  the  Water  of  Life.  But  we  see  from  this  narrative,  that 
each  occasion  of  want  on  the  part  of  Israel  was  signalised  by  a  rich  manifestation  of 
the  mercy  of  God.  Their  hunger  was  met  by  the  manna.  Their  thirst  was  met 
by  the  streams  of  Horeb.  The  hour  of  man's  need  is  often  the  hour  of  God's 
richest  gift  and  blessing.  Heaven  gives  kindly  revelations  of  its  love  to  sorrow- 
ful souls.  Thus  we  see  how  thoroughly  man  depends  upon  God,  even  for  the 
common  necessities  of  life.  The  water  we  drink  is  the  gift  of  His  hand,  and 
will  cease  to  flow  at  His  command.  Man  may  experience  want  even  in  the 
paths  in  which  he  is  Divinely  led.  Sorrow  should  lead  to  repentance  and  not 
to  murmuring.  Have  you  never  felt  the  need  of  spiritiuil  ivaier?  There  is  a  thirst 
of  soul  compared  with  which  physical  thirst  is  unimportant,  and  whicli  needs 
immediate  attenti(jn.  David  thirsted  for  God.  Eartiily  tilings  cannot  appease 
this  thirst.  The  life  of  the  soul  cannot  be  sustained  without  the  water  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  is  absolutely  essential.  We  are  dependent  upon  heaven  for  it. 
No  human  creature  can  supply  it.  It  flows  clear  as  crystal  from  tliR  throne  of 
God  and  the  Lamb.  It  is  beyond  price,  and  yet  is  free.  It  is  refreshing  to 
the  weary  soul.  Here  we  drink  of  the  stream ;  in  the  life  to  come  we  shall 
316 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xvn. 

drink  at  the  fountain  head.     If  we  thirst  after  God  we  shall  diligently  seek  Him 
in  the  means  of  grace  and  in  private  prayer. 

II.  That  when  men  are  brought  into  great  straits  through  lack  of  the 
ordinary  things  of  life,  they  often  appeal  to  human  agencies  rather  than  to 
Divine.  "  Wherefore  the  people  did  chide  with  Moses,  and  said,  Give  us  water 
that  we  may  drink."  Thus  the  Israelites  blamed  Moses  for  the  straits  into 
which  they  were  brought  through  lack  of  water.  How  foolish,  for  did  not  he 
suffer  from  the  same  calamity  ?  nor  was  it  in  his  power  to  create  fountains. 
How  cruel,  for  was  not  he  seeking  their  freedom  1  How  fickle  the  approbation 
of  men,  it  varies  with  the  circumstances  of  life.  People  often  go  to  the  human 
in  trouble  when  they  ought  to  go  to  the  Divine.  It  is  the  way  of  the  world. 
God  must  be  seen  through  all  the  agencies  which  He  sends  to  conduct  our  life 
to  its  destined  place.  The  seen  things  around  us,  which  are  influencing  us,  are 
only  the  means  which  heaven  appoints  to  bring  us  to  rest,  and  therefore  our 
thoughts  must  not  terminate  in  them,  but  must  run  on  to  that  Being  who  has 
so  wisely  ordered  them.  Men  are  slow  to  see  that  all  the  circumstances  of  life 
are  related  to  the  providence  of  God,  rather  than  to  the  immediate  agencies 
which  appear  to  have  caused  them.  And  if  you  are  seeking  spiritual  water  to 
quench  the  thirst  of  your  soul,  do  not  go  to  the  creature  for  it,  hut  to  the  Creator.  The 
Israelites  went  to  Moses  and  asked  him  to  satisfy  their  thirst ;  but  in  vain. 
Not  even  the  good  things  of  this  life,  which  are  appointed  by  God  for  the  true 
welfare  of  man,  can  satisfy  this  deeper  longing  of  the  soul.  Science  cannot. 
A  good  name  cannot.  Social  enjoyment  cannot.  God  alone  can  quench  its 
thirst.  Hence  let  no  human  soul  seek  to  ob*tain  from  human  agencies  what  alone 
can  be  obtained  from  the  Divine.  If  you  drink  of  the  wells  of  earth  you  will 
thirst  again  ;  but  if  of  the  water  of  the  Spirit  you  will  thirst  no  more. 

III.  That  when  men  are  brought  into  straits  through  the  lack  of  things 
they  very  much  need,  they  often  get  them  in  the  providence  of  God  from 
the  most  unlikely  sources."  "  Behold,  I  will  stand  before  tiiee  there  upon  the 
rock  in  Horeb ;  and  thou  shalt  smite  the  rock,  and  there  shall  come  water  out 
of  it,  that  the  people  may  drink."  Thus  we  see  that  God  did  not  flash  imme- 
diate judgment  upon  these  rebellious  people.  He  is  long-suffering  toward  the 
race.  We  must  learn  to  be  patient  with  those  who  injure  us.  God  has  regard 
to  human  need,  and  evil  in  men  will  not  turn  Him  away  from  His  promise. 
None  need  despair  of  His  mercy.  When  the  people  chide,  the  minister  should 
pray.  When  his  perplexity  is  great  he  most  needs  direction  from  heaven  ;  God 
always  reveals  to  praying  souls  the  best  method  of  action  in  the  time  of  trouble. 
To  prayerful  spirits  He  makes  known  the  rock  which  shall  relieve  their  need. 
Thus  the  thirst  of  Israel  was  quenched  by  water  from  a  rock.  Who  would  expect 
clear,  bright,  water  from  a  flinty  rock?  Certainly  not  the  most  sanguine  in  the 
camp  of  Israel.  We  know  not  the  possibilities  of  the  things  around  us.  The 
providence  of  God  can  make  rocks  into  rivers  to  supply  the  need  of  His  people. 
We  often  get  our  blessings  from  whence  we  least  expect  them  ;  we  get  pity  from 
the  bard-hearted,  money  from  the  miserly,  and  harvests  from  barren  places. 
Nature  yields  her  secret  treasures  at  the  voice  of  heaven.  Every  rock  in  the 
desert  is  embraced  in  the  providence  of  God.  From  whence  shall  come  the  water 
to  satisfy  the  thirst  of  the  soul  ?  From  the  rivers  of  worldly  pleasures  1  From 
the  streams  of  human  philosophy  1  From  the  wells  of  wealth  '?  Nay  ;  we  point 
to  One  who  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
■with  grief,  and  say  that  from  the  Rock  Christ  Jesus  comes  the  spiritual  water, 
which  alone  can  quench  the  thirst  of  the  soul.  Christ  is  set  forth  under  the 
emblem  of  a  rock.  He  is  strong.  He  withstands  all  enemies.  He  is  the  true 
foundation  for  moral  character.     He  is  the  abiding  Refuge  of  the  soul.    Thus,  iti 

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not  human  salvation  from  an  unlikely  source  ?  Who  would  have  predicted  that 
the  Divine  Son  of  God  would  have  died  to  save  men  from  sin  1  Yet  so  it  is, 
and  irom  the  smitten  Christ  there  flows  a  stream  whicli  is  equal  to  the  moral 
thirst  of  humanity.  Christ  was  smitten.  He  bore  the  penalties  of  a  broken 
law.  Heaven  spared  Him  not.  He  was  smitten  in  body  and  in  soul  (Isa. 
iiii.  10).  The  supply  of  water  from  the  rock  was/re«.  The  waters  which  flowed 
forth  from  tlie  rock  were  free  to  all  the  camp  of  Israel,  We  should  not  have 
been  surprised  if  rebellion  had  limited  the  supply  to  the  more  worthy  iew ;  but 
no,  the  gifts  of  God  are  bestowed  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  And  so  the 
mercy  Avhich  is  in  Christ  Jesus  is  free  to  all,  even  to  the  worst  of  sinners  (Rev. 
xxii.  17).  The  supply  of  water  from  the  rock  was  abundant.  He  brought 
streams  also  out  of  the  rock,  and  caused  the  waters  to  run  down  like  rivers 
(Ps.  Ixxviii.  16).  There  was  sufiicient  water  to  meet  the  thirst  of  the  entire 
camp.  The  mercy  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  is  superabundant ;  all  may  freely  drink 
and  yet  there  will  be  enough  and  to  spare.  Our  Heavenly  Father  bestows  not 
mercy  with  a  sparing  hand.  ■  He  is  rich  in  pity.  The  supply  of  water  from  the 
rock  was^rire.  This  water  was  not  bitter.  It  was  not  poisonous.  It  was  sweet. 
It  was  cooling.  The  mercy  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  is  sweet  and  clear  aa 
crystal.  It  cleanses  those  who  drink  it,  and  makes  them  meet  for  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  saints  in  light.  The  supply  of  water  from  the  rock  was  continnous. 
The  water  of  the  rock  followed  Israel.  The  mercy  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  will 
never  leaA'^e  a  trustful  soul ;  but  will  follow  it  through  all  the  wanderings  of  life. 
Our  Heavenly  Father  is  never  absent  from  the  good ;  goodness  and  mercy 
follow  them  all  their  days. 

IV.  That  when  men  are  brought  into  straits,  the  way  in  which  they  act 
therein  will  leave  irreparable  memorials  of  sin  or  victory.  "  And  he  called 
the  name  of  the  place  Massah,  and  Meribah,  because  of  the  chiding  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  because  they  tempted  the  Lord,  saying.  Is  the  Lord 
among  us,  or  not?"  (ver,  7.)  In  the  conduct  of  the  Israelites  there  had  been 
base  unbelief  and  ingratitude.  They  had  eluded  Moses.  They  had  forgotten 
the  sweetened  waters  of  Marah.  They  thought  not  of  the  pillar  of  cloud.  In 
the  presence  of  these  things,  they  asked,  "  Is  the  Lord  among  us,  or  not  1 " 
Some  men  will  not  see  the  clearest  indications  of  the  Divine  Presence  in  the 
experiences  of  life.  They  are  slow  to  recognise  God  in  their  time  of  need. 
Heaven  is  with  us  as  truly  in  need  as  in  plenty.  When  life  is  in  pain,  then  the 
consolations  of  Divine  mercy  are  richest.  Moi-al  conduct  always  leaves  memorials 
behind  it.  In  the  olden  times  names  were  changed  in  token  of  great  soul-events; 
Jacob  was  changed  to  Israel.  Every  righteous  act  of  the  soul  leaves  its 
memorial  in  increased  vigour  of  manhood,  in  purity  and  beauty  of  character, 
and  in  the  rich  blessing  of  God.  Every  sinful  act  of  soul  leaves  its  memorial 
in  an  impoverished  and  ruined  manhood.  Thus  the  scenes  of  life  which  ought 
to  be  radiant  with  Divine  mercy,  are  often  darkened  by  the  sin  of  man.  Let  us 
not  leave  behind  in  our  life  memorials  of  strife  and  unbelief,  but  of  faith  and  good 
works.  Such  memorials  are  abiding ;  once  erected,  they  cannot  be  removed  ; 
hence  the  need  that  they  should  be  worthy.  LksSins: — 1.  That  man  is 
frequently  called  iipon  in  this  life  to  endure  great  physical  need.  2.  That  the  ])hi/sical 
needs  of  life  often  reveal  our  real  and  inner  character.  3.  T'hat  the  physical  needs  of 
life  are  no  indication  that  God  has  failed  us.  4.  That  the  physical  needs  of  life  give 
us  a  great  insight  into  the  wealth  and  method  of  Divine  mercy. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  1,  2.  The  trials  of  the  Church  The  Church  must  encamp  where  the 

are   continued  and  multiplied  in  the  Word  of  God  determines. 

time  of  pilgrimage.  Want   and    hardship    may   attend 
318 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xvtt. 

God's   people   where    He    bids   them  In  the  midst   of  threatenings   God 

pitch,  commands     His     servants     to     walk 

Every  strait  is  an  occasion  of  stir-  safely. 

ring  up  the  wicked  to  sin.  God  may  allow  some  murmurers  to 

(Jnreasonable  transgressors  are   apt  go  and  see  His  miracles  wrought,  but 

to   revile    the    innocent   ministers   of  not  all. 

God.  Murmurers  fare  the  better  and  have 

God's  faithful  ministers  may  justly  mercies   through   believers   who  obey 

turn   away   undeserved  reproofs  from  God. 

themselves.  God's  ministers    are   and   must  be 

God's   faithful   ministers   labour  to  exact  in  doing  God's  commands  before 

show   men  their  unreasonableness   in  all  men. 

their  temptation  of  God.  It  is  God's  pleasure  to  make  places 

monuments    of    men's    sins    by    His 

Verses  3-7.    Unbelieving  murmurers  naming  them, 

expostulate  about  judgments  as  if  they  Temptation  of  God  and  contention 

were  causeless.  with  His  servants  usually  go  together. 

Earnest  prayers  to  Jehovah  are  the  It  is  high  tempting  of  God  to  call 

best  means  for  God's  servants  to  use  in  question  His  gracious  presence  with 

against  the  violent  threats  of  men.  His  people. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  8-16. 

The  Battle  between  Good  and  Evil. 

It  is  through  much  tribulation  that  we  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The 
Israelites  had  experienced  hunger.  They  had  experienced  thirst.  Both  had 
been  supplied.  Now  they  are  to  pass  into  a  new  experience  of  sorrow,  they 
are  called  to  do  battle  with  numerous  and  fierce  enemies.  Thus  the  trials  of  the 
Christian  life  are  numerous,  varied,  unexpected,  and  come  in  rapid  succession. 
They  test  strength.  They  require  wisdom.  They  are  to  be  met  in  dependence 
on  God.  All  pure  souls  are  in  a  militant  condition  as  long  as  they  are  in  this 
world ;  they  are  met  in  their  moral  progress  by  terrible  enemies,  whom  they 
must  conquer  or  before  whom  they  must  fall. 

I.  That  the  good  are  required  to  do  battle  with  inveterate  enemies.    "  Then 

came  Amalek,  and  fought  with  Israel  in  Rephidim"  (ver.  8).  These  people 
were  descended  from  Esau,  and  seem  to  have  been  animated  by  something  of 
the  old  enmity  which  once  existed  between  Jacob  and  Esau.  They  were  also 
envious  of  the  mercies  which  were  Divinely  vouchsafed  to  Israel,  and  were 
anxious  to  spoil  them.  Some  people  can  never  live  in  peace  and  let  the  children 
of  God  pass  by  unmolested.  These  foes  came  secretly  upon  Israel.  (Deut.  xxv. 
18).  And  so  every  pure  soul  has  its  Amalek.  It  has  to  contend  with  the 
Amalek  of  an  evil  heart ;  with  the  Amalek  of  a  wicked  world  ;  and  with  the 
Amalek  of  fallen  angels.  These  enemies  seek  to  impede  its  progress  to  heaven. 
They  are  cunning  in  device.  They  are  vigilant  in  purpose.  They  are  intense  in 
hatred.  They  especially  imperil  those  who  loiter  in  the  rear  of  the  Christian 
life.  Peter  followed  afar  off,  and  was  overtaken  by  the  enemy.  No  pure  soul  is 
exempt  from  this  conflict.  Are  we  surprised  that  God  did  not  avert  this  war 
from  the  Israelites  1  They  were  only  just  out  of  bondage  ;  the  newly-converted 
soul  is  speedily  called  to  meet  enemies.  They  were  undrilled;  the  good  learn 
their  drill  in  the  battle.  They  were  unarmed  ;  the  weapons  of  the  good  are  not 
carnal.  Thus  they  were  prepared  for  coming  warfare  with  the  Canaanites,  whose 
territory  they  were  to  possess.     The  soul  is  led  gradually  into  the  moral  battle 

319 


CHAP.  xm.  nOMILETlC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


of  life.  We  cannot  get  to  heaven  witliout  being  intenupted  Viy  many  enemies 
— by  Satan,  by  poverty,  by  sickness,  by  pro.sperity  ;  all  these  will  seek  to  stop 
or  slay  us. 

II.  That  the  good  in  tMs  conflict  must  combine  prayer  with  the  utmost 
exertion  to  overcome  their  enemies.  "  And  Moses  said  unto  Jushua,  Choose 
us  out  men,  and  go  out,  fight  with  Amalek  :  to-morrow  I  will  stand  on  the  top 
of  the  hill,  with  the  rod  of  God  in  mine  hand  "  (verses  9-11).  Thus  the  Israelites 
were  nut  with  indifference  to  look  upon  the  invading  army.  The  good  cannot 
aiibrd  to  treat  the  progress  of  si-n  in  the  world  with  cool  contempt.  Joshua  was 
to  muster  the  best  men  for  the  conflict.  The  good  require  to  be  well  led  by  the 
purest  and  most  heroic  S])irit3  in  their  midst,  iu  their  strife  with  evil.  Truth 
has  lost  many  a  battle  through  bad  generalship.  Truth  needs  a  man  like  Luther 
to  lead  the  attack.  If  we  would  overcome  evil  within  us  and  without  us,  we 
nmst  summon  the  best  energies  of  our  mental  and  moral  nature,  and  put  them 
under  the  command  of  Christ ;  then  shall  we  be  led  to  victory.  Joshua  fou^t. 
Moses  went  up  the  hill  to  pray.  Prayer  is  often  uphill  work.  And  the  conflict 
between  Good  and  Evil  necessitates  the  use  of  prayer  and  activity.  Man  must 
pray  over  his  evil  heart,  and  he  must  also  fight  against  its  sinful  tendencies. 
During  the  battle  some  are  better  qualified  to  pray,  others  to  wield  the  sword  ; 
both  conduce  to  the  victory.  Hence  varied  talents  are  brought  into  helpful 
service.  We  must  not  go  to  this  war  in  our  own  strength.  Christ  within  the 
veil  prays  for  every  soul  engaged  in  dire  conflict  with  the  world's  evil ;  and  in 
this  is  the  hope  of  victory.  We  must  trace  all  our  moral  victories  up  to  the 
intercession  of  Christ ;  He  prays  for  us  that  our  faith  fail  not;  Yet  the  conflict 
may  be  severe  and  long  ;  even  prayer  and  eS'ort  do  not  always  win  a  speedy 
conquest.     Sin  is  persistent  in  its  opposition  to  the  souL 

III.  That  the  good  in  this  conflict  are  often  impeded  by  the  weakness  con- 
sequent upon  the  physical  condition  of  life.  "  But  Moses'  hands  were  heavy ; 
and  they  took  a  stone,  and  put  it  under  him,  and  he  sat  thereon  ;  and  Aaron 
and  Hur  stayed  up  his  hands,  the  one  on  the  one  side,  and  the  other  on  the 
other  side  ;  and  his  hands  were  steady  until  the  going  down  of  the  sun  "  (ver. 
12).  The  physical  man  soon  tires  in  religious  devotion.  The  spirit  is  willing, 
but  the  flesh  is  weak.  The  best  of  men  are  not  exempt  from  the  infirmities 
•which  inhere  in  the  body.  When  prayer  is  interrupted,  the  enemy  of  the  soul 
gains  an  advantage.  Moral  declension  begins  here.  We  conquer  evil  as  we 
pray.  Nature  at  the  strongest  is  weak.  But  the  hands  of  Moses  were  supported 
by  Aaron  and  Hur.  Holy  companionship  is  helpful  in  the  hour  of  severe  moral 
conflict.  Two  are  better  far  than  one.  Christians  should  seek  to  hold  up  the 
hands  of  ministers.  They  must  bear  one  another's  burdens.  The  insignificant 
members  of  the  Church  may  render  service  to  the  most  important ;  Hur  may 
strengthen  Moses.  The  smallest  services  are  potent  for  good  in  the  great  con- 
flict between  Good  and  Evil;  even  the  holding  up  of  enfeebled  hands.  All  can 
do  something  toward  this  ultimate  victory.  The  energy  of  one  may  aid  the 
weakness  of  another.  The  hands  of  our  heavenly  Intercessor  never  grow  weary 
with  pleading  ;  and  the  itifirm  Christian  will  soon  be  as  the  angels.  It  is  con- 
soling that  God  knows  our  frame,  and  remembers  that  we  are  dust. 

IV.  That  the  good  in  their  conflict  should  keep  faithful  record  of  their 
victories.  "  And  Joshua  iliscomfited  Amalek  and  his  people  with  the  edge  of 
the  sworil.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Write  this  for  a  memorial  in  a  book  " 
(verses  13,  14).  Thus  the  Israelites  were  victorious.  They  were  delivered  from 
their  enemies.  They  gained  warUke  experiences  which  would  be  useful  to  them. 
They  would  gain  courage  and  hope  in  reference  to  the  future.  And  one  victory 
over  self  prepares  the  way  for  another,  though  we  may  have  to  wait  long  for 

320 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    XVII. 


final  conquest  over  selfishness.  The  power  of  Satan  will  one  day  be  destroyed. 
The  Church  must  conquer  all  foes.  Christ  is  its  Captain.  He  has  triumphed 
by  the  cross.  A  record  should  be  kept  of  all  our  soul-victories,  to  aid  memory, 
to  inspire  hope,  to  awaken  gratitude  to  Him  to  whom  it  is  due.  They  are 
worthy  of  permanent  name.  They  are  interesting  and  instructive.  And  soon 
may  the  record  of  final  victory  be  penned,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  become 
the  kingdoms  of  the  Lord. 

V.  That  the  good  in  this  conflict  should  ascribe  all  the  glory  of  victory 
to  God.  "  And  Moses  built  an  altar,  and  called  the  name  of  it  Jehovah-nissi : 
for  he  said,  Because  the  Lord  will  have  war  with  Amalek  from  generation  to 
generation"  (verses  15,  16).  The  Israelites  had  fought  under  the  banner  of 
God — to  Him  was  due  the  glory  of  victory.  They  recognised  the  Divine  help — 
not  their  own  valour  and  fortune.  They  set  up  a  memorial  of  it.  We  should 
set  up  grateful  memorials  of  our  victories  over  sin.  Lessons  : — 1.  That  there  are 
inveterate  enemies  to  moral  goodness.  2.  That  these  enemies  are  doomed  to  ultimate 
defeat  and  destruction.  3.  Tliat  the  good  must  pray  and  fight  to  this  end.  4.  There 
will  be  a  final  celebration  of  victory. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  8.  New  plagues  for  new  mur- 
murings  God  can  make  quickly  to 
follow  sinners. 

Greatest  enemies  of  the  Church  God 
may  make  to  arise  from  the  fathers  of 
it. 

The  weakness  of  the  Church  is  an 
occasion  unto  wicked  enemies  to 
oppress  it. 

Amalek  will  for  no  cause  seek  to 
fight  and  destroy  Israel. 

Whatever  enemies  intend,  God 
orders  all  their  victories  against  Israel 
for  good. 

Verse  9.  In  case  of  oppression  by 
hostility,  God  allows  His  Israel  to 
make  this  defence. 

God  in  His  wisdom  orders  several 
parts  to  several  instruments  for 
safety. 

The  Church  needs  leaders  in  its  war 
against  evil. 

Counsel  for  praying  and  fighting 
given  by  God,  and  taken  from  Him,  is 
defensive  to  His  Church. 

Verse  10.  Counsels  for  defence  of 
God's  Church  are  not  only  to  be  given 
and  taken,  but  acted  upon. 

Good  associates  in  praying  are  sweet 
helps  to  save  the  Church. 

Gracious  instruments  are  ready  to 


climb  hills  to  God  for  the  help  of  the 
good. 

Verses  11-13.  The  human  hand  : — 

1.  Helpful  to  God,  as  an  instrument. 

2.  Feeble  in  prayer,  as  an   infirmity. 

3.  Strengthened  in  service,  as  indica- 
tive of  friendship.  4.  An  encourage- 
ment in  battle  even  to  victory. 

Doubtful  may  be  the  fight  of  Israel 
as  to  success  against  its  enemies  for  a 
time. 

Good  helpers  to  strengthen  hearts 
and  hands  in  faintings  are  especially 
useful. 

By  such  aids  souls  may  be  faithful 
to  God  unto  time  of  victory. 

Verse  14.  Jehovah's  victories  over 
the  enemies  of  the  Church  He  giveth 
in  charge  to  be  recorded. 

Writing  and  tradition  are  both  God's 
ways  of  recording  His  works  for  future 
ages. 

God's  book  is  the  best  record  of  His 
mighty  works  done  for  His  Church. 

A  memorial  would  God  have  kept 
by  the  records  of  God's  works  to 
men. 

Verses  15,  16.  Worship-memorials 
are  the  best  monuments  of  God's  glori- 
ous victories  in  the  Church. 

321 


OBAP.  xvn. 


HUM  1  LET  10  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


In  all  such  worship-memorials,  Jeho- 
vah must  be  known  as  the  banner  of 
the  Church. 

Gbd's  oath  against  the  enemies  of  His 


Church  is  a  strong  reason  for  naming 
Him  their  banner. 

God  has   sworn  successive  destru©" 
tion  to  all  of  Amalek  to  the  end. 


ILLUSTRATIONS    TO    CHAPTER    XYII. 

BY 

REV.    WILLIAM    ADAMSON. 


Human  Hearts!  Ver.  1.  Men  may  do 
much  under  the  momentary  influence  of  ex- 
citement. A  coward  has  been  known  to  be- 
come momentarily  brave,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott 
evidently  understood  when  he  painted  one 
of  his  characters  in  the  "  Fair  Maid  of  Perth." 
But  the  nature  is  not  changed  ;  for  when  the 
exciting  cause  ceases,  then  the  effects  vanish 
— like  the  music  which  dies  away  when  the 
breeze  ceases  to  touch  the  harp  chords — or 
like  the  corpse  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe's  romance, 
which  ceased  to  move  when  the  electric 
battery  was  removed.  So  with  Israel ;  gieat 
was  their  Red  Sea  triumph-song ;  but  there 
was  no  change  of  heart.  They  had  been  like 
those  sand  toys  which  we  buy  for  our  children. 
You  turn  the  box  upside  down,  and  then  the 
little  acrobat  revolves  and  revolves  till  the 
sand  is  all  run  down,  when  he  hangs  motion- 
less ;  or  like  that  singular  case  in  the  now 
defunct  Oxford  Street  Pantheon,  which  con- 
tained a  bird  drinking  at  a  fountain.  After 
every  sip  of  the  crystal  fluid,  it  raised  its  head, 
swelled  its  gorgeous  throat,  trilled  its  glorious 
song,  only  so  long  as  the  machinery  was  wound 
up.  When  the  chain  and  spring  had  run 
down,  then  the  bullfinch  stood  stiff  and  still. 
The  winding  up  had  not  changed  it  from  a 
stuffed  to  a  living  bird.  Israel,  wrought  up 
to  enthusiasm  on  the  spur  of  the  moment, 
sang  Jehovah's  praises  by  the  Red  Sea  wave  ; 
but  the  wilderness-way  cools  their  fervour. 
Alas  !  they  soon  show  that  their  hearts  had 
yet  to  be  changed. 

"  Oh  I  wonderful  rebellion, 

Thou  Lord  of  hope  and  life  1 
Betwixt  Thee  and  Thy  servant 
There  have  been  war  and  strife." 

RepMdim-Rest  1  Ver.  1.  The  course  of 
none  has  been  along  so  beaten  a  read  that 
they  remember  not  fondly  some  "  resting- 
places"  in  their  journeys — some  turns  of  their 
path  in  which  lovely  prospects  broke  in  upon 
them — some  soft  plats  of  green  refreshment 
to  their  weary  feet.  Talfourd  says,  such  are 
confiding  love — generous  friendship — disinter- 
ested humanity.  The  Rephidini-rest  was  by 
no  means  barren.  It  was  doubtless  surrounded 
by  steep  shelving  mountains  of  gneiss,  the 
fantastic  cleavage  and  variety  of  which  added 
greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  scenery  is  not  unlike  Glen- 
coe  without  its  heather.  Through  the  plain 
nay  be  seen  scattered  groups  of  trees — the 
tamarisk  with  its  long,  feathery  boughs — the 

322 


palm-tree  with  its  long,  bare  trunk,  and  tuft 
of  broad  leaves  at  the  top — and  the  th  ck, 
straggling,  thorn  bushes.  But  palms  and 
tamarisks  were  dotted  all  around ;  and  on 
every  knoll  and  mountain  slope  were  rui  K-d 
houses,  churches,  and  walls,  at  the  time 
Captain  Palmer  visited  the  scene.  Fartlii^r 
on  were  some  hundreds  of  palms — w  lat 
Southey  calls  "a  palm  grove  islanded  amid 
the  waste." 

"  Mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy  wonders 
All  through  this  desert  land." 

RepMdlm-Rebelllon !  Ver.  2.  How  often 
— especially  in  Eastern  lands  and  under  Syrian 
skies — have  we  seen  a  morning  fair  and  bright 
as  ever  dawned  on  mortal  vision,  and  looked 
for  a  high  noon  goMen  and  glowing,  flashing 
its  glories  far  and  wide,  only,  when  the  hour 
arrived,  to  find  it  clouded  and  mournful, 
with  wailing  winds  and  muttering  thunders  I 
When  the  motley  hosts  of  Moses  clustered  on 
the  far  shore  of  the  Red  Sea  wave,  what  a 
bright  dawn  was  their  liberty — brighter  far 
than  the  radiant  beams  of  eastern  dawnlight 
that  lit  up  the  wide  waste  where  slept  in 
their  watery  couches  the  mailed  phalanxes  of 
Pharaoh.  Alas  !  how  soon — ere  noon— did 
that  bright  promise  pale  and  fade — pale  as 
pales  the  northern  coruscations  from  the 
arctic  zone — fade  as  fades  the  blush  upon  the 
cheek  of  consumption,  beauteous  when  it  is 
christened  death.  When  Sir  Samuel  Baker 
was  in  Abyssinia,  he  saw  the  natives  employ- 
ing their  cattle  not  only  as  beasts  of  burden, 
but  for  carrying  supplies  of  water  in  skins 
slung  at  their  sides.  Probably  the  Israelites 
brought  with  them  from  Egypt  supplies  of 
water  in  this  way.  These  would  last  until, 
having  reached  the  Wilderness  of  Sin,  they 
were  called  upon  to  turn  away  from  the 
seashore,  and  get  up  among  the  mountains. 
Here  the  water  supply  becomes  exhausted, 
and  Israel  once  more  sins.  With  fierce  im- 
patience, they  turn  to  their  leader,  and  heap 
upon  him  reproaches  as  bitter  as  they  were 
unjust  and  ungrateful.  The  falling  spoke  of 
the  revolving  wheel  returns  and  reascends. 
The  ebbing  tide  of  rebellion  rolls  in  again. 
Thus  troubles  fall  and  rise  again  ;  tempta- 
tions die  and  revive  again.  The  Israelites 
murmur;  and  in  their  repinings  we  see  the 
bias  of  human  nature.  Yet,  on  the  base  of 
rebellion  there  rises  a  lovely  pillar,  on  which 
all  ages  may  read  the  golden  glories  of  ibB 
Lord — the  Lord  Gbd  merciful  and  gracioui 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xvn. 


'*  And  yet  I  could  not  trust  Thee, 
Or  wait  upon  Thine  hand." 

RepMdim-Rock !  Ver.  6.  About  two  miles 
below  Paraii,  ou  the  side  towards  Egypt  from 
which  the  Israelites  would  have  approached, 
there  is  a  spot  never  noticed  by  former  tra- 
vellers, wliicli  is  connected  by  Bedawin  tra- 
dition with  this  miracle.  Thus  writes  Captain 
Palmer  of  the  Sliiaitie  Expedition: — Dr.  Dur- 
biu,  in  his  "  Observations  on  the  East,"  says 
that  the  rocls  made  more  impression  upon 
him  than  any  natural  object  claiming  to  attest 
a  miracle  ever  did.  No  moisture  is  now  seen 
about  the  surface,  but  the  Arabs  say  that 
tiiere  is  water  beneath  the  soil.  They  accord- 
ingly give  to  the  stone  the  name  of  "  The 
Concealed  S[)riug  of  the  Writer,"  i.e.,  Moses. 
In  Psalm  cxiv.  8,  it  says  that  Jehovah  turned 
the  flint  into  a  fountain  of  water.  The  manna 
was  simply  sent  from  heaven  ;  but  the  water, 
on  the  contrary,  was  brought  out  of  the 
smitten  rock — the  most  unlikely  place  that 
could  be  imagined.  Some  men  went  about 
collecting  funds  for  an  important  charity. 
They  arrived  in  course  of  time  at  a  very  rich 
man's  door,  who  was  known  to  be  churlish  in 
his  manner  and  niggardly  in  his  gifts  ;  where- 
upon they  said  that  there  was  no  need  to  call 
on  him,  "  He  is  not  likely  to  give."  How- 
ever, they  entered,  laid  their  case  before  him, 
and  were  beyond  measure  astonished  when  he 
gave  them  the  largest  donation  of  all.  Re- 
phidim-llock  was  a  most  unlikely  place  from 
which  to  receive  supplies  of  water.  And 
nothing  more  unlikely  than  that  life  and  hap- 
piness should  flow  from  One  crucified  as  a 
malefactor. 

"What  if  my  lips  have  thirsted  ? 

Thou  from  the  rock  couldst  bring 
The  pure  refreshing  water 
Of  some  unfailing  spring." 

Rock-Rifts !  Ver.  6.  The  command  is : 
"  Smite  the  rock  "  Moses  lifts  his  rod,  and 
with  it  he  strikes  the  great  granite  mass.  It 
is  rent,  torn  asunder  ;  and  from  inside  the 
water  bubbles  up — gushes  out — overflows  in 
all  diiections — pours  down  into  the  valley — 
and  rolls  onward  a  clear,  bright,  and  sparkling 
river.  Law  remarks  that  the  antitype  is  the 
smitten  Jesus.  (1.)  It  was  from  the  stricken 
stone  that  the  waters  gushed  out.  The 
wounds  of  Jesus  are  the  avenue  of  the  Spirit. 
They  give  forth  water — the  sparkling  emblem 
of  the  power  of  grace.  (2.)  Sweet  was  this 
blessing  to  the  pilgrims  of  the  desert ;  but 
sweeter  far  to  the  true  sons  of  God  are  those 
spiritual  supplies,  of  which  they  drink  with 
greediness  and  gladness. 

"  And  now  that  I  have  tasted 
The  soul-reviving  stream, 
Alas  !  how  sad  and  shameful 
My  late  repiuings  seem.'* 

Seeing  Purity!  Ver.  1-7.  We  have  be- 
come familiar  with  the  symbol  of  the  stagnant 


pool,  all  whose  impurities  have  settled  at  the 
bottom,  and  left  its  waters  clear.  The  sun- 
beam or  even  the  traveller's  stafi"  soon  dis- 
closes the  "seeming  purity  to  be  real  impurity." 
But  we  have  recently  read  that  a  tourist  in 
the  Holy  Land  on  one  occasion  procured  two 
little  phials,  which  he  filled  with  water  from 
the  Jordan.  The  liquid  in  one  of  the  vessels 
was  filtered,  so  as  to  be  clear  like  crystal. 
The  other  bottle  had  in  it  the  sediment  as 
well  as  the  water  ;  and  when  shaken,  it  rose 
and  discoloured  the  liquid.  So  with  Israel ; 
when  Jehovah  shook  them,  it  was  apparent 
that  deep  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  of 
their  religious  life  there  was  much  impurity. 
Affliction  soon  tests  the  integrity  of  our 
motives — the  disinterestedness  of  our  friend- 
ship— the  reality  of  our  faith  in  God.  And  so 
with  Israel.  The  manna  miracle  had  only 
caused  the  doubts  and  despairs  to  settle  at  the 
bottom  of  their  heart ;  so  that  when  the  hand 
of  God  shook  it  by  lack  of  water,  loud  mur- 
murs rose  up.  All  the  goodness  of  God  was 
forgotten ;  and  maddened  with  thirst  and 
rage,  they  threatened  the  life  of  their  leader. 

"  Yes,  I  have  vainly  chided 
Thy  providential  ways  ; 
And  I  have  mourned  and  murmured 
When  thou  hast  looked  for  praise." 

Prayer-Power  !  Ver.  4.  There  is  scarcely 
a  material  force  or  element  which  has  not 
been  at  one  time  or  another  influenced  by 
prayer.  We  speak  of  a  flinty  rock  ;  and  lo  1 
waters  gush  forth  plentifully  when  prayer 
touches  it  with  her  magic  wand.  We  speak 
of  the  ocean  ;  and  lo  !  a  pathway  is  made  for 
the  ransomed  of  the  Lord,  when  prayer 
stretches  over  it  her  magic  wand  and  divides 
it  asunder.  Talk  of  Aladdin's  lamp  ;  behold 
the  true  secret  of  power  in  the  uplifted  hand 
and  heart  of  Moses  in  the  Mount.  It  will  be 
one  of  the  grand  revelations  of  the  future  to 
see  the  proofs  of  the  power  of  prayer — many 
and  more  marvellous  than  Jacob's  Peniel 
wrestlings — than  Elijah's  Carmel  agonisings 
— than  Paul's  strong  cryings  and  tears.  As 
has  been  said,  prayer  plucks  out  the  briers 
and  thorns  in  the  pathway  of  life,  and  covers 
that  pathway  with  flowers  and  fruits — 
stretches  out  its  mighty  hand  to  heaven,  and 
scatters  the  daik  portentous  cloud  threaten- 
ing destruction — links  its  hands  to  Divinity, 
so  that  it  becomes  strong  as  God,  and  can 
hurl  defiance  at  all  foes  : 

"  I  fear  no  foe,  with  Thee  at  hand  to  bless  ; 
Prayer  makes  the  Christian's  armour  bright." 

Sanctified  Suffering!  Ver.  3-7.  It  has 
been  beautifully  said,  "  There  are  many 
fruits  which  never  turn  sweet  until  the  frost 
has  lain  upon  them.  There  are  many  nuts 
that  never  fall  from  the  boughs  of  the  forest 
trees  till  the  frost  has  opened  and  ripened 
them.  And  there  are  many  elements  of  life 
that  never  grow  sweet  and  beautiful  until 
sorrow  comes."  But  these  sorrows  need  the 
sanctifying  influences  of  the  Spirit  to  the  end 

323 


oHAp.  xvn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


that  they  tuny  ripen  and  sweeten  the  elements 
of  character  upon  which  they  act.  Without 
divine  grace  we  may  grow  sour  and  ungainly 
under  heart  sorrows. 

"  God  gnideth  all  His  children  home 
By  paths  we  know  not  liere  ; 
But  once  with  Him,  His  ways  will  be 
To  every  loved  one  clear." 

Amalek-Associations  !  Ver.  8.  The  Ama- 
lekites — a  nomad  peojjle  dwelling  in  tents, 
and  rich  in  flocks  and  herds— at  this  time 
occupied  the  peninsula.  Some  have  supposed 
them  to  be  descendants  of  Esau  ;  but  doubt- 
less they  had  an  earlier  origin.  Smith  says 
that  Arabian  geographers  state  that  they 
came  from  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
At  any  rate,  they  were  a  numerous  and 
powerful  nation,  occupying  the  region  between 
Southern  Palestine  and  Egypt.  There  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  Faran  is  just  the 
spot  which  the  Amalekites  would  have  been 
sure  to  defend.  It  contains  a  beautiful  oasis 
well  worth  fighting  for  ;  and  the  place  is  cap- 
able of  being  easily  defended  against  large 
numbers  by  a  comparatively  small  force. 
Whether  Amalek  regarded  Israel  as  an 
intruder,  or  whether,  for  the  sake  of  plunder, 
they  seem  first  to  have  assaulted  the  rear  of 
the  column  as  it  wound  up  througli  the 
narrow  defiles,  and  cut  off  the  infirm  and 
stragglers,  the  motives  which  Amalek  had 
in  view  seem  to  have  been  so  base  and  repre- 
hensible that  they  called  forth  from  God  a 
special  and  terrible  announcement — nothing 
short  of  extermination.  This  incessant 
struggle  against  Amalek  furnishes  an  admir- 
able application  for  the  Church.  She  must 
not  let  go  the  sacred  banner  displayed  be- 
cause of  the  truth,  nor  cease  waging  a 
perpetual  moral  crusade  against  sins  and 
corruptions  until  she  has  eflfectually  destroyed 
them,  and  can  say,  "  They  are  no  more." 
The  course  adopted  by  the  Scottish  monarchs 
for  the  resolute  extirpation  of  the  Border 
raiders  may  supply  an  analogy.  In  nature, 
one  species  of  the  ant  tribe  thus  exterminates 
its  foes.  The  missel  thrush,  knowing  the 
cruel  propensities  of  the  jay  as  they  grow  up, 
watches  the  young  of  these  birds,  and  deli- 
berately destroys  them  wherever  it  can.  It 
is  an  instinct — not  of  revenge — but  of  self- 
defence  and  preservation.  So  with  Israel  ! 
Defence  not  defiance ! 

"  Thronging  hosts  have  gathered  round  me, 
And  the  pilgrims  God  defied  ; 
But  His  armour  fitteth  closely, 
And  His  sword  is  at  my  side." 

Mountain-Mediation !  Ver.  9.  Not  the 
hands  of  Moses,  \n\t  the  rod  was  the  banner. 
That  rod  was  held  forth  as  a  banner  over  the 
battle-field — not  in  the  midst  of  the  fight, 
where  sacrilegious  hands  could  grasp — but 
high  above,  i.e.,  700  feet,  on  the  top  of  the 
hill  overlooking  the  scene.  When  Moses  let 
down  this  banner,  the  hands  and  heart*  uf 

324 


Israel  sank — their  hopes  of  victory  faded. 
The  Great  Mediator  faltered  in  His  earth- 
struggle  ;  but  even  as  Aaron  and  Hur  sus- 
tained the  uplifted  hands  of  Moses,  so  the 
attributes  of  Messiah's  priesthood  strengthened 
Him  to  uphold  the  banner  of  the  truth.  Henrv 
of  Navarre  bade  his  soldiers  look  for  his  snow- 
white  plume,  that  crested  his  princely  helmet 
— in  place  of  the  celebrated  oriflamme  or 
standard  of  France — and  press  towards  it  for 
victory.  As  it  fell,  so  sank  their  hopes  ;  but 
as  it  rose  again  in  sight,  they  fought  and  won. 
Onr  Mediator,  high  on  the  heights  of  heaven, 
sustained  by  His  priestly  jiowers,  npreai's 
over  the  great  battle-j)lain  of  earth  His  glori- 
ous standard — the  rotl  that  smote — the  truth 
of  God.  Now  His  hands  never  sink,  but  are 
upheld  unweariedly  until  at  eventide  His 
mountain-mediation  secures  ultimate  victory. 
It  has,  however,  been  suggested  that  Aaron 
and  Hur  repiesent  those  children  of  God  who 
are  shut  out  from  active  effort  for  God  and 
His  Church  by  sickness  or  infirmity.  Such 
cannot  fight  like  Joshua  on  the  plain  ;  but 
with  Moses  on  the  height  they  can  pray.  So 
that  the  lesson  designed  by  the  incident  is 
not  so  much  the  power  of  prayer  by  us  as  the 
might  of  His  mediation.  "  Christ  the  strength 
of  His  people," — both  on  the  mount  and  in 
the  valley — both  as  Moses  and  as  Joshua. 
The  most  honoured  of  earthly  standards  may 
lead  to  defeat,  as  when  the  consecrated  stan- 
dards of  the  Crusaders  were  grasped  by  the 
sacrilegious  hosts  of  Saladin  ;  but  the  "  name 
of  the  Lord,"  the  "truth  of  God,"  must 
lead  to  victory. 

"  Is  not  He  who  fights  for  Israel 

Pledged  to  make  my  cause  His  own  f 
Keeps  He  not  for  me  the  palm  branch. 
And  the  overcomer's  crown  ? 

Pleading'  and  Praising !  Ver.  14.  These 
are  twins,  which  ought  never  to  be  sundered. 
It  was  a  quaint  notion  of  the  learned  Goodwin 
that  prayer  and  praise  vv-ere  like  the  double 
action  of  the  lungs,  what  we  receive  in 
answer  to  prayer  being  given  back  in  praise 
to  God.  Moses  had  been  wrestling  on  the 
hill  while  Israel  was  wrestling  in  the  vale ; 
now  praise  follows.  What  joyful  songs  of 
praise  rose  up  as  the  last  rays  of  the  sun 
faded  behind  the  hills.  Standard-bearers, 
captain,  soldiers,  all  rejoice  together. 

"Long,  indeed,  may  last  the  conflict, 
But  the  victory  is  secure  ; 
And  the  new  sweet  song  of  triumph 
Shall  from  age  to  age  endure." 

Banner-Beacons  !  Ver.  15.  It  was  Jehovah 
who  led  Israel  to  llepliidim,  that  "  place  of 
mercy,"  which  Israel  turned  into  a  place  of 
murmuring.  It  became  a  place  of  battle  ; 
and  on  it  Israel  erected  a  banner.  On  the 
field  of  Waterloo  there  stands  a  huge  mound, 
surmounted  witti  the  Belgic  lion  ;  and  here 
and  tnere  may  be  seen  monuments  where 
heroea  sueh    as    Picton  and  Poosonby  feU. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XTm. 


These  are  to  mark  the  place  of  victory.  The 
victorious  Israelites  erected  not  a  monument, 
but  a  nieinoriul-altar,  thus  ackuowiediiing  the 
Source  of  victory,  'i'hauks  be  to  God  who 
giveth  us  the  victory  !  After  the  fearful  and 
bloody  strife  at  Stdan,  the  warrior  veteran 
monarch  of  Germany  telegraphed  to  his 
anxious  Empress  that  God  had  given  them 
victory,  and  she  must  at  once  announce  a 
solemn  Te  Dcum  throughout  the  land.  If 
there  be  baseless  pretension,  it  is  wlwn  dust 
claims  honour  as  the  worker  of  Jehovah's 
works.  The  tool  is  not  the  agent,  the  pen  is 
not  the  spring  of  thought,  the  spade  of  the 
labourer  is  not  the  source  of  growth  and  ripe- 
ness in  the  corn.  It  is  the  Lord  who  fights 
for  His  people.  Under  this  banner  they 
advance  from  victory  to  victory,  until  all  their 
enemies  are  destroyed  Led  through  count- 
less conflicts,  yet  they  never  lose  a  field. 
They  march  to  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven, 
before  wliich  is  spread  a  banquet,  overshaded 
by  a  banner.  When  the  Waterloo  b.mquet 
was  first  held  to  celebrate  Wellington's  vic- 
tory over  Napoleon,  the  banqueting  hall  was 
hung  round  with  standards,  and  a  canopy  of 
English  banners  was  suspended  over  the  heads 
of  the  Iron  Duke  and  his  officers.  He  brought 
me  into  His  banqueting-house,  and  His  banner 
over  tne  was  Love.  Blessed  are  they  that 
are  called  to  the  marriage-supper  of  the 
Lamb. 


' ' '  Jehovah,  my  standard  ! '      How  bright  is 

the  blessing 
Of  them  who  go  forth  in  the  name  of  the 

Lord, 
To   combat  with  those  who  long  since  have 

been  vanquished 
By  Him  who  has  given  this  rally  in  g-word." 

Intercession-Influence!  Ver,  10,11.  (1.) 
We  have  read  of  tlie  missionary  travelling  in 
the  desert,  and  re.sting  for  the  night  with  his 
liuile  company  without  any  other  covering 
than  the  canopy  of  heaven,  rising  the  next 
morning  and  observing  the  footsteps  of  the 
beasts  of  piey  within  a  few  inches  of  his 
person,  and  yet  no  injury  done.  But  have 
we  thought  what  iutercessiou-influence  in 
England  secured  this  safety?  (2.)  Look  at 
the  statesman  wielding  the  destinies  of  the 
nation,  presiding  at  the  hehn  of  national 
affairs.  We  think  that  his  talent  has  brought 
all  these  popular  measures  about ;  but  if  we 
only  knew  the  real  truth,  we  should  find  that 
these  wonderful  acts  are  the  result  of  inter- 
cession-influence. In  the  world  that  lies 
b'  yond,  we  shall  see  how  often  God  ha? 
answeied  prayer  even  in  national  history  ;  and 
how  many  of  the  measures  which  have  de- 
lighted and  blessed  us  have  been  the  fruit  of 
believing  prayer  in  some  humble  cottage 
home. 

"More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Critical  Notes. — 1.  Midian.] — If  we  may  assume  that  these  Midianites  were  descendanta 

of  Midian,  son  of  Abraham  by  Keturah  (Gen.  xxv.  2),  our  wonder  will  be  lessened  that  among 
this  Arabian  people  we  siiould  find  tlie  knowledge  and  worship  of  Jehovab  had  been  preserved, 
as  seen  in  tins  narrative.  Thus  this  episode  may  be  added  to  other  incidental  proofs  of  the 
continuance  of  pure  religion  among  Gentile  nations.  6.  Am  come.]  More  exactly,  "Am 
coming;"  i.e.,  "Am  on  my  way;  am  at  hand."  This  intelligeMce,  sent  forward  by  a 
messenger,  would  give  Moses  time  to  go  forth  to  meet  his  father-in-law,  as  we  find  he 
did.  We  have  here  a  beautiful  picture  of  Eastern  manners.  The  relatives  meet,  embrace 
each  other,  and,  after  due  inquiries  as  to  each  other's  welfare,  turn  at  the  head  of  their 
groups  of  attendants,  and  move  on  in  conversation  towards  the  camp  of  Israel  and  the  tent 
of  Moses.  Nor  may  we  take  the  absence  of  any  remark  on  the  meeting  of  Moses  and 
Zipporah  as  implying  anythmg  unfavourable  to  their  cordial  relationship  to  each  other.  It 
is  mucli  in  the  manner  of  the  Eastern  delicacy  of  feeling  to  pass  by  the  matrimonial 
connection  without  remark.  It  is  pleasant  to  fiml  Zipporah  restored  to  her  husband.  They 
have  been  parted  l)ut  for  a  few  months  at  most  :  in  tlie  inlerval,  "What  hath  God  wrought!" 
27.  Moses  let  his  father-in-law  depart.]  The  departure  of  Jethro  may  or  may  not  liave  taken 
place  prior  to  the  law-giving  from  Sinai.  It  is  quite  possible,  as  Kalisch  suggests,  that  this 
verse  is  here  added  for  the  sake  of  completeness,  after  the  manner  of  chap.  xvi.  35,  leaving  us 
free,  notwithstanding,  to  believe  that  Jetliro  remained  some  time  with  Moses,  as  for  many 
reasons  he  would  be  likely  to  do.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  Midian  was  not  far 
from  the  desert  of  Sinai,  as  Moses  was  hereabouts  feeding  the  flock  of  Jethro  when  first  com- 
missioned from  the  burning  bush.  "It  is  most  proliable,"  says  Murphy,  "that,  during  the 
eleven  months  and  twenty  days  of  the  sojourn  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  there  were 
frequent  interviews  between  Moses  and  his  relations  by  marriage,  as  they  were  in  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood."  This  deserves  all  the  more  attention  by  reason  of  the  record  contained 
'a  Numb.  X.  29-32. 

325 


CHAP.  XVIII.  no  Ml  LET  10  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-12. 

Family  Gatherings. 

It  seems  that  Jethro,  the  priest  of  Midian,  had  heard  of  all  that  God  had  done 
for  Moses,  and  became  anxious  again  to  see  his  son-in-law.  It  is  well  when 
men  have  their  ears  open  to  the  tidings  of  God's  providential  mercies  to  the 
good.  The  senses  should  be  avenues  of  the  Divine  to  the  soul.  Jethro  was 
a  Gentile,  and  resided  at  a  distance,  but  national  peculiarities  and  distance  from 
great  events  will  not  silence  the  voice  of  heaven  to  a  faithful  soul.  Gentiles 
hear  of  God  when  Jews  will  not.  The  distant  magi  come  to  seek  Him  when 
they  at  Jerusalem  are  ignorant  of  Him.  Now  we  see  the  little  party  setting  out 
on  their  glad  journe3\  There  is  the  old  father,  the  wife,  and  two  sons  of  Moses 
going  to  meet  the  relative  from  whom  they  had  been  a  long  time  separated. 
The  journey  is  long,  but  they  are  sustained  in  it  by  the  glad  prospect  of 
reunion.  We  have  heard  tidings  of  the  world  beyond  the  grave ;  thither  are 
we  travelling,  and  shall  soon  join  those  who  have  gone  before  us. 

I.  That  this  family  gathering  was  permitted  after  long  absence  and  after 
the  occurrence  of  great  events.  Moses  had  parted  from  his  father-in-law  some 
forty  years  ago,  in  order  that  he  might  go  to  Pharaoh  and  demand  the  release 
of  the  Israelites.  He  had  not  seen  his  wife  and  sons  since  the  day  he  had  sent 
them  back,  when  a  great  peril  threatened  his  life.  Moses  had  left  all  behind 
that  he  might  with  greater  fidelity  and  zeal  execute  the  great  work  intrusted  to 
him.  During  these  years  of  absence  God  had  done  great  things  for  the 
Israelites.  He  had  manifested  His  omnipotent  power  on  their  behalf  in  the 
dire  jdagues  which  had  fallen  on  Egypt.  He  had  shown  His  faithfulness  and 
mercy  in  their  deliverance  from  bondage,  and  in  the  supply  of  their  needs  in  the 
wilderness.  He  had  given  manna  from  the  skies.  He  had  given  water  from 
the  rock.  He  had  given  the  cloud  to  guide  them.  Now  the  tent  is  pitched. 
It  is  a  time  of  rest.  Families  are  often  separated  on  earth,  sometimes  by  stern 
need,  in  order  to  win  daily  bread  ;  sometimes  by  the  call  of  the  Gospel,  in 
order  thereby  to  promote  the  welfare  of  God's  word  and  kingdom ;  and  one 
separation  awaits  all  families,  even  that  occasioned  by  death.  These  separations 
are  fraught  with  pain.  But  the  time  of  meeting  draws  near ;  then  what  histories 
will  there  be  to  narrate,  and  what  joys  will  compensate  the  sorrow  past.  Christ 
is  gathering  His  family  to  the  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens. 

II.  That  this  family  gathering  was  characterised  by  courtesy,  by  a 
religious  spirit,  and  by  devout  conversation.  1.  There  icas  true  courtesy. 
"  And  he  said  unto  Moses,  I,  thy  father-in-law,  Jethro,  am  come  unto  thee,  and 
thy  wife,  and  her  two  sons  with  her  "  (ver.  6).  Thus  Jethro  sent  a  message  to 
herald  his  advent  to  the  tent  of  Moses.  He  might  justly  have  approached 
Moses  without  this,  but  he  had  respect  unto  the  official  position  and  to  the 
moral  history  of  his  son-in-law  ;  hence  the  moilesty  which  characterised  his 
approach.  A  due  resj)ect  for  social  position,  for  mental  attainment,  for  moral 
character,  and  for  providential  circumstance,  should  exist  even  amongst  mem- 
bers of  the  same  family.  The  respect  we  pay  to  strangers  is  much  more  due  to 
our  nearest  relatives.  Discourtesy  is  never  more  out  of  place  than  in  the  midst 
of  the  tender  relationship  of  life.  This  old  priest  of  Midian  would  not  be  guilty 
of  it.  lieveience  is  due  to  authority.  2.  There  was  a  deeply  religious  spint. 
Moses  did  not  receive  his  father-in-law  with  i)roud  and  stately  manner.  He 
kissed  him.  The  honours  of  office  had  not  frozen  up  the  tender  leelings  of  his 
nature.     He  did  not  laud  his  own  skill  as  a  commander;  he  gave  God  the  praise 

326 


HOMILETIC  COMMEISTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xvm. 

of  all  his  victories.  He  indulged  in  no  idle  talk.  He  indulged  no  spirit  of 
levity.  In  the  midst  of  this  taniily  there  was  sacred  joy,  pure  gratitude,  and 
devout  worship.  There  was  no  word  of  murmuring  uttered  at  the  long  separa- 
tion or  in  review  of  severe  trials  ;  but  all  hearts  in  that  tent  were  true  to  that 
God  who  had  watched  over  and  brought  them  together  once  more.  Family 
gatherings  should  be  pervaded  by  a  religious  spirit ;  then  the  tent  will  become  a 
sanctuary.  3.  There  was  devout  conversation.  Moses  told  his  father-in-law  of  all 
that  God  had  dune  for  Israel,  also  of  the  "  travail  that  had  come  upon  them  by 
the  way,  and  how  the  Lord  had  delivered  theui."  The  Great  Leader  did  not 
forget  the  sorrowful  experiences  of  his  life  ;  great  trials  make  a  deep  impression 
on  the  soul.  But  he  remembered  his  God-wrought  deliverances.  We  should 
not  talk  more  of  trials  than  of  the  aid  we  have  received  in  them.  We  should 
not  indulge  gloomy  conversation,  but  a  conversation  which  derives  gladness  from 
its  mention  of  Divine  help.  What  happy  communings  will  there  be  amongst 
the  redeemed  as  the  members  of  the  heavenly  family  come  from  the  east  and 
the  west  to  their  great  home. 

III.  That  this  family  gathering  derived  its  highest  joy  from  the  moral 
experiences  with  which  it  was  favoured.  "And  Jethro  rejoiced  for  all  the 
goodness  which  the  Lord  had  done  to  Israel,  whom  He  had  delivered  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Egyptians.  And  Jethro  said,  '  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath 
delivered  you  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians,  and  out  of  the  hand  of  Pharaoh, 
who  hath  delivered  the  people  from  under  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians.  Now  I 
know  that  the  Lord  is  greater  than  all  gods.' "  Thus  the  supreme  joy  of  this 
united  family  was  not  derived  from  its  merely  social  intercourse,  not  from 
intellectual  and  pleasing  conversation,  not  from  the  coming  together  of  congenial 
souls,  but  from  tlie  moral  experiences  of  each  and  from  the  devotion  of  all  to  the 
great  God.  This  is  the  ideal  of  social  intercourse.  Kot  a  cant  reference  to 
the  mercy  of  God,  but  a  sincere  reference  to  God  in  the  unfoldings  of  the  heart 
to  each  other.  Such  intercourse  can  never  fail  to  give  joy,  as  the  Infinite  is  the 
source  of  its  rejoicing. 

IV.  That  this  family  gathering  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  sacramental 
offering  to  God.  "  And  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in-law,  took  a  burnt-offering  and 
sacrifices  for  God  :  and  Aaron  came,  and  all  the  elders  of  Israel,  to  eat  bread 
with  Moses'  father-in-law  before  God."  Jethro  was  not  content  to  express  his 
joy  and  gratitude  in  mere  words,  but  in  specific  and  solemn  action.  He  was 
a  worshipper  of  the  true  God  ;  he  had  come  to  learn  that  none  other  was  worthy 
of  praise.  The  family  had  communed  with  each  other ;  it  now  communes  with 
God.  Earthly  communion  should  naturally  suggest  Divine  communion.  Jethro 
was  joined  by  Aaron  and  the  elders  of  Israel.  Here  is  sweet  concord  in 
worship.  Prayer  intensifies  the  family  relationship  ]  it  also  enlarges  it.  All 
the  elders  of  the  Church  will  one  day  worship  God  together.  Sweet  is  the 
bread  broken  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  Let  us  thus  worship  before  God. 
Lessons  : — 1.  That  God  can  watch  over  the  interests  of  a  separated  family.  2.  That 
God  unites  families  in  a  providential  manner.  3.  21iat  united  families  should  rejoice 
in  God.  4.  That  the  families  of  the  good  will  meet  in  heaven,  never  more  to  part. 
5.  Let  us  pray  f 01-  tJie  completion  of  the  Divine  family  in  the  Father's  house. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  1-12.     God  moved  strangers      to  His  Church  may  affect  strangers  to 
and   heads    of  nations   sometimes   to      come  and  see  them, 
listen    after  His   providences   to    His  Relations  hearing  of  God's  goodness 

Church.  to  their  loved  ones  are  justly  moved  to 

The  fame  of  God's  stupendous  works      visit  them. 

327 


OH  A  p.  xvni. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Friends  to  Israel's  good  cannot  but 
be  moved  with  the  tidings  of  God's 
great  works  for  them. 

The  fame  of  Israel's  deliverance 
from  Egypt  may  justify  men  to  inquire 
after  God. 

Prudence  may  send  away  the  dearest 
pledges  from  hindering  God's  work. 

As  children  are  great  mercies,  so  it 
is  gooil  to  make  them  the  memorials 
of  God's  mercies  to  us. 

The  mercies  of  pilgrimage  must  not 
be  forgotten  by  Gud's  servants. 

Wilderness  condition  do  not  deter 
the  true  relations  of  the  Church  from 
coming  to  them. 

In  the  wilderness  God  may  have  His 
mount,  His  stony  place  for  His  Church. 

It  is  sweet  meeting  of  Church  rela- 
tions after  the  defeat  of  enemies. 

It  is  not  unbecoming  the  highest 
places  or  persons  in  the  Church  of 
Christ  to  give  due  respect  to  their 
relations. 

Grace  does  not  unteach  men  manners 
and  civil  respect  unto  men. 

It  is  a  natural  duty  for  relations  to 
inquire  of  each  other's  peace. 

God's  servants  filled  with  a  sense  of 
mercies  cannot  but  declare  them  to 
others. 

The  friends  of  Israel  are  the  fittest 
to  hear  of  God's  wondrous  works. 

Great  distress  may  befall  God's 
Church  in  the  way  of  its  redemption. 

The  friends  of  the  Church  rejoice  in 
all  the  good  that  is  done  for  it. 

As  Jehovah  is  the  cause  of  good  to 
the  Church,  so  He  is  the  object  of  joy 
and  gratitude. 

The  great  works  of  God  set  Him 
above  all  other  gods.  Holy  teaching 
is  consistent  with  holy  worship. 

Verse  12  (last  clause).  I.  A  com- 
mon and  necessary  act.  II.  A  com- 
mon and  necessary  act  done  in  a  social 
spirit.  III.  A  common  and  neces- 
sary act  done  in  a  pious  manner. 

Leaving  now  this  illustrious  ex- 
ample of  friemlship,  we  may  proceed 
to  make  a  few  general  observations. 
One  obvious  one  is,  that  this  world  is 
not  a  scene  adapted  or  intended  to 
aflord  the  pleasure  and  benefit  of  friend- 
328 


ship  entire.  Jethro  was  to  lose  hia 
inestimable  friend,  after  long,  and 
what  must  have  been  the  happiest 
intimacy,  was  to  see  him  once  again ; 
again  to  lose  him,  to  see  him  on  earth, 
probably,  no  more.  What  a  measure, 
we  may  almost  say,  of  his  vital  exist- 
ence, he  was  to  lose !  Providence 
has,  in  numerous  instances,  interposed 
wide  spaces  of  land,  or  even  sea, 
between  persons  who  might  be  inestim- 
able to  one  another  in  near  and 
habitual  association.  The  one  mind, 
and  the  other,  and  the  third,  and 
many  more  are  filled  with  exercises  of 
thought,  with  emotions,  with  aff'ections 
which  would  glow  with  social  and 
sympathetic  animation,  if  they  could 
be  one  another's  companions.  But 
they  have  each  their  own  assigned 
positions  to  occupy — their  own  moral 
track  to  cultivate,  their  own  duties, 
labours,  trials — and  sometimes  little 
happy  in  their  actual  associates ;  they 
have  to  fulfil  their  vocation  amidst 
coldness,  perversity,  or  imbecility, 
thinking,  sometimes,  how  different  the 
case  would  be  if  such-and-such  were 
their  companions  and  co-operators. 

Inquisitiveness.  "Asked  each  other." 
And  the  mutual  inquiries  respecting 
"  welfare "  are  made  in  a  spirit  very 
different  from  unmeaning  compla- 
cence. When  a  iriend  is  tar  away,  it 
will  sometimes  occur  to  wonder  and 
to  imagine  how  he  may  be  situated — 
how  employed.  What  at  this  time  is 
the  exercise  of  his  mind  1,  what  part  is 
he  in  of  the  process  of  an  undertak- 
ing? what  evil  dispositions  of  his  fel- 
low-mortals is  he  conflicting  with] 
what  temptations  is  he  beset  by  ? 
When  they  meet  the  inquiry  goes  back 
over  things,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  give 
the  history  to  one  who  is  so  kindly 
interested  in  it  at  every  step.  And 
friendship  will  suggest  many  com- 
ments which  would  not  occur  to  the 
thoughts  of  an  indifferent  person.  It 
may  be  very  advantageous  for  the 
instruction  and  improvement  of  the 
friends  that  they  luive  moved  a  great 
deal  apart,  so  as  to  have  had  a  very 
different  experience,  different  views  of 
the  world   and   of  providence.     Tims 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xviii. 


they  bring  in  a  mucli  larger  store  to  meets   them   no   more.      When    they 

the    combined    account,    enlarge    one  part   confessedly   for   a    considerable 

another's     knowledge,     correct     and  absence,  how  possible   is  it  they  are 

mature  one  another's  judgment.  looking   at   each   other   for   the    last 

Tlie  last  thing  is  serious  anticipa-  time  !     Let  it  be  considered  what  a 

tion.     Eaf".h  meeting  should  admonish  melancholy      thing     any     friendship 

them    tliat    their    life    is    sliortened  would  be  that  should  be  destined  to 

(sometimes    much     shortened)     since  expire    with    all    its    pleasures    and 

they   met    before.       Sometimes    they  advantages  at  death.     That  is  worthy 

are  forcibly  struck  by  the  change  in  and  happy  friendship,  and  that  alone 

each  other's  appearance.     After  a  con-  where   the   parties  are  zealously  pre- 

siderable    absence    they    can    hardly  paring  and  have  a  good  hope  to  meet 

meet   without   having   to  name  some  in  a  nobler  scene. — (JoA/i  Foster.) 
one  who  has  shared  their  society,  but 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versea  13-27. 

The  Folly  of  Solitary  Rulership. 

Jethro  was  not  only  a  man  of  deep  piety ;  he  was  likewise  a  man  of  sound 
judgment.  He  could  not  merely  ofler  a  sacrifice  to  God ;  he  could  also  give 
advice  to  Moses.  He  combined  the  mental  and  moral  qualities  in  a  high 
degree.  Intelligent  men  are  generally  the  most  devout.  Hence  we  listen  with 
keen  interest  to  the  old  priest's  advice  to  his  son-in-law.  It  is  not  given  in 
querulous  spirit,  but  with  kindly  intent,  and  at  the  most  opportune  time.  It 
would  be  well  if  rulers  in  Church  and  State  would  consent  to  follow  the  advice 
so  wisely  given.     Solitary  Rulership  : — 

I.  That  it  is  foolish  because  it  causes  an  undue  strain  upon  the  solitary 
individual  "  And  Moses'  father-in-law  said  unto  him,  '  The  thing  that  thou 
doest  is  not  good.  Thou  wilt  surely  wear  away,  both  thou  and  this  people 
that  is  with  thee  :  for  this  thing  is  too  heavy  for  thee ;  thou  art  not  able  to 
perform  it  thyself  alone,' "  Moses  was  supreme  judge  in  Israel.  The  whole 
weight  and  responsibility  of  the  judicial  function  rested  upon  him.  Judges  are 
necessary  in  the  present  conditions  of  society ;  they  are  a  great  help  and 
blessing ;  they  should  command  respect ;  they  should  not  tax  themselves 
with  undue  responsibilities  or  work  ;  they  must  be  diligent ;  they  must  be 
equitable ;  they  must  be  courageous ;  they  must  be  reverent.  But  one  man 
was  not  equal  to  such  a  wide  administration  as  that  assumed  by  Moses.  His 
physical  strength  was  not  equal  to  it.  Our  best  physical  energy  should  be  spent 
in  the  service  of  God  and  humanity ;  but  in  this  respect  we  are  to  be  careful  to 
do  ourselves  no  harm.  Moses  could  not  endure  the  fatigue  of  continuing  so 
long  in  the  seat  of  judgment,  from  morning  until  evening  listening  to  and 
deciding  the  queries  and  disputes  of  that  vast  people.  He  was  thus  ignorantly 
and  needlessly  sacrificing  his  physical  energy.  His  mind  would  be  wearied. 
His  soul  would  exhaust  its  vitalities.  Wicked  men  sometimes  kill  themselves 
by  excess  of  pleasure.  Good  men  should  not  kill  themselves  by  excess  of 
work  even  in  the  service  of  God.  Many  great  lives  are  lost  to  the  Church 
through  excessive  toils.  The  Divine  Judge  can  never  grow  weary  in  His 
administration  of  tlie  universe. 

II.  That  it  is  foolish  because  it  interferes  with  the  execution  of  the  higher 
part  of  the  judicial  ofi&ce.  "Be  thou  for  the  people  God-ward,  that  thou 
mayest  bring  the  causes  unto  God  :  And  thou  shalt  teach  them  ordinances  and 
laws,  and  shalt  shew  the  way  wherein  they  must  walk,  and  the  work  that  they 
must  do."     Thus  Moses  was  not  to  vacate  the  judicial  chair,  but  was  to  take 

329 


CHAP.  xvni.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

upon  himself  the  higher  duties  pertaining  to  it.  He  was  not  to  settle  any  little 
quarrel  that  might  arise  in  the  nation.  He  was  to  attend  to  the  moral  and 
spiritual  aspects  of  justice  ratlier  than  to  the  legal.  How  many  great  and  good 
men  are  employed  in  meaner  tasks  than  they  ought  to  be,  and  are  wasting  their 
energies  in  plans  which  feebler  minds  could  execute  with  equal  skill,  to  the 
neglect  of  great  spiritual  works.  How  often  are  ministers  engaged  with  the 
technical  and  local  when  they  might  be  engaged  in  the  spiritual  and  universal. 
Justice  needs  more  than  administrative  power  j  it  needs  spiritual  discernment 
and  those  qualities  of  moral  character  which  are  the  outcome  of  moral  meanness 
to  God  ;  hence  it  requires  men  to  be  for  the  people  God-ward.  Jesus  Christ  is 
now  for  the  people  God-ward,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 

III.  That  it  is  foolish  because  it  leaves  unutilised  a  vast  number  of  able 
men  quite  equal  to  the  ordinary  requirements  of  justice.  "Moreover,  thou 
shalt  provide  out  of  all  the  people  able  men,  such  as  fear  God — men  of  truth, 
hating  covetousness;  and  place  such  over  them,  to  be  rulers  of  thousands,  and 
rulers  of  hundreds,  rulers  of  fifties,  and  rulers  of  tens."  There  were  men  in  the 
ranks  of  Israel  who  were  competent  to  undertake  the  work  by  which  Moses  was 
overburdened.  They  were  competent  for  it.  They  were  truthful  in  life. 
They  were  self-sacrificing  in  spirit.  They  were  judges  in  all  but  name.  They 
wanted  the  authoritative  call  to  bring  them  into  judicial  duty.  They  were 
simply  waiting  opportunity  to  become  influential  leaders.  As  it  is,  they  are 
unutilised.  Tliere  are  crowds  of  men  in  the  world,  in  society,  and  in  the 
Church  who  are  great  in  themselves,  but  do  not  become  so  in  relation  to  society 
because  i\\Qy  are  not  awakened  by  any  call  to  great  tasks.  It  is  not  well  that  a 
few  men  should  monopolise  oflScial  positions,  thinking  that  they  are  alone  equal 
to  the  work.  Ministers  should  not  do  all  the  work  of  the  Church  ;  they  should 
call  out  latent  talent  for  it.     Society  has  many  unrecognised  judges. 

IV.  That  this  folly  is  evident  to  wise  old  men  who  see  solitary  judge- 
ships in  operation.  Jethro,  the  old  Priest  of  Median,  saw  the  meaning  and 
issue  of  the  work  of  Moses,  as  Moses  did  not.  He  saw  that  he  was  engaged 
in  a  task  for  which  he  could  not  long  be  equal.  He  spoke  faithful  words  on 
the  matter.  He  did  not  pander  to  any  love  of  supreme  power  that  there  might 
be  in  Moses.  He  did  not  fear  giving  off"ence.  He  spoke  wisely  and  kindly. 
Others  can  form  a  more  correct  estimate  of  our  work  than  we  can.  We  are 
too  near  it  to  take  the  perspective  of  it.  We  are  too  much  interested  in  it  to 
form  unprejudiced  judgments  concerning  it.  Let  us  be  open  to  the  voice  of 
wise  old  men  who  often  speak  to  young  men  as  in  the  fear  of  God.  Lessons  : — 
1.  That  positions  of  trust  should  not  be  monopolised  by  the  few.  2.  That  the  common 
crowds  of  men  have  unsuspected  abilities.  3.  That  good  men  should  not  be  pvdigal  of 
their  physical  and  mental  energy  to  the  shortening  of  their  lives. 

The  Teaching  of  the  People. 

"Hearken  now  unto  My  voice,  I  will  give  thee  counsel,  and  God  shall  be 
with  thee  :  Be  thou  for  the  people  to  God-ward,  that  thou  mayest  bring  the 
causes  unto  God :  And  thou  shalt  teach  them  ordinances  and  laws,  and  shalt 
show  them  the  way  wherein  they  must  walk,  and  the  work  that  they  must  do." 
— ExoD.  xviii.  19,  20. 

Of  some  very  great  persons  very  little  is  said  in  Scripture.  An  instance  of 
this,  in  the  case  of  Jethro,  the  father-in-law  of  Mones.  His  general  information, 
his  wisdom,  his  aptitude  for  government,  are  all  signally  indicated  in  this 
chapter.  The  meeting  is  most  interesting  (ver.  5,  6) — their  mutual  salutation, 
conversation,  &c.  He  sympathises  with  the  onerous  work  of  Mose.s — gives  him 
counsel  (ver.  13,  &c.,  ver.  18).  Then  the  text.  Equally  important  is  it  now 
lor  Chn>iian  ministers  and  pastors. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xvm. 


I.  The  beautiful  exhibition  of  the  pastor's  work.     "  Be  thou  for  the  people  to 

God-ward,"  &c.  That  is,  be  Gud's  mouth — God's  servant — mediator — really,  for 
so  Moses  was,  revealing  God's  will — bring  to  God  their  wants  and  interests. 
See  XX.  18.     Then  we  have — 

II.  The  pastors  and  churches.  Encouragement — "  God  shall  be  with  thee." 
Repeated  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  "Xo,  I  am  with  you,"  &c.  This  presence  of 
God  is,  1.  Essential — no  substitute,  &c. — essential  to  all,  and  for  all.  2.  Is 
pledged.  Promise  upon  promise.  3.  Has  never  failed.  All  God's  servants  can 
testify,  &c.  In  regard  to  Moses.  See  Deut.  xxx.  1.  4.  Belongs  to  the  entire 
Church  of  God.     He  is  in  it — its  foundation — light — glory,  &c. 

III.  The  pastor's  duty  to  the  people  (ver.  20).  Ovserve — 1.  He  is  to  teach 
them.  Being  taught  of  God — teach  them  what  God  reveals — teach  them  things 
about  religion.  Not  science  ;  but  the  fear  and  service  of  God.  2.  Teach  them 
ordinances.  The  services  of  God  had  fixed — instituted  offerings,  sacrifices,  &c. ; 
of  course  God's  ordinances,  and  His  only — all  of  them — not  to  abate,  or  add,  or 
change.  So  now  Christ,  &c.  Ordinances.  3.  Moral  precepts.  "Laws."  God- 
ward  laws  first,  man-ward  laws  next,  self-ward  laws  also.  All  the  Divine 
precepts.  Practical  religion,  as  well  as  ceremonial  and  doctrinal — all  conjointly. 
4.  The  exhibition  of  public  religion.  "  Called  the  way  " — open.  Observe  the  right 
way,  old  way,  good  way,  way  of  life  and  salvation,  way  to  Heaven.  5.  Religious 
tcork.  "The  work  that  they  must  do."  Now  religious  work.  (1.)  Is  very 
diversified.  Various  kinds — pubhc — home,  &c.  (2.)  Religious  work  is 
obligatory — must  be  done — no  evasion  permitted — no  neglect  excused.  (3.) 
Religious  work  must  be  done  by  all  God's  people.  For  their  own  sakes.  It 
is  their  health,  happiness,  &c.  For  the  sake  of  the  Church.  Every  member  of 
the  body.     Of  the  family.     For  the  world's  sake. — {Dr.  J.  Burns.) 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  13-27.     The  morning  brings  God's  laws  are  the  best  rule  to  order 

its   own   work   from    God    unto    His  judgment  between  men. 
servants,  not  every  day  the  same.  God  may  use  men  of  meaner  calling 

God's   servants   are    careful    as   to  and  endowment  to  help  in  the  govern- 

worship  Him,  so  to  do  justice  to  His  mentof  His  Church, 
people.  Good    and     righteous    work     may 

Good  rulers  sit  close  to  deal  justice  be      too     heavy    for    the     strongest 

to  their  people.  shoulders. 

Providence    sometimes    puts    hard  It  is  the  mediator's  work  to  teach 

work  upon  God's  ministers  from  morn-  the  ways  proper  to  the  Church, 
ing  to  evening.  Supreme   governors   have   need    ol 

It  is  just  to  be  wearied  in  giving  subordinate      agents     to     administei 

and     receiving  judgment   when   God  justice, 
calls.  Men    intrusted    with     government 

Observant   fathers   may  see   incon-  should    be   eminently   qualified    with 

veniences  in  acting  judgment,  which  wisdom,  knowledge,  and  courage, 
judges  do  not  perceive.  Matters  of  greatest  moment  have  a 

Nature  and  affection  may  well  move  just    way   of    appeal    from   lesser   to 

to  question  works  of  superiors  in  order  superior  judges. 
to  good  Prosperity  to  prince  and  people  may 

The   best   rulers    may    overburden  be  well  expected  by  keeping  God's  com- 

themselves.  mauds. 

The  greatest  and  best  rulers  disdain  Wise  and  sage  counsellors  after  their 

not  to  give  an  account  of  their  judg-  work  is  done  to  others,  betake  thera- 

ment  to  reasonable  inquisitors.  selves  to  their  own  charge. 

331 


CHAP.  XTTII. 


HO  Ml  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Verse  17. 

I.  Others  view  our  acts. 

II.  Others    can     often   see   faults 
where  we  cannot. 

III.  Others  reproving  us  may  lead 
to  a  better  course  of  action. 

Or, 

I.  Men  should  interest  themselves 
in  the  acts  of  their  relatives. 

II.  Men     should    be    faithful    in 
giving  reproof  and  advice. 

Or, 

I.  The  wisest  have  •some  defects  in 
their  conduct. 

II.  The  wisest  may  be  benefited  by 
the  advice  of  others. 

Verse  19  (last  clause). 

I.  Moses  was  a  Divine  manifesta- 
tion. 

II.  Moses  was  Israel's  mediator. 

III.  Moses  was  a  type  of  Christ. 
Talent  requires  to  be  evoked.     It  is 

true  indeed  that  genius  asserts  itself, 
and  clears  for  itself  space  and  promi- 
nence equal  to  its  nieasure  of  supre- 
macy ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally 
true  that  much  sound  ability  may  be- 
come dormant,  simply  because  the 
leaders  of  society  do  not  call  it  into 
responsible  exercise.  The  counsel 
which  Moses  received  from  Jethro  in- 
spired Israel  with  new  life.  From  the 
moment  that  it  was  acted  upon,  talent 
rose  to  the  occasion,  energy  was  ac- 
counted of  some  value,  and  men  who 
had  probiibly  been  sulking  in  the  back- 
ground came  to  be  recognised  and 
honoured  as  wise  statesmen  and  cordial 
allies.  Tliere  is  more  talent  in  society 
than  some  of  us  have  suspected.  It 
needs  the  sunshine  of  wise  encourage- 
ment in  order  to  develop  it.  Tliere  is 
a  lesson  in  this  suggestion  for  all  wdio 
lead  the  lives  of  men.  Specially,  per- 
haps, there  is  a  lesson  to  pastors  of 
churches.  It  is  a  poor  church  in  which 
there  is  not  more  talent  than  has  yet 
been  devel<)i)eil.  When  Saul  saw  any 
strong  man  and  any  valiant  man,  he 
took  him  to  himself.  This  is  the  law 
of  sure  progress  and  massive  consolida- 
tion in  church  life.  Let  us  iieep  our 
eyes  O!  en  for  men  of  capacity  and 
good-will,  and  the  more  we  watch  the 
332 


more  shall  our  vigilance  be  rewarded. 
We  should  try  men  by  imposing 
responsibilities  upon  them.  There  is 
range  enimgh  in  church  organisation 
for  the  trial  and  strengthening  of  every 
gift.  Better  be  a  door-keeper  in  the 
house  of  God  than  a  sluggard,  and  in- 
finitely better  sweep  the  church-floor 
than  lounge  upon  the  pew  top,  and  find 
fault  with  the  sweeping  of  other  people. 
Every  man  in  the  church  ought  to  be 
doing  something.  If  the  pattern  be 
taken  from  the  case  described  in  the 
context,  there  need  be  no  fear  of 
rivalry  or  tumult.  The  arrangement 
indicated  by  Jethro  was  based  upon 
the  severest  discipline.  The  position 
of  Moses  was  supreme  and  undisputed; 
every  great  case  was  to  be  referred  to 
his  well  tried  judgment,  and  in  all 
cases  of  contention  his  voice  was  to 
determine  the  counsels  of  the  camp. 
There  must  be  a  ruling  mind  in  the 
Church,  and  all  impertinence  and  other 
self-exaggeration  must  be  content  to 
bow  submissively  to  tlie  master  will. 
Very  possibly  there  may  be  danger  in 
sudden  development  of  mental  activity 
and  social  influence  ;  but  it  must  be 
remembered,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
there  is  infinitely  deadlier  peril  in 
allowing  spiritual  energy  and  emotion 
to  fall  into  disuse.  In  the  former  case, 
we  may  have  momentary  impertinence, 
conceit,  and  coxcombry  ;  but  in  the 
latter  we  shall  have  paralysis  and  dis- 
tortion more  revolting  than  death 
itself. — (City  Temple.) 

Now,  my  text  suggests  that  no 
man  can  do  everything.  If  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  has  on  one  shoulder  the 
spiritual  affairs  of  a  church,  and  on  the 
other  shoulder  the  financial  aff'airs  of  a 
church,  his  feet  are  on  the  margin  of 
an  open  grave,  clear  to  the  bottom  of 
Avhich  he  can  look  without  moving. 
Let  all  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  so  far 
as  possible,  gather  around  them  sym- 
pathetic men  and  women  upon  whom 
they  can  throw  much  of  the  care  and 
lespousibility  and  trouble.  "  Thou 
wilt  surely  wear  away,  both  thou,  and 
this  people  that  is  with  thee  ;  for  this 
thing  is  too  heavy  for  thee  ;  thou  art 
not  able  to  perform  it  thyself  alone." 


BOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  EXODVS. 


OHAP.  XYIII. 


Standing  before  you  this  morning, 
preaching  my  sixth  anniversary  ser- 
mon as  your  pastor — a  style  of  sermon 
in  which  the  preacher  is  generally 
expected  to  be  more  than  usual  per- 
sonal— I  have  to  tell  you  that  the 
burdens  of  life  are  getting  to  me  less 
and  less,  and  that  as  the  years  pass  on 
I  have  fewer  and  still  fewer  anxieties. 
In  beautiful  Belleville,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Passaic,  where  1  began  my  Chris- 
tian ministry,  it  seemed  as  if  all  the 
work  came  down  on  my  young 
shoulders.  Going  to  the  West,  the 
field  was  larger  and  the  care  less. 
Going  to  Philadelphia,  the  field  was 
still  larger  and  the  care  still  less. 
And  standing  to-day,  as  I  do,  among 
hundreds  of  warm  personal  friends, 
whose  hands  and  feet  and  hearts  are 


all  willing  to  help,  I  have  less  anxiety 
than  I  ever  had.  I  have  taken  the 
advice  of  Jethro  in  the  text,  and  have 
gathered  around  me  a  great  many  with 
whom  I  expect  to  divide  all  the  care 
and  the  responsibility  ;  and  though 
sometimes,  what  with  the  conduct  of 
this  Church  where  we  have  a  perpetual 
religious  awakening,  and  the  conduct 
of  a  religious  weekly  newspaper,  and 
the  conduct  of  the  lay  College,  people 
have  often  addressed  me  in  words 
similar  to  those  of  my  text,  saying, 
"  Thou  wilt  surely  wear  away  ;  this 
thing  is  too  heavy  for  thee,"  I  am  glad 
to  know  that  this  morning  I  am  in 
perfect  health,  and  ready  to  recount  to 
you  what  the  Lord  lias  been  doing  in 
all  these  days  of  our  sojourn  together, 
between  1869  and  1875. — Dr.  Talmage. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XVIII, 

BY 

EEV.  W.  ADAMSON. 


Jethro  and  Moses  t  Yers.  1-12.  Here  we 
have  1.  Family  gatlierinirs,  their  (1)  Causes, 
and  (2)  Customs.  2.  Friendly  greetings, 
their  (1)  Courtesy,  and  (2)  Communion. 
Tliese  are  capable  of  illustration  from  the 
Scripture  histories  of  Job's  family  and  the 
prodigal  son.  Christmas  festivities  suggest 
another  source  of  illustration  in  their  (a) 
Pleasant  and  (6)  Profitable  aspects.  Illustra- 
tions may  also  be  drawn  from  the  life  of 
Bishop  Crowther,  or  of  Uncle  Tom,  or  of 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  on  the  Galilean  shore 
and  in  the  upper  room,  or  of  Joseph  and  his 
brethren  ; — when  the  pent-up  thoughts 

"Of  many  years  flow'd  from  his  eager  lips, 
As  waters  from  a  secret  spring  unseal'd." 

Family  Gatherings!  Ver.  7.  In  the  year 
1690,  the  Vaudois  fugitives  from  De  Catinat 
and  Fenguieres  received  tidings,  as  they  lay 
encamped  in  Angrogna,  the  loveliest  and 
most  romantic  of  all  the  valleys  of  Piedmont, 
from  the  Duke  of  Savoy's  ambassadors  that 
peace  was  theirs  unconditionally.  Day  after 
day  the  prisons,  in  which  hundreds  of  the 
sufferers  had  for  years  scarcely  seen  the  light 
of  the  sun,  were  emptied  of  their  captives,  who 
were  restored  to  liberty.  A  detachment  waa 
deputed  to  proceed  to  the  Swiss  can  ons,  to 
bring  back  the  female  refugees  who  had  been 
left  behind.  Never  can  that  night  be  for- 
gotten in  the  annals  of  Lucerna,  when,  under 
a  bright  setting  sun,  the  returning  wanderers 
were  seen  wending  their  way  up  the  lovely 
valley.  Wives  restored  to  the  embrace  of 
their  husbands,  children  to  parents,  brothers 


to  sisters,  friends  to  friends  f  Gratitude  for 
present  mercies  softened  and  alleviated  the 
bitter  recollections  of  the  past.  Not  unlike 
were  the  circumstances  of  Jethro's  visit  to 
Israel,  with  Zipporah  and  her  children.  Such 
questionings 

"  Of  things  that  had  befallen  him  since  last 
They  met,  and  of  his  pathway  thitherwards. 
And  of  the  freed  host  he  had  led  behind  : 
Words  with  embraces  interspersed." 

Friend-Communion  I  Vers.  8-12.  In  March 
1878  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  gave  a  compli- 
mentary banquet  to  Baker  Pacha,  on  his 
return  from  the  recent  seat  of  war  in  the  East, 
at  StafiTord  House,  St.  James's.  Amongst  the 
noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  accepted  the 
Duke's  invitation  were  llusurus  Pacha  (the 
Turkish  Ambassador),  Field  Marshal  Lord 
Strathiiairn,  G.C.B. ;  Lord  Houghton,  Lord 
Eglinton,  General  Sir  Alexander  Horsford, 
G.C.B.  ;  General  Sir  Charles  Ellice,  K.C.B., 
Major-General  Sir  Henry  Green,  K.C.S.I., 
C.B.,  General  Foster,  C.B.,  General  S. 
Brownrigir,  Major-General  Hon.  James  Mac- 
donald,  Major-General  Marshall,  Colonel  Wel- 
lesley,  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  Colonel  J.  Baker, 
Mr.  W.  H.  Russell,  and  the  Marquis  ot  Staf- 
ford. After  dinner,  at  the  Duke's  invitation, 
a  number  of  guests  assembled  expressly  to 
meet  the  guest  of  the  evening,  including  the 
Duke  of  Teck,  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- Weimar, 
the  Persian  Minister,  Prince  Ibraham,  Midhat 
Pacha,  the  Marquis  of  Exeter,  the  Earl  of 
Feversham,  the  Earl  of  Denbigh,  the  Earl  of 
Orkney,   Baron  Hy.  de  Worms,    and   many 

333 


OBAP.  XVIII, 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


others.  It  is  noteworthy  that  when  Moses 
entertained  Jettiro,  everything  was  ascribed  to 
the  goodness  of  God.  It  is  interesting  to 
"tonsider  how  far  friends  in  holding  com- 
munion praise  God  for  past  mercies.  Moses 
acknowledged  the  hand  of  God  in  all  the 
events  which  had  befallen  Israel.  May  we 
not  here  contrast  this  joyful  feast  hef'ire  God, 
with  such  meetings  for  pleasure  and  social 
intercourse  whicli  take  place  in  all  ranks  of 
life,  but  in  which  too  often  the  element  of 
lasting  satisfaction  is  wanting — we  mean, 
recognition  of  the  Divine  Providence. 

"  '  Not  unto  us ! '      How  sweet  to  join  the 

strain, 

In  self-deliverance  blissful  and  complete  ; 

And  all  our  toils,  successes,  failures,  pain, 

To  lose,  0  Clirist  Jehovah,  at  Thy  feet." 

— Taylor, 

Christian  Converse !  Ver.  9.  In  a  house 
in  the  city  of  Zurich  which  crowns  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  "lake  of  blue 
waters"  sat  a  family  group.  The  house-room 
was  long  and  low,  occupying  the  entire  centre 
of  the  house — one  large  window  looked  into  the 
street,  two  others  into  the  garden  at  the  back. 
Through  these  the  last  crimson  rays  of  the 
sun  were  streaming  ui>on  a  singular  group. 
Some  of  the  members  of  this  family  had  been 
absent  in  God's  service  for  several  years  ;  and 
this  was  the  family's  earth-reunion.  Sweet 
fellowship  was  theirs,  but  not  without  its 
tinge  of  shadow.  They  communed  of  the  past 
— of  the  wonderful  works  of  God  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland,  and  the  Low  Countries,  and 
of  the  gracious  deliverances  vouchsafed  to 
themselves  personally.  Then  came  the  song 
of  praise  to  God  for  the  mercies  of  the  past ; 
blended  with  prayer  to  Him  for  grace  in  the 
future  to  press  onwards  towards  the  mark. 
Such  Christian  converse  was  tliat  of  Jethro 
and  Moses,  in  which  hearts  thrilled  with  holy 
joy,  and  spirits  gushed  over  with  grateful 
song. 

"  Children  and  kith  and  friends ;    all  in  a 
breath 
Ask  of  his  welfare,  and  with  joyous  tongues 
Pour  all  their  love  into  his  tiiirsty  ear." 

Mutual  Sympathy!  Ver.  9.  A  gentleman 
travelling  on  one  of  the  river  steamers  to 
Philadelphia  mentions  his  sensations  over  the 
rescue  of  a  fellow-passeu'jer  from  a  watery 
grave.  It  was  a  cold  winter  night,  and  every 
one  was  impatient  to  be  ashore.  Before  the 
boat  reached  the  wharfs  a  man  slipped  into 
the  water.  The  icicles  had  frozen  on  the 
wharf  and  they  had  frozen  on  the  steamer. 
The  ropes  were  lowered,  and  all  stood  with 
anxiety  lest  the  man  should  not  be  able  to 
grasp  tlie  rope  owing  to  the  cold.  When  he 
grasped  it  and  was  pulled  on  to  the  deck, 
and  we  saw  he  was  safe,  although  we  had 
never  seen  him  before,  how  we  congratulated 
him.  A  life  saved  !  With  what  fervency', 
then,  must  Jethro  have  congratulated  Moses 
»nd  his  liberated  host?  The  greater  the  peril, 
334 


the  fuller  the  tide  of  exultancy!  The  more 
hopeless  the  prospect  of  success  and  reunion, 
the  deeper  the  fount  of  gladness! 

"  Their  streaming  tears  together  flow 
For  human  guilt  and  mortal  woe  ; 
Their  joyful  songs  together  rise 
Like  mingling  flames  in  sacrifice." 

— Barbauld. 

Life  Lessons  I  Ver.  11.  In  Singapore,  that 
wonderful  emporium  of  the  commerce  of  the 
East,  establislied  by  the  sagacidus  foresight  of 
Sir  Stamford  Raffles,  stood  a  house  surrounded 
by  an  open  verandah  fenced  with  large  tree 
ferns.  At  the  lime,  a  group  of  friends,  the 
long-sundered  members  of  an  English  family, 
sat  together  narrating  their  adventures. 
Separated  by  shipwreck  from  one  another, 
sundered  by  the  terrible  typhoon  of  Indian 
seas,  they  had  once  again  been  united,  after 
several  of  them  had  succeeded  in  escaping  from 
tiie  clutches  of  Malay  pirates.  All  felt,  as  the 
hairbreadth  escapes  were  related  and  the  re- 
markable deliverances  recounted,  that  truly 
the  special  Providence  of  God  had  guided  and 
interposed.  It  was  the  first  night  of  their 
reunion,  and  they  sat  holding  fellowship  one 
with  the  other.  "Should  we  not  return 
thanks  to  Him  who  has  preserved  us?"  Then 
together  they  knelt  in  thankful  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  Divine  mercy.  On  rising,  one  of 
the  family  said  that  he  had  that  night  learned 
more  about  God — that  He  was  indeed  a  per- 
sonal  God  caring  for  each,  while  He  cared  for 
all.  Jethro  here  acknowledges  that  the  re- 
cital by  Moses  of  Divine  deliverance  and  direc- 
tion had  given  him  a  new  view  of  Jehovah, 
"Now  I  know  that  the  Lord  Jehovah  is 
greater  than  all  gods." 

"  0  Thou  Eternal  One,  whose  presence  bright 
All  space  doth  occupv,  all  motion  guide; 
Unchanged  through  time's   all-devastating 

flight  ; 
Thou  only  God  I     There  is  no  God  beside." 
— Derzhavin. 

Family  Eeligion !  Ver.  12.  Religion  not 
only  hallows  and  brightens  the  joys  of  life  ;  it 
is  also  the  true  basis  and  crown  of  them  all. 
Hence  the  gladness  of  Jethro.  His  gladness 
was  not  because  of  any  ailvantage  he  himself 
had  gained,  "  but  because  of  all  the  goodness 
which  the  Lord  had  done  to  Israel."  Here  we 
see  the  sympathy  which  flows  from  a  heart 
ruled  by  the  love  of  God.  In  this  spirit  Jethro 
offt-red  sacrifices  to  God  in  the  sight  of  the 
vast  multitude.  Thus  the  host  of  Israel  shared 
in  the  family-joys  of  Moses.  Even  so  in  Para- 
dise,— all  will  share  the  feast  of  one  another't 
gladness.     Not  that  love  can  be 

"  Without  the  chosen  specialties  of  love. 
The  nearest  to  the  nearest  most  akin. 
But  none   are    strangers   there, — none   so- 
journers; 
And  as  the  cloudless  ages  glide  away, 
New  fountains  of  delight  to  them — to  all. 
Will  open  in  the  fellowship  of  hearts." 
— Bickerateth, 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xvm. 


Moses  Burdened !  Vers.  13-26.  We  may 
■ylance  al — 1.  FatiuuiiiEr  government  —  its 
(1)  Care,  and  ("2)  Constancy,  2.  Faithful 
(guests — the  (1)  Counsel,  and  (2)  Compliance. 
It  was  no  easy  thing  to  govern  Israel,  as  may 
be  enforced  by  illustrations  from  "Robinson 
Crusoe,"  or  from  the  Missionary  at  Metlah- 
katlali.  The  unselfisimess  of  Moses  to  benefit 
Israel  may  be  paralleled  with  that  of  Jesus, 
in  often  denying  Himself  food  and  sleep  for 
the  sake  of  His  followers,  &c.  The  "May- 
flower" Pilgrim  Fathers  from  England  furnish 
an  excellent  parallel  to  Jethro's  farewell  in 
verse  27.  The  difficulties  of  government  may 
be  referred  to  by  a  poetic  quotation — 

*'  Each  petty  hand 
Can  steer  a  ship  becalm'd  ;  but  he  that  will 
Govern    and  carry  her   to   her  ends  must 

know 
His  tides,   his  currents,  how  to   shift   his 

sails  ; 
What  she  will  bear  in  foul,  and  what  in  fair 

weather."  — Johnson. 

Faithful  Friend!  Ver.  17.  In  one  of  the 
lovely  homes  of  the  Susquehannah  sat  an 
anxious  careworn  mother,  whilst  grown-up 
daughters  lounged  or  pored  over  books,  &c. 
Day  after  day  did  she  undertake  all  the  re- 
eponsibilities  of  a  large  American  farmhouse- 
hold.  Whilst  she  toiled,  her  children  idled. 
They  had  the  ability,  but  not  the  opportunity. 
The  mother  was  too  anxious  to  do  everything 
herself,  fearing  its  failure  otherwise.  An  old 
friend  absent  for  years  in  England  had  just 
returned.  During  his  long  absence,  the  little 
children  have  grown  up  to  manhood  and 
womanhood,  only  to  increase  the  fatigues  of 
their  over-anxious  mother.  He  has  noted  with 
pained  heart  this  weary  and  exhausted  look  ; 
and  knowing  where  the  shoe  pinches,  he  has 
been  counselling  the  mother  to  adopt  another 
plan.  He  points  to  her  overtaxed  powers  of 
body  and  mind, — explains  how  this  may  be 
avoided  without  injury  to  family  interests,  by 
allowing  her  daughters  to  do  all  but  the  most 
important  household  matters,  and  assures  her 
that  a  trial  of  his  method  will  satisfy  her  of  its 
wisdom.  She  can  still  retain  the  general 
superintendence,  Jethro  observes  the  over- 
strain of  mind  and  body  which  Moses  allows 
from  day  to  day,  and  like  a  faithful  friend 
interposes. 

"  The    true  friend   is   not  he  who   holds  up 
flatten 's  mirror, 
In  which  the  face  to  thy  conceit  most  pleas- 
ing hovers ; 
But  he  who  kindly  shows  thee  all  thy  faults. 
And  helps  thee  mend  them  'ere  an  enemy 
discover,"  — Oriental. 

Divine  Consultation !  Ver.  23.  Jethro  ad- 
vises Moses  to  take  his  advice  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  ask  God  whether  it  was  good  or 


bad.  "  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him,  and 
He  will  direct  thy  paths."  So  felt  Eliezer, 
Samuel,  David.  Balaam  consulted  God ;  but 
with  no  intention  of  compliance.  Not  so 
Moses.  On  receiving  an  aflirmation  from 
God,  Moses  at  once  carries  the  suggestion  into 
practice.  A  parallel  more  or  less  exists  in  the 
case  of  the  apostles  and  their  Divine  consulta- 
tion as  to  tlie  wisdom  of  selecting  Stephen 
and  the  other  deacons  in  the  Pentecostal 
Church.  Professor  Caird  sees  here  the  ideal 
of  the  Presbyterian  government,  by  which  the 
pastors  are  rebeved  from  many  needless  self- 
imposed  cares  and  burdens  in  tiie  appointment 
of  elders  and  deacons.  By  the  co-operation  of 
Christian  laymen  in  the  practical  work  of  the 
Church,  the  clergy  are  enabled  to  give  more 
time  and  thought  to  the  work  of  public  in- 
struction. In  all  plans  suggested  to  ourselves, 
or  suggested  to  ua  by  others,  let  us  consult 
God. 

"  Implore  His  aid,  in  His  decisions  rest 
Secure ;  whate'er  He  gives.    He  gives  the 
best. ' '  — Samuel  Johnson. 

Farewell  Considerations !  Ver.  27.  During 
tiie  stormy  da3s,  when  Cavaliers  and  Round- 
heads swept  England  with  the  incessant  tide 
of  war,  many  a  "  Farewell "  had  to  be  uttered 
by  English  families.  How  solemn  was  the 
"adieu"  which  Paul  paid  to  the  elders  at 
Miletus,  where  we  are  told  that  he  knelt 
down  and  prayed  with  them  all — that  they  all 
wept  sore  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck,  and  that 
they  kissed  him,  sorrowing  most  of  all  at  the 
thought  of  no  more  beholding  his  face  on 
eartli !  (Acts  xx.)  And  are  we  not  reminded 
of  that  affecting  scene  between  David  and 
Jonathan,  whose  tender,  conscious  farewell 
David  never  afterwards  forgot?  (1  Sam.  xxiii. 
14.)  Yet  another  "Farewell  scene"  suggests 
itself — the  most  sweet  and  solemn  of  all 
adieus,  viz. ,  tiiat  of  the  Lord  Himself  :  "  I  go 
away,"  'i'hen  followed  that  interval  of  most 
solemn  and  delightful  converse,  in  which  the 
disciples,  bowed  down  with  sorrow  at  what 
they  had  heard,  were  assured  that  He  would 
not  leave  them  comfortless,  and  that  He 
would  come  again  to  them  (John  xvii,).  No 
such  consolation  could  Jethro  give.  Pro- 
bably he  realised  that,  like  Simeon,  he  would 
soon  depart,  having  seen  the  "salvation  of 
Jehovah."  Still,  Jethro  and  Moses  were 
Christians,  and  had  both  respect  unto  the 
recompense  of  reward.  Both  knew  that  there 
was  a  land  in  which  the  everlasting  epitaph 
"  Farewell  "  had  no  place. 

•'  Wherein  may  be  nor  pageantry,  nor  pride. 
Nor  altars,  save  the  pure  one  of  the  heart. 
Nor  tombs,  except  for  sorrow ;  and  no  tears! 
The  fadeless  world  of  God,  where  human  lips 
Need  say  *  Farewell  I '  no  more. " — Sladden. 


335 


HOM J LETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Tritical  Notes. — 1.  The  Wilderness  of  Sinai.]— Sinai  is  the  "proper  name  of  the 
granite  mountain  in  the  A  nib  an  leninsiila,  rendered  famous  by  the  Mosaic  legislation,  ft 
consists  of  tliree  lars^e  summits,  of  which  the  north-eastern  is  called  Horeb,  the  south-western 
that  of  St,  Catlierine.  '  Tlie  Wihlenicss  of  Sinai '  is  the  wilderness  ahout  Sinai,  and  particularly 
the  plain  of  Seliaveli,  south  of  Gibel  Mtlsa."  (Fiirst.) — 3.  Thus  shalt  thou  say.] — There  is  some- 
thing peculiarly  i)eauliful  in  this  message  to  Israel,  (a)  \ii  poetical,  form  strikes  tlie  ear  as  well 
as  the  eye  if  printed,  as  it  ought  to  l)e,  in  parallel  lines,  (h)  The  graciousness  of  its  tenor  goes 
straight  to  ihe  heart :  "  Ye  have  seen  what  I  did  .  .  .  now  therefore,"  Benefits  already  bestowed 
are  urged  as  a  motive  to  consecration,  (c)  Ha  position  at  the  commencement  of  the  Divine  an- 
nouncement is  an  introductory  proposal  to  Israel,  eliciting  Israel's  first  response — being,  as  we 
may  term  it,  "  the  firs:  lime  of  asking,"  prior  to  the  ratification  of  the  covenant  (ch.  xxiv.  3,  7). 
(rf)  Its  lofty  aim,  namelv,  that  of  securing  a  lioly,  obedient  "  people,"  and  consecrating  them  as 
"a  kinirdom  of  priests"  on  behalf  of  all  the  earth,  for  which  Jehovah  thus  shows  His  care.  Not". 
especially,  how  much  light  is  here  thrown  upon  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  berilh  in  iiM 
loftiest  application,  as  truly  signifying  cuV£NANT  ;  and,  further,  the  grace  of  Jehovali,  in  that, 
even  here,  wiiere  He  appears  in  terror  as  Lawgiver,  He  makes  way  for  His  sovereignty  by  the 
most  exquisite  tenderness  and  love.  5.  Peculiar  treasure.  "  Heb,,  ff£fAu/ZaA  =  property, 
possessim,  i.e.,  that  which  one  embraces,  encloses.  (Fiirst.)  The  Sept.  has  pei-iousios  = 
"abundant,  opulent;  peculiar,  eminent,"  The  language  is  that  of  one  who  has  many 
valuables,  but  brings  out  one  as  his  special  delight.  For  all  the  earth  is  mine.] — Tiie  point 
of  this  clause  is  apt  to  be  lost,  until,  with  the  proper  emphasis  laid  on  the  pronoun  "mine," 
the  contrast  is  carried  forward  by  the  adversative  conjunction  "but,"  which  in  this  case  il 
required. 

"  For  MINE  is  all  the  earth  ; 
But  YE  shall  become  mine  as  a  kingdom  of  priests,"  &;c 

The  specialty  of  pure  Hebraism  and  the  narrowness  of  Pharisaic  Judaism  are  utterly  opposed 
to  each  other.  Jehovah's  care  for  all  nations  is  ever  and  anon  gleaming  out  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,     Even  here  in  Israel's  betrothal  it  is  not  forgotten. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAQRAPH.— Verse*  1-6. 

God's  Promise  to  the  Jews. 

I.  The  recital  of  Hl«  works.  The  works  recited  are  these : — What  He  did 
to  the  Egyptians  for  the  sake  of  Israel,  His  people  ;  how  He  bore  His  Church 
on  eagles'  wings  ;  how  He  bought  His  people  to  Himself.  Every  Christian 
can  understand  this  :  I  defy  any  one  else  to  do  it.  There  is  a  spiritual  import 
in  all  these  expressions  which  none  but  the  converted  can  understand.  The 
child  of  God  can  enter  into  all  this.  God  hath  borne  him  on  eagles'  wings, 
delivering  him  from  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage.  "Who  hath  delivered  us 
from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  liath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  His 
dear  Son ;  in  whom  we  have  redemption  through  His  blood,  even  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins." 

II.  The  proposals  of  His  love.  The  two  things  that  God  Almighty,  by  His 
servant  Moses,  urges  upon  the  people,  are  these.  First,  "  If  ye  will  obey  My 
voice  indeed : "  do  not  mistake  the  matter,  every  word  has  its  meaning : — 
"If  ye  will  obey  My  voice  indeed."  They  were  to  follow  God  at  all  risks, 
heedless  of  consequences ;  determined  to  obey  Him,  though  all  the  world 
should  frown,  or  hiss,  or  should  persecute.  Israel  was  also  to  keep  the  covenant 
of  God.  "  If  ye  will  keep  My  covenant."  It  may  be  said  that  it  was  a  national 
covenant;  and  I  admit  that  to  a  great  extent  it  was  a  national  covenant.  All 
must  admit  that  who  examine  the  matter ;  but  I  must  affirm  that  it  was  some- 
thing more  than  this.  Yes,  it  had  respect  to  a  Saviour,  to  an  approach  to  God 
which  now,  through  infinite  mercy,  is  offered  to  you  and  to  me.  There  are  two 
grand  characteristics  of  a  Christian  wherever  you  meet  with  him,  that  by  God's 

336 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODVS.  ohap.  XIX. 


help  he  is  willing  to  follow  God's  voice  at  all  risks ;  and  that  he  shall  lay  hold 
on  the  cross  as  the  only  means  whereby  sinful  man  can  approach  God. 

III.  The  promises  of  His  grace.  Now  this  promise  contained  in  the  text  la 
the  most  remarkable  in  the  Bible,  "Then  ye- shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto 
Me  above  all  people  ;  for  all  the  earth  is  Mine."  Oh,  what  a  bold  word  to 
utter  !  If  the  word  had  come  out  of  other  lips,  it  had  been  the  greatest 
blasphemy  ever  uttered  ;  but  coming  from  God,  it  is  the  language  of  truth 
and  soberness.  "  All  the  earth  is  Mine."  0  Christian  !  do  not  be  ai'raid  ! 
The  very  world  in  which  you  live,  with  all  its  treasure,  with  all  upon  its  surface, 
with  all  beneath  its  surface,  belongs  to  God.  Now,  though  all  the  earth  be 
His,  He  says,  "  Ye  shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  Me  above  all  people."  The 
Israelites  were  never  great  as  a  commercial  people;  they  were  never  great  as  a 
maritime  people  ;  they  were  never  great  in  war,  except,  indeed,  m  the  early 
stage  of  their  history,  when,  in  fact,  God  fought  for  the  people,  and  they  had 
little  to  do  but  to  take  possession  of  what  God  had  given  them.  But  they 
were  a  pecuUar  treasure  to  God ;  and  still  that  people  have  mercies  in  store  for 
them.  The  Bible  teems  with  promises  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews.  The 
poorest  saint  is  a  treasure  to  the  Lord.  We  do  not  know  how  to  set  a  value 
upon  moral  excellence,  upon  spiritual  greatness,  but  God  does :  "  They  shall 
be  Mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  My  jewels."  L 
What  actually  became  the  state  of  the  Jews  ?  How  far  was  this  promise  fulfilled  ? 
The  Jews  were,  to  a  certain  degree,  for  a  long  time,  a  kingdom  of  priests,  a 
holy  nation.  While  all  other  nations,  the  whole  world  around  them,  was  in  a 
state  of  pagan  darkness,  the  lamp  of  life  and  truth  shone  forth  in  Israel.  A 
succession  of  patriarchs,  and  then  of  prophets,  and  then  of  priests,  was  vouch- 
safed ;  and  God's  truth  was  perpetuated  among  the  people,  and  they  were,  to  a 
great  degree,  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  a  holy  people.  2.  What  was  it  that 
caused  it  to  come  to  pass  that  this  promise  was  never  completely  fulfilled,  that  it  never 
has  yet  been  comjjletely  fulfilled  to  the  Jews  ?  Because  the  people  left  otf  to  hear 
God's  voice,  and  left  off  to  keep  God's  covenant.  They  went  after  dumb  idols. 
They  left  the  God  of  all  their  mercies.  Hence  the  promise  has  never  been  fully 
realised.  3.  Hoiv  far  this  promise,  together  with  these  proposals,  may  be  considered 
as  fairly  bearing  upon  the  state  and  up)on  the  future  prospects  of  the  Christian  Church. 
With  all  our  improvements  in  science,  we  are  a  degenerate  people  as  to  the 
service  of  God.  We  must  be  more  regular  in  the  worship  of  God,  in  private 
devotion,  in  family  prayer.  Let  us  make  the  most  of  our  exalted  privileges. — 
Rev.  T.  Mortimer  in  The  Pulpit. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  1-6.     Months  and  days  from  It   is   incumbent   on   the   mediator 

Egyptian   bondage   are  fit   to   be  re-  to   declare   fully  God's   mind  to  His 

curded.  people. 

Days  are  set  by  God  for  the  progress  A  due  recognition  of  God's  gracious 

and  rest  of  the  Church.  acts  for  souls  against  enennes  is  a  good 

From    Rephidim   to  Sinai,  or  from  preparation  to  receive  His  law. 

trials  to  rest,  God  removes  His  Church.  God's  securing  providence  as  well  as 

The   camp   of  the  Church  and  the  selecting  a  people  to  Himself  prepares 

Word  of  God  are  sweetly  joined  to-  them  to  hear  His  covenant, 

gather.  God's   covenanted    people   are   His 

In  covenant  making  with  God  there  peculiar  treasure  in  the  world. 

is  need  of  a  mediator.  Royalty,  near  communion  with  God, 

God's     call    alone     can    qualify   or  and   sanctity,   are    the    privileges    of 

authorise  a  mediator  between  Him  and  God's  peculiar  ones, 

sinners.  The   needs   of  duty   and   privilege 

D  337 


CHAP.  XIZ. 


'EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


must  be  spoken  and  made  known  to 
the  Cliurch. 

We  would  remark  that  as  soon  as 
God  had  erected  the  framework  of 
this  body  politic,  He  gave  His  sub- 
jects laws — His  own  laws.  He  did  not 
allow  any  man  to  lay  down  a  rule  for 
His  own  conduct  or  for  His  own  wor- 
ship. He  did  not  allow  these  people 
to  think  they  could  be  independent  of 
Him,  but  He  brought  them  to  this 
wilderness  where  they  had  evidence  in 
abundance  tliat  their  God  was  the  God 
of  Providence  and  the  God  of  power  ; 
and  now  He  was  about  to  teach  them 
anotlier  lesson,  that  He  was  the  God 
to  whom  they  were  amenable.  "  I 
said  it  was  interesting  to  mark  the 
order  in  which  these  events  occurred. 
It  is  false  doctrine,  though  almost  uni- 
versally received,  that  it  is  God's 
method  to  bring  the  sinner  under 
subjection  by  moulding  his  heart  into 
obedience  by  some  repenting  process 
as  it  were,  and  afterwards,  when  the 
man  becomes  worthy,  then  to  bestow 
upon  him  His  choicest  gifts.  There 
never  was  more  unsound  teaching, 
brethren.  God  takes  the  sinner  just 
as  he  is ;  and  according  to  the  riches 
and  sovereignty  of  His  own  grace, 
makes  him  a  recipient  of  mercy ;  and 
after  He  has  brought  him  into  His 
fold — atter  He  has  taken  him  under 
the  shelter  of  His  own  wing.  He 
writes  His  law  upon  the  fleshly  tables 
of  that  sinner's  heait." — W.  H.  Krause, 
M.A. 


"  You  will  observe,  in  the  first  place, 
that  every  man  is  thus  taught  his  ac- 
countabihty  to  God.  Do  what  you 
will,  you  cannot  escape  that  account- 
ability. It  seemed  as  if  God  brought 
the  people  of  Israel  into  the  solitude 
of  that  wilderness  that  each  man 
might,  in  the  nakedness  of  his  own 
soul,  stand  before  God  and  hear  His 
law.  It  has  been  said  with  much 
solemnity  by  a  good  man,  that  in  the 
present  time  men  hide  themselves  in 
the  crowd,  but  in  the  day  of  judgment 
every  man  must  stand  alone,  as  if  he 
saw  or  knew  no  one  and  nothing  but 
himself  and  his  own  transgressions. 


Verse   5. 

Mine." 


"For   all   the   earth   is 


I.  God's  assertion  of  universal 
possession  in  the  earth.  1.  Nations. 
2.  Lands,  3.  The  animal  and  vege- 
table kingdoms. 

II.  God's  assertion  excludes  every 
other  being  from  universal  possession. 

1.  It  is  not  man's  earth.  2.  It  is  not 
the  devil's.  3.  It  does  not  belong  to 
any  created  intelligence. 

III.  God's  assertion  should  awaken 
confidence  in  His  saints  and  terror 
in  sinners.  1.  All  forces  are  under 
His  control.  2.  Everything  that  is  not 
of  Him  must  fail  3.  His  possession 
of  the  earth  will  be  fully  manifest  in 
the  end. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  7-24. 

The  subject  of  this  paragraph  is  God's  revelation  of  Himself, — the  call  to 
receive  it,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  made. 

I.  When  God  reveals  Himself  man  is  summoned  to  attend.  Tliis  is  uni- 
formly God's  method.  First  the  call,  then  the  revelation.  "  Hear,  0  Israel," 
then,  "  the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  Lord."  "  This  is  My  beloved  Son,  hear  ye 
Him,"  then  the  New  Testament  dispensation.  This  was  "  one  of  the  sundry 
times  and  divers  manners  "  in  which  "  God  spake  to  the  fathers  by  the  prophets." 
Moses  was  His  minister  here.  "  In  these  last  days,"  He  "  hath  spoken  unto  us  by 
His  Son."  The  aim  of  Moses  is  to  call  Israel's  attention  to  God.  So  Christ,  in 
answer  to  the  prayer,  "  Show  us  the  Father,"  says,  "  I  am  the  way,"  &c.  Moses 
was  a  type  of  the  mhiistry  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  an  example  to  Christian 
ministers  in  the  manner  in  which  he  summoned  men  to  God.  He  spoke — 
1.  Authoritatively.  "Moses  came  and  called  for  the  elders  of  the  people."  He 
spoke  for  God.  He  knew  that  he  spoke  for  God.  His  message  was  no  trivial 
338 


BOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xix. 

speculation  of  his  own  about  which  there  might  be  two  opinions.  God's  truth, 
his  own  conviction  of  it,  and  its  great  importance,  invested  him  witli  authority. 
2.  Clearly.  He  " laid  it  before  tlieir  faces."  In  order  for  a  declaiation  to  be 
clear,  the  speaker  must  see  it  clearly  himself,  or  he  will  never  make  it  plain  to 
his  hearers.  He  who  has  never  seen  Christ  will  never  be  able  to  proclaim  Him 
to  others.  In  order  to  see  a  thing  clearly  one  must  contemplate  it  for  a  suffi- 
cient length  of  time,  till  all  its  points  and  bearings  are  fully  understood.  Then, 
in  order  to  convey  it  clearly  to  others,  an  intellect  capable  of  more  or  less  con- 
centrated thought  and  power  of  distinct  articulation  are  indispensable.  All 
these  qualifications  Moses  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree.  3.  Completely.  "All 
these  words."  This  needed  courage ;  a  weak  man  would  have  suppressed  or 
toned  down  what  was  likely  to  be  unpalatable.  Memory,  unselfishness, 
fidelity,  a  habit  of  accurate  statement,  and  a  sense  of  the  vast  importance  of  his 
message.  Peter,  "Ail  the  words  of  this  life."  Paul,  "1  have  not  shunned  to 
declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God."  4.  Successfully.  (1.)  It  was  successful 
in  producing  the  desired  effect  upon  the  people  (ver.  8).  This  is  the  true  test 
and  seal  of  a  faithful  ministry.  If  men  will  deliver  "  all  the  words  of  the  Lord" 
without  adulteration  in  all  their  Divine  power,  they  will  do  their  appointed 
work.  The  result  may  not  be  seen,  but  that  is  God's  matter  (Eccles.  xL  1  ; 
Is.  Iv.  10,  11).  (2.)  It  was  successful  in  securing  the  people's  confidence;  "that 
the  people  may .  .  .  believe  Thee  for  ever."  Another  test  and  seal  of  a  faithful 
ministry.  Men  will  honour  those  who  honour  the  truth.  Men  will  trust  those 
who  are  true  to  their  own  convictions.  All  workers  for  God  should  aim  at  these 
elements  of  success.  "  Seals  for  their  ministry  and  souls  for  their  hire  "  and  the 
confidence  of  their  fellow-men.  5.  Moses  spoke  for  the  people  to  God.  "  Moses 
told  the  words  of  the  people  back  to  God."  So  does  Christ  combine  our  poor 
prayers  with  the  mighty  eloquence  of  His  intercession. 

II.  When  God  reveals  Himself  man  must  be  prepared  for  the  revelation 

(verses  10-15).  This  is  natural.  Men  prepare  themselves  for  a  visit  from  their 
fellow-man.  Much  more  so  should  man  be  prepared  for  the  revelation  of  God. 
It  were  an  insult  to  receive  any  superior  otherwise ;  much  more  so  when  that 
superior  is  God  (Eccles.  v.  I).  In  order  to  be  prepared  man  must — 1.  Attend  to 
the  herald  who  jyroclaims  God's  coming.  It  was  Moses  in  this  instance.  God  an- 
nounces Himself  through  many  agencies.  His  Son,  His  Spirit,  His  Providence, 
His  Word,  the  means  of  grace,  the  Christian  ministry,  &c.,  are  ever  telling  man 
to  "  prepare  to  meet  "  his  "  God."  Hence  the  importance  of  treating  them  with 
due  respect.  Learning  and  dignity  sink  into  insignificance  before  the  humblest 
of  God's  messengers  (Heb.  xii.  25).  2.  Man  must  he  prepared  by  personal  sancti- 
fication.  "  Sanctify  them."  "  And  Moses  .  .  .  sanctified  them."  Sanctification 
in  its  Biblical  sense  means — (1.)  Separation  frpm  sin;  for  only  "the  piire  in 
heart  shall  see  God."  (2.)  Separation  to  God,  or  else  God  cannot  be  seen. 
These  two  ideas  must  never  be  disassociated.  There  can  be  no  real  separation 
from  sin  which  is  not  at  the  same  time  separation  to  God.  Some  men  deny 
this,  and  call  the  outcome  of  their  discipline  virtue  and  morality.  But  these 
are  only  artificial  flowers,  fading  and  perishable,  without  life,  having  no  root  in 
the  ground  of  true  virtue,  and  no  spring  in  the  source  of  true  morality.  On  the 
other  hand,  no  amount  of  asceticism,  praying,  psalm  singing,  or  ecstasy  will  im- 
■  part  sanctity  to  a  life  which  harbours  or  practises  any  form  of  sin.  "  Wherefore 
come  out  from  among  them,"  (fcc.  (2  Cor.  vi.  17).  3.  Alan  must  be  prepared  by  a 
ready  acquiescence  in  all  that  God  commands.  Some  of  the  commands  here  indi- 
cated may  seem  trivial ;  but  they  are  not  really  so.  They  involve  great  prin- 
ciples, and  that  God  commands  them  invests  them  with  importance.  One  of 
the  first  was  personal  cleanliness.  Discomfort,  disease,  death,  are  God's  retribu- 
tion on  those  who  deem  this  trivial.     Again,  they  were  not  to  presume  to  over- 

339 


CHAP.  tiX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


3tep  a  prescribed  bouiidaiy.  Those  who  would  enjoy  God's  revelation  of  Him- 
self must  remain  humbly  and  patiently  in  the  spliere  which  God  sees  fit  to 
appoint.  4.  Man  must  he  'prepared  at  the  appointed  time.  "  Be  ready  against  the 
third  day."  (1.)  God  has  now  appointed  times  in  which  He  promises  to  reveal 
Himself  to  men.  The  Lord's  day.  All  times  of  duty  and  religious  privilege. 
Let  no  man  be  unprepared,  or  plead  excuses,  or  make  other  engagements. 
"Be  not  deceived,  God  is  not  mocked."  (2.)  God  has  now  appointed  times 
which  He  has  not  chosen  to  reveal.  Death,  judgment.  We  "  know  not  the 
day  nor  the  hour  when  the  Son  of  Man  cometh."  Hence  the  wisdom  of  imme- 
diate and  constant  piei»aration.  "  Watch  and  pray."  Ten  virgins.  "Blessed 
is  the  man  who,  when  his  Lord  cometh,"  »kc. 

III.  When  God  reveals  Himself  it  is  in  a  manner  suited  to  the  occasion.     It 

was  necessary  tliat  He  should  speak  to  men  wiio  for  years  had  been  surrounded 
by  idolatrous  associations,  and  who  had  become  debased  by  years  of  servitude,  in 
a  most  solemn,  startling,  and  impressive  form.  God  has  other  methods  than  those 
employed  here.  Abialiam,  Elijah.  Bethlehem,  Pentecost,  Patmos,  &c.  So  in 
eacii  individual  case.  1.  God  here  revealed  Himself  in  a  cloud,  luminous,  hut  still  a 
cloud.  So  He  does  now  in  many  instances.  Doubt,  adversity,  depression.  But 
every  cloud  is  luminous  that  has  God  in  it.  Christians,  therefore,  should  not 
"  fear  to  enter  into  the  cloud."  2.  God  revealed  Himself  within  a  Divine  enclosure 
(vers.  12,  13).  So  He  does  always.  God  ever  says,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  go  and 
no  further  (Job  xxxviii.  11).  Hence  the  sinfulness  of  undue  speculations  about 
the  Divine  exi.stence — of  spiritualistic  prying  into  the  mysteries  of  the  unseen 
world  (Deut.  xxix.  29).  God  has  made  all  things  plain  that  are  necessary  to 
Ufe  and  godliness.  Let  us  be  satisfied  with  that.  3.  God  revealed  Himself  with 
terrible  manifestations  of  His  power.  It  was  needful  under  the  circumstances.  It 
is  often  needful  now.  It  is  perilous  for  man  to  prescribe  to  God.  He  could  be  as 
tender  in  His  dealings  with  His  people  then  as  He  usually  is  now  (Deut.  i.  30  33; 
Ps.  ciii. ;  Isa.  liv.).  And  God  never,  under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation, 
revealed  Himself  more  terribly  than  He  has  through  loving  lips  in  Matt,  xxiv., 
XXV.  ;  2  Tliess.,  Heb.  xii.  28,  29.  Jude  and  Revelation,  and  in  some  of  the 
events  of  modern  history.  4.  God  revealed  Himself  after  He  had  minutely  ascer- 
tained that  all  preparations  were  compute  (vers.  21-25).  This  reveals  to  us  God's 
careful  attention  to  detail,  and  atfbrds  us  many  thoughts  for  edification  and 
comfort.  He  studies  the  safety  of  His  people.  It  is  for  their  temporal  and 
eteinal  safety  that  there  is  so  much  minute  detail  in  the  dispensation  of — 
(1.)  Creation  (Is.  xl.  12-31).  (2.)  Providence  (Matt.  vi.  25-30).  (3.)  Grace. 
Promise  in  the  garden,  types,  prophecies,  incarnation,  crucifixion,  Pentecost, 
means  of  grace,  ministry,  &c.  Learn  then  :  1.  To  listen  when  God  speaks.  Faith 
has  a  faculty  not  only  of  sight  but  of  hearing.  2.  PFken  God  calls  obty  that  call, 
and  be  prepared  for  the  public  revelation  which  that  call  precedes.  "God  now  com- 
mandeth  every  man  to  repent"  (_  Cor.  vii.  1).  3.  Receive  God's  revelation  oj 
Himself  in  His  own  way. — /.  fV^.  Burn. 

A  Commendable  Engagement,  Kashly  Made,  and  Repeatedly 
Broken. — Verse  8. 

The  covenant  between  God  and  Israel  was,  in  general,  made  at  this  time.  Its 
particulars  were  entered  into  subsequently  (Ex,  xxx.  27,  28).  A  clear  and  correct 
idea  of  how  the  term  covenant  is  here  used  is  im})oi  tant.  When  applied  to 
relations  subsisting  between  God  and  man.  the  word  is  evidently  used  by  way 
of  accommodation  ;  because  man  is  in  no  respect  in  the  position  of  an  indepen- 
dent covenanting  party  in  relation  to  God.  He  cannot  say  upon  what  terras 
he  will  render  obedience,  &c.  Compliance  with  the  Divine  requirements  is  a 
most  binding  obligation,  irom  which  there  is  no  possibility  of  escape  for  man. 
340 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xix. 


"Generally,  however,  the  form  of  a  covenant  is  maintained  by  the  benefits 
which  God  engages  to  bestow  being  made  by  Him  dependent  upon  the  fulfil- 
ment of  certain  conditions  wliich  He  imposes  on  man."  Two  points  are  clear. 
1.  The  cwenaid  does  not  originate  in  human  obligation  to  render  to  God  loyal  obedience. 
It  recognises  it,  enforces  it ;  but  its  origin  is  coeval  with  human  existence,  and 
springs  out  of  man's  relation  to  God  as  a  dependent  moral  creature.  2.  The 
covenant  is  an  act  of  grace  and  condescension  on  the  par/  of  God  towards  man.  In 
assuming  the  attitude  of  a  contracting  party  with  us  He  generally  stoops  to  our 
weakness,  &c.  Our  text  is  the  response  of  Israel  to  the  general  terms  of  the 
covenant  as  stated  by  Moses,     We  have  in  the  text — 

I.  A  commendable  engagement.     "  All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  we  will 

io."  This  promise  is  commendable,  1,  Because  of  its  righteousness.  To  do 
what  God  commands  is  our  sacred  duty.  Even  if  there  were  no  heaven  for 
the  loyal  and  obedient,  and  no  hell  for  the  rebellious  and  incorrigible,  still  it 
would  be  our  binding  duty  to  seek  truth,  practise  rigliteousness,  reverence 
holiness,  love  moral  Ijeauty.  2.  Because  of  its  advantageousness.  In  keeping  the 
commands  of  God  there  is  great  reward.  Tiie  Lord  promised  to  bestow  the 
choicest  blessings  upon  Israel  if  they  would  ol)ey  His  voice  indeed  (vers.  5,  6), 
He  engaged  to  grant  unto  them  (1.)  The  highest  character:  *'a  holy  nation."  (2.) 
The  highest  service  :  "unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests."  (3.)  The  highest  privilege  : 
"a  peculiar  treasure  unto  Me,"  &c.  How  very  much  is  included  in  the  last- 
named  assurance.  The  patli  of  obedience  to  God  is  the  path  of  safety  and 
blessedness  for  man.  "  In  the  way  of  righteousness  is  life."  "  He  that  keepeth 
the  law,  happy  is  he"  (Prov.  iii.  13-27;  1  Tim.  iv.  8;  vi.  6).  3.  Because  of  its 
unanimity.  "  And  all  the  people  answered  together,"  &c.  Such  harmony  in 
making  this  holy  engagement  is  admirable.  In  itself  it  is  commendable. 
Union  in  a  holy  enterprise  is  beautiful.  In  its  tendency  it  is  commendable. 
Tlie  natural  tendency  of  this  union  would  be  to  promote  the  fulfilment  of  this 
engagement. 

II.  A  commendable  engagement  rashly  made.  The  Israelites  entered  into 
this  engagement  —  1.  Without  due  consideration.  They  had  not  weighed  the 
character  or  measured  the  extent  of  the  obligations  which  they  undertook. 
Had  they  considered  what  was  involved  in  being  unto  God  "a  holy  nation  "1 
Or  estimated  the  comprehension  of  their  j^romise,  "All  that  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  we  will  do'"?  Their  haste  in  making  so  vast  and  solemn  a  promise 
reminds  us  of  the  scribe  who  said  unto  Jesus,  "Master,  I  will  follow  Tliee 
whithersoever  Thou  goest."  In  making  religious  vows,  serious  and  thorough 
thought  should  be  exercised.  2.  Without  earnest  purpose.  As  the  subsequent 
history  shows  with  painful  copiousness  and  conclusiveness,  they  entered  into 
this  engagement  without  any  high  and  earnest  resolution  to  keep  it.  Sacred 
promises  should  not  be  uttered  without  a  sincere  and  firm  purpose  to  fulfil 
them.  3.  Without  hearty  concurrence  with  the  will  which  they  promised  to  obey. 
In  their  after  history  they  manifested  an  almost  utter  absence  of  sympathy  with 
the  will  of  God.  They  had  little  or  no  love  for  either  God  or  His  will,  although 
they  so  readily  promised  to  obey  it  in  all  things.  Make  no  religious  resolutions 
except  your  heart  be  in  them.  4.  Without  any  realisation  of  their  need  of  Divine 
help  in  order  that  they  may  keep  it.  The  ring  of  self-confidence  is  in  their 
words.  "How  easily  overween  we  our  own  abilities!"  The  most  ready 
promisers  are  often  the  slowest  performers.  He  who  makes  religious  promises 
in  his  own  strength  is  deplorably  self-ignorant.  Peter  is  a  conspicuous  example 
of  this  (Matt.  xxvi.  33-35,  69-75).  "Apart  from  Me  ye  can  do  nothing." 
"When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong."  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
fthich  strengtheneth  me." 

III.  A  commendable   engagement   repeatedly  and  terribly  broken.     They 

341 


CHAP.  XIX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


seem  to  have  forgotten  the  promise  as  readily  as  they  made  it.  They  violated 
their  engagement. — 1.  fFith  great  frequency.  Many  instances  in  the  following 
history  (xxxii. ;  Num.  xi.,  xiv.,  xvi.,  xx.  1-7;  xxi,  4-6;  et  al).  2.  With  great 
unanimity.  The  great  majority  of  the  people  united  in  practically  repudiating 
the  solemn  obligations  of  the  covenant.  In  the  narrative  of  their  rebellions  we 
meet  with  some  of  these  words  frequently — "the  people  gathered  them- 
selves togetlier;"  .  .  .  "all  the  people;"  .  .  .  "all  the  congregation;"  et  al. 
Tlie  breakers  of  the  engagement  were  not  the  exception,  but  the  rule.  3.  With 
great  aggravations.  Their  sin  in  violating  this  solemn  promise  was  the  more 
heinous  because  of  (1.)  God's  great  goodness  to  them.  (2.)  His  invariable 
faithfulness  in  His  portion  of  the  covenant.  (3.)  The  comparatively  trivial 
circumstances  and  slight  influences  which  proved  sufficient  to  induce  them  to 
break  their  engagement.  Notwithstanding  the  strongest  obligations  to  fulfil 
their  promise,  they  broke  it  upon  the  slightest  provocation.  Conclusion. — 
1.  Let  us  heed  well  our  obligation  to  do  all  that  the  Lord  commands.  2.  Let  us 
be  careftd  in  the  utterance  of  religious  vows.  3.  Let  us  be  humbled  by  the  recolleC' 
lion  of  the  many  religious  vows  we  have  made  but  not  kept,  and  seek  forgiveness  for 
our  failures.  4.  Let  us  endeavour  to  perfoi'm  our  vows,  looking  to  God  for  strength 
to  enable  us  to  do  so. —  William  Jones. 

The  Response  of  the  People  to  God's  Call. — Ferses  7-9. 

Moses  was  God's  minister.  In  a  sense,  he  spoke  for  God  to  the  people,  and 
for  the  people  to  God.     "  I  stood  between  the  Lord  and  you  "  (Deut.  v.  5). 

I.  The  call  (ver.  7).  1.  The  elders  represented  the  people.  In  dealing  with  so 
great  a  multitude  some  such  arrangement  was  necessary.  So  it  is  in  many 
things — in  the  nation,  the  family,  the  Church.  2.  God's  commands  were  faith- 
fully communicated.  "  Laid  before  their  faces  all,"  «fe;c.,  nothing  was  added  and 
nothing  kept  back.  The  will  of  God  was  made  known  so  plainly  that  none 
could  plead  ignorance  ;  so  particularly  that  none  could  plead  excuse.  The 
truth  was  communicated  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

II.  The  response  (ver.  8).  "And  all  the  people  answered  together,"  &c. 
1.  Prompt.  There  was  no  hesitancy.  2.  Hearty.  There  was  no  reservation. 
3.  Unanim.ous.  There  was  no  dissentient  voice  (Acts  li.  1).  How  grand  the 
spectacle.  The  mighty  multitude  as  with  one  heart  and  voice  proclaimed  their 
submission  to  God.  But,  alas !  the  sequel  showed,  that  mixed  with  their 
apparent  sinceiity  and  enthusiasm  there  was  much  of  ignorance,  presumption, 
and  self-conceit.  Like  myriads  since,  they  had  nqt  rightly  counted  the  cost. 
They  professed  more  than  they  felt ;  they  promised  more  than  they  could  per- 
form ;  they  needed  further  and  deeper  instruction,  both  as  to  God's  law  and 
their  own  hearts.  How  penetrating  and  wise  are  the  words  of  Joshua  at  a 
similar  juncture,  "Ye  cannot  serve  the  Lord,  for  He  is  a  holy  God"  (Joshua 
xxiv.  19). 

III.  The  report  to  God.  "And  Moses  returned  the  words  of  the  people 
unto  the  Lord  "  [cf.  ver.  9).  Such  report  was  necessary  to  secure  the  favour  of 
God  and  the  faith  of  the  people.  It  tended  to — 1.  Exoneration  of  conscience.  2. 
Relief  of  the  heart.  3.  Invigwation  of  hope.  4.  Accrediting  of  character.  5. 
Success  of  ministry.  Nothing  works  more  to  give  a  man  power  with  men  than 
the  belief  that  he  has  power  with  God. — William  Forsyth. 

The  Preparation  for  Meeting  with  God. — Verses  10-14. 

Moses  acted  throughout  according  to  Divine  command. 

J    The  people  were  called  to  sanctify  themselvea     This  work  was  to  be 
342 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XIX. 


done  thoroughly.  Both  inward  and  outward  defilement  were  to  be  put  away 
(Lev.  xi.  44,  45  ;  Heb.  x.  22).  There  must  be  separation  from  what  was  not  of 
God,  that  there  might  be  fellowship  with  what  was  of  God.  To  this  end  self- 
consecraiion  was  required  (Ps.  xxvi.  6  ;  Is.  i.  16-18  ;  Rom.  xii.  1 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  9-20). 

II.  The  people  were  charged  to  be  ready  at  the  appointed  time  (ver.  IIV 
The  fixing  of  times  and  seasons  for  worship  belongs  to  God.  Unquestionin<y 
obedience  is  ours.  Thus  we  receive  the  blessing.  But  times  of  special  manifes- 
tation and  privilege  require  special  preparation.  The  soul  must  be  in  readiness, 
the  ear  open  to  hear,  the  reason  quick  to  apprehend ;  the  conscience,  the  heart, 
and  the  will  ready  to  bow  in  homage  and  submission.  Come  into  Goil's  presence 
careless  or  preoccupied,  and  you  can  expect  no  benefit ;  but  come  with  humility, 
prayer,  and  hope,  and  you  will  not  come  in  vain.  Instructed  and  refreshed, 
your  grateful  song  will  be,  "  This  is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God ;  this  is 
the  gate  of  heaven  !" 

III.  The  people  were  commanded  to  observe  the  prescribed  laws  and 
ordinances  as  to  approach  to  God.  Bounds  were  fixed  as  to  place,  action,  and 
behaviour  (ver.  12-14).  These  restrictions  were  not  arbitrary.  They  proceeded 
from  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God.  They  were  necessary  to  check  vain  curiosity 
and  unhallowed  licence,  and  to  preserve  due  order  and  reserve  at  a  time  of 
extraordinary  excitement  and  peril.  The  lesson  for  all  time  is  that  found  in 
the  counsels  of  St.  Paul,  "Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order"  (1  Cor. 
xiv.  10).  "  Wlierefore  we  receiving  a  kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved,  let  us 
have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  God  acceptably,  with  reverence  and  godly 
fear.     For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire"  (Heb.  xii.  28,  22).— William  Forsyth. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses  7-15.  Orderly  proceeding  to 
acquaint  the  people  with  God's  will  by 
their  chiefs  is  reasonable.  .  .  .  Proposi- 
tion and  exposition  of  God's  words  must 
be  made  to  souls  that  they  may  know 
them  all  to  be  God's  words,  and  no 
more  but  His.  .  .  .  Jehovah  commands 
His  ministers  to  speak  to  His  people. 
Universal  and  free  must  be  the  con- 
fessions of  the  Church  visible  to  the 
demands  of  God. 

Mediators  can  return  no  other  but 
what  they  receive  from  people  unto 
God. 

Upon  people's  readiness  to  obey, 
God  is  willing  to  make  known  His 
law. 

People  must  hear  God's  speech  by 
ministers,  that  they  may  believe  it. 

Sanctification  of  the  people  by  the 
mediators  is  commanded  by  God 
before  He  deal  with  them. .  .  .  Due  pre- 
paration must  be  performed  by  souls 
against  the  time  of  meeting  with  God. 

Verses  16-25.  God  on  Mount  Sinai. 
With    what   eager   hearts   would    the 


people  hail  the  dawn  of  the  third — 
the  appointed  day.  Doubtless  they 
must  have  had  many  strange  thoughts, 
and  much  talk  one  with  another  of 
what  was  to  come  to  pass,  but  who 
could  have  conceived  the  reality  1 
Fathers  and  mothers  were  there  by 
thousands  who  had  seen  the  wonders 
of  the  Lord  in  Egypt,  and  His  works 
in  the  wilderness ;  but  now  something 
more  sublime  and  terrible  by  far  was 
to  be  revealed  to  their  eyes.  What 
excitement  there  must  have  been  when 
they  were  commanded  to  leave  their 
tents  !  What  an  awful  pause  of  still- 
ness and  suspense  as  they  stood 
marshalled  in  the  plain  before  the 
Mount  of  God!  And  then  —  vers. 
16-20.  This  manifestation  was  fitted 
to  give  an  awful  sense  of — 

I.  The  greatness  of  God.  The  most 
tremendous  powers  of  nature  were 
under  His  control.  They  were  Hii 
servants,  to  do  His  pleasure  (Ex.  xxi 
20 ;  Ps.  xcvi.  4 ;  xcvii.  1-6 ;  civ.  4). 

II.  The    nearness    of   God.      The 

343 


CHAP.  XIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


thunder  was  near,  but  nearer  seemed 
the  lightning.  The  liglitning  was  near, 
but  nearer  still  seemed  the  trumpet. 
The  trumpet  was  near,  but  nearest  of 
all  was  "The  Voice."  It  was  the 
Voice  of  Jehovah,  and  spoke  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  thrilling  them 
through  and  through  (Deut.  iv.  7-12). 

III.  The  mysteriousness  of  Gnd. 
Though  mucii  was  revealed,  more  was 
uurevealed.  "  Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  Him.  Righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  His 
throne  "  (Ps.  xcvii.  2  ;  cf.  Job  xii,  7  ; 
Is.  xlv.  0  ;  Deut.  xxix.  29 ;  Eom.  xl 
33-35). 

IV.  The  holiness  of  God.  Every- 
thing proclaimed  the  holiness  of  God 
(Ex.  XV.  11 J  Is.  vi.  1,  2  ;  Rev.  iv.  8; 
1  Pet.  i.  16). 

V.  The  sovereignty  and  mercy  of 

God  (Deut.  v.  24).  It  is  a  fearful  thing 
to  fall  into  tlie  hands  of  the  living 
God.  How  great  our  privileges  under 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  (cf.  Heb. 
xii.  \d>-2^).—Willmm  Forsyth. 

Verse  17.  The  highest  ministry.  The 
ultimate  and  supieme  object  of  man  is 
to  be  united  to  God.  But  we  forget 
this.  The  things  of  this  world  for 
countless  powers  and  agencies  are  con- 
stantly at  work  to  hide  God  from  us, 
and  to  make  us  feel  and  act  as  if  there 
were  no  God.  The  essence  of  religion 
is  to  realise  the  presence  of  God. 
Therefore  we  should  hail  as  our 
highest  benefactor  the  man  who  does 
for  us  as  Moses  did  for  Israel.  "  And 
Moses  brought  forth  the  people  out  of 
the  camp  to  meet  with  God." 

L  In  the  operations  of  nature. 
Poets  have  sung  of  the  sublimities 
and  beauties  of  nature,  and  philo- 
sophers explain  her  secrets ;  but  he 
does  the  noblest  work  who  l)rings  us 
face  to  face  with  nature's  God. 

II.    The     events     of     providence. 

Many  writers  have  done  well  in  his- 
tory and  fiction,  and  have  depicted 
with  wondrous  skill  the  varieties  of 
character  and  incident,  and  the  strange 
344 


vicissitudes  of  human  life ;  but  he  does 
best  who  shows  us  that  there  is  a  pro- 
vidence in  the  affairs  of  men,  and  that 
the  Lord  our  God  ruleth  over  all  in 
righteousness  and  love. 

III.  The  ordinances  of  the  GospeL 

Preachers  may  be  learned  and  eloquent, 
but  it  is  only  as  they  manifest  God's 
law  to  the  conscience  and  God's  love 
to  the  heart  that  they  do  us  real  good. 
Prayer  and  praise  are  proper  duties, 
but  unless  in  them  we  rise  to  God 
they  are  meaningless  and  vain.  W« 
should  remember  the  words  of  Christ, 
"  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the 
life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Fathei 
but  by  Me."  *'  Without  Me  ye  can  dc 
nothing."  Only  through  Christ  can 
men  be  brought  to  God,  united  to  God, 
and  blessed  in  God. — William  Forsyth. 

Verse  21.  Vain  curiosity.  There 
is  a  curiosity  which  is  just,  and  which 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  science 
and  research.  But  there  is  a  curiosity 
which  is  vain  and  productive  of  much 
evil. 

I.  It  pries  into  secrets. 

II.  Breaks  through  boundaries. 

III.  Sacrifices  reverence  and  self- 
respect. 

IV.  Recklessly  rushes  into  danger. 

V.  Multiplies  confusions  and  perils. 
Remember  Eve,  Uzziah. 

According  to  this  agreement,  ratified 
by  God,  in  which  the  mediatorship 
between  God  and  the  people  was  con- 
ferred upon  Moses,  the  latter  now 
approached  the  darkness  in  which 
God  dwelt.  Who  does  not  stand 
amazed  at  the  admirable  confidence 
exemplified  by  Moses  under  such 
terrific  circumstances — a  confidence  so 
filial  and  fearless !  Who  does  not 
rejoice  at  the  power  which  God  can 
bestow  upon  the  children  of  men, 
filially  and  confidentially  to  converse 
with  Him,  as  a  man  with  a  friend. 
If  such  was  the  case  under  the  Old 
Testament,  where  a  spirit  of  fear  pre- 
dominated, and  the  true  way  of  holi- 
ness was  not  yet  thrown  open,  what 
cannot,  what  ought  not,  to  take  place 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  XIZ. 


under  the  New  Testament  -whicli 
bestows  a  filial  spirit,  by  wliich  we 
cry,  "Abba,  Father!"  and  are  en- 
couraged to  come  boldly  to  the  throne 


of  grace ;  whilst  at  that  period  the 
people  were  told  not  to  come  near, 
but  to  stand  at  a  distance. — F.  Krurn- 
macher. 


ILLUSTRATIONS    TO    Off  AFTER   XIX, 

St 

THE  REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Divine  Motive  I  Vers.  1-5.  Exotic  flowers 
or  foreign  plants,  if  seeded  on  the  mountain- 
side, or  inserted  in  the  meadow  amongst  the 
promiscuous  herbage  growing  there,  soon 
become  choked  and  disappear.  Those  who 
wish  to  preserve  the  flaming  glories  of  the 
Cape,  or  the  rich  fruits  of  the  tropic,  must 
provide  a  garden  enclosed — must  keep  out 
the  weeds  and  ruffian  weather.  And  so  God, 
anxious  to  preserve  "His  Holy  Law,"  fenced  in 
the  Hebrew  nationality.  He  secluded  them, 
and  walled  them  in,  and  made  them,  as  it 
were.  His  own  conservatory — a  conservatory 
where  Divine  truth  should  survive  uninjured 
until  Messiah  should  come. 

*'  We  are  a  garden  walled  around. 
Chosen  and  made  peculiar  ground ; 
A  little  spot  enclosed  by  grace 
Out  of  the  world's  wide  wilderness." 

Divine-Presence !  Ver.  3.  Greenland  says 
that  hunters  once  went  out  and  found  a 
revolving  mountain,  and  that,  attempting  to 
cross  the  chasm  between  it  and  the  firm  land, 
some  of  these  men  were  crushed  as  the  moun- 
tain revolved.  But  they  finally  noticed  that 
the  gnarled,  wheeling  mass,  had  a  red  side  and 
a  white  side.  They  waited  till  the  white  side 
came  opposite  them  ;  and  then,  ascending  the 
mountain,  found  that  a  king  lived  on  its 
summit — made  themselves  loyal  to  him,  sur- 
rendered themselves  to  him  affectionately  and 
irreversibly,  and  afterwards  found  themselves 
happy  in  his  presence.  There  was  but  one 
way  of  approach  to  the  "Mount  of  Awe," 
and  by  that  path  Moses  entered  into  Jehovah's 
presence  without  fear.  Along  that  "new 
living  way"  Gentile  sinners  pass  to  God.  It 
is  the  King's  highway,  for  through  Christ, 
who  is  our  peace,  both  Jew  and  Gentile  have 
access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Fatlier.  "  I  am 
the  Way,  the  'Truth,  and  the  Life,  no  man 
Cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 

«'  Thou  art  the  Way,  the  Truth,  the  Li£«; 
Grant  us  that  Way  to  know. 
That  Truth  to  keep,  that  Life  to  win, 
Whose  joys  eternal  flow."         — Donne. 

Monntain-Eagles I  Ver.  4.  Arabia  is  a 
region  of  mountains  and  magnificent  bluffs  ; 
bare  of  verdure  and  destitute  of  streams  of 
living  water.  Amid  these  granite  cliffs  the 
eagles  make  their  nest ;  and  high  above  their 
frowning  peaks  these  noble  birds  wheel  in 
majestic  flight.  So  that  this  figure,  "borne  on 
eagles'  wings,"  must  have  been  full  of  deepest 


significance.  M'Cheyne,  when  visiting  a 
synagogue  in  Tarnopol — one  of  the  finest 
towns  of  Austrian  Poland — witnessed  a  pro- 
cession of  the  law,  in  which  he  observed  a 
standard  embroidered  with  the  Austrian  eagle, 
and  bearing  these  words,  "  I  bear  you  on 
eagles'  wings."  During  tlie  eagle-like  career 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  he  had  occasion  to 
attack  the  Sogdians.  These  people  dwelt  amid 
huge  mountain  rocks  and  refused  to  surrender. 
When  threatened  by  the  Macedonian  con- 
queror, they  replied  that  they  feared  not  his 
soldiers  until  they  were  "borne  up  on  eagles' 
wings."  The  eagle  soars  the  highest,  and  is 
the  most  majestic  in  its  aerial  courses.  God, 
as  it  were,  bears  up  His  people  on  these 
mighty  wings,  so  that  they  are  above  all  ob- 
stacles and  hindrances.  As  no  bird  can  rise 
higher  than  the  eagle,  so  none  can  get  above 
God's  children  when  He  thus  enables  them  to 
mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  (Is.  xl.  31). 

*•  While  on  this  vantage-ground  the  Christian 
stands, 
His  quickened  eye  a  boundless  view  com- 
mands ; 
Discovers  fair  abodes  not  made  with  hands — 
Abodes  of  peace."  — EUiott. 

Divine  Eepublicsl  Ver.  5-9.  When  the 
freed  negroes  arrived  on  the  West  Coast  of 
Africa,  as  the  Republic  of  Liberia,  they  re- 
ceived certain  laws  and  regulations.  These 
were  established  amid  the  firing  of  cannon,  the 
flaunting  of  flags,  and  the  flashing  of  firearms. 
But  when  Jehovah  constituted  the  legislation 
of  Israel's  Divine  Republic,  the  eye  was 
arrested  by  darkness  that  defied  the  gaze,  and 
by  lightning  and  tempest  that  played  about 
the  summit  of  Sinai,  while  the  ear  was 
thrilled  by  the  trumpet-blast,  and  appalled 
by  the  thunder.  The  great  mountain 
rocked  to  and  fro,  and  burned  like  a  furnace. 
Then,  piercing  through  cloud  and  camp, 
was  heard  the  trumpet-blast  pealing  out 
above  the  thunder,  that  "the  laws  of  the 
Divine  Republic  were  about  to  be  promul- 
gated." Glorious  was  this  Divine  legislation 
ceremony  !  The  Lord  came  from  Sinai,  and 
rose  up  from  Seir  unto  them.  From  His 
right  hand  went  a  fiery  law  for  them  :  Dent, 
xxxiii.  2. 

"  The  terrors  of  that  awful  day,  though  past, 
Have  on  the  tide  of  time  some  glory  cast." 
— Baillie, 

Oath  of  Allegiance  1    Vers.  7,  8.    When  a 
346 


OHAF.  ZtX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EKOD  US. 


kingdom  ia  established,  an  oath  of  allegiance 
is  required.  Napoleon  the  Great,  when  he 
founded  his  empire  on  the  ruins  of  the  great 
"  French  Revolution,"  required  this.  And 
when  Victoria  was  proclaimed  the  Empress  of 
Indi.v  at  Delhi,  it  was  acci>mpat>ied  by  a  simi- 
lar requirement.  God  was  now  about  to  be- 
come tlie  King  or  Piesidenl  of  Israel,  and 
required  a  voluntary  self-surrender  to  His 
holy  law.  With  a  view  to  this,  the  hosts 
were  marshalled,  and  by  some  suitable  arrange- 
ment Moses  communicated  all  the  words  of 
the  Lord.  They  were  good  precepts  and  gra- 
cious promises,  and  the  people  took  the  pre- 
liminary oath  of  allegiiiuce,  "  All  the  words 
which  the  Lord  hath  said  will  we  do,"  Such 
Biipreme  self-surrender  is  still  required. 
Matthew  Henry  wrote  as  follows  :  "  (Jet.  20, 
1686. — I  take  God  the  Father  to  be  my  chief- 
est  good  and  highest  end.  I  take  God  the 
Son  to  be  my  Frince  and  Saviour.  I  take 
God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  my  Sanctifier, 
Teacher,  Guide,  and  Comforter.  I  take  the 
Word  of  God  to  be  my  rule  in  all  my  actions, 
and  the  people  of  God  to  be  my  people  in  all 
conditions.  And  this  I  do  deliberately,  sin- 
cerely, freely,  and  for  ever."  This  Divine 
oath  of  allegiance  need  not  be  written.  "  To 
whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  Thee?  Thou  hast 
the  words  of  eternal  life." 

"  Lord,  Thou  art  mine,  and  I  am  Thine, 
If  mine  I  am  ;  and  Thine  much  more, 
Than  I  or  ought  or  can  be  mine. 

If  I  without  Thee  could  be  mine, 
I  neither  should  be  mine  nor  Thine," 
— Herbert. 

Divine-Division!  Ver.  12.  An  eminent 
war-correspondent  describes  his  first  sensa- 
tions during  the  Crimean  war  in  beholding  a 
shell  fired  from  an  English  mortar.  He 
watched  it  as  it  issued  from  the  mortar,  and 
admired  the  sublime  rapidity  with  which  it 
cuts  through  the  air.  While  he  followed  the 
deadly  missile,  an  explosion  far  off  in  the 
enemy's  earthworks  attested  at  once  its 
gunner's  purpose  and  unerring  aim.  The 
terrors  of  Sinai  were  a  sublime  spectacle,  but 
their  design  was  to  shatter  Israel's  earthwork 
of  self-confidence  ;  to  show  men  in  all  ages 
of  the  world  that  no  citadel  of  self-righteous 
dependence  was  proof  against  the  Divine  law. 

*'  Hence  shall  dividing  hills  and  rents 
Between  my  soul  and  Thee, 
Be  to  my  faith  but  arguments 
To  haste  thy  march  to  me." 

— Ershine, 

Divine  Monitions!  Ver.  16.  There  is  a 
quaint  fable  of  the  archer  who  went  to  the 
mountains  in  search  of  game.  All  the  beasts 
of  the  forest  fled  at  his  approach.  The  lion 
alone  challenged  him  to  combat.  The  bow- 
man shot  an  airow  at  the  monarch  of  the 
wild,  who  fled  in  pain  and  panic.  Met  by  a 
fox,  who  exhorted  him  to  take  courage  and 
not  give  up  at  the  first  onset,  the  king  of 
beasts  replieil,  "  You  advise  to  no  purpose, 
340 


for  if  yon  archer  sends  so  fearful  a  messenger 
before  him,  who  will  be  able  to  contend  when 
the  man  himself  draws  near  ?  "  If  the  bolts 
and  arrows  of  Sinai  were  so  terrible  to  Israel, 
what  must  be  the  appilling  terrors  of  Hia 
arm  when  He  draws  near  at  the  last  day  f 
Sir  F.  Henneker  says  that  "so  great  is  the 
wildness  of  this  region  that  if  he  had  to  repre- 
sent the  end  of  the  world,  he  would  model  it 
from  Mount  Sinai." 

*'  Then  the  trumpet's  pealing  clangour 
Through  the  earth's  four  quarters  spread, 
Waxing  loud  and  even  louder. 
Shall  convoke  the  quick  and  dead." 

— Latin. 

Fire-Symbolism!  Ver.  18.  The  lamp  of 
fire  was  an  emblem  of  the  Divine  presence  in 
Gen.  XV.  17.  That  presence  was  connected 
with  covenant,  and  was  indicated  by  the  fire 
that  passed  between  the  pieces  of  the  victims 
sacrificed.  In  the  literature  and  customs  of 
the  East,  the  same  thing  is  still  asserted  ; 
and  at  the  celebration  of  respectable  mar- 
riages, it  is  a  general  practice  to  have  a  fire 
as  a  witness  of  the  transaction.  This  fire  is 
made  of  the  wood  of  the  mango-tree,  and  inti- 
mated that  the  vow  was  taken  in  the  presence 
of  the  God  of  fire,  whose  vengeance  was  there- 
by invoked  upon  the  breaker  of  the  covenant. 
The  Sinaitic  covenant  was  entered  into  with  all 
the  sacred  accessions  of  the  most  solemn  invo- 
cation ;  and  Jehovah's  judicial  presence  at 
the  last  day  will  be  linked  with  fire. 

"  Flame,  and  fire,  and  desolation 
At  the  Judge's  feet  shall  go  ; 
Earth,  and  sea,  and  all  abysses. 
Shall  his  mighty  sentence  know." 

Fiery-Clouds!  Vers.  16-18.  Brydone  re- 
lates that  in  his  tour  through  Malta,  in  1757, 
a  great  black  cloud  was  visible,  which,  as  it 
settled,  changed  colour,  till  at  last  it  became 
like  a  flame  of  fire  mixed  with  black  smoke. 
In  177-,  in  the  island  of  Java,  a  bright  cloud 
was  observed  covering  a  mountain  in  the 
Cheiiton  district.  It  was  seen  rising  and 
falling  like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  and  emitting 
globes  of  fire,  while  loud  reports  as  of  cannon 
terrified  the  natives.  Sir  Charles  Lyell  says 
that  Commander  Murray  observed,  at  Bagdad 
in  1857,  a  huge  black  clouil  like  a  pall  over 
the  heavens.  Afterwards,  the  black  darkness 
was  succeeded  by  a  red  lurid  gloom. 

"  Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take; 
The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head." 

Divine  Forces  !  Ver.  23.  A  traveller  relates 
that — when  passing  through  an  Austrian  town 
— his  attention  was  directed  to  a  forest  on  a 
slope  near  the  road.  He  was  told  that  death 
was  the  penalty  of  cutting  down  one  of  those 
trees.  He  was  incredulous,  until  he  was 
further  informed  that  they  were  the  protec- 
tion of  the  city,  breaking  the  force  of  the 
descending    avalanche,    which — without    this 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xx. 

natural  barrier— would  sweep  over  the  quiet  harvest  to  a  full  garner.     But  the  "plough," 

home  of  thousands.     When  a  Russian  army  with   its   siiining,  terrible  coulter,  called  for 

was  marching  there,  and  began  to  cut  away  greater  and  more  careful  exphuiation.     Why 

the  defence  for  fuel,  the  inhabitants  besought  should  it  be  required  ?     To  upheave  the  hard 

them  to  take  their  dwellings  instead.     Alas!  clods  of  earth— to  uproot  the  tangled  thistles 

men   are   not   so   anxious   to   preserve   those  and  weeds.     Are  men  not  more  readily  dis- 

moral  fences  which  God  sets  up  for  the  pre-  posed  to  believe  in  the  "Gospel  Drill"  than 

servation  of  their  souls  from   His   righteous  in  the  "  Legal  Plough"?    And  yet  both  con- 

jufjo-tnents.  serve  the  same  purpose — both  conduce  to  the 

same   result.      Tlie   Law   ploughs   conviction 

Law  Functions!    Ver.  25.    Wandering  last  deep  in  the  hard,  weed-grown  human  heart; 

year  over  tlie  South  Downs  with  my  daughter,  while  the  Gospel  follows  in  due  time,  casting 

we    came   upon  a  model  farm,   under  whose  in  seeds  of  saving  grace.     And  the  deeper  the 

open    outhouses    were     ranged    the    various  plough  is  put  in  beforehand,  the  better  the 

implements   of    husbandry.      It    was   no  dif-  crop  afterwards. 

ficult  task  to  explain  to' the  young  inquirer  ••  So  the  hearts  of  Christians  owe 

what  the  "  drill  "  was.     Slie  could  understand  Each  its  deepest,  sweetest  strain 

why  it  was  necessary  to  plant  the  seed,  and,  To  the  pressure  firm  of  woe, 

under  the  blessing  of  God,  ensure  a  golden  And  the  tension  tight  of  pain." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  All  these  words.]  Concerning  which  observe  (1.)  That  they /orm<Ae 
hasis  of  the  covenant,  of  which  ch.  xix.  3-6  offers  the  first  proposal ;  chs.  xxi.-xxiii.,  the  detailed 
Bketch  ;  and  ch.  xxiv.  1-8,  the  formal  rutihciition.  (2.)  That  they  are  all  grounded  upon  the 
existing  relationship  between  Jehovah  and  Israel  announced  in  ver.  1;  so  that  the  law,  ^ar 
excellence,  is  itself  founded  upcai  redeeming  grace.  (3.)  That  thus  they  may  all  be  united  by 
the  principle  to  which  they  owe  their  privileged  position — faithfulness  to  Him  who  has  redeemed 
Israel,  shown  directly  towards  God  Himself  in  matters  of  worship  ("four  commands."  3-11) ; 
and  indirectly  towards  man — for  whom  Jehovah  cares — in  matters  of  social  intercourse  ("six 
commands."  12-17).  (4.)  That,  nevertlieless,  they  reveal  the  immeasurable  inferiority  of  the 
old  covenant  to  which  they  give  character,  as  compared  with  the  new  :  the  leading  note  of  the 
former  being  "Thou  shalt,"  that  of  the  latter  "I  will"  (cf.  Jer.  xxxi.  31-34;  Heb.  viii.). 
3.  Before  Me.]  That  is,  "  in  presence  of  Me  :"  suggesting  that  the  Divine  presence  in  Israel 
would  greatly  aggravate  the  sin  of  idolatry — under  the  circumstances,  the  worship  of  idols 
would  be  an  affront  committed  to  Jehovah's  face.  The  expression  may  admonish  us  that  a  due 
sense  of  the  Divine  presence  is  the  great  safeguard  against  idolatry.  7.  Take  in  vain.] 
Rather:  "  utter  loud  "  (as  for  the  purpose  of  solemn  attestation)  "for  falsehood,"  i.e.,  in  the 
service  of  falsehood,  to  confirm  falsehood.  (1.)  The  word  ndsd,  from  the  primary  notion 
of  "taking  up,"  "lifting,"  "lifting  up,"  comes  to  mean,  when  applied  to  the  voice, 
the  lifting  up  or  elevating  of  the  voice  in  public  utterance  (cf.  Is.  iii.  7 ;  xxiv.  14 ;  xlii.  2), 
and  hence  obtains  the  signification,  in  certain  connections,  of  uttering  aloud.  (2.)  The 
word  shav  means  not  only  "vanity"  but  also  "falsehood"  (cf.  Deut.  v.  20;  Ez.  xii. 
24;  Hos.  X.  4;  Jonah  ii.  9).  The  last  cited  passage  is  worthy  of  special  notice:  "lying 
vanities;"  habley  s/tay="  vanities  of  falsehood,"  where  the  qualifying  notion  of  "false- 
hood "  is  expressly  conveyed  by  the  word  shav.  The  more  fundamental  result  thus  obtained, 
—  in  harmony  with  the  downright  prohibition  of  murder,  adultery,  theft,  &c.,  favours  the  view 
that  nothing  less  than  the  awful  crime  of  perjury  is  here  forbidden  ;  so  that,  as  Kalisch  says, 
"our  verse  contains  what  is  more  distinctly  expressed  in  Lev.  xix.  12,  'Ye  shall  not  swear 
by  My  name  falsely.' "  12.  Upon  the  land.]  More  exactly:  "  upon  the  ground"  or  "soil" 
('adhamah,  not  'erelz) ;  a  term  happily  used  of  a  people  destined  to  become  a  nation  of  agricul- 
turists. Patriotism  clings  fondly  to  the  "soil "  on  which  a  people's  fathers  have  trod.  19.  We 
will  hear.]  Kalisch  happily  remarks  that  "in  the  word  v'nishma'AH,  with  the  he  paragogicum, 
lies  the  readiness  and  willingness:  'we  will  eairerly  and  gladly  hear.'"  23.  Ye  shall  not 
make  with  Me  gods  of  silver,  neither,  &c.]  We  prefer  the  Massoretic  punctuation  of  this 
verse,  which  reveals  a  delicate  appreciation  of  the  meaning,  although  it  entails  on  us  an  ellipsis 
which  makes  the  text  appear  stiff,  and  tasks  the  reader  a  little  to  supply  the  unexpressed  idea. 
"  Ye  shall  not  make  .  .  .  with  Me:  gods  of  silver  and  gods  of  gold  ye  shall  not  make  for  your- 
selves." "  With  Me:"  i.e.,  "to  associate  with  Me."  Supply  "anything" — which  in  fact  has 
not  unfrequently  to  be  uniieistood.  Then  read:  "Ye  shall  not  make  [anything]  to  associate 
with  Me:"  as  much  as  to  say  "to  i)ut  in  My  place,"  "to  represent  Me."  Without  the  vowel 
points,  'itti="  -with  me,"  and  'othi="  my:"  are  indistinguishable:  "Ye  shall  not  make  me, 
i.e.,  "anything  to  stand  for  Me,"  "be  called  by  My  name;"  which  brings  us  to  the 
same  thing  again.  The  division  of  the  verse  made  in  the  authorised  version  is  unhappy. 
It   leaves  an  utterly  unintelligible   antithesis   between    "with   Me"   and    "unto  you;"   ag 

347 


OHAP,  XX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


though  the  "gods  of  silver"  were  the  more  likely  to  be  associated  with  God,  and  those  of 
"  L'old "  to  be  appropriated  to  man.  Understood  as  above  suirgested,  there  is  Bomething 
in:ijestic  and  impressive  in  the  very  vagueness  of  llie  earlier  half  of  the  verse.  Noi  merely  are 
tiie  Isracliic'S  forbidden  to  make  images  of  God  :  they  are  told  not  to  make  anytliing  to  be  in 
any  way  put  in  the  place  of  God,  as  even  remotely  representing  Him. 

The  Ten  Commandments. — Exod.  xx  1-17. 

These  words  stand  out  from  all  others  in  the  Old  Testament.  Other  things 
God  spake  to  mankind  throutrh  men, — these  were  spoken  by  Him  through  the 
nobler  ministr}^  of  angels  (Heb.  ii.  2;  Gal.  iii.  19;  Acts  vii.  53).  'J  hey  were 
uttered,  not  by  the  Divine  spirit  in  the  stillness  of  a  prophet's  soul,  but  audibly, 
as  voices  coming  from  heaven  (Deut.  v.  22-26).  They  may  be  said  to  have  been 
the  only  direct  utterance  made  by  God  to  men  under  the  old  covenant  (Deut. 
v.  4).  As  if  to  mark  the  special  sacredness  that  belonged  to  them,  they  were, 
moreover,  Divinely  recorded  (Exod.  xxxi.  18,  xxxii.  15,  16).  But  what  were 
the  words  that  were  uttered  under  circumstances  so  solemn,  and  recorded  in  a 
manner  so  special  1  When  we  compare  the  two  versions  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments (Exod.  XX.  1-17  ;  Deut.  v.  6-21),  we  find  some  important  variations,  such 
as  the  reason  assigned  for  the  sanctificatiou  of  the  seventh  day.  Probably  all 
were  originally  given  with  the  same  brevity  as  the  first,  sixth,  seventh,  and 
eighth  ;  and  all  else  that  we  now  find  included  in  them  is  amplification,  com- 
mand, and  explanations  which  Moses  was  Divinely  authorised  to  make  in  order 
to  render  their  meaning  more  plain.  Concerning  these  great  commandments, 
I  observe — 

I.  That  they  are  of  universal  obligation.  They  thus  differ  from  many  cere- 
monial injunctions  afterwards  given  to  the  Jews.  They  are  intrinsically  and 
therefore  eternally  right.  They  have  their  foundation  in  the  nature  of  God  and 
of  man,  and  therefore  can  never  be  abrogated  while  God  and  man  continue  what 
they  are.  This  is  true  of  the  fourth.  "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man " 
(Mark  ii.  27)  by  his  Creator,  who  best  knows  what  his  needs  are  ;  and  while 
man  continues  what  he  is,  he  cannot  neglect  to  consecrate  to  rest  and  worship 
without  sinning  against  himself,  as  well  as  against  God. 

II.  They  are  universal  in  their  scope.  They  cover  the  whole  range  of  duty, 
at  least  to  the  piohibition  of  every  kind  of  wrong-doing.  Consider  what  would 
be  the  state  of  society  were  they  universally  obeyed! 

III.  They  reach  to  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  outward  life.  They  are  com- 
pleted by  One  that  teaches  the  heart  alone.  Christ  teaches  us  that  all  the  other 
commandments  were  intended  to  forbid,  in  like  manner,  not  merely  the  actions 
named  in  them,  but  the  cherishing  in  the  heart  of  those  evil  thoughts  which 
are  the  germs  of  crime  (Matt.  v.  21-:28).  Hence,  if  we  would  know  if  we  have 
kept  these  great  commandments,  we  must  examine  our  heart  as  well  as  our 
outward  life.  In  that  solemn  day,  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  known, 
it  will  be  seen  that  some  of  the  blackest  criminals  who  ever  trod  this  earth  were 
men  whose  outward  lives  were  blameless,  and  upon  whom  their  fellow-men 
looked  with  a  respect  that  almost  amounted  to  veneration  (Matt,  xxiii.  27,  28). 

IV.  Nevertheless  they  are  the  most  elementary  that  can  be  conceived  ot. 

If  God  undertook  to  give  men  any  iniimatiou  at  all  as  to  their  duty  towards 
Him  and  each  other.  He  could  not  have  said  less  than  He  did  from  Mount  Sinai. 
A  man  may  keep  all  these  commandments  from  his  youth  up,  and  yet  lack  the 
"  one  thing  needful  "  (Mark  x.  1-20).  Nay,  he  may  do  so,  and  yet  be  far  from 
bt;ing  a  good  man.  Now,  with  one  exception — the  command  to  honour  father 
and  mother — they  are  all  negations.  They  tell  us  what  we  must  not  do.  Even 
348 


HOMILEriC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xx. 


the  command  to  keep  holy  tlie  Sabbath  day  is  explained  by  a  series  of  nega- 
tions. To  abstain  from  evil  is  better  than  to  commit  it.  But  abstinence  from 
evil  is  by  no  means  all  that  is  demanded  from  moral  agents.  Otherwise,  eveu 
an  atheist  who  worked  only  six  days  in  the  week  might  be  said  to  keep  all  the 
commandments  of  the  first  table,  and  a  harmless  idiot  all  the  commands  of  the 
second.  Remember,  you  may  abstain  from  all  forms  of  crime,  and  yet  not  be  a 
good  man.  Were  I  to  propose  to  erect  a  statue  in  honour  of  a  man  who  had 
never  been  known  to  be  guilty  of  any  violation  of  the  letter  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, you  would  laugh  at  me.  You  would  ask  me  what  good  he  did — 
what  benefactions  he  conferred  on  society — that  he  should  be  thus  honoured. 
The  barren  fig-tree  did  no  harm  ;  it  brought  forth  no  poisonous  fruit,  as  do  some 
trees,  that  smite  all  who  partake  of  them  with  madness  and  death :  it  simply 
bronglit  forth  no  fruit — it  did  no  good  ;  and  that  was  reason  enough  for  con- 
demning it  (Luke  viii.  1).  If  we  would  be  loved  of  men  and  commended  of 
God,  we  must  not  only  eschew  that  which  is  evil  :  we  must  follow  that  which 
is  good  (Rom.  v.  7).  Before  we  can  even  thus  secure  the  commendation  of 
God,  we  must  be  restored  to  a  right  relation  to  Him.  Through  Jesus  Christ, 
we  must  obtain  tlie  pardon  of  our  first  transgressions,  and  our  acceptance  with 
God  or  His  children.  Then  our  acts  of  faith  and  love  will  be  sacrifices  well 
pleasing  in  His  sight;  and  even  the  imperfections  of  our  services  will  be  passed 
over  in  His  fatherly  pity  (Ps.  ciii.  13,  14). — B.  A.  Bertram. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGE  A  PH.^Vena  1-8. 

The  First  Commandment. 

The  recollection,  and  admiration,  and  love,  and  worship,  and  obedience,  and 
fellowship  of  God,  form  the  substance  of  true  religion.  Salvation  is  God 
revealed  in  Christ. 

I.  Every  man  must  have  a  god — originally.  1.  Man  must  draw  enjoyment 
from  without — God  alone  is  independent.  2.  Man  has  capacities  which  are 
exercised  on  something  external.  3.  Man  must  now  have  many  gods  (Jer. 
ii.  28). 

II.  Jehovah  claims  to  he  the  God  of  each  individual  The  grounds  of  this 
claim  are  stated  in  the  Preface  to  the  Ten  Commandments.  "  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God.  1.  His  intrinsic  excellence.  2.  His  relation  to  men — to  His  people — 
to  all.     3.  God  willingly  submits  to  comparison  (1  Kings  xviii.). 

III.  Jehovah's  claims  to  be  the  God  of  His  creatures  are  generally  overlooked 
and  rejected.  The  forms  of  human  idolatry  are  very  numerous.  1.  The  crea- 
ture is  deified  (Rom.  i.  25).  2.  God  Himself  is  made  after  the  fancies  and  tastes 
of  depraved  men.     3.  God  is  contemplated  out  of  Christ. 

IV.  Jehovah  observes  and  marks  the  manner  in  which  His  Divine  claims 
are  disposed  of  by  men. — 1.  He  observes  it  as  omniscient.  2.  He  observes  it 
as  jealous  of  His  glory.  3.  He  observes  it  as  forming  a  rigliteous  judgment 
respecting  the  conduct  of  all  His  creatures.  4.  Pie  observes  it  that  He  may 
deal  with  men  accordingly.     5.  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God. — Outlines  by  Stewart. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  4-6. 

The  Second  Commandment. 

The  Being  and  Spirituality  of  God  seem  to  be  among  the  most  simple  ideas 
of  which  the  human  mind  is  susceptible ;  and  yet  they  have  been  perverted  or 

349 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODVS. 


entirely  obliterated  by  the  corruption  of  our  nature.  The  Being  of  God  ia 
almost  universally  admitted.  But  the  Spirituality  of  His  essence  has  never 
entered  into  the  conceptions  of  mankind  under  the  dominion  of  sense.  The 
deities  of  the  heathen  were  all  local — often  in  the  form  of  deified  heroes — it 
Mas  therefore  natural  that  they  were  made  to  assume  a  shape.  Even  the 
Israelites  were  guilty  of  this  unholy  worship. 

I.  Offer  some  general  observations  upon  idolatry.  1.  In  the  origin  of  idolatry 
we  may  iiud  a  lesson  for  our  guidance  with  regard  to  the  misuse  of  tilings  in 
themselves  lawful,  and  the  perversion  of  ideas  in  themselves  unobjectionable. 
The  probable  origin  of  idolatry  was  the  perversion  of  simple  and  sublime 
sentiments.  When  mankind,  in  the  infancy  of  their  existence,  opened  their 
eyes  upon  creation,  they  beheld  everything  wonderful  and  splendid  in  the 
scene.  What  could  be  more  calculated  to  awaken  inspiring  contemplations  ] 
The  mind  would  then  soon  pass  from  admiration  to  reverence  and  worship. 
Thus  homage  was  paid  to  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  which  was  only  due  to  the 
Creator.  The  reverence  felt  for  men  of  genius  gave  them  an  ideal  grandeur, 
and  exalted  them  into  the  rank  of  deities.  Thus  the  perversion  of  good  ideas 
occasioned  the  growth  of  bad  ones.  2.  Nothing  can  be  more  painful  than  to 
record  the  extensive  prevalence  of  idolatry.  It  would  have  been  a  melancholy  fact 
had  history  stated  its  existence  in  only  one  town  ;  how  sad  when  all  nations 
are  unrler  its  influence.  This  proves  the  folly  and  depravity  of  man.  The 
whole  world  has  wandered  from  God.  3.  The  effects  of  idolatry.  While,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart  has  produced  idolatrous  worship, 
this  has  reacted  upon  man  himself,  to  debase  his  character.  The  efiects  of 
idolatry  are  cruelty,  the  rendering  sacred  the  worst  vices,  the  contaminating 
the  temples  and  homes  of  the  land,  and  the  corrupting  of  society.  4.  The 
spirit  of  the  command  in  the  text  must  be  considered  as  including  all  mental 
idolatry.  There  is  a  distinction  to  be  made  between  idolatry  and  image  worship. 
The  former,  which  is  the  worship  of  false  gods,  is  forbidden  in  the  First  Com- 
mandment ;  the  latter,  which  is  the  worship  more  especially  of  images  or 
representations  of  the  true  God,  is  interdicted  in  the  Second.  But  as  all  out- 
ward figures  or  images  of  God  are  forbidden,  so  it  must  be  considered  that 
every  substitute  for  God,  as  an  object  of  adoration  and  love,  is  also  forbidden, 
for  God  requires  the  supreme  homage  of  the  heart.  We  must  not  form  an 
image  in  the  mind  of  anything  lovely  which  turns  aside  the  mind  from  God. 
Covetousness  is  idolatry.  What  images  of  folly  and  abomination  lurk  in  the 
secret  recesses  of  the  mind  ! 

II.  Notice  the  particular  reasons  here  assigned  for  its  interdiction.  These 
reasons  comprehend  both  the  jealousy  and  mercy  of  Jehovah ;  both  powerful 
considerations.  1.  The  Divine  jealousy  and  its  terrific  manifestations.  The 
term  is  frequently  applied  in  the  Old  Testament  to  God,  and  is  strikingly 
descriptive  of  His  determination  to  maintain  His  high  prerogatives.  Jealousy 
is  considered  as  one  of  the  strongest  passions  of  our  nature.  It  is  the  feeling 
which  an  interference  on  the  part  of  another  with  the  object  of  tender  affection 
inspires — a  feeling  of  wounded  love.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  God  is 
susceptible  of  any  painful  emotion  of  the  mind,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word; 
but  this  passion  is  employed  to  illustrate  the  fact  of  that  concern  about  His 
people  which  God  is  described  as  entertaining.  The  heathen  gods  had  no 
jealousy  ;  they  were  not  capable  of  love,  2.  Another  reason  for  the  interdiction 
of  idol  worship  is  taken  from  the  mercy  of  God;  and  it  is  one,  in  its  nature, 
most  conciliative.  The  Jewish  economy,  as  well  as  the  Christian,  was  founded 
in  mercy.  Their  formation  into  a  distinct  and  chosen  people  was  the  outcome  of 
mercy.     Their  system  of  worship  was  ordained  by  heaven  in  mercy.     They  had 

360 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :   EXODUS. 


providential  mercies.     What  motives  are  there  in  the  mercies  of  God  to  urge  us 
to  keep  the  commandments. — {F.  A.  Cox,  LL.D.) 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verses  4-6.  There  are  few  feel- 
ings stronger  than  those  of  the  parent 
for  his  children,  and  it  argues  an  ex- 
traordinary moral  derangement  where 
tlie  father  is  careless  and  indifferent  to 
tlie  wellbeing  of  his  offspring.  The 
Supreme  Legislator  has  taken  advan- 
tage (so  to  speak)  of  these  sentiments, 
and  arranged  tliem  on  the  side  of 
righteousness.  He  attacks  men 
through  the  avenue  of  the  domestic 
charities,  and  calls  upon  them  to 
prove  themselves  not  unnatural 
parents,  by  striving  to  lead  a  life  of 
holiness  and  piety.  If  they  care  not 
for  themselves,  will  they  not  for  their 
children  1  If  they  are  indifferent  to  the 
ruin  which  sm  must  procure  for  their 
own  portion,  can  they  consent  to  the 
sending  down  to  those  they  best  love 
an  hereafter  of  woe  and  of  shame] 
Yet  this  is  precisely  what  they  have  a 
right  to  expect  if  they  go  on  in  a 
career  of  transgression.  "  I,  the  Lord 
thy  God  am  a  jealous  God,  visiting 
the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generations  of  them  that  hate  Me." 

We  shall  assume  that  the  announced 
visitation  of  the  iniquities  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children  is  un- 
restricted and  general,  so  that  it  con- 
stitutes a  feature  in  the  fixed  economy 
of  the  Almighty.  We  must  state, 
however,  tliat  when  we  speak  of  the 
fathers  and  of  the  children,  we  are  not 
to  confine  our  ideas  to  that  single 
relationship  wliich  these  terms  would 
ordinarily  define.  It  is  clear  that  the 
alleged  principle  is,  the  deahngs  of 
God  must  be  supposed  to  take  a 
wider  range.  The  principle  is,  that 
one  set  of  men  shall  be  made  to  sufler 
for  the  sins  of  another  set  of  men. 
We  should  do  evident  violence  to  the 
spirit,  and,  we  may  almost  say,  to  the 
letter  of  the  precept,  were  we  to  sup- 
pose that  tiie  transmission  of  iniquity 
was  only  then  to  take  place  when  the 


parties  were  associated  by  the  close 
ties  of  blood. — H.  Melvill,  B.D. 

Of  course  the  case  of  the  father  and 
the  child  is  one  of  those  cases  in  which 
the  principle  is  applicable ;  but  what- 
ever the  connexion  which  binds  to- 
gether two  sets  of  men — whether  it  be 
that  which  subsists  between  rulers  and 
subjects,  or  that  general  one  between 
the  present  generation  and  the  fol- 
lowing, or  that  between  the  members 
of  a  church  and  their  successors — the 
same  principle  is  brought  into  play,  so 
that  the  punishment  of  sin  may  descend 
on  those  who  have  had  no  part  what- 
ever in  the  commission  of  that  sin. — 
Ibid. 

Now  we  can  add  other  instances 
which,  if  less  general,  are  not  less 
decisive.  You  remember  that  when 
David  sinned  by  numbering  the 
people,  the  monarch  himself  was  not 
stricken  for  the  offence.  A  pestilence 
was  sent,  so  that  there  died  from  Dan 
even  to  Beersheba  seventy  thousand 
men ;  and  so  evident  was  it,  that  the 
king  cried  out  in  the  bitterness  of 
his  soul,  "  I  have  sinned,  but  these 
sheep,  what  have  they  done  V  A  still 
stronger  instance  is  to  be  found  in  the 
history  of  the  Gibeonites.  Joshua  had 
made  a  league  with  the  Gibeonites, 
covenanting  that  they  should  not  be 
destroyed  with  the  rest  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Canaan.  In  contravention  of 
this  league,  Saul  sought  to  extirpate 
the  Gibeonites,  and  in  his  zeal  put 
many  of  them  to  death.  This  sin  of 
Saul  was  not  at  once  noticed  by  God ; 
but  in  the  days  of  David  there  was  a 
famine,  and  God,  on  being  enquired  of, 
declared  that  it  was  a  judgment  on 
account  of  Saul's  sin  in  slaying  the 
Gibeonites.  And  what  was  the 
vengeance  He  then  took  for  that  sin  1 
Seven  of  the  sons  of  Saul  were  de- 
livered to  tlie  Gibeonites,  and  hung 
up  to  the  Lord  in  Gibeah  of  Saul; 
and  then  was  God  entreated  for  the 

351 


CHAP.  XX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


land.  Wlio  will  say  that  in  this  in- 
stance God  visited  not  un  the  chihlren 
tlie  iniquity  of  the  t'atiier  ?  In  like  man- 
ner David  had  fallen  into  the  heinous 
sins  of  adultery  and  murder;  on  con- 
fessing his  iniquity  he  was  punisiied  ! 
Hear  how  the  prophet  Nathan  speaks 
to  the  king — "Because  by  this  deed 
thou  hast  given  great  occasion  to  the 
enemies  of  the  Lord  to  blaspheme,  the 
child  also  that  is  born  unto  thee  shall 
surely  die."  But  our  instances  are  not 
exhausted.  We  bid  you  next  look  at 
the  Jews,  strewed  over  the  globe  like 
the  fragments  of  some  mighty  ship- 
wreck. What  have  this  people  done 
that,  through  long  centuries  the 
weakest  are  strong  enough  to  trample 
on  them,  the  humblest  lofty  enough 
to  despise  them  ]  Why  should  the 
countrymen  of  the  Maccabees,  those 
prodigies  of  valour,  have  been  op- 
pressed by  every  child,  as  though  their 
arms  were  incapable  of  being  strung 
by  bravery  1  You  can  give  no  ex- 
planation of  the  history  of  the  Jews 
since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  if 
you  keep  out  of  sight  that  they  are 
under  the  ban  of  God's  displeasure  for 
the  iniquity  of  their  forefathers.  It 
is,  however,  worthy  of  observation  that 
the  proceeding  after  all  cannot  be 
repugnant  to  our  notions  of  justice, 
since  its  exact  parallel  occurs  in 
human  legislation.  If  the  statute- 
book  of  the  country  enact  the  visiting 
on  children  the  sin  of  the  father,  it 
will  be  hard  to  show  that  the  visita- 
tion is  counter  to  common  sense  and 
equity.  In  cases  of  treason,  we  all 
know  that  it  is  not  the  traitor  alone 
who  is  punished.  His  estates  are  con- 
fiscated, his  honours  destroyed  ;  so 
that,  in  place  of  transmitting  rank  and 
affluence  to  his  son,  he  transmits  him 
nothing  but  shame  and  beggary.  We 
do  not  say  that  the  tiling  must  be 
just  because  enacted  by  human  lawi. ; 
we  only  say  that  there  can  be  no  felt 
and  acknowledged  contradiction  be- 
tween the  proceeding  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  equity,  since  human  laws 
involve  the  cliildren  in  the  doom  of 
the  parent.  He,  who  would  have  worn 
a  ducal  coronet  and  succeeded  to  a 
352 


noble  patrimony  had  his  father  kept 
unsullied  his  loyalty,  loses  both  title 
and  revenue  if  his  father  revolt  against 
his  king,  though  all  the  while  he  him- 
self had  no  share  in  the  treason  ;  and 
the  consequences  go  on  from  genera- 
tion to  generation ;  so  that  the  high- 
born family  is  for  ever  degraded,  and 
penury  and  ignominy  make  up  the 
heritage  Avhich  passes  down  to  a  re- 
mote posterity,  who,  except  for  the 
rebellion  of  a  single  ancestor,  would 
have  rolled  in  wealth  and  ranked  with 
princes.  We  are  clear  that  the  gist  of 
the  question  lies  in  this :  Do  the  chil- 
dren when  visited  for  the  iniquities  of 
the  fathers  lose  anything  to  which' 
they  have  a  right,  or  receive  anything 
which  they  have  not  deserved?  It  is 
certain,  on  all  the  principles  of  a  sound 
theology,  that  sin  involved  the  for- 
feiture of  every  blessing  and  exposure 
to  every  misery;  it  is  just  as  certain, 
therefore,  that  no  blessing  can  be 
obtained,  and  no  misery  averted,  by 
right ;  and  we  think  it,  consequently, 
an  inference  not  to  be  disputed,  that 
whatever  are  God's  reasons  for  making 
adistinction  between  families,  there  can- 
not be  injustice  in  visiting  on  children 
the  iniquities  of  parents.  The  visita- 
tion cannot  overpass  what  is  due  to 
the  children  themselves ;  and  who  then 
can  pronounce  the  visitation  unjust  ? 
Why,  then,  it  is  certain  that  the  child 
is  dealt  with  injuriously,  if  sentenced 
for  the  parents'  iniquity  to  penury 
and  affliction.  Are  penury  and  afflic- 
tion never  overruled  for  good  %  It  is 
necessarily  an  evil  to  have  been  born 
poor  in  place  of  rich ;  to  be  of  weak 
health  instead  of  strong ;  to  struggle 
with  adversity,  in  place  of  being 
lapped  in  prosperity.  No  man  who 
feels  himself  immortal,  who  is  con- 
scious that  this  confined  theatre  of 
existence  is  but  the  school  in  which  he 
is  trained  for  a  wider  and  nobler  still, 
will  contend  for  the  necessary  in- 
juriousness  of  want  and  calamity;  and 
yet,  utdess  this  necessary  injuriousness 
is  suffered,  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
the  children  who  are  visited  for  the 
father's  iniquity  are  on  the  whole  worse 
off  than   they  would  have   been  had 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xx. 


there  been   no  visitation.     Thus  the  physical  evil  is  never  subservient  to 

argument  against  as  much  falls  to  the  moral  good,  we  overthrow  our  position 

ground   as   that   against  his  justice;  by  assuming  what  we  know  to  be  false. 

for,  proceeding  on  the  principle  that  — H.  Melvill. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  7. 

The  Third  Commandment. 

I.  What  is  meant  by  the  name  of  God  ?  1.  By  the  name  of  God  is  often 
understood  God  Himself;  for  to  call  on  God's  name  and  on  Himself  are  one. 
2.  Properly  hereby  is  understood  His  titles,  as  God,  Jehovah,  the  Lord,  Holy, 
Just,  &c.  3.  More  largely  it  is  taken  for  whatsoever  He  maketh  use  of  for 
making  Himself  known. 

II.  What  is  meant  by  taking  His  name  in  vain?  1.  False  swearing,  or 
blasphemy,  charming,  and  what  is  wrong  as  to  the  matter.  Nor  (2)  only 
profane  abusing  of  the  Lord's  name  when  the  matter  is  right,  but  by  rashness, 
precipitancy,  frequency  in  swearing.  Nor  (3)  doth  it  mean  unnecessary  swear- 
ing when  it  may  be  forborne.  But  (4)  in  vain  when  it  is  not  made  use  of  to 
good  purpose ;  that  is,  to  God's  honour — perjury,  levity,  scoflSng. 

III.  Why  the  Lord  is  so  peremptory  in  urging  this  command.  1.  That 
He  may  set  out  His  own  greatness  and  work  reverence  of  Him  in  the  hearts 
of  His  people.  2.  Because  His  name  is  dreadful  and  glorious.  3.  Because 
this  is  the  way  to  curb  atheism  and  profanity,  which  the  devil  driveth  on  by 
these  steps ;  first  to  think  little  of  God,  and  then  to  profane  His  name.  4.  God's 
name  is  precious,  and  given  to  His  people  for  a  great  refuge  (Prov.  xviii.  10). 
God  is  a  Friend  in  Covenant,  yet  so  that  relation  may  not  in  the  least  wear 
out  His  honour,  and  our  due  distance  with  Him  (Deut.  xxviii.  58).  Because 
this  honoureth  God,  and  adorne^h  ^^e  possession  of  the  gospel  before  others  ; 
whereas  irreverence  therein  dishonourath  God.  Look  through  your  public  duties, 
if  there  be  not  much  taking  of  God's  name  in  vain.  Look  through  your  private 
duties  in  families,  reading,  praying,  singing,  saying  grace ;  how  little  regard  is 
had  to  the  name  of  God  in  these  !  Look  through  secret  duties  between  God 
and  you.  Look  through  occasional  duties,  as  when  we  say  it  is  God's  will.  In 
the  writing  of  books  and  letters.  Accidental  mention  of  God's  name,  in  saluta- 
tions. Consider  narrations  of  Scripture  history.  Let  us  not  take  the  name  of 
God  in  vain  in  any  of  these  things. — See  Denham. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH. —  Verm  S-lt 

The  Fourth  Commandment. 

It  is  not  the  original  institution  of  the  Sabbath  which  is  here  referred  to. 
The  Jews  are  simply  reminded  of  an  institution  which  is  actually  in  existence. 
This  is  clearly  implied  in  the  word  "  Remember."  To  remember  a  thing,  it  is 
necessary  that  we  should  have  some  previous  knowledge  of  it.  We  are,  there- 
fore, carried  back  to  the  original  institution  of  the  Sabbath  (Gen.  ii.  2,  3). 

Some  say  Moses  was  speaking  anticipatively  in  this  passage.  They  contend 
that  the  Sabbath  was  not  instituted  until  the  law  was  given  on  Sinai.  It  was 
peculiarly  a  Jewish  institution  ;  consequently  it  came  to  an  end  with  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  is,  therefore,  no  longer  binding.  That  this  view  is  utterly 
false  is  evident  from  the  following  considerations  : — 

1.  The  language  of  the  text — "Remember."  This  implies  some  familiarity 
with  the  Sabbath  on  the  part  of  the  persons  addressed. 

2£  363 


CHAP.  XX.  HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


2.  It  is  recorded  in  sacred  history  that  the  Sabbath  was  regarded  as  a  Divine 
institution,  and  observed  as  a  day  of  peculiar  sacredness  before  the  law  was  given 
(Ex  xvi.  22-28). 

3,  This  is  a  precept  of  the  MORAL  LAW.  Moral  duties  can  never  be  tempo- 
rary. Nor  can  the  application  of  a  moral  law  be  restricted  to  any  particular 
nation.  Dispensations  may  change  or  pass  away,  but  man  remains  a  moral 
being  in  all  ages  and  countries ;  and  those  laws  wiiich  relate  to  his  moral  nature 
must  ever  abide  in  full  f  )rce.  If  the  Fourth  Commandment  is  not  binding 
upon  us,  neither  are  the  rest. 

I.  The  design  of  the  Sabbath.  Two  ideas  are  invariably  associated  with 
this  day — rest  and  sanctity.  It  is  incended  to  serve  two  gre;it  purposes : 
1.  A  day  of  rest  from  })]t.ysical  toil.  On  this  day  God  "rested"  (Gen.  ii.  2;  Ex. 
xxxi.  17).  So  man  is  to  "rest."  On  this  day  there  should  be  a  general 
cessation  from  labour.  Ordinary  work  must  be  laid  aside,  and  only  that  which 
is  necessary  performed.  This  provision  applies  to  the  animals  which  serve  man 
(Ex.  xxiii.  12;  Deut.  v.  14).  Is  not  this  day  of  rest  a  wise  and  benevolent 
appointment  1  We  greatly  undervalue  it.  What  would  be  our  condition  with- 
out a  Sabbath  ?  Every  workshop,  business  mart,  and  commercial  exchange 
open.  Hand  at  it.  Brain  at  it.  Pen  at  it.  One  monotonous  round  of  work, 
with  no  break  in  the  weary  march.  Can  we  conceive  of  anything  more  dreary  1 
How  would  this  no-Sabbath  tell  upon  the  pliysical  constitution  1  Let  facts  give 
the  answer.  How  is  the  Sabbath  observed  as  a  day  of  rest  t  In  some  depart- 
ments of  activity  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  it  from  other  days — specially  true 
of  places  of  refreshment,  public  conveyances,  &c.  The  following  statistics  throw 
a  flood  of  light  on  the  question  : — 100,000  men  are  employed  on  Sundays  on 
our  railways;  another  100,000  on  rivers,  steamboats,  and  canals;  250,000  in 
public-houses  and  beer-shops;  24,000  in  connection  with  cabs,  omnibuses,  and 
tramways  in  London  alone,  and  20,000  in  the  Post-office.  2.  A  day  of  holy 
employment.  Mark  the  injunction:  "Keep  it  holy."  (See  also  Deut.  v.  12; 
Isaiah  Iviii.  13,  14).  It  is  to  be  a  day  of  rest,  but  not  a  day  of  idleness.  The 
time  taken  from  secular  employments  must  be  devoted  to  holy  pursuits. 

II.  What  is  the  practical  religious  value  of  the  Sabbath  7  1.  It  is  a  perpetual 
reminder  of  spiritual  things.  It  makes  men  think  of  God,  keeps  eternity  before 
tliem,  &c.  2.  It  is  a  great  conservative  of  good,  and  a  powerful  barrier  agairist  evil. 
As  things  are  now,  the  moral  condition  of  the  country  is  dreadful.  What 
would  it  be  if  we  had  no  Sabbath?  Some  advocate  the  opening  of  museums, 
picture-galleries,  &c.  To  this  I  offer  most  resolute  and  unqualified  opposition. 
I  do  so  for  three  reasons : — (1.)  The  opening  of  such  places  is  quite  unnecessary. 
As  an  age  of  books.  Books  are  plentiful  and  cheap.  Working  men  get 
good  wages,  and  can  afford  to  buy  them.  They  work  short  hours,  and  so  have 
time  to  read  them.  They  have  frequent  holidays,  and  may  vi-sit  museums,  <kc., 
without  encioaching  on  the  Lord's  day.  (2.)  It  would  entail  labour  iipon  others. 
It  is  unjust  to  compel  one  portion  of  the  community  to  work  on  Sunday  merely 
to  gratify  the  whims  and  ta.stes  of  another  portion.  (3.)  The  purpose  served 
by  these  institutions  is  not  a  spiritual  one,  and  is,  therefore,  unsuited  to  the 
character  of  tliis  holy  day.  They  instruct  and  elevate  the  mind,  but  do  not 
purify  the  moral  nature. 

IIL  The  duty  and  privilege  of  keeping  this  day.  As  a  duty,  it  is  binding 
upon  us  in  a  threefold  sense.  1.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  God.  He  made  the 
Sabbath.  He  commands  us  to  keep  it.  2.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  ourselves. 
As  a  day  of  rest  it  is  essential  to  the  highest  condition  of  physical  health.  As 
a  day  of  holy  meditation  and  worship,  it  is  essential  to  our  spiritual  education 
and  growth.  3.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  our  fellow-men.  You  cannot  violate  the 
354 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT!  RT :  EX OD US.  chap.  xr. 


Sabbath  without  influencing  your  brother  to  do  the  same.  Perhaps  you  directly 
compel  him  to  labour  for  your  pleasure.  A  pivilege.  It  is  a  great  privilege  to 
be  permitted  to  rest  from  exhausting  toil.  It  is  a  still  greater  privilege  to  be 
able  to  devote  an  entire  day  to  the  interests  of  the  soul.  A  Sabbath  riglitly 
spent  is  a  foretaste  of  heaven ;  it  exalts  us  into  intimate  communion  with  Orod,  • 
and  elevates  the  whole  tone  of  our  li^e.— George  Brooks. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Verses  8-11.  As  a  social  institu-  and  Divine  commonwealth.  It  por- 
tion, the  Sunday  imposes  upon  us  an  petuates  the  memory  not  of  our 
obligation  to  keep  it  as  free  as  pos-  rescue  from  slavery  m  Egypt  but  ot 
sible  from  ordinary  work;  but  as  a  a  still  nobler  redemption,  /t  ^ears 
reli<^ious  institution  it  does  not  so  witness  to  the  resurrection  of  bhrist; 
much  impose  obligation  as  offer  privi-  and  to  our  resurrection  with  Him— it 
le^-e  The  great  question  we  have  to  is  "an  Easter  Day  in  every  week, 
ask* in  relation  to  any  possible  infrac-  It  reminds  us,  not  of  the  completion 
tiou  of  its  rehgious  sanctions  is  not,  of  the  Old  Creation,  but  o(  the  com- 
Shall  I  by  doing  this  break  a  law?  but,  mencement  of  the  New  ;  m  which  at 
Shall  I  by  this  miss  a  blessing  1  Every  last  the  sins  and  sorrows  which  have 
thin^  will  fall  into  its  right  place,  and  marred  and  desolated  the  fair  beauty 
every  question  will  receive  its  true  of  this  world  shall  be  known  no  more ; 
answer,  if  we  once  seize  the  true  idea  but  in  which  the  glory  of  God  shall 
of  the  day.  It  is  a  day  to  rejoice  in ;  be  man's  inheritance,  because  in  the 
a  day  not  of  bondage,  but  of  freedom ;  life  of  man  the  lite  of  God  shall  be 
not  of  gloom,  but  of  gladness;  a  day  perfectly  manifested  ;  and  in  this 
in  which  we  declare  that  we  are  not  weekly  rest,  which  has  not  been 
merely  merchants,  mechanics,  shop-  imposed  upon  us  by  any  external  law 
keepers,  and  lawyers,  but  men—  but  demanded  and  won  by  an  inward 
children  of  God  and  heirs  of  immor-  spiritual  instinct,  we  anticipate  the 
tality ;  a  day  in  which  we  assert  our  blessedness  of  the  new  heavens  and 
position  as  the  rulers  and  lords  of  the  the  new  earth  in  which  righteousness 
material  universe,  and  refuse  to  be  in  shall  dwell— the  everlasting  babbath 
thraldom  to  it,  and  in  which  we  of  the  regenerated  and  glorified  sous 
claim  to  be  the  citizens  of  an  invisible  of  God. — H.  W.  Dale. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  12. 

The  Fifth  Commandment. 

I.  Who  are  we  to  honour?  "Thy  father  and  thy  mother."  They  have 
given  birth  to  their  children.  They  have  educated  them.  They  have  pro- 
vided for  their  wants  in  days  of  infancy  and  weakness.  They  love  them  as  no 
one  else  can.  They  watch  them  with  intense  interest,  in  the  opening  ot  their 
minds  to  truth,  and  in  their  progress  in  social  and  commercial  lite,  ihey  are 
over  them  in  the  Lord  ;  and  children  must  give  honour  not  merely  in  the  social 
and  domestic  hfe,  but  in  the  moral  aspects  of  the  relationship. 

II  How  are  we  to  honour  them?  Not  by  mere  verbal  expressions  ot 
respect;  but  by  true  reverence,  by  constant  affection,  by  untmng  obedience, 
and  by  every  effort  calculated  to  enhance  their  welfare  and  delight  bpealc 
well  of  your  parents.  Take  care  of  them  in  old  age.  Never  cause  them  pain 
bv  evil  doing.     Always  commend  them  to  God.  .    ^,     i     j 

III  Why  are  we  to  honour  them  ?  "  That  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee."  It  is  well  to  observe  that  this  is  the 
onlv  one  of  tbe  commandments  which  has  a  distinct  promise  connected  witn  lU 

"'  000 


OHAP.  XZ. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Hence  the  apostle  sa3's,  "Children,  obey  your  parents,  which  is  the  first  com- 
niantimeiit  with  promise"  (Kphes.  vi.  12).  "Children,  obey  your  parents,  that 
it  may  be  well  with  you."  We  may  contrast  this  with  another  passage  : 
"Cursed  be  he  that  setteth  light  by  his  father  or  his  mother."  Children  must 
honour  their  parents.  Because  God  has  commanded  it,  because  blessing  will 
be  attached  to  it,  because  the  high  relationship  demands  it,  because  self-respect 
prompts  it,  and  because  in  the  future  they  will  need  a  like  regard. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Verse  12.     Some  young  people  may 
Bay  that   their   parents   are   not  lov- 
able, and  that  therefore  they  cannot 
love  them ;  not  wise,  and  that  there- 
fore they  cannot  respect  them;  that 
they  are  unreasonable,  capricious,  and 
selfish ;   that  they  have  vices  of  tem- 
per and  speech,  and,    perhaps,    vices 
of  a  still  grosser  kind  ;  and  that  there- 
fore it  is  simply  impossible  to  honour 
them.     I  think  that  there  are  not  a 
few  children  in  our  days  who  are  dis- 
posed   to   take    this   ground,  and   to 
maintain  it  as  a  principle.    Our  parents 
have  a  right  to  just  that  measure  of 
respect  and  affection  from  us,  which 
they  can  claim  on  the  ground  of  their 
intelligence  and  worth,  no  more  and 
no   less.      At   first    sight   this   looks 
reasonable    enough.      There    is   very 
much   to   be   said    for    that   view   of 
matters.     How  can  I  love  any  one  who 
has  very  little  in  lier  to  love,  simply 
because  she  happens  to  be  my  mothiTl 
How  can  I  respect  any  one  in  whom 
there   is   nothing    to   respect,   sinijtly 
because  he  happens  to  be  my  father  % 
The  movements  of  the  heart  and  the 
decisions    of   the    judgment   are   and 
must   be    altogether    independent    of 
mere  relationship,  and  are  determined 
by  the   character   and   power   of  the 
people  with  wliom  we  have  to  do.  That 
looks  very  philosophical,  no  doubt.  But, 
my   philosophic     young    friend,    how 
would  it  have  fared  with  you  if  jour 
father  and  mother  had  had  the  same 
ideas  about  your  claims  on  them  1    You 
want  your   parents  to   stand  on   the 
same  ground  as  other  men  and  women, 
and  to  be  loved  and  respected  accord- 
ing to  their  personal  merits,  just  as  if 
they  had   no   natural  relationship  to 
you;  what  would  have   happened   11' 
356 


they  had  been  equally  philosophical 
and  impartial,  and  if  they  had  given 
you  only  as  nuich  affection  and  care 
as  you  seemed  to  deserve,  or  as  you 
claimed  on  the  ground  of  your  help- 
lessness; if,  in  short,  they  had  justified 
themselves  in  ignoring  any  special 
obligation  to  love  you  and  to  care  for 
you,  beyond  the  obligation  which 
would  have  rested  on  them  to  love 
and  care  for  any  child  that  happened 
to  come  into  their  hands  f  —  R.  W. 
Dale, 

The  notices  of  the  childhood  and 
youth  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Word  of 
God  are  very  few.  But  let  us  look 
now  at  His  obedience  to  His  earthly 
parents.  He  honoured  them,  first  by 
being  "  subject  to  them  ; "  He  was 
obedient ;  He  was  "  full  of  grace  and 
truth ;"  He  grew  in  wisdom  daily. 
His  understanding  and  His  answers 
astonished  all  that  heard  them,  even 
the  most  learned  doctors  of  the  day; 
and  yet  this  Son  went  down  to 
Nazareth  with  His  parents,  and  was 
subject  to  them.  What  a  lesson  for 
all  is  this  !  He  who  was  higher  than 
the  kings  of  the  earth  was  subject  to 
His  parents  ;  He  honoured  His  father ; 
He  obeyed  them.  And  nothing  can 
excuse  a  child  from  this  duty  ;  it 
belongs  to  the  relation,  and  what  God 
has  joined  no  man  may  put  asunder. 
We  find  the  greatest  characters  in  the 
Word  of  God  honouring  their  parents, 
Joseph,  though  governor  of  Egypt, 
bowed  himself  with  his  face  to  the 
earth  before  his  father  Jacob ;  and 
Solomon,  the  most  magnificent  of  all 
earthly  kings,  honoured  his  mother 
with  tlie  same  reverence,  rising  up  to 
meet  her  and  bowing  himself  unto  Iut, 
and  piving  her  the  place  of  honour  at 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


his  right  hand  ;  and  "  behold  a  greater  long  as  the  relationship  exists.     There 

than    Solomon    is    here,"    "  who    was  ma\-  be  a  variety  of  reasons  why  tlie 

subject  unto  His  parents" — not  merely  parent    should    have    no    occasion    to 

courteous    and     reverential,     as     the  exercise    his   authority  ;    but    should 

examples  I  have  mentioned  may  have  occasion    arise,   I    conceive    that    the 

been,    but     "  subject  "     unto     them,  child,  however  advanced  in  years,  is 

obedient    to    them.       Nor    should     I  in   no   sense  exempt  from  obedience ; 

conceive,    dear    friends,    that   age    in  because    we    shall    see,    as   we  go  on, 

the  least  interferes  with  this  duty  on  that  the  parent  is  certainly  not  exempt 

the  part  of  children,  but  tliat  obedience  from  the  exercise  of  authority. — /.  W. 

is  due  from  the  child  to  the  parent  as  Reeve,  M.A. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  13. 

The  Sixth  Commandment. 

One  great  source  of  mischief  to  society  is  disrespect  to  parents;  against  this 
God  has  guarded  His  people,  by  directing  them  to  "honour  their  father  and 
their  mother."  Another  great  source  of  evil  in  the  world  is  to  be  found  in  the 
angry  passions  of  men,  which  have  hurried  them  on  to  thousands  of  violent  and 
cruel  actions  against  each  other.  God  has  given  this  command  in  His  Word, 
"Thou  shalt  not  kill."  In  order  to  see  the  true  tendency  of  our  corruj)t  nature 
in  this  matter,  we  must  go  to  those  lands  in  which  the  counteracting  influence 
of  Christianity  is  unknov^n.  In  heathen  lands  now  interminable  wars  and 
private  murders  quite  thin  the  population.  Look  at  civilised  nations  ;  con- 
template the  wars  in  which  they  have  been  engaged.  The  passions  which  lead 
to  war  are  here  condemned. 

I.  Let  us  look  at  its  meaning — "  Thou  shalt  not  kill."  This  command  is  not 
to  be  taken  in  an  unlimited  sense,  as  prohibiting  all  bloodshed,  because  there 
are  certain  limitations  to  it  which  the  Word  of  God  lays  down,  and  it  is  one 
amongst  many  passages  of  Scripture  which  show  that  we  must  constantly  seek 
for  those  limitations  which  God  has  set.  God  has  Himself  shown  that  there 
are  some  cases  in  which  bloodshed  is  not  only  allowable,  but  right  (Gen.  ix.  6). 
Long  after,  when  the  old  Mosaic  law  was  established,  the  life  of  a  munlerer 
was  by  that  law  to  be  taken,  and  there  was  to  be  no  atonement  made.  It  is 
thus  God's  will  that  the  murderer  should  be  put  to  death.  Xay,  further,  it  is 
His  will  that  other  intolerable  evils  which  would  otherwise  overrun  society 
should  be  checked  forcibly  ;  and  if,  in  the  eHbrt  to  prevent  them,  blood  be  taken, 
it  is  agreeable  to  His  will  (Ex.  xxii,  2).  Defensive  wars  may  be  placed  upon 
this  ground  :  if  the  thief,  who  broke  into  a  dwelling,  was  to  be  resisted  even  to 
death,  it  must  be  agreeable  to  the  Divine  will  that,  when  a  multitude  of  men 
combine  to  overrun  a  peaceable  community,  they  should  be  put  to  death. 
Human  life  may  be  taken  when  necessary  to  the  repression  of  violent  crimes, 
it  may  not  be  taken  on  the  mere  plea  of  expediency.  But  to  take  away  human 
life  on  any  other  pretext  whatever — to  take  it  away  from  revenge  or  passion — 
to  take  it  away  unjustly,  under  colour  of  law  or  without  law,  by  means  of  the 
magistrate  or  by  personal  violence — is  absolutely  contrary  to  the  express  will 
of  God.  It  is  contrary  to  His  will  that  we  should  take  away  our  own  lives. 
Suicide  leaves  no  space  for  repentance.  It  closes  life  by  an  act  of  rebellion 
against  God.  Even  heathens  could  speak  of  the  cowardice  of  suicide;  because  it 
never  springs  from  any  other  cause  than  a  man's  incapability  of  bearing  the 
sorrow  which  Divine  Providence  has  imposed  upon  him,  or  which  arises  from 
his  own  fault.  But  we  especially  refer  this  command  to  others.  Sometimes  it  has 
happened  that  men  have  taken  away  the  life  of  a  fellow-creature  by  means  of  un- 

357 


OBAF.  XX.  HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

just  aud  oppressive  laws.  That  was  no  justification  for  their  conduct  in  the  sight 
of  God  ;  it  must  be  murder,  because  they  were  the  direct  cause.  If  a  man  has 
made  use  of  anotlier  as  iiis  instrument  in  attempting  tu  murder,  he  is  the 
murderer  in  God's  sight.  David,  rather  than  Joab,  was  the  murderer  of  Uriah. 
Cruelty  leads  to  murder,  as  in  the  case  of  the  oppressed  slave.  Excessive  work 
leads  to  murder,  and  those  wlio  require  it  are  guilty  of  murder.  But  the  com- 
mand of  God  bids  us  bind  those  angry  passions  wliich  tend  to  murder.  We  are 
called  to  check  all  strife  (Prov.  xvii.  14).  We  must  avoid  hatred,  as  it  leads  to 
strife.  In  the  Word  of  God,  hatred  is  said  to  be  murder.  We  must  not  permit 
the  feeling  of  revenge  (Matt.  v.  39).  Envy  is  also  the  source  of  murder ;  resist 
it.  This  occasioned  the  first  murder ;  it  nearly  wrought  the  death  of  Joseph. 
Resist  pride,  as  by  pride  cometli  contention.  Also  the  command  not  to  kill, 
enjoins  upon  us  the  cherishing  those  opposite  atieciions  by  which  the  tempta- 
tion to  kill  shall  be  destroyed,  and  those  passions  controlled  which  are  the  first 
step  to  murder.  Instead  of  indulging  revenge,  we  are  told,  "  Therefore,  if 
thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink,"  &c.  Instead  of 
allowing  ourselves  to  hate  our  fellows,  the  command  is  given  that  we  should 
cherish  brotherly  kindness.  Instead  of  being  allowed  to  envy  our  fellow- 
creatures  because  of  their  superior  merit,  we  are  told  to  honour  all  men 
Instead  of  indulging  pride,  we  are  to  be  subject  one  to  another.  We  are  to 
love  our  enemies,  &c. 

II.  How  we  may  strengthen  this  principle  of  obedience  which  we  are  called 
to  cherish.  When  God  has  said  to  us,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  He  has  enjoined 
upon  each  of  us  to  take  the  means,  which  are  prescribed  in  the  Word  or  pre- 
sented by  circumstances,  by  which  we  may  secure  obedience  to  that  command. 
Prayer  is  necessary ;  thus  grace  comes  to  the  soul.  We  have  no  reason  to 
expect  the  aid  of  God,  except  we  ask  it.  We  must  present  to  our  minds  those 
considerations  which  tend  to  strengthen  the  principle  of  obedience.  Think  of 
the  authority  of  God  in  enacting  this  law ;  He  calls  us  to  repress  all  angry 
passions.  Let  us  remember  God's  forbearance  to  us,  and  that  He  loved  us  while 
enemies.  Take  care  to  avoid  the  beginning  of  strife  ;  if  called  to  it  in  the  way 
of  duty  guard  the  motives.  Be  careful  in  your  friendships  ;  make  no  friendship 
with  an  angry  man.  Let  us  guard  all  prejudices  against  others.  Let  us  not 
fancy  evil  against  any  one.  Let  us  form  those  habits  which  cherish  all  the 
purest  and  best  afi'ections.  Let  us  enter  upon  this  duty  in  dependence  upon 
God's  grace.  There  are  many  motives  to  it.  It  will  bring  us  many  personal 
comforts ;  it  tends  to  give  us  the  purest  and  most  steadfast  happiness  on  this 
side  of  eternity,  and  to  prepare  us  for  that  celestial  abode  where  no  angry 
passion  enters.  It  is  calculated  to  benefit  society  and  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of 
Christ.—^.  W.  Noel,  M.A. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAQRAPH.— Verse  14. 

The  Seventh  Commandment. 

Among  the  various,  the  innumerable  proofs,  which  God  has  given  of  His 
perfect  goodness,  the  institution  of  marriage  is  one  of  the  most  beneficent ;  and 
it  shows  especially  and  abundantly  His  goodness  to  fallen  man.  Those  who 
have  not  entered  this  endeared  relation,  feel  in  the  midst  of  the  world  a  solitude 
of  the  heart.  In  this  relationship  there  is  every  circumstance  calculated  to 
promote  human  happiness.  Other  relationships  are  often  interrupted  and  broken 
in  upon  by  opposite  interests;  but,  through  the  goodness  of  God,  the  interests 
of  man  and  wife  are  one.  Other  relations  are  often  separated  by  the  circum- 
•tances  of  lite;  but  a  husband  aud  his  wife  are  united  for  ever.  Yet  man  is 
365 


HOMTLETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS,  chap.  xx. 


so  perverse  and  foolish  that  he  will  cast  aside  this  happiness.     An  adulterous 
man  breaks  many  vows,  and  destroys  the  happiness  of  an  entire  family, 

I.  In  this  command,  God  has  forbidden  unfaithfulness  towards  a  husband  or 
towards  a  wife ;  having  attached  to  it,  both  under  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  the 
most  fearful  penalties.  Then  the  adulterer  and  the  adulteress  were  to  be  put 
to  death.  Now  we  are  told  that  adulterers  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God.  But  this  commandment  forbids  any  previous  step  in  a  coarse  of  infamy, 
— any  kind  of  incentive  to  impurity  is  forbidden  by  the  pure  morality  of  the 
Gospel.     Indecent  conversation.     Immodesty  in  dress.     All  evil  thoughts. 

IL  Rules  favourable  to  moral  chastity.  1.  To  mortify  any  evil  propensity. 
We  are  commanded  by  the  Word  of  God  to  put  to  death  any  corrupt  inclination. 
2.  We  must  endeavour  to  strengthen  the  spirituality  of  our  minds.  "  If  ye  be  risen 
with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the 
right  hand  of  God  ;  set  your  aifection  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the 
earth."  3.  Seek  the  society  and  the  friendship  of  those  who  are  themselves  good  and 
holy.  If  a  person  loves  the  good  he  has  a  natural  distaste  for  the  society  of  the 
abandoned  and  the  wicked.  Just  in  proportion  as  virtuous  affections  obtain 
the  dominion  in  our  hearts,  vicious  passions  are  subdued.  4.  Fill  up  time  with 
wholesome  and  right  employments.  Even  those  that  are  not  in  themselves  of  a 
high  and  elevating  character,  but  are  the  lowest  kind  of  duty  to  which  any  man 
can  be  called,  have  this  excellent  effect ;  they  are  calculated  to  occupy  the 
thoughts,  to  interest  the  mind,  and  to  prevent  the  thoughts  becoming  vagrant 
after  that  which  is  in  itself  corrupt.  5.  Observe  the  rules  of  temperance  in  all 
things,  in  eating,  sleeping,  and  drinking.  We  owe  a  duty  to  society  at  large. 
We  must  secure  our  personal  purity  and  lessen  the  amount  of  vice  found  in  the 
world.  Society  ought  to  frown  upon  vice.  No  government  ought  to  employ  an 
avowed  libertine.  The  public  journals  ought  to  brand  him  with  infamy. — 
W.  B.  Noel,  M.A. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verte  15. 

The  Eighth  Commandment:   Varieties  in  Theft. 

Man  is  not  to  regard  himself  as  an  individual  unit — as  living  for  himself 
alone — but  as  forming  part  of  the  great  aggregate  of  humanity.  The  promotion 
of  his  true  welfare  is  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  the  Avhole  community  of 
which  he  forms  a  part.  He  who  wrongs  the  community  wrongs  himself;  and 
also  he  who  wrongs  himself  wrongs  tlie  community.  A  man  by  stealing  thinks  to 
enrich  himself ;  but  he  is  certainly  impoverishing  himself  in  the  long  run,  as 
well  as  doing  injury  to  his  neighbour,  so  that  the  man  who  is  a  faithful  keeper 
of  the  law  obtains  a  reflex  blessing.  In  seeking  his  neighbour's  good  a  man  is 
promoting  his  own  highest  welfare. 

L  We  must  not  rob  ourselves.  It  might  be  supposed  that  selfishness  would 
prevent  us  violating  this  precept,  Init  selfishness  overleaps  itself,  and  is  suicidal. 
The  selfish  are  those  who  are  self-spoliators.  The  selfish  man  robs  himself  of 
happiness  at  least ;  and  in  most  cases  hinders  himself  from  becoming  truly 
wealthy.  Matthew  Henry  very  pithily  observes— "  This  command  forbids  us 
to  rob  ourselves  of  what  we  have  by  sinful  spending,  or  of  the  use  and  comfort 
of  it  by  sinful  sparing."  The  prodigal  robbed  himself  by  sinful  spending  and 
was  reduced  to  starvation.  We  must  not  rob  ourselves  either  by  wasting  our 
money  or  our  time,  or  by  misusing  our  privileges,  or  by  abusing  Divine  gifts,  or 
by  letting  pride  and  prejudice  prevent  us  receiving  gospel  blessings.  There  are 
duties  which  a  man  owes  to  himself.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  a  man  must  live 
to  himself. 

359 


CEAP.  xs.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


II.  We  must  not  rob  our  neighbours.  Human  laws  very  gfenerally  enforce  thia 
Divine  law,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  as  a  precept  to  be  observed  with  regard 
to  material  propertu.  Human  governments  have  instinctively  recognised  the 
Divinity,  and  the  necessity  to  social  welfare,  of  a  great  part  of  the  Mosaic 
Decalogue  ;  and  on  what  principle  some  are  regarded  as  Divine  and  as  perpetu- 
ally binding,  and  others  as  not  so,  we  fail  to  perceive  !  Material  stealing  is  a 
crime  universally  abhorred.  How  comes  it  to  pass  that  intelleclval  stealing  is  not 
more  generally  reprobated  ?  Great  changes  would  take  place  in  the  literary 
world  if  over  every  desk  of  the  writer,  and  if  over  every  pul})it  of  the  preacher 
were  written,  and  were  duly  observed  the  words,  "Thou  shalt  not  steal."  We 
may  repeat  the  question.  Thou  that  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou 
steal  1  Dost  thou  attempt  to  shine  in  borrowed  plumage  ]  Dost  thou  unblush- 
ingly  appropriate  the  intellectual  wealth  of  others  1  There  is  also  moral  theft. 
Every  man  who  lowers  the  moral  tone  is  stealing.  Every  man  who  undermines 
public  virtue  is  stealing.  There  are  many  thieves  who  are  regarded  as  honest 
men.  There  are  thieves  everywhere,  but  we  shrink  from  calling  things  and 
men  by  their  right  names.  A  periphrastic  mode  of  utterance  may  mean 
national  decline,  as  well  as  the  advance  of  civilisation. 

in.  We  must  not  rob  God.  "Will  a  man  rob  God?  Yet  ye  have  robbed  Me. 
But  ye  say.  Wherein  have  we  robbed  Thee  ]  In  tithes  and  offerings.  Ye  are 
cursed  with  a  curse  ;  for  ye  have  robbed  Me,  even  this  whole  nation."  We  rob 
God  more  frequently  than  we  rob  men.  There  are  those  who  are  regarded  as 
honest  by  their  fellows  who  have  robbed  God.  A  man  has  no  right  to  steal 
himself  from  God.  The  creature  is  the  Creator's  property,  and  the  creature 
who  does  not  use  himself  for  the  Creator's  glory  is  guilty  of  stealing.  And  in 
thus  robbing  God  we  rob  ourselves  much  more.  We  must  be  honest  to  our- 
selves, honest  to  our  neighbours;  and  perfect  honesty  is  only  secured  when  we 
are  honest  to  our  God.  Godward  honesty  will  make  manward  dishonesty  an 
impossibility.  Then  masters  will  not  steal  from  servants,  nor  servants  from 
masters.  Then  justice  will  be  rightly  administered.  Then  kings  will  rule  in 
the  fear  of  God.  Then  nations  will  not  steal  from  nations.  Oh,  for  the  bright 
day  when  all  shall  seek  to  understand  and  to  obey  the  comprehensive  and  far- 
reaching  command,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal ! " — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAORAPH.— Verse  16. 

The  Ninth  Commandment  :  The  Power  of  the  Tongue  for  Evil. 

Human  codes  take  cognisance  of  theft  and  of  murder,  and  seek  to  repress 
them  by  severe  punishment;  but  they  do  not  punish  for  theft  and  murder 
committed  by  the  tongue.  We  acknowledge  the  power  of  the  human  hand,  but 
too  often  forget  the  power  for  evil  of  the  human  tongue.  In  this  the  Divine 
code  is  for  the  most  part  superior  to  human  codes.  The  tongue  can  steal  and 
can  murder.  It  may  kill  a  neighbour's  reputation.  It  may  rob  of  that  the  loss 
of  which  makes  him  poor  indeed  and  does  not  enrich  the  thief. 

I.  The  violation  of  this  command  destroys  the  wltnesser's  moral  manhood. 
This  is  a  species  of  lying.  All  falsehood  is  base.  It  is  the  outcome  of  baseness, 
and  increases  the  baseness.  Every  man  who  bears  false  witness  does  himself 
more  moral  damage  than  he  does  to  the  neighbour  of  whom  the  false  testimony 
is  given, 

II.  The  violation  of  this  command  does  injustice  to  our  neighbour.  It  may  do 
him  no  moral  harm,  but  does  him  great  social  damage.  It  places  him  in  a  false 
position.  The  court  may  disbelieve  and  reject  the  talse  testimony,  but  the  man 
has  been  injured  by  being  subjected  to  an  examination.  It  is  extremely  difficult 
for  a  man  to  clear  away  all  the  dirt  which  has  been  thrown  by  the  false-witness 

360 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xx. 

bearer.  Many  a  man's  reputation  has  been  darkened  all  his  life  by  the  malicious 
tales  of  the  bearer  of  false-witness. 

III.  The  violation  of  tliis  command  prevents  the  course  of  justice.     The 

adminibtrators  of  law  cannot  move  with  certainty  when  witnesses  are  not 
reliable.  Witnesses  are  not  likely  to  tell  a  false  tale,  if  appearances  are  not 
against  the  accused.  It  requires  great  sagacity  to  separate  the  true  from  the 
false,  to  get  above  mere  appearances,  and  discover  the  correct  state  of  the  case. 

IV.  More  generally  notice  that  the  violation  of  this  command  degrades.  The 
tale-bearer  revealeth  secrets ;  and  depraved  human  nature  loves  to  hear  evil 
secrets  revealed.  The  slanderer  may  be  welcomed,  but  is  not  respected.  And 
ultimately  his  tales  are  received  with  suspicion.  He  is  in  danger  of  being  cast 
out  as  an  evil  spirit.  The  man  who  to  me  slanders  my  neighbour,  will  in  turn 
slander  me  to  my  neighbour ;  and  if  we  are  wise  we  shall  not  lend  him  our 
ears. 

V.  The  violation  of  this  command  robs  the  slanderer  of  his  capital.  In 
modern  society  especially  reputation  is  as  much  capital  as  the  current  coin  of 
the  realm.  It  is  true  that  character  remains  when  reputation  is  destroyed. 
This  may  be  some  consolation  to  the  man  sitting  amid  the  ruins  ;  but  when 
reputation  is  gone  a  man's  social  position  is  gone.  It  may  also  be  true  that  a 
man's  well-known  character  will  tend  to  preserve  his  reputation  ;  but  if  suffi- 
cient dirt  is  thrown  some  of  it  is  sure  to  stick.  Slanderers  are  the  bane  of 
society.  What  suffering  they  inflict  I  They  have  embittered  the  lives  of  the 
purest  and  the  hoUest.  We  must  pray  God  to  hide  us  safe  in  His  pavilion  from 
the  strife  of  unruly  tongues. — W,  Burrows,  B.A. 

Bearing  false  witness  covers  the  whole  case  of  those  sins  which  transgress 
more  or  less  of  the  whole  truth  ;  and  one  who  fails  in  a  given  case  to  tell  the 
whole  truth  is  more  or  less  amenable  to  this  law.  Observe  apart  from  deli- 
berate lying — 

I.  That  we  may  bear  false  witness  by  equivocation. 

II.  That  we  may  bear  false  witness  by  the  suppression  of  any  essential 
element  that  goes  to  make  up  the  whole  truth  ;  e.g.,  in  revealing  an  incident 
which  affects  our  neighbour's  character. 

III.  That  we  may  bear  false  witness  by  putting  a  wrong  connection  on  and 
giving  a  wrong  emphasis  to  the  words  of  another. 

IV.  That  we  may  bear  false  witness  without  the  utterance  of  a  word.  (1.) 
By  neglecting  to  defend  a  slandered  character,  silence  implying  consent.  (2.) 
By  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  a  compression  of  the  lips,  a  motion  of  the  hand,  is 
quite  enough  to  ruin  a  reputation  or  a  soul.  To  avoid  this  and  its  heavy  con- 
demnation ;  (i.)  Seek  to  become  like  Him  who  is  "  the  Truth  ;"  (ii.)  be  open  and 
candid  in  all  your  ways  ;  and  (iii.)  give  others  credit  for  what  you  demand  for 
yourself. — J.  W.  Burn. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THB  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  17. 

The  Tenth  Commandment  :  Inordinate  Desire. 

**  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's."  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself."  Here  are  two  closely  related  commands.  The  negative  and  positive 
aspect  of  a  perfectly  righteous  man's  life.  "  Thou  shalt  not  "  may  go  far  enough 
for  children ;  but  "  Thou  shalt  "  is  a  step  higher.  The  perfect  one  must  not 
only  refrain  from  injuring  a  neighbour,  but  embrace  him  with  the  arms  of  love. 
The  man  who  can  say  he  has  kept  the  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet," 
has  gained  a  high  moral  elevation  ,  but  he  has  not  yet  climbed  the  sublime 
moral  heights  of  him  who  loves  the  neighbour  even  as  if  the  neighbour  were 

361 


CHAP.  XX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


himself.  Love  is  compatible  with  desire,  but  it  is  not  consistent  with  inordinate 
desire.  Love  thinketh  no  evil ;  and  the  covetous  man  is  an  envious  man,  is  an 
evil-thinking  man,  is  a  man  given  to  dismal  brooding.  Love  doth  not  beliave 
itself  unseemly,  seeketli  not  her  own  ;  but  the  covetous  is  most  unseemly  in  his 
behaviour — the  covetous  not  only  seeks  his  own  with  great  zeal,  but  seeks  by 
fair  means  or  by  foul  to  get  possession  of  that  which  is  not  iiis  own.  My  very 
love  for  a  friend  may  increase  my  admiration  of  his  perfections,  and  thus  lead 
me  to  desire  them,  but  it  will  prevent  me  looking  upon  liim  with  an  envious 
gaze ;  it  will  keep  me  from  being  discontented.  1  siiali  rejoice  in  his  perfec- 
tions and  possessions  as  it  they  were  mine.  Indeed  my  love  makes  them  mine. 
They  aHbrd  me  as  much  pleasure  as  they  do  to  him  whom  the  world  considers 
the  true  owner. 

I.  The  violation  of  this  command  arraigns  the  wisdom  of  Providence.  Some 
men  may  blame  not  Divine  Providence,  but  their  own  improvidence,  for  the  fact 
that  they  are  not  surrounded  by  all  material  blessings.  We  too  often  make 
Providence  responsible  for  the  evils  under  which  we  groan.  But  having  done 
our  best,  and  having  been  beaten  in  the  race,  we  arraign  the  wisdom  of  Provi- 
dence when  we  covet  the  winner's  prize.  The  disposal  of  human  events  is  of 
the  Lord.  We  must  believe  that  the  hand  of  God  gives  riches,  and  beauties, 
and  pleasures  to  some,  and  withholds  from  others.  And  we  must  not  arraign 
the  wisdom  which  guides  the  hand  by  coveting  our  neighbour's  possessions. 

II.  The  violation  of  this  covimand  disturbs  the  balance  of  society.  It  dis- 
turbs the  harmony  of  all  societies,  both  communistic  and  non-communistic. 
The  early  Church  tried  all  things  in  common,  but  covetousness  threw  its  wither- 
ing blast  over  the  fair  ideal.  Covetousness  is  the  worm  which  destroys  every 
booth  which  communism  erects  for  a  shadow.  Covetousness  leads  the  rich  to 
oppress  the  poor ;  and  causes  the  poor  to  combine  for  the  destruction  of  the 
rich. 

III.  The  violation  of  this  command  produces  criminal  deeds.  The  desire  is 
inordinate,  irrepressible.  It  consumes  and  destroys  all  right  moral  feelings 
in  the  man.  No  stone  must  be  left  unturned  for  the  gratification  of  the  for- 
bidden lust.  Every  barrier  must  be  thrown  down  that  mtervenes  between  the 
man  and  the  coveted  boon.  Guile  shall  accomplish  the  purpose.  But  if  guile 
fail,  then  force  must  be  applied. 

IV.  The  violation  of  this  command  embitters  existence.  A  man  may  have 
sufficient  worldly  prudence  left  so  as  not  to  permit  his  covetousness  to  lead  him 
into  criminality.  He  may  have  sufficient  self-control  to  stop  just  where  the 
police  meet  him,  or  human  law  traces  its  lines.  But  his  life  is  stripped  of  all 
pleasure.  The  cup  he  constantly  drinks  is  very  bitter,  and  his  covetousness 
has  prepared  the  ingredients.  Envy  is  the  rottenness  of  the  bones.  And 
where  there  is  no  envy  there  will  be  no  covetousness. 

V.  This  command  can  only  be  kept  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  Love  will 
enable  us  to  fulfil  the  law,  and  this  special  law  requires  a  special  love.  The 
Gospel  teaches  the  true  brotherhood  of  humanity.  Covetousness  is  a  thing  of 
the  darkness  and  cannot  live  in  the  clear  light  of  brotherly  love.  Brotherhood 
is  destroyed  when  covetousness  takes  possession  of  the  soul.  We  need  not 
only  more  brotherliness,  but  more  motherliness.  For  a  brother  may  covet  a 
brother's  goods,  but  a  mother  could  never  covet  a  child's  goods.  Oh,  for  this 
highest  love  !  Oh,  for  the  true  spirit  of  Christ !  Oh,  for  this  power  to  look  not 
with  covetous  eyes,  but  with  complacent  gaze  upon  the  things  of  others  ! — 
W.  Burrows,  B.A. 

That  this  law  is  of  vast  importance  is  seen — 1.  From  its  position  in  the  code. 
It  is  the  last.     2.  From  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  secret  sins  of  the  heart. 
S.  From  the  fact  that  it  is  the  root  and  mainspring  of  every  other  evil.     God's 
362 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :   EXOD  US. 


Word  gives  illustrations  which  can  be  multiplied  in  every  experience  of  the 
breach  of  the  other  commandment  through  it  (cf.  James  i.  14,  15)  ;  idolatry 
and  kindred  crimes  (Col.  iii.  5)  ;  Sabbath  breaking  (Num.  xv.  32) ;  dishonour 
to  parents  (Luke  xv.);  murder,  David  and  Uriah;  adultery,  David  and  Bath- 
sheba  (Eom.  i.  29) ;  theft  (Micah  ii.  2) ;  lying  (2  Tim.  iii  2 ;  2  Peter  ii.  3). 
Learn — 

I.  That  covetousness  is  possible  in  many  forms.  1.  We  may  covet  our 
neighbour's  property,  money,  house,  dress,  &c.  2.  We  may  covet  our  neigh- 
bour's abilities.  3.  We  may  covet  our  neighbour's  reputation.  4.  We  may 
covet  our  neighbour's  friendships. 

IL  That  covetousness  is  punished  in  many  ways.  1.  It  is  abhorred  by  God 
(Ps.  X.  3).  2.  It  is  condemned  by  God  (Hab.  ii.  9).  3.  It  involves  exclusion 
from  Church  membership.     4.  It  disqualifies  for  heaven  (1  Cor.  vi.  10). 

III.  That  covetousness  may  be  avoided  in  all  its  forms.  1.  By  purification 
of  the  heart  (Mark  vii.  22).  2.  By  effectual  fervent  prayer  (Psal.  cxix.  36). 
3.  By  godly  contentment  (1  Tim.  vi.  6;  Phil.  iv.  11-14,  19).  4.  By  earnest 
coveting  of  the  best  gift. 

IV.  That  God's  blessing  rests  upon  them  that  hate  it  in  many  ways  (Prov. 
Xxviii.  16). L  W.  Burn. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  18-21. 

The  Superficial  and  the  Profound. 

The  law  was  given  under  circumstances  of  great  solemnity.  Nature  assumed 
her  sternest  aspect ;  and  spoke  in  tones  of  thunder.  All  was  calculated  to 
impart  deep  and  striking  emphasis  to  every  enactment  given  forth  by  the 
world's  great  legislator.  The  whole  scene  was  so  appalling  that  the  people 
were  filled  with  terror.  When  we  think  of  our  own  emotions  as  we  listen  to 
the  thunder's  deep  base,  or  watch  the  lightning's  vivid  flash,  we  are  not  surprised 
that  these  people  were  alarmed.  Let  us,  however,  seek  to  get  a  correct  view  of 
Divine  proceedings,  and  thus  gain  confidence. 

I.  Superficial  views  of  Divine  proceedings  induce  fear.  Superficial  views 
are  always  dangerous,  though  they  may  not  always  lead  to  fear.  The  superficial 
man  is  bold  through  his  very  shallowness.  Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to 
tread.  Ignorant  men  are  not  troubled  with  doubts.  They  sometimes  speak 
with  repellant  fluency  and  painful  dogmatism  upon  subjects  they  have  never 
thoroughly  studied  and  much  less  mastered.  Kevertheless,  superficial  views 
are  dangerous,  and  lead  to  great  mistakes.  They  did  so  in  this  case.  The 
people  said  unto  Moses,  "Speak  thou  with  us  and  we  will  hear;  but  let  not 
God  speak  with  us,  lest  we  die."  Their  fear  led  them  to  prefer  the  human  and 
to  reject  the  Divine.  This  is  the  history  of  fearing  and  deluded  humanity. 
Human  voices  are  followed  through  a  mistaken  sense  of  safety.  Divine  voices 
are  rejected  through  baseless  terror.  The  world  follows  the  teaching  of  the 
priests,  instead  of  listening  to  the  still  small  voice  of  the  Infinite.  And  the 
world  is  thus  led  fearfully  astray  ;  for  earthly  priests  are  not  constituted  after 
the  Mosaic  type.  Our  fears  are  the  result  of  our  sins  ;  for  conscience  doth 
make  cowards  of  us  all.  Earthly  and  self-seeking  priests  take  advantage  of 
our  fears ;  but  not  so  Moses,  he  was  the  world's  sublime  prophet. 

II.  Profound  views  of  Divine  proceedings  encourage  confidence.     The  voice 

of  the  earthly  priest  is  fear;  but  the  exhortation  of  the  Heavenly  Priest  is, 
Fear  not.    The  former  carries  on  his  trade  by  increasing  the  fears  of  the  people ; 

363 


CHAP.  XX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


but  the  latter,  with  Divine  benevolence,  seeks  to  encourage  a  legitimate  con- 
fidence. Moses  had  prolound  views  of  Divine  proceedings,  tlierefore  his  ex- 
hortation. A  correct  understanding  will  remove  terror;  it  often  does  so  in 
things  temi)oral.  The  lions  produce  terror,  until  we  get  a  further  revelation  and 
find  that  they  are  chained.  It  must  do  so  in  things  moral  God  is  to  be 
feared  in  the  a-sembly  of  His  saints,  but  He  is  not  to  be  regarded  with  terror. 
Fear  not,  is  the  exhortation  of  Moses  ;  Fear  not,  is  the  exhortation  of  Jesus 
Christ,  of  whom  Moses  was  an  eminent  type.  If  men  were  to  fear  not  iu  the 
presence  of  the  mount  that  might  not  be  touched,  how  much  more  may  we  say, 
Fear  not,  to  men  who  see  the  mount  which  is  bright  with  the  lii^ht  of  Divine  love  t 

III.  Profound  views  of  Divine  proceedings  lead  to  a  correct  understanding 
of  Divine  purposes.  "  For  God  is  come  to  prove  you,  and  that  His  fear  may 
be  before  your  faces,  that  ye  sin  not."  Shallow  views  lead  to  disastrous  mistakes. 
The  religion  of  mere  sentiment  will  be  a  religion  of  terror.  We  must  think  upon 
the  Divine  ways,  and  then  shall  we  turn  our  feet  unto  the  Divine  testimonies, 
and  understand  more  correctly  the  deep  things  of  God.  Here  is  a  seeming 
paradox,  fear  not  and  yet  fear.  Fear  not  with  slavish  terror;  but  fear  as  loving 
children.  Fear  not  with  that  terror  which  makes  you  shrink  from  the  Divine 
voice  ;  but  fear  so  as  to  shrink  from  that  which  the  Divine  voice  forbids.  The 
purpose  of  Divine  proceedings  is  that  His  peojde  may  be  proved.  Nature  herself 
tests  man's  powers.  His  power  of  labour  and  of  endurance  are  tested.  The 
phenomena  of  nature  may  become  great  moral  tests.  The  thunder's  peal  and 
the  lightning's  flash  may  develop  a  true  manhood.  God  comes  to  prove  His 
people,  not  always  by  the  thunder  and  the  lightning  and  the  smoking  mountain, 
but  by  the  common  events  of  our  daily  life.  Disappointments  in  business, 
defeats  in  ambitious  projects,  a  new  and  seemingly  unpromising  opening  in  life, 
disorders  in  the  family  or  in  the  nation,  sickness,  and  bereavement,  are  the 
pathways  along  w-hich  God  travels  to  prove  His  beloved.  The  ultimate  purpose 
of  all  Divine  methods  is  that  His  people  sin  not.  The  terrors  of  the  Jewish 
economy  were  to  keep  people  from  transgression.  The  love  and  grace  of  the 
Gospel  are  intended  to  promote  holiness.  Jesus  came  to  save  people  from  their 
sins,  to  deliver  them  from  moral  bondage  and  corruption. 

IV.  The  unenlightened  and  the  fearing  stand  afar  off  "  And  the  people 
stood  afar  off."  There  is  no  reason  to  keep  away  from  God.  He  invites  and 
welcomes  to  Himself  the  children  of  men.  We  do  not  get  to  ourselves  the  true 
knowledge  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood,  and  therefore  we  keep  at  a  distance.  Tiie 
prodigal  felt  himself  unworthy  to  be  called  his  father's  son,  until  he  understood 
the  greatness  of  the  father's  love.  Let  us  pray  for  more  light.  Let  us  consider 
that  God  is  our  Father  in  heaven,  bending  down  w^ith  loving  gaze  and  deep 
interest  to  us  His  children  upon  the  earth.  And  why  should  we  keep  away 
from  a  Father's  love?  Why  should  we  shut  out  the  light  of  a  Father's  compas- 
sion ?  Why  should  we  stand  afar  off,  when  we  may  be  embraced  by  the  arms 
of  the  Eternal  ? 

v.  But  the  heaven-taught  are  taken  into  the  thick  darkness  where  the  true 
light  appears.  Moses  drew  near,  or,  more  correctly,  was  made  to  draw  near, 
unto  the  thick  darkness  where  God  was.  The  rabbis  su{)pose  that  God  called 
unto  Moses,  and  encouiaged  him,  and  sent  an  angel  to  take  him  by  the  hand, 
and  to  lead  him  up.  This  may  lie  a  mere  fancy,  but  it  has  its  foundation  in 
fact.  God's  encouraging  call  is  heard  in  tlie  hearts  of  the  faithful.  God's  guid- 
ing angels  lead  by  the  hand  God's  faitliful  ones  into  the  thick  darkness  where  the 
true  light  appears.  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God.  At  first  the  vision  may 
seem  only  like  thick  darkness,  but  soon  it  will  be  one  of  celestial  splendours. 
This  is  often  the  Divine  method  through  the  thick  darkness  into  the  Divine 
364 


BOMILETIC  UUalMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


celestial  splendour.  Through  the  thick  darkness  of  earlier  formations  into  the 
light,  and  glory  of  the  finished  creation.  Through  the  thick  darkness  of  the 
law  into  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  Through  the  darkness  of  repentance  into  the 
light  of  pardon.  Through  the  darkness  of  this  world,  and  through  the  deeper 
darkness  of  death,  into  the  land  of  unclouded  light  and  unsullied  glory. 

—  W.  Burrows^  B.A. 

God's  Eevelation  op  Himself.  —  Fer.^es  18-20. 

God's  revelation  of  His  law  Avas  accompanied  by  a  revelation  of  Himself. 
What  was  this  but  a  symbolic  promise  that  He  would  be  with  them  and  enable 
them  to  keep  His  law.  Cf.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20  ;  Mark  xvi.  20  ;  Luke  xiv.  49. 
We  have  dealt  with  this  subject  under  other  aspects  before,  (see  on  chap.  xix. 
14-25).     Here  we  have  the  mode,  the  reception,  the  comfort.     Notice — 

1.  That  the  mode  of  this  revelation  was  striking.  Ver.  18.  1.  Such  a  mode 
v<Sl?,  necessary  {\.)  to  reveal  God's  majesty  to  men  familiar  with  the  puerilities 
of  heathen  worship ;  (2.)  to  show  that  God  was  not  to  be  trifled  with  and  His 
laws  broken  with  impunity ;  (3.)  to  meet  the  case  of  those — and  the  Israelites  in 
general  were  such — who  are  open  only  to  impression  which  can  be  made  upon 
their  fear. 

2.  Such  a  mode  served  some  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  old  disjiensation. 
(1.)  Gal.  iii.  24,  cf.  John  i.  17.  It  was  preparatory  to  the  mild  and  beneficent 
grace  of  Jesus  Christ  that  by  contrast  with  it  the  latter  might  be  the  more 
welcome.  It  was  the  storm  before  the  calm,  the  night  before  the  day.  See  also 
Heb.  xii.  18.  (2.)  It  was  a  symbol  of  the  workings  of  the  law  in  an  awakened 
conscience  before  the  blessing  and  liberty  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  (Eom.  vii. 
and  viii). 

3.  Such  a  mode  was  appropriate  as  accompanying  judicial  proceedings.  It 
was  the  same  (1)  at  the  flood  ;  (2)  at  the  destruction  of  tiie  cities  of  the  plain  ; 
(3)  it  will  be  so  at  the  last  day  (2  Thess.  i.  7-9  ;  Rev.  xx. )  &c.  &c. 

II.  That  the  reception  of  this  revelation  was  what  God  intended  it  should 

be.  1.  It  was  intelligent.  "All  the  people  saw  it."  (1.)  Eevelation  is  not  an 
appeal  to  credulity,  but  to  reasonable  faith.  Its  evidences  and  credentials  all 
appeal  to  the  intelligence  of  man.  (2.)  The  people  saw  what  God  intended 
them  to  see,  not  merely  a  spectacle  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  forget,  but  the 
manifestation  of  Himself  in  it.  So  many  painful  providences  tax  our  energies 
to  see  the  meaning  of  them  ;  but  if  our  eyes  are  opened  we  shall  see  Him  there 
(2  Kings  vi.  14-17). 

2.  It  was  reverent.  "  They  removed  and  stood  afar  oflf."  (1.)  This  was  rea- 
sonable ;  undue  familiarity  would  have  been  shocking.  (2.)  This  was  exemplary. 
Many  Christians  in  their  references  to  the  person,  words,  or  works  of  God,  may 
learn  a  profitable  lesson  from  it.  (3.)  This  should  be  usual  (Exod.  iii.  5, 
Eccl.  vi.). 

3.  It  WHS  prayerful.  Ver.  9.  (1.)  This  shows  the  natural  and  reasonable  yearning 
of  man's  heart  for  a  mediator.  (2.)  This  shows  how  desirable  it  is  that  the 
mediator  should  be  man.  (3.)  This  shows  that  the  benefit  of  mediation  is 
mercifully  accepted  by  God. 

III.  That  the  comfort  of  that  revelation  disarmed  it  of  all  its  terrors. 

1.  God  had  spoken.  The  God  of  their  fathers.  Their  Eedeemer.  The  God 
who  had  promised  to  bless  them  if  they  would  keep  His  law. 

2.  God  had  spoken  for  their  encouragement,  "  Fear  not."  The  fire  should 
not  burn,  the  lightning  should  not  strike  them.  These  were  but  manifestations 
of  the  power  which  was  on  their  side. 

365 


OHAP.  XX.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


3.  God  had  spoken  but  to  prove  their  loyalty  to  Him.  If  they  could  stand 
the  test,  what  could  harm  them  1     (Kom.  viii.  39). 

4.  God  had  spoken  for  their  moral  elevation.  (1.)  "Tliat  His  fear  may  be 
before  your  faces."  (2.)  "  That  ye  sin  not "  (1  John  ii.  1,  2),  especial  in  earnest 
with  verse  21.     Learn — 

I.  Not  to  dread  God's  revelation.     "Ye  fearful  souls,   fresh  courage  take." 

II.  To  approach  God  through  the  one  new  and  living  way  which  is  ever  open. 

III.  To  keep  all  God's  laws  in  the  strength  of  the  comfort  which  His  presence 
brings — J.  W.  Burn. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  ON  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  22-26. 

God's  Voice  but  not  a  Form. 

Moses  went  into  the  thick  darkness,  and  held  converse  with  God,  and  then 
came  forth  to  declare  the  Divine  regulations  unto  the  people.  And  thus  he  was 
unto  the  people  as  a  mediator.  The  ministration  of  the  Gospel  is  more  glorious 
than  the  ministration  of  the  law.  Moses  was  the  law's  mediator;  but  Christ 
Jesus  is  the  mediator  in  the  Gospel  covenant.  The  one  the  servant ;  the  other 
th^  Son  in  the  Divine  house,  which  house  is  constituted  by  believing  people. 

L  God's  voice.  How  wonderful  that  God  should  speak  with  men  !  We 
know  not  what  manner  of  a  voice  it  was.  We  cannot  tell  how  the  people 
were  made  to  understand  that  God  talked  from  heaven.  But  this  we  are  told 
that  He  did  speak  from  heaven.  The  voice  of  God  is  indicative  of  the  Divine 
personality.  Some  men's  ears  are  too  dull  to  hear  the  Divine  voice,  so  they 
give  themselves  up  to  Pantheism  in  some  cases,  and  in  others  to  Polytheism. 
God's  voice  may  truly  be  heard  in  the  myriad  voices  of  earth ;  but  there  is  stiU 
a  separate  voice.  He  talks  from  heaven.  The  Infinite  speaks,  but  reveals  no 
form. 

II.  God's  abhorrence  of  idolatry.  The  command  is  again  repeated,  and  after 
a  very  short  interval ;  and  thus  the  people  must  have  been  impressed  with  the 
sinfulness  of  idolatry.  We  can  suppose  that  the  Infinite  even  might  have  come 
forth  from  the  thick  darkness  and  revealed  Himself  in  some  wonderful  form ; 
but  the  fact  that  God  refrains  makes  impressive  the  lesson — Ye  shall  not  make 
unto  you  gods  of  silver,  neither  shall  ye  make  unto  you  gods  of  gold.  Our 
loftiest  conceptions,  embodied  in  the  most  costly  and  precious  material  forms, 
must  fall  short  of  Infinite  perfectness. 

III.  God's  love  of  simplicity.  Altars  of  earth,  and  altars  of  unhewn  stone. 
The  simplest  is  often  the  purest  and  the  divinest.  If  we  are  to  have  our  altars, 
let  them  be  of  such  a  character  that  they  shall  be  helps  and  not  hindrances  to 
a  true  comprehension  of  the  spirituality  of  the  Divine  nature.  Man's  superb 
altars  lead  to  degi-ading  conceptions  of  the  Infinite. 

IV.  God's  respect  to  appearances.  "  Neither  shalt  thou  go  up  by  steps  unto 
Mine  altar,  that  thy  nakedness  be  not  discovered  thereon."  Let  all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order,  is  the  injunction  of  two  economies.  There  is  a 
reverence  for  places  and  for  structures  which  is  idolatrous  superstition  ;  and 
there  is  an  irreverence  which  betokens  a  low  state  of  the  emotional  nature, 
and  which  even  God  does  not  approve.  There  may  be  excessive  and  soul-de 
stroying  ritualism  ;  and  there  may  be  excessive  and  God-dishonouring  baldness 

V.  God's  superiority  to  splendid  structures.  In  all  places  where  God's  name  is 
recorded  tliere  He  will  come,  and  there  He  will  bless.  It  was  by  Divine  appoint- 
ment that  the  Temple  was  built ;  and  yet,  before  the  erection  of  that  superb 

3G6 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xx. 


structure,  God  teaches  that  wherever  He  is  devoutly  and  sincerely  worsliipped 
there  will  His  Divine  blessing  descetid.  And  better  than  curiously  wrought 
marble,  or  precious  stones  ;  better  than  telling  and  striking  architectural 
designs  ;  better  than  golden  adornments,  is  the  Divine  blessing.  God  is  not 
confined  to  any  particular  buildings.  Wherever  His  people  meet,  there  they 
behold  His  mercy  seat. — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 

Public  Wouship. —  Verses  22-26. 

The  Book  of  the  Covenant  (cf.  Chron.  xxiv.  4,  7),  extending  from  ver.  22 
to  chap,  xxiii.  33,  appropriately  follows  God's  revelation  of  Himself,  and  appro« 
priately  opens  with  regulations  for  public  worship.  Upon  which,  by  way  of  intro 
duction,  we  remark — 1.  That  the  end  for  which  God  reveals  Himself  is,  that  we 
should  worship  Him.  "  Ye  have  seen  "  (verses  22-24,  cf.  Chron.  xx.  1-4).  2.  That 
God's  revelation  of  Himself  should  be  kept  in  perpetual  memory  by  acts  of 
public  worship  (vers.  24,  25).  So  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  (Luke  xxii.  19  ; 
1  Cor.  xi.  24).  3.  That  God  having  made  a  spiritual  revelation  of  Himself, 
He  should  not  be  worshipped  under  any  symbolic  form.  This  text  further 
teaches  us — 

I.  That  public  worship  involves  cost.  Ver.  24.  Let  the  Christian  who  complains 
of  the  expense  of  his  religion,  the  collections,  the  pew  rents,  &c.,  remember  (1) 
what  it  cost  the  Jew  to  be  religious ;  (2)  what  it  cost  God  to  make  him  a 
Christian  (John  iii.  16  ;  Eom,  viii.  32). 

II.  That  public  worship  can  dispense  with  elaborate  ritual.  The  altars  were 
to  be  of  earth  or  of  unhewn  stone,  the  simplest  and  plainest  possible'. 

III.  That  public  worship  carefully  excludes  all  idea  of  merit  on  the  part  of 
the  worshipper.  Here  all  art  and  ability  of  man  w  as  to  be  carefully  dispensed 
with,  lest  the  worshipper  should  arrogate  any  virtue  to  himself.  In  after  years, 
when  the  Israelites  were  indoctrinated  into  this  spirit,  this  literal  command 
was  repealed. 

IV.  That  public  worship  is  not  confined  to  set  places.  Altars  of  this  descrip- 
tion could  be  set  up  anywhere  and  everywhere.  Public  worship  should  be  cele- 
brated in  every  place  that  God  appoints  for  the  purpose.  God  now  guides  His 
Church  by  His  providence.  That  providence  points  to  our  neglected  populations. 
What  an  argument  for  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  !  *'  In  every  place  where  I 
record  My  name." 

V.  That  public  worship  does  not  depend  on  the  material  or  intellectual  quali- 
fication of  the  worshipper.  If  altars  required  wealth  to  erect  them  or  art  to 
adorn  them,  then  only  the  wealthy  or  the  intelligent  could  worship.  What  a 
plea  for  common  worship !  Not  the  minister  alone,  or  the  choir,  but  all  should 
engage  in  the  worship  of  God's  house. 

VI.  That  public  worship  must  be  conducted  with  proper  decency.  Ver.  26.  1. 
It  is  a  sin  to  serve  God  with  less  attention  and  decorum  than  man.  2.  It  is  a 
folly  to  encourage  it  in  others.  To  invite  men  "  to  come  in  their  working  clothes  " 
is  an  affront  to  the  intelligent  artizan. 

VII.  That  public  worship,  when  properly  conducted,  is  uniformly  attended 
with  a  blessing.  1.  The  Divine  presence  ;  2.  The  Divine  benediction  (ver.  24). 
In  conclusion,  John  iv.  20-24 ;  Matt,  xviil  20. — J.  W.  Burn. 


367 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS    TO    CHAPTER    XX. 


THE  REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Law  Divine!  Ver,  1.  A  converkd  infidel 
exclaimed  on  ruudiiig  Exodus  xx.,  "  Wliere 
did  Moses  get  this  law  ?  The  Egyptians  and 
the  adjacent  nations  were  idolaters.  So  were 
the  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  wisest  Greeks 
and  the  best  Romans  never  gave  a  code  of 
morals  like  this.  Where  did  Moses  get  this 
Law,  which  surpasses  the  wisdom  and  philo- 
sophy of  the  most  enlightened  age  ?  He  lived 
at  a  period  comparatively  barbarous  ;  yet  he 
has  given  a  law  in  which  the  learning  and 
sagacity  of  all  subsequent  time  can  detect  no 
flaw.  Where  did  he  get  it?  He  could  not 
have  soared  up  to  it.  It  must  have  soared 
down  to  him.  It  must  be  from  God."  No 
Canova-eye  can  detect  the  tiniest  flaw  in  this 
Buow-white  marble  code. 

"  How  holy  is  the  precept, 
How  righteous  the  decree, 
Revealing  to  His  creatures 
The  Lord's  own  purity." 

Moral  Law  I  Ver.  1.  A  boat  on  a  summer 
sea  is  a  pleasant  picture.  But  a  boat  full  of 
people  on  the  Indian  Ganges  or  the  mighty 
Amazon,  when  the  day  is  dull  and  the  sky 
dismal — when  the  wind  roars  and  the  thunder 
peals — when  the  waters  swell  and  the  stream 
flashes  past — is  a  spectacle  of  horror.  You 
hear  the  slirieks  between  the  thunderpeals 
as  they  on  surging  waters,  and  ^u  on  solid 
strand,  wonder  how  salvation  is  to  come.  Ah  ! 
if  their  frail  barque  could  but  be  drawn  into 
yonder  narrow  creek,  all  would  be  well.  A 
rope  is  flung  out  to  tliem,  and  fastened  to 
the  boat.  Suddenly  a  frantic  sailor  seizes  a 
hatchet,  and  by  one  frenzied  blow  severs  the 
rope.  One  blow — no  more  !  The  boat  sweeps 
headlong  against  the  rock.  -  A  crash — and  all 
is  o'er.  It  needs  not  that  the  rope  should  be 
cut  in  ten  places  to  sever  the  connection  and 
injure  salvation.  If  one  commandment  be 
broken  ;  if  frenzied  passion  cut  God's  Law  at 
any  one  point — all  is  broken.  Thus  we  see 
how 

"  One  mischief  entered  brings  another  in; 
The  second  pulls  a  third,  the  third  draws 

more. 
And  they  for  all  the  rest  set  ope  the  door," 

— Smith. 

Divine  Denial!  Ver.  2.  Kircher,  the  famous 
astronomer,  anxious  to  convince  an  infidel 
friend  of  tlie  Divine  existence,  procured  a 
very  handsome  astronomical  i;lobe,  and  placed 
it  in  a  corner  of  his  room.  Wiien  liis  friend 
called,  he  saw  the  globe,  and  admiring  it, 
inquired  to  whom  it  belonged  ?  '■*  It  was 
nevermade;  itcame  hereby  'cliance.'"  The 
■ceptic  declared  it  was  but  a  sorry  jest,  since 
368 


such  was  impossible.  The  wise  philosophei 
at  once  happily  retorted,  "  You  will  not 
believe  that  this  tiny,  frail  globe  came  from 
'  chance,'  and  yet  you  expect  me  to  believe 
that  all  those  mighty  worlds  have  no  Maker!" 
He  then  proceeded  to  reason  with  his  friend, 
so  earnestly  that  he  flung  his  infidel  ideas  to 
the  wind,  convinced  of  the  existence  of  the 
Divine  "  I  am." 

•*  Infinite  strength,  and  equal  skill, 
Shine  through  Thy  works  abroad; 
Our  souls  with  vast  amazement  fill. 
And  speak  the  builder  God." 

—Watts. 

Idolatry!  Vers.  2,  3.  A  man's  idol  is  not 
necessarily  an  image  of  gold.  It  may  be  a 
child  of  clay — the  fruit  of  his  own  loins — the 
wife  of  his  bosom.  It  may  be  wealth,  fame, 
position,  success,  business — anything  which 
absorbs  unduly  the  affections  and  attention. 
Against  such  idols  God  hurls  His  resistless 
missile  here  as  resolutely  as  against  "tlie 
heathen  idols  of  wood  and  stone."  When 
the  English  captured  Rangoon,  the  saintly 
Havelock  established  a  prayer-meeimg  in  a 
famous  heathen  temple.  The  room  was 
filled  with  idol-images,  and  in  the  lap  of  each 
of  these  "dumb  gods"  he  placed  a  lamp  to 
give  light.  He  turned  the  idols  into  lamp- 
stands  for  the  Divine  glory.  When  there  is 
no  danger  of  our  worshipping  our  old  human- 
idols,  let  us  turn  them  to  good  account.  We 
may  transform  them  into  lampstands.  We  may 
make  them  serve  as  lights  to  enable  us  to  worship 
Him,  whose  glory  is  that  of  the  One  True  God. 

••  There  are  many  heathen  people, 

Who  yet  God's  name  hare  known  ; 
And  many  other  idols 

Than  those  of  wood  and  stone." 

Idol  Inventions !  Ver  4.  The  god  Moloch 
was  a  fearful-looking  monster,  with  a  hiiire  red 
mouth  and  grinning  teeth,  to  show  that  he  was 
fond  of  blood.  The  goddess  Kalee,  worshipped 
by  many  persons  in  India,  is  a  fierce-looking 
female  figure,  with  instruments  of  death  in  her 
hands,  and  a  string  of  human  skulls  hanging 
round  her  neck  as  an  ornament.  Ganesa, 
another  of  the  gods  of  the  Hindus,  is  repre- 
sented with  the  head  of  an  elephant,  and 
having  four  arms  and  hands.  Me  always  ap- 
pears riding  on  the  back  of  a  great  rat,  having 
the  figure  of  a  serpent  wreatlied  round  his 
head.  There  are  hundreds  of  uirlier  and  more 
repulsive  idols  among  the  poor  heathen  in 
Africa  and  the  South  Seas  ;  but  it  is  not  their 
hiileousness  that  condemns  them  as  objects  of 
worshij).  Lovely  idols  are  as  loathsome  in 
God's  sight.     How  lovely  are  the  sun,  moon, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHA.P.  XX. 


and  stars,  and  how  greatly  the  Psalmist  ap- 
preciated their  exceeding  beauty !  Yet  men 
have  made  these  beautiful  creations  of  God 
loathsome.  How?  By  making  idols  of  them. 
The  Brazen  Serpent  was  no  doubt  a  very 
bright  and  beautiful  object ;  but  it  became 
repulsive  when  turned  into  an  object  of 
worsiiip,  and  had  to  be  destroyed.  To  admire 
a  beautiful  sculpture — whether  stone,  marble, 
brass,  or  silver — is  not  wrong ;  but  to  adore 
it,  raises  the  Divine  jealousy. 

"  Thou  art  a  God  who  beareth 
No  rival  near  Thy  throne; 
Yet  many  a  creature  shareth 
The  love  that  is  Thine  own.'* 

Profanity!  Ver.  7.  In  ancient  feudal  times, 
when  a  man  paid  a  small  "peppercorn  rent" 
to  the  landlord,  it  was  in  token  of  submission. 
It  was  no  onerous  burden.  But  when  the 
•*  landholder "  fell  to  fighting  with  some 
neighbouring  chief  or  baron,  or  when  he  was 
Bummoned  by  the  king  to  join  the  royal  army 
into  France,  the  "peppercorn  submission" 
brought  its  corresponding  penalty  and  danger. 
The  payee  was  bound  to  follow  in  the  baron's 
train,  to  make  any  sacrifices  required  by  the 
landholder,  and  encounter  any  dangers,  even 
death,  in  his  service.  Such  are  "  profane 
exjiressions. "  They  are  tokens  of  submission 
to  Satan,  and  the  prince  of  darkness  does  not 
scruple  to  make  the  utterers  testify  their 
allegiance  whenever  it  suits  him.  Oaths  are 
light  things.  Blasphemies  are  rents  too  readily 
paid  to  the  "prince  of  this  world  ;"  but  they 
bring  in  their  train  heavy  responsibilities  from 
which  there  is  no  escape,  except  by  sincere 
repentance. 

*'  Take  not  His  name,  who  made  thy  mouth, 
in  vain  j 
It  gets  thee  nothing,  and  hath  no  excuse," 
— Jlerbert. 

Profanity  !  Ver,  7.  (1)  When  the  name, 
titles,  and  attributes  of  God  are  lightly,  falsel}', 
and  profanely  employed,  this  link  is  broken. 
And  it  is  to  be  feared  that  many  ignorantly  do 
this  in  prayer.  We  have  read  about  a  good 
man  once,  who  made  it  a  rule  always  to  |iause 
and  look  up  before  he  uttered  the  name  of  God. 
Tliat  action  was  the  index  of  his  heart.  He 
stood  in  awe  of  God.  His  holy  name  was  to 
him  holy.  (2)  A  Southern  planter  had  a 
favourite  negro  servant,  who  always  maile  a 
low  and  solemn  bow  whenever  his  master 
uttered  the  Divine  name.  On  being  asked 
why  he  did  this,  he  replied,  that  he  never 
heard  that  great  name  mentioned  but  it  filled 
his  soul  with  awe  and  reverence.  How  many 
fear  not  frequently  and  foolishly  in  their 
prayers  to  take  God's  name  in  vain — i.e.,  to 
make  it  common — to  utter  it  carelessly  and 
irreverently  ! 

**  Oh  !  may  we  never  dare 
To  act  that  wicked  part ; 
Nor  offer  up  a  prayer 
That  comes  not  from  the  heart  j 
2f 


Or  speak  that  Name  in  carsless  phrase 
That  heaven  adores,  and  earth  obeys." 

Profane-Penalty  I     Ver.  7,     (1)  In  one  ol 

the  loghouses  so  common  in  the  soutliern 
counties  of  Vermont  sat  a  man  watching  a 
fearful  snowstorm.  He  was  on  his  way 
across  the  Green  Mountains,  and  was  deter- 
mined to  reach  home  that  day.  When  urged 
to  tarry  with  his  liost,  and  not  brave  the 
perils  of  the  increasing  storm,  he  profanely 
declared  that  he  would  go  thour/h  God  Almighty 
stood  in  the  way.  But  he  never  reached  home. 
He  was  found  dead  near  a  large  tree,  partly 
supported  by  its  trunk.  His  body  was  bent 
forward,  and  his  ghastly  intent  features  told  the 
stubbornness  with  which  he  had  profanely 
taken  Jehovah's  name  in  vain.  For  more 
than  thirty  years  that  tree  stood  by  the  soli- 
tary road,  scored  to  the  branches  with  names, 
letters,  and  hieroizlyphics  of  death, — a  silent 
rehearsal  of  the  Sinaitic  speech  :  "The  Lord 
will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  His 
name  in  vain."  (2)  A  profane  coachman, 
pointing  to  one  of  the  horses  he  was  driving, 
said  to  a  pious  traveller,  "That  horse  knows 
when  I  swear."  To  this  remark  his  listener 
made  tlie  solemn  retort,  "Yes,  and  so  does 

ONB  ABOVE. " 

"  Look  to  thyself,  then,  deal  no  more  with 
oaths, 
Lest  He  that  hears  against  thee  sends  Hia 
woes." 

Sabbath-Symbolism  I  Ver.  8,  The  Sabbath 
is  coeval  with  Paradise.  Both  date  their  exist- 
ence from  the  first  week  of  time,  and  both 
bear  the  impress  of  an  unfallen  world.  There 
is  meet  harmony  between  the  two.  Hence 
they  stand  to^ietlier  on  the  same  page  of  the 
Bible,  and  are  linked  inseparably  together  in 
our  recollections  of  man's  primeval  condition. 
As  we  cast  our  eyes  backwards,  they  are  seen 
shining  like  twin  stars  in  the  morning  sky  of 
the  world,  givinsr  promise  of  a  refulgent  day. 
Venerable,  beneficent,  and  holy,  the  Sabbath 
is  the  link  between  the  Paradise  which  has 
passed  away  and  the  Paradise  which  is  yet  to 
come. 

'•  Where  that  innumerable  throng 
Of  saints  and  angels  mingle  song; — 
Where,  wrought  with    hands,    no   templea 

rise, 
For  God  Himself  their  place  supplies  ; 
Nor  priests  are  needed  in  the  abode 
Where  tlie  whole  hosts  are  priests  to  God; — 
Think  what  a  Sabbath  there  shall  be, — 
The  Sabbath  of  eternity  1 "  — Gnnfield. 

Sabbath-Slaughter!  Ver,  8.  One  morn- 
ing,  a  happy  cheerful  Christian  was  on  hia 
way  to  the  house  of  God.  He  was  a  singular 
man,  prone  to  do  things  wiiich  others  called 
"eccentric;"  but  his  readiness  of  thought 
often  proved  of  great  service.  As  he  walked 
joyfully  along  the  way  to  the  sanctuary,  ha 
encountered  a  man  driving  a  heavily-loaded 
waggon  through  the  town.     No  sooner  had  ha 

369 


CSaP.  XX. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


encountered  the  cart  than  be  sudilenly  stopped, 
turned  around,  and,  lifting  up  both  hands  in 
horror,  he  exclaimed,  as  he  gazed  under  the 
wagiTon,  "  Oh  !  you  have  gone  right  over  the 
child."  The  driver  was  frightened,  brought 
up  his  horses  witli  a  jerk,  and  tlien  looked 
down  with  pallid  face  under  the  wlieels.  He 
expected  to  find  a  little  mangled  liO'ly,  but  he 
ohstrved  nothing.  Perplexed,  he  looked  to 
the  man  who  had  so  strangely  arrested  his  at- 
tention, and  anxiously  exclaimed,  "  What 
have  I  gone  over?"  '"The  fourth  of  God's 
ten  offspring,  *  Remember  the  Sabbath-day  to 
keep  it  holy.'  " 

"  Day  fixed  by  God  for  intercourse  with  dust, 
To  raise  our  thoughts  and  purify  our  powers, 
Periods  appointed  to  renew  our  trust ; 
A  gleam  of  glory  after  six  days'  showers  !  " 
— Barton. 

Sabbath  -  Steadfastness !     Ver.  8.     (1)  Re- 

cenily,  tiie  Queen's  bandmaster  required  tlie 
members  to  attend  rehearsal  on  Sunday,  on 
account  of  some  special  performances  before 
Her  Majesty.  Two  Germans  refused  to  dese- 
crate the  Lord's  Day,  and  were  dismissed  by 
the  master  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
Queen.  The  Bishop  of  London  heard  of  the 
incident  and  reported  it  to  Her  Majesty,  who, 
on  the  day  of  performance,  inquired  for  the 
absentees.  The  bandmaster  acknowledged  the 
dismissal,  whereupon  the  Queen  ordered  their 
instant  restoration,  declaring  that  none  in  her 
service  should  suffer  for  '^remembering  the 
Lord's  day  to  keep  it  holy.''  (2)  In  New  York, 
an  esteemed  clerk  was  required  by  the  man- 
ager of  the  bank  to  attend  next  day  (Sunday), 
and  help  to  make  up  the  back  work.  As  a 
Christian  he  could  not  comply.  The  president 
threatened  him  with  dismissal,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose. He  steadily  refused  to  "forget  the 
Sabbath  day,"  and  was  dismissed.  Some  time 
after,  when  a  new  branch  was  opened,  the 
president  was  asked  to  recommend  a  tho- 
r<iughly  trustworthy  manager.  He  at  once 
nominated  the  clerk  whom  he  had  dismissed, 
and  the  nomination  was  sanctioned.  He  felt 
the  force  of  sterling  Christian  principle  dis- 
played in  so  praiseworthy  a  manner. 

•'  Let  us  say  to  the  world,  should  it  tempt  ns 
to  wander, 

As  Abraham  said  to  his  men  on  the  plain, 
There's  the  mountain  of  prayer,  I  am  going 
up  yonder. 
And  tarry  you  here  till  1  seek  you  again." 
— Edmeston. 

Parental  Hononr !  Ver.  12.  When,  after 
the  delivery  of  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai,  the 
commandments  were  graven  on  two  tables  of 
stone,  this  was  placed  first  upon  the  second. 
It  is  the  first  commandment  with  promise. 
A  little  boy  was  once  asked  in  school  to  ex- 
plain the  fifth  commandment.  Instead  of 
trj'ing  to  do  so,  he  covered  his  face  with  his 
hands  to  hide  his  blushes,  and  said,  "  Yester- 
day I  showed  a  strange  gentleman  over  the 
370 


mountain,  and  the  sharp  stones  cut  my  feet. 
When  the  gentleman  saw  tliat  they  were 
bleeding,  he  gave  me  some  money  to  buy  shoes. 
I  gave  it  to  mother,  for  she  had  no  shoes 
either,  and  1  tliouglit  that  I  could  very  well  go 
barefoot  to  honour  my  mother." 

"  Thou  shalt  honour  thy  mother,  whose  love 
unto  thee 
The    greatest    of  God's   earthly   blessings 
shall  be." 

Filial  Faithfulness  I  Ver.  12.  George  Wash- 
ington, when  quite  young,  was  about  to  go  to 
sea  as  a  midshipman.  Everything  was  in 
readiness.  His  trunk  had  been  taken  on 
board  the  boat,  and  be  went  to  bid  his  mother 
farewell.  Seeing  her  distress,  he  turned  to 
the  servant,  saying:  "Go  and  tell  tliem  to 
fetcli  my  trunk  back,  for  1  will  not  go  away 
to  break  my  mother's  heart."  His  mother, 
struck  with  his  decision,  and  with  mingled 
tears  of  joy  and  sorrow,  assured  him  that  God 
would  bless  him  for  thus  honouring  his  mother. 
And  the  assurance  was  realised.  The  name  of 
General  Washington  is  a  world-wide  word  of 
valiancy,  integrity,  and  piety.  We  say  that 
*'  now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly."  Sup- 
pose, when  all  is  clear  in  the  eternal  world,  we 
discover  that  had  Washington  gone  to  sea  he 
would  have  met  with  an  untimely — or  un- 
honoured — dtath,  whereas  by  honouring  hia 
mother  his  days  were  long  in  the  land  of  his 
birth. 

"  How  sweet,  when  we  hear  the  command- 
ment to  say, 
•  Lord,  if  Thou  wilt  help  me,  I'll  strive  to 
obey; 
I'll  bend  down  the  force  of  my  own  stubborn 

will, 
And  bid  every  passionate  feeling  be  still.'" 

Filial  Folly!  Ver.  12.  In  Deut.  xxvii.  16 
we  read  these  solemn  words:  "Cursed  be  he 
that  setteth  light  by  father  or  mother."  In 
Proverbs  xxx.  17,  God  speaks  in  this  awful 
way:  "The  eye  tiiat  mocketh  at  his  father, 
and  despiseth  to  obey  his  mother,  the  ravens 
of  the  valley  shall  pick  it  out."  In  Western 
Pennsylvania  dwelt  an  Irishman,  who  had  been 
wealtliy  at  one  time.  He  had  an  only  son, 
whose  wild  and  wicked  ways  reduced  the 
father  to  poverty.  With  shattered  health  and 
fading  sight — poor,  blind,  friendless,  and  for- 
saken— tlie  old  man  foiind  shelter  in  the 
Franklin  almshouses.  One  day  the  wicked 
and  ungrateful  son  was  passing  through  the 
city,  and  was  urged  to  visit  his  kind  father, 
whom  he  had  ruined.  He  refused  to  do  so, 
and  proceede<i  on  his  journey.  A  severe  storm 
overtook  him,  and  he  cauirht  a  severe  cold. 
It  fastened  on  his  eyes,  from  wliich  all  sight 
soon  entirely  fled.  Poverty  came;  and  on  tlie 
very  day  that  the  dead  corpse  of  the  father 
was  borne  out,  his  living  corpse  wns  borne 
into  the  Franklin  almshouse.  He  was  put 
into  the  same  room — died  in  the  same  bed^ 
and  was  borne  forth  to  the  same  grave. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XX, 


••  Thou  shalt  honour  thy  father,  the  guide  of 
thy  youth, 
And  vield  him  the  homage  of  love  and  of 
truth." 

Murder-Memories  1  Ver.  13.  Amongst  the 
numerous  converts  to  God  amongst  the  Red 
Indians  of  N.W.  America  was  a  great  chief, 
noted  for  his  many  savage  murders.  When 
broui^lit  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
his  exclamation  was,  "  (Jh  !  why  did  you  not 
come  sooner  ;  and  then  tiiose  whom  I  have 
killed  would  have  heard  those  glad  tidings." 
During  a  long  and  useful  Christian  old  age, 
he  frequently  lamented  the  fact  that  he  had 
by  death  prevented  some  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  from  hearing  the  Gospel's  joyful 
Bound.  Even  in  the  closing  scene  of  life,  his 
thoughts  wandered  to  these  murdered  ones, 
■whe  her  he  should  meet  them  in  the  other 
world.  He  felt  how  awful  a  thins  it  was,  even 
in  heathen  ignorance,  to  send  a  fellow-creature, 
whether  friend  or  foe,  unprepared  into  eternity. 
He  had  never  read  Shakespeare,  but  he  still 
could  enter  into  the  feelings  of  Hamlet's 
ghost,  who  dwells  so  much  on  the  fact  that 
he  was  killed 

••  With  all  his  sins  broad  blown, 

tJnhouselled,  unanointed,  unannealed." 

Passion-Power!  "Ver.  14.  One  bright  July 
morning,  I  was  driving  to  town.  As  I  came 
to  the  top  of  the  hill  just  above  the  bridge,  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  place,  a  little  hoy,  from  a 
cottaL^e  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  fired  off 
a  small  cannon.  He  was  so  near  the  road, 
the  cannon  made  so  big  a  noise,  and  the  whole 
tiling  came  so  unexpectedly,  that  my  little  bay 
pony  took  fright,  and  shied,  with  a  spring,  to 
the  other  side  of  the  road.  He  not  only  over- 
turned the  carriage  in  doint;-  so,  but  was  with 
great  difficulty  reined  in  and  prevented  from 
running  away.  "You  should  not  fire  your 
cannon  so  near  the  road,"  said  I  to  the  boy, 
after  1  had  got  the  pony  somewhat  quiet; 
"you  frightened  my  horse  badly,  and  nearly 
made  him  run  away."  "I  didti't  mean  to 
do  it,"  said  he,  "but  it  got  agoing  before 
I  saw  the  horse,  and  tiien  I  couhln't  stop  it." 
I  said  no  more,  but  drove  on,  tliinking  of  the 
boy's  answer,  as  I  have  often  thought  of  it 
since,  though  all  tliis  happened  yeai-s  ago. 
"Couldn't  stop  it!"  How  often,  when  we 
start  "lust,"  there  is  no  stopping.  Do  not 
bci^in,  and  the  difficulty  will  not  arise.  It 
will  not  get  "agoing." 

"  But  if  once  we  let  them  reign, 
They  sweep  witli  desolating  train, 
Till  they  but  leave  a  hated  name, 
A  ruined  soul,  a  blackened  fame." 

—Oool. 

Theft-Tests  I  Ver.  \5.  Years  ago,  in  Edin- 
burgh,  lived  a  "gang  of  body-snatchers."  It 
was  common  for  gipsies  to  steal  children  from 
their  homes.  The  Arabs  of  East  Africa  are 
designated  "men-stealers;"  while  some  white 
traders  under  the  Southern  Cross  are  termed 
kidnappers.    All  these  are  regarded  as  heinous 


breakers  of  the  Eighth  Commandment.  But 
this  "eighth  of  God's  moral  offspring"  may 
be  slain  and  set  at  defiance  by  others.  Very 
recently  a  man  of  eminence  stole  a  rare 
volume  from  the  Metropolitan  Library, 
though  he  would  have  cut  off  his  hands 
rather  than  steal  the  money  it  was  worth. 
He  steals,  who  robs  God  of  the  honour  due 
unto  His  Name  ;  and  so  does  she  who 
plunders  her  own  soul  of  those  precious 
moments  given  for  solemn  preparations  for 
eternity.  The  self-plunderer  thus  seriously 
breaks  God's  law  ;  how  much  more,  tlien,  the 
robber  of  God  ?  To  withiiold  part  of  tha 
price  of  our  obligations  to  God  is  the  most 
aggravated  form  of  theft. 

"  Higher  yet  this  sin  extends; 
For  it  steals  the  spirit's  love 
From  the  very  best  of  Friends^ 
Bobbing  e'en  the  God  above." 

Theft-Trouble !  Ver.  15.  Phoebe  was 
tempted  along  with  other  girls  to  gather 
plums  in  a  neighbouring  orchard.  On  bring- 
ing  home  some  of  the  fruit,  her  mother 
mildly  reproved  her,  and  said  that  she  ought 
not  to  have  gathered  the  plums  without  leave, 
because  it  was  sin  :  God  had  commanded  her 
not  to  steal.  The  child,  not  being  sensible  of 
the  evil  before,  seemed  greatly  surprised,  and 
bursting  into  tears  cried,  "  I  cannot  touch 
these  plums."  Tlie  other  children  did  not 
seem  much  concerned,  but  there  was  no  paci- 
fying Phoebe.  She  returned  tlie  plums  to  the 
owner  ;  yet  still  she  was  full  of  grief.  To 
every  inquiry,  her  reply  was,  "  Oh,  it  was  sin  " 
— sin  against  God.  Phoebe  never  forgot  to 
old  age  the  solemn  lesson,  "  It  was  sin." 

"  I  must  not  nurse  within  my  soul 

One  spark  of  sin's  unhallowed  fire  ; 
Or  yield  my  heart  to  the  control 

Of  aught  that  speaks  a  wrong  desire." 

False-Witness!  Ver.  16.  This  command- 
ment requires  us  to  keep  our  tongues  from 
evil-speaking,  lying,  and  slandering.  In  the 
garden  of  Eden,  Satan  bore  false  witness 
a;rainst  God  by  telling  Eve  that  she  would  not 
die  if  she  ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  Every 
one,  therefore,  who  lies,  slanders,  or  speaks 
evil  of  his  neighbour,  is  becoming  like  Satan. 
It  is  said  that  there  is  one  place  in  India 
where,  when  a  person  is  found  guilty  of  false 
witness,  he  is  taken  to  a  public  place,  and  in 
the  presence  of  a  multitude  of  people  hia 
mouth  is  sewed  up.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
such  a  penalty  inflicted  impartially  on  such 
offenders  in  England  would  produce  startling 
stillness  of  speech.  Still  greater  would  be  the 
silence,  were  the  mouths  of  all  who  gave  ear 

"  With  greediness,  or  wittingly  their  tongues 
Made  herald  to  his  lies,  around  him  sewed." 
—PoUock. 

Scandal-Seed  1  Ver.  16.  The  story  is  told 
of  a  woman  who  freely  used  her  tongue  to  the 
scandal  of  others,  and  made  confessions  to  tha 
priest  of  what  she  had  done.     He  gave  her  a 

371 


CltAf.  XV. 


nOMlLETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


ripe  tliistle-top,  and  told  her  to  go  out  in  vari- 
ous directions  and  scatter  tiie  seeds  one  by 
one.  Wondering  at  tiie  penance,  she  ol)eyed, 
and  returned  and  told  her  confessor.  To  her 
amazement,  he  bade  her  go  l)ack  and  gather 
tlie  scattered  seeds  ;  and  wlien  she  objected 
that  it  woul<l  be  impossible,  lie  replied  that  it 
■would  be  still  more  difiicult  to  gather  up  and 
destroj'  all  the  evil  reports  she  had  circulated 
about  others.  Any  tlioughtless,  careless  child, 
can  scatter  a  handful  of  thistle-seeds  before 
the  wind  in  a  moment,  but  the  stroni^est  and 
wisest  man  cannot  gather  them  again.  And 
the  "  thistle-seeds"  need  not  be  of  the  tongue. 
False  witness  is  too  often  borne  bj* 

**  The  hint  malevolent,  the  look  oblique, 
The  obvious  satire,  or  implied  dislike, 
The  sneer  equivocal,  the  harsh  reply, 
And  all  the  cruel  language  of  the  eye." 
— More. 

Covetonsness  I  Ver.  17.  In  the  backwoods 
of  Canada  the  forests  have  to  be  cleared  for 
farms.  The  trees  are  cut  down,  but  the  roots 
remain.  Efforts  have  lieen  made  to  burn  them, 
but  this  method  is  only  partially  successful. 
Some  one  has,  however,  invented  a  '"  root  ex- 
tractor," which  lias  huge  iron  hooks  and  a 
crank  connected  with  very  powerful  machinery. 
In  this  way  the  tough  gnarled  roots  are  torn 
up.  The  human  heart  is  like  the  uncleared 
prairie.  It  has  many  twisted  roots,  and 
amongst  the  worst  is  that  of  "  covetousness." 
Men,  women,  and  children  have  these  roots 
in  tlieir  hearts.  Hippocrates,  in  his  letter  to 
Cratena,  an  herbalist,  gives  this  good  counsel  : 
"  If  it  is  possible,  among  other  herbs,  cut  up 
that  weed  covetousness  by  tlie  roots  that  there 
be  none  left ;  for  know  this  of  a  certainty, 
that  by  so  doing  your  patients  will  soon  be 
cured  in  mind  and  body."  Diodorus  Siculus 
relates  that  the  forest  of  the  Pierian  moun- 
tains being  set  on  fire,  and  the  heat  penetrat- 
ing to  the  soil,  a  pure  stream  of  silver  guslied 
forth  from  tlie  bosom  of  the  earth.  The  best 
dissolver  of  the  spirit  of  covetousness  is  the  fire 
of  gospel  love.  When  it  burns  up  the  growth 
of  worldliness,  silver  lodes  of  self-denial  and 
devoted ness  flow  out  from  the  human  heart ; 
for,  says  the  Bible,  out  of  the  heart  are  the 
issues  of  life. 

"  Is  there,  then,  nauirht  above 

That  we  may  covet  to  possess? 
Yes,  there's  ilie  Saviour'.s  l>oundles8  love, 
With  which  He  waits  my  soul  to  bless." 

Law  and  Love!  Ver.  18.  The  prodigal's 
father  was  no  Eli,  chiding  wilh  bated  breath. 
Faithful  and  monitory  were  his  counsels  ; 
urgent  and  expostulatory  were  his  warnings. 
Did  he  love  the  wayward  child  less  when  thus 
he  chided  sternly  than  when  he  gently  seated 
him  at  the  festive  board  with  its  fatted  calf  ? 
We  trow  not.  The  same  deep,  tender  love  was 
there  in  both  ;  only  it  ditlered  in  expression. 
When  I  warn  one  dear  to  me  from  entering  on 
lome  desperate  plunu:e  that  must  end  in  peril 
if  not  death,  is  my  afiection  less  than  when  I 
372 


plunge  in  to  save  him  ?  No.  And  so  there  ii 
tlie  same  love  in  the  law  as  in  the  gospel.  In 
the  law  of  Moses,  love  warns;  in  the  gospel  oi 
Messiah,  love  wins.  Both  are  the  true  mirroi 
of  Him  who  thus  defines  His  own  character, 
"God  is  love." 

"  The  Law  brought  forth  her  precepts  ten, 
And  then  dissolved  in  grace."    — Erskine. 

Divine  Discernment  I  Ver.  20.  The  law 
■Was  in  one  sense  God's  "odometer."  It 
reminded  men  that  He  could  tell  when  they 
had  gone  beyond  the  boundaries  of  righteous- 
ness. The  odometer  is  a  machine  something 
like  a  clock  which  can  be  fastened  on  to  a 
carriage,  and  in  some  way  is  connected  with 
the  motion  of  the  wheels.  It  is  so  arranged 
that  it  marks  ofT  tlie  number  of  miles  travelled 
over.  Two  young  men  hired  such  a  convey- 
ance, not  knowing  that  it  had  an  odometer 
fastened  to  it.  Having  gone  ten  miles  more 
than  the  hire,  they  returned  to  the  stable- 
yard,  where  the  postmaster  asked  them  how 
many  miles  they  had  been  ?  "Twenty"  waa 
the  reply.  He  touched  the  sprinir,  the  cover 
opened,  and  there  on  the  face  of  the  instru- 
ment the  thirty  miles  were  found  recorded. 
The  moral  law  is  the  odometer  divinely 
fastened  to  the  conscience,  and  when  the 
journey  of  life  is  over,  its  face  will  tell  how 
far  the  conscience  has  deviated  from  the  way 
of  holiness. 

"  Law  of  the  Lord  most  perfect  1 
And  traced  in  burning  light  I 
How  can  a  fallen  rebel 

Survive  the  dreadful  sight?" 

Divine  Design  !  Ver.  20.  The  tidal  river, 
below  the  banks  of  which  a  pretty  rural  vil- 
lage stood,  suddenly  overflowed  with  an  un- 
usual spring-tide,  and  sweeping  away  the  low 
banks  for  hundreds  of  yards,  poured  its  rush 
ing  waters  over  the  whole  district  for  miles 
round.  Nancy's  cottage  was  one  of  the  first 
to  be  surrounded  by  the  roaring  torrents,  and 
but  for  the  land  sloping  behind,  it  must  at 
once  have  been  swept  away  as  a  frail  leaf.  Aa 
it  was,  the  rushing  waters  made  it  tremble  and 
almost  totter,  and  to  save  herself  from  the 
fast-rising  water  within  the  cottage,  she 
retreated  up  her  little  staircase.  As  step 
by  step  the  waters  rose,  slie  retreated 
Btill  higher,  "  wonderini,''  what  the  e*id 
would  be."  Her  husband  was  away  in  the 
fields  a  mile  or  two  distant,  and  no  human 
help  was  at  hand.  "And  how  did  you  feel 
then,  Nancy?"  I  inquired,  as  we  talked 
together  in  the  evening  of  that  memorable 
day.  "  0  miss,  it  was  dreadful  to  hear  the 
rushing  of  the  water  come  so  sudden.  But  1 
thought,  'Well,  the  Lord's  here  too  ;'  and  so 
I  sat  on  the  stairs  and  sang  that  verse — 

*•  '  This  awful  God  is  ours. 

Our  Father  and  our  Love  ; 
He  will  send  down  His  heavenly  powen 
To  carry  us  above.'  " 

Moral  EestraintsI   Ver.  22-26.    No  doubt, 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxi 


Bays  Guthrie,  the  Law  restrains  us.     But  all  trembles  lest  his  should  snap.    And  when  the 

chains  are  not  fetters,   nor  are  all  walls  the  grey  morning  breaks  on   the  wild  lee-shore, 

gloomy  precincts  of  a  prison.     It  is  a  blessed  all  strewn  with  wrecks  and  corpses,  he  blesses 

chain  by  which   the  ship,  now  liuried   in  the  God  for  the  good  iron  that  stood  the  straia. 
Iroush,  and  now  rising  on  the  top  of  the  sea,  .,  j^.^^^^  ^j^  ^^^       ^  ^j^^  ^^^^^  restraint 

rides  at  anchor  and  outlives  the  storm      The  Upon  our  freedom,  but  maintain  it: 

condemned  criminal   in  ^owgat,e  would  give  q     -^  j^  j,^gg^  .^i^  f„j.  ^^^        j^ 

worlds  to  break  hia  chain,    but    the    sailor  To  give  us  freer  latitude."       —BuOer, 


CHAPTER  XXL 


Critical  Notes. — 1.  Judgments.]    Here   begins  the   second  part  of  "The  Book  of  the 

Covenant"  (ch.  xxiv.  7),  tiie  entire  contents  of  whicli  seem  to  range  tlicmselves  thus  : — 1.  Safe- 
guards of  worship  (ch.  xx.  22-2t5)  ;  2.  Safeguards  of  justice  and  mercy  (cli.  xxi.  1-xxiii.  19); 
8.  Promises,  blended  with  admonitions  (ch.  xxiii.  20-3:J).  Next  to  the  Ten  Commandments 
stands  this  "  Book,"  in  importance,  as  the  Divinely-laid  foundation  of  Israel's  natioi.ality, 
and  as  the  JIagna  Charta  of  the  people.  Here  we  see  more  in  detail  than  in  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, but  still  in  a  summary  and  very  comprehensive  way,  what  sort  of  a  nation  Israel 
was  laid  under  the  most  solemn  obligation  to  become.  6.  Unto  the  judges.]  Heb.  elhd'elthim, 
literally  "  unto  tlie  gods;"  but,  according  to  usage,  rather,  "unto  God,"  "unto  the  God,"  ''unto 
the  [living  and  true]  God,"  or  unto  "God  Himself."  No  doubt,  however,  "the  judges"  are 
intended.  Compare  especially  (Dent.  xix.  17)  :  "Then  both  the  men,  between  whom  the  con- 
troversy is,  shall  stand  before  Jehovah,  before  the  priests  and  the  judges,  which  shall  be  in 
those  days."  In  coming  unto  the  priests  and  judges,  they  came  "  unto  the  judgment  seat  of 
God,"  as  the  LXX.  here  renders  {irpbs  rb  Kpirrjpiov  roO  deoO).  7.  Not  as  the  men-servants.] 
From  Deut.  xv.  17,  'Kalisch  infers  that  in  this  place  foreign  female  servants  are  intended, 
whereas  in  that  place  Hebrew  domestics  are  meant,  by  which  supposition  the  seeming  contra- 
diction is  removed. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Yenet  l-«. 

Slavery  and  Sovereignty. 

The  most  influential  factor  in  the  process  of  human  development  has  been 
the  written  revelation  of  God  ;  and  Avithout  that  we  cannot  suppose  humanity 
would  have  risen  to  glorious  heights.  These  judgments  are  part  of  that  reve- 
lation, and  indicate  the  gradual  methods  by  which  the  Almighty  educates  the 
nations.  God's  teachings  touch  humanity  at  its  lowest  point,  and  are  adapted 
to  the  state  of  highest  development.  These  judgments,  then,  must  be  considered 
in  their  relation  to  primitive  conditions.  They  are  the  world''s  most  ancient 
and  most  complete  repositories  of  legal  enactments.  Their  spirit  is  undying, 
and  proclaims  infinite  wisdom.  These  judgments  of  God  are  the  declarations  of 
human  rights.  We  must,  in  a  teachable  and  impartial  spirit,  consider  these 
judgments,  as  severally  set  forth  to  the  Jews,  in  their  ethical  bearings. 

I.  These  judgments  dealt  with  an  existing  institution.  The  word  most 
commonly  employed  in  the  Old  Testament  in  this  connection  was  one  meanisg 
slavery  in  our  modern  sense.  We  have,  then,  the  fact  that  slavery  was  an 
admitted  institution  in  the  Mosaic  economy.  The  circumstances  under  which 
a  Hebrew  might  be  reduced  to  servitude  were — (1)  poverty  ;  (2)  the  commission 
of  theft ;  and  (3;  the  exercise  of  paternal  authority.  We  cannot  explain  the 
divine  methods,  and  do  not  know  how  it  was  that  slavery  was  not  at  once 
abrogated  by  a  divine  decree.  But  we  see  that  divine  beneficence  was 
revealed  in  the  regulations. 

n.  This  admitted  institution  does  not  sanction  modern  slavery.  The 
Mosaic  sanction  of  slavery  was  a  strong  support  of  that  institution  in  the 
Southern  States  of  America.  But  a  candid  inquirer  will  soon  perceive  that  it 
bad  little  kinship  with  that  which  it  claimed  for  its  support.     There  is  in  the 

373 


CHAP.  XJO.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

divine  revelation  a  spirit  ever  working  to  the  enfranchisement  of  the  race.  The 
letter  is  for  the  time  then  present,  but  the  spirit  is  for  all  time ;  and  it  shall 
operate  unceasingly  and  triumphantly  till  all  forms  of  oppression  are  banished 
from  the  world.     More  closely  consider  the  conditions  of  Mo.-aic  slavery. 

III.  This  system  asserted  the  slave's  personal  sovereignty.  E\  ery  step  in 
the  process  will  show  the  absurdity  of  instituting  a  compari.-,on  between 
Hebrew  slavery  and  other  forms  of  slavery,  in  order  to  make  the  former  sanction 
human  greed  and  cruelty.  In  modern  systems,  the  man  is  a  mere  chattel,  but 
in  the  Mosaic  system  the  slave's  manhood  is  declared.  He  is  sovereign  over 
himself,  and  is  allowed  the  power  of  choice.  The  Southern  slaveholder  would 
not  permit  his  slave  to  say,  "  I  will  not; "  but  the  Hebrew  slave  is  permitted  to 
say,  "  I  love  my  master,  my  wife,  and  my  children ;  I  will  not  go  out  free." 

IV.  This  system  declared  the  slave's  right  to  be  a  man  of  feeling.  The  man 
was  not  to  be  separated  from  the  wife  he  had  chosen  prior  to  his  days  of  servi- 
tude. The  slave  is  here  regarded  as  one  capable  of  loving,  and  of  feeling  dis- 
tress at  separation.  Even  where  the  wife  was  the  gift  of  the  master,  and  there- 
fore she  and  lier  children  the  master's  property,  the  servant  was  not  to  be 
forcibly  separated  ;  but,  under  other  systems,  slaves  have  been  treated  as  if  they 
did  not  possess  the  feelings  common  to  humanity.  Tliis  part  of  the  Mosaic 
regulations  would  not  harmonise  with  the  painful  scenes  which  took  place  at 
slave  marts. 

V.  This  system  proclaimed  the  slave's  right  to  freedom,  and  that  it  is  the 
highest  condition.  The  Hebrew  slave  worked  on  to  the  day  of  happy  release. 
This  term  of  service  was  no  longer  than  a  modern  apprenticeship.  The  bells  of 
the  seventh  year  rang  out  the  old  order  of  slavery,  and  rang  in  the  new  glorious 
order  of  freedom.  "  If  thou  buy  an  Hebrew  servant,  six  years  he  shall  serve  ; 
and  in  the  seventh  year  he  shall  go  out  free  for  nothing."  "  The  fixing  of  the 
seventh  year  as  the  year  of  emancipation  is  connected  with  the  sabbatical  year, 
but  does  not  coincide  with  it."  The  slave  might  choose  to  continue  in  servitude, 
but  he  did  not  choose  the  highest  state.  Such  an  one  must  have  his  ear  bored 
before  the  judges,  as  setting  forth  his  subject  condition,  and  as  sealing  the 
voluntary  compact.  But  no  marks  are  placed  on  the  person  of  the  free  man. 
"  The  boring  of  the  ears  was  among  the  Orientals  a  sign  of  slavery." — Knohd. 

VI.  This  system  typically  sets  forth  that  the  service  of  love  is  the  highest, 
and  alone  enduring.  He  only  was  to  serve  "  for  ever  "  who  chose  continued 
servitude  on  account  of  love  to  his  master,  and  love  to  his  wife  and  his  children. 
The  service  of  love  outstrips  in  dignity  and  surpasses  in  duration  all  other 
forms  of  service.  Love's  bonds  are  sweet.  Its  yoke  is  easy,  and  its  service 
light  There  is  a  loving  service  which  shall  be  in  the  literal  sense  "  for  ever  " 
— a  service  which  is  highest  freedom,  and  from  which  the  slave  will  never  ask 
to  be  liberated.  TJie  service  of  Christ  reaches  beyond  death,  and  is  coeval  with 
eternity. — fV.  Burrows,  B.A. 

In  considering  generally  the  judgments  of  that  part  of  the  *'  Book  of  the 
Covenant"  (xxiv.  3-7)  contained  in  Exodus,  chaps.  xxi.-xxiii.,  three  things 
must  be  borne  in  mind. 

1.  That  God  was  legislating  for  Jeios,  and  had  to  deal  with  such  materials  as 
existed  and  to  make  tiie  best  of  them.  Remember  (1)  The  Jews  were  contami- 
nated by  their  contact  with  and  bondage  under  the  Egyptians,  and  these  were 
familiar  with  and  contracted  those  habits  which  these  judgments  were  intended 
to  abolish  or  control.  And  (2)  How  needful  a  special  and  minute  legislation 
was,  their  characteristics  through  many  centuries  of  their  history  amply  show 
(cf  Matt,  xix  8). 

2.  That  this  legislation  was  founded  on  great  moral  principles  and  was  refer- 
able to  them  (Exodus  xx.  1-17). 

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EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS,  chap,  i  xi. 


3.  That  this  legislation  as  such  (1)  was  not  final.  Many  of  the  enactments, 
t.g.f  those  respecting  slavery,  contemplated  a  special  state  of  things  and  made 
provision  for  their  removal.  And  (2)  it  had  respect  to  a  legislation  higher  and 
final  to  which  it  was  preparatory  (Deut.  xviii.  15;  Gal.  iii.  24;  Heb.  viii.  6,  7-13). 
(3)  With  that  legislation  therefore  this  must  be  compared. 

Chapter  xxi.  exhibits  (i.)  God's  care  for  the  slave  (1-11,  16,  26,  27);  (il)  God's 
indignation  against  the  untilial  spirit  (15,  17);  (iii.)  God's  disapprobation  of  the 
use  of  brute  force  (18,  19)  ;  (iv.)  God's  regard  for  the  safety  of  man  and  beast. 

God's  Care  for  the  Slave. 

1.  Slavery  was  an  established  institution,  and  thus  was  only  recognised  and 
not  establislied  by  the  Mosaic  law. 

2.  Humanly  speaking,  its  entire  abolition  at  this  period  was  impossible  or  at 
least  impracticable.  (1.)  Subsequent  history  shows  how  difficult  it  was  to  repress 
customs  far  less  rooted  in  the  Hebrew  mind.  (2.)  In  the  wars  in  which  the 
Israelites  were  engaged,  it  was  the  only  alternative  to  extermination.  (3.)  In 
a  condition  of  society  where  a  labouring  class  was  unknown,  in  many  cases  it 
was  the  only  alternative  to  want  (Lev.  xxv.  25).  (4.)  Under  circumstances 
where  imprisonment  was  impossible,  it  was  the  only  alternative  for  a  criminal 
to  a  harsher  fate  (Exodus  xxiii.  3). 

3.  1337  conveyed  a  very  different  meaning  to  hoZXoi,  or  servus  or  serf  or  thrall 
or  slave.  It  implied  a  position  of  trust,  and  dealt  rather  with  the  duties  of  the 
servant  than  the  right  of  the  master. 

4.  Those  who  make  a  difficulty  of  Old  Testament  slavery  should  remember — 
(1.)  That  this  is  the  first,  and  for  centuries  the  only,  attempt  to  legislate  on 
behalf  of  the  slave.  (2.)  That  this  attempt  stands  first  among  those  judgments 
which  regulated  political  and  social  life.  And  (3.)  that  if  fairly  carried  out  it 
meant  the  eventual  and  effectual  extinction  of  slavery,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  right  of  man  as  man. 

5.  That  bondage  could  scarcely  have  been  very  intolerable  from  which  its 
subjects  should  so  seldom  endeavour  to  escape  (1  Sam.  xxv.  10  ;  1  Kings  ii.  39). 

The  other  subjects  connected  with  Old  Testament  slavery  will  be  dealt  with 
in  their  proper  place  in  Leviticus  and  Deuteronomy.  The  present  passage  deals 
with  Hebrew  slaves. 

I.  With  regard  to  the  slave  himself  we  notice — (1.)  That  his  term  of  service 
was  limited.  In  the  sabbatic  year  (not  literally  six  years)  he  was  to  be  free  (ver.  2.) 
(2.)  Then  he  was  to  be  made  free,  legally  and  without  cost,  "for  nothing."  (3.) 
That  the  service  might  be  of  such  a  character,  that,  through  love  of  his  master 
or  his  family,  it  might  be  preferable  to  freedom  (ver.  5).  (4.)  That  so  precious 
and  divine  was  liberty,  a  special  enactment  was  necessary  to  enable  the  slave 
to  forego  his  right  to  it  (ver.  5,  6).  (5.)  That  fair  play  might  be  observed  all 
round,  this  preference  of  slavery  to  freedom  must  be  expressed  in  the  most 
judicial,  public,  and  solemn  manner  (ver.  6).  (6.)  That  with  regard  to  woman 
(with  the  exception  noted  in  Deut.  xv.  12,  13)  she  could  only  become  a  slave  on 
the  condition  of  marriage  with  her  master  or  his  son,  in  which  case  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  wedlock  under  all  circumstances  must  be  respected,  or  else  her 
unconditional  freedom  must  be  granted  (vers.  7-11).  (7.)  That  no  man  could  be 
kidnapped  and  sold  for  a  slave  under  penalty  of  death  for  the  manstealer  (ver.  1 6). 
(8.)  That  the  life  and  limb  of  the  slave  must  be  respected  under  severe  penalties, 
(a)  If  he  died  under  chastisement,  the  master  might  be  indicted  for  murder 
(ver.  20,  cf  ver.  12).  {h)  If  he  was  maimed  in  the  slighest  degree,  he  was  entitled 
to  freedom  (vers.  26,  27). 

All  this  minute  legislation  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  slave. 

II.  With  regard  to  the  slaveholder — (1.)  He  was  entitled  at  most  to  six  years  of 

375 


OHAP.  XXI.  EOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

service.  (2.)  Only  by  the  free  consent  of  the  slave,  and  the  authorities,  could  he  re- 
tain his  services  for  one  moment  longer.  (3.)  In  the  case  of  punishment  inflicted  on 
the  slave,  only  unless  the  victim  survived  it  two  days,  did  the  owner  escape  the 
charge  of  murder,  and  even  then  the  loss  of  a  valuable  servant  was  no  small 
penalty.  A  great  deal  has  been  made  of  this  last  case  (vers.  20,  21).  But  (1) 
it  argues  a  strong  public  sentiment  on  behalf  of  the  slave,  and  implies  that  in- 
dignation might  rise  so  high  as  to  be  diflScult  to  repress.  (2)  The  slave  might 
not  die  wholly  from  this  cause,  and  since  it  might  be  beyond  the  power  of  the 
master  to  prove  his  innocence,  the  law  provides  that  he  should  have  the  benefit 
of  the  doubt.  (3)  The  master  was  punished  if  guilty  by  the  loss  of  valuable 
service,  which  was  equivalent  to  money.  (4)  Why  should  "  He  is  his  money  "  be 
interpreted  more  literally  than  "  Time  is  money  "  ?     In  conclusion — 

I.  If  God  cared  for  the  Hebrew  slave  He  will  care  for  the  Christian  servant. 

II.  If  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Hebrew  slave  to  serve  his  master  with  that 
diligence  and  affection  which  this  legislation  implies,  how  much  more  is  it 
obligatory  on  the  Christian  servant  1 

III.  If  the  Hebrew  master  were  amenable  to  God's  laws,  and  if  those  laws 
distinctly  contemplated  his  relation  to  his  dependent,  how  much  more  should 
he,  who  himself  "  serves  the  Lord  Christ,"  obey  His  laws  who  said,  "  One  is  your 
master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren  "  ] — J.  W.  Burn. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Vers.  1-6.     Penalties  as  well  as  laws  Church,  God  has  provided  mucli  con- 
God  would  have  made  known  to  His  cerning  servants, 
people.  Servants   in    the    Church   must   do 

It  concerns  all  Israel  to  know  the  faithful  service  for  their  time, 

judgments  of    God    as   well    as   His  God  in  judgment  delivers  men  to  cer- 

laws.  tainty  of  servitude  when  they  choose  it. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  general  laws  God's    judgments,    about    corporal 

given  to  men,  God  has  reserved  some  bondage  and  freedom,  should  remind 

special  judgments  for  His  Church.  us  about  our  spiritual :  to  hate  slavery 

Amongst  the  judgments  given  to  the  and  love  freedom. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH— Verses  7-11. 

The  Rights  of  the  Female  Slave. 

This  passage  is  somewhat  obscure,  and  in  its  interpretation  we  find  compara- 
tively little  help  from  the  Commentators.  It  treats  of  that  state  of  concubinage 
which  was  assumed  and  provided  for  by  the  law  of  Moses.  "The  natural  desire 
of  offspring  was,  in  the  Jew,  consecrated  into  a  religious  hope,  which  tended  to 
redeem  concubinage  from  the  debasement  into  which  the  grosser  motives  for  its 
adoption  might  have  brought  it." 

L  The  Israelitish  daughter  as  servant  and  concubine.  On  account  of  poverty 
the  Israelite  sold  his  daughter,  not  merely  as  a  slave,  but  with  the  hope  that 
ultimately  she  would  become  the  wife  of  her  master,  or  of  his  son.  In  this  respect 
she  is  not  to  be  treated  as  a  male  slave.  She  is  not  to  be  sent  out  in  the  seventh 
year,  but  remain  as  one  of  the  members  of  the  family.  Practically  she  has  become 
a  concubine,  and  if  her  rights  are  respected,  it  is  far  better  for  her  to  remain  in 
the  house  of  her  master,  than  to  go  out  free  as  did  the  manservant  in  the  seventh 
year.  "  She  shall  not  go  out  as  the  menservants  do."  The  master  must  not 
follow  mere  caprice.  Lust  must  be  checked.  She  has  rights  which  must  be 
respected. 

IL  Her  rights  when  betrothed  unto  the  master.  He  has  no  power  to  deal 
376 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxi. 

with  her  as  he  lists,  even  though  she  be  evil  in  his  eyes.  "  If  she  please  not  her 
master,  then  shall  he  let  her  be  redeemed."  The  father  may  redeem  her  by  paying 
back  either  the  whole  or  part  of  the  purchase  money.  The  master  hau  no  power 
to  sell  her  unto  a  strange  nation.  "  The  Greek,  too,  did  not  sell  a  Greek  slave 
to  go  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  land  "  (Kiiobel).  Her  lot  would  be  more  severe 
in  a  strange  land  than  in  her  own  country.  To  sell  her  into  a  strange  land 
would  be  to  deal  unjustly  by  her.  This  would  be  to  increase  the  injustice, 
if,  after  having  dealt  deceitfully  with  her,  he  were  to  sell  her  unto  a  strange 
nation. 

III.  Her  rights  when  betrothed  unto  the  son.  '*  And  if  he  have  betrothed 
her  unto  his  son,  he  shall  deal  with  her  after  the  manner  of  daughters."  "  As 
his  sou's  concubine,  she  is  to  be  regarded  by  him  as  a  daughter."  The  servile 
merged  in  the  connubial  relation,  and  her  children  would  be  free. 

IV.  Her  rights  if  displaced  by  another.  "  If  he  take  him  another  wife,  her 
food,  her  raiment,  and  her  duty  of  marriage,  shall  he  not  diminish."  If  the 
master  take  another  wife  for  the  son,  then  the  concubine's  domestic  rights  must 
remain  inviolate.  She  must  have  her  proper  food,  her  fitting  raiment,  and  her 
recognised  seat  and  resting-place  in  the  house  as  a  lawful  concubine. 

V.  The  concubine's  remedy  if  her  rights  are  not  regarded.  "And  if  he  do  not 
these  three  unto  her,  then  shall  she  go  out  free  without  money."  She  becomes 
a  free  woman,  and  the  master  can  get  no  compensation.  Learn  that  the  weakest 
have  rights  which  must  be  regarded — and  that  masters  must  conduct  them- 
selves so  as  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community  and  the  consolidation  of 
the  nation. — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Vers.  7-11.  It  is  a  great  hardness  of  faithfulness   to   provide    for   His   op- 
heart  to  sell  children  for  the  advantage  pressed  children. 
of  men  to  unnatural  fathers.  God's  judgments  determine  all  rela- 

God's   special  judgments  take  care  tions  justly  to   be   used,   servants   as 
for   daughters,    as    the    weaker    sex,  servants,  children  as  children, 
before  men.    God  will  not  have  any  to  God's  justice   appears  in  legal  free- 
make  merchandise  of  the  children  of  dom,  and  His  goodness  to  tlie  Gospel- 
the  Church.  freedom  under  Christ  our  head. 

Man's  deceitfulness  occasions  God's 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  12-14. 

Cases  of  Homicide. 

A  rude  state  of  society  requires  rough  measures  for  the  repression  of  crime 
and  for  the  preservation  of  social  order ;  and  in  considering  the  stern  severity 
of  the  Mosaic  code,  we  must  try  to  project  ourselves  into  that  aboriginal  state 
of  society,  and  pronounce  our  judgments  accordingly.  Laws  which  were 
required  in  those  early  times  ought  not  to  be  needful  in  these  days.  It  is  well 
that,  through  the  spread  of  Gospel  principles,  justice  is  being  more  and  more 
tempered  by  mercy.  But  mercy  must  not  be  allowed  to  supplant  justice.  And 
there  is  a  danger  lest  in  our  pity  for  the  man  we  restrain  justice  with  regard  to 
the  criminal. 

I.  Homicide  in  eflFect. — The  first  case  is  that  of  the  man  who  strikes  his  fellow  ; 
strikes  in  anger,  but  not  with  a  murderous  intention,  and  yet  death  is  the  result 
of  the  angry  blow.  Such  a  man  shall  be  surely  put  to  death.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  severe  cases  of  punishment  in  those  early  periods.  But  it  is  a  steru 
practical  comment  upon  the  New  Testament  words,  "  He  that  hateth  his  brother 

377 


OHAP.  XXI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


is  a  murderer."  Let  us  then  learn  to  avoid  angry  feelings  towards  our  brother 
men.  Anger  in  the  heart  gives  unconscious  malicious  power  to  the  will.  The 
blow  directed  by  an  angry  man  may  be  more  severe  than  his  better  self  would 
approve.  The  man,  then,  is  responsible  for  the  effects  of  his  anger,  even 
though  these  effects  are  more  disastrous  than  he  intended.  The  preservation 
of  the  physical  lile  is  important,  but  much  more  the  preservation  of  the  moral 
life  in  all  its  purity. 

II.  Homicide  by  mistake. — If  a  man  kill  his  fellow,  not  in  consequence  of  an 
angry  blow,  but  by  reason  of  a  stroke  given  through  mischance,  then  there  is 
tolje  merciful  provision  for  his  safety,  if  a  man  kill  his  fellow  through  misad- 
venture, then  the  city  of  refuge  is  to  be  opened  for  his  reception.  And  cities  of 
refuge  were  afterwards  provided.  Into  those  cities  the  avenger  of  blood  could 
not  enter.  And  in  tlie  final  adjustment  of  human  affairs,  merciful  consideration 
will  be  dealt  out  to  those  who  have  done  vast  mischief  by  mistake  ;  upon  sins 
of  ignorance  will  fall  the  blessed  light  of  Divine  mercy.  Embrace  the  glorious 
truth  that  through  the  sternest  code  the  Divine  love  cannot  help  revealing  its 
gracious  tendencies. 

III.  Homicide  by  design. — The  last  mentioned,  in  verse  fourteen,  is  a  case  of 
real  murder.  Here  are  all  the  maiks  of  the  iiiurdeier.  There  is  the  breaking 
through,  in  ebullient  rage,  the  sacred  restraints  whicli  protect  one's  neighbour 
as  Gud's  image.  There  is  to  be  no  hope  for  such  a  man.  He  is  even  to  be  torn 
away  from  God's  altar.  Death  is  to  be  his  portion.  It  is  a  strange  fact  that 
througli  all  times,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  Mosaic  law  of  death  for  death 
has  so  largely  prevailed.  A  few  monarchs  have  aboli.-^hed  capital  punishment; 
but  soon  the  stern  decree  has  been  re-enacted.  It  is  sad  to  hang  a  man,  but  in 
saying  this  we  seem  to  forget  that  it  is  a  sadder  thing  to  murder  a  man.  The 
sufferer  of  capital  punishment  has  not  such  severe  measure  dealt  out  to  him  as 
the  victim  who  has  suddenly  been  deprived  of  life.  The  repression  of  crime, 
and  not  revenge,  is  the  purpose  of  wisely-constructed  and  justly-administered 
penal  codes ;  and  if  the  abolition  of  capital  punishment  tend  to  the  diminution 
of  murder,  then  we  do  not  see  that  the  Bible  stands  in  the  way  of  such  a  course. 
Learn  the  exceeding  preciousness  of  life.  How  awful  to  kill  the  body  !  More 
awful  still  the  conduct  of  those  who  go  about  to  destroy  moral  life  !  It  is  dread- 
ful to  be  a  soul  murderer.  Life  is  God's  most  sacred  gift.  He  bestows  largely 
for  its  unfolding.  He  provides  many  safeguards  for  its  preservation. — W.  Bur- 
rows, B.A. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VEHSES. 

Vers.  12-14.  The  Hfe  of  man  is  dear  Pride,  presumption,  and  treachery, 

to  God  to  preserve  it ;  man  is  God's     make  men  truly  murderers, 
image. 

MATN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH— Verses  12-17. 

God's  Indignation  against  the  Unfilial  Spirit. —  Verses  15-17. 

Nothing  is  more  marked,  in  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  alike,  than 
the  imperative  character  of  parental  claims  and  filial  duties.  A  special  law 
incorporated  in  the  mm-al  code  deals  with  this  subject.  These  rights  and  duties 
arise  from  the  peculiar  relation  in  which  parents  stand  between  their  children 
and  God.  God,  through  the  parent,  gives  existence  to  the  child,  and  makes 
through  the  same  medium  provision  for  its  protection  and  nurture,  and  the 
supply  of  its  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical  necessities.  Parents  must  be 
regarded,  therefore,  as  God's  delegated  authorities,  ami  must  be  respected  as  such. 
Offences  against  them  God  treats  as  offences  against  Himself,  and  punishes  them 
»s  such.  Our  text  deals  with  (1)  the  unfilial  spirit  in  two  aspects  ;  and  (2)  with 
378 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxi. 


its  uniform  punishment.  Some  excellent  remarks  on  this  subject  and  the  Rab- 
binical treatment  of  it  will  be  found  in  an  article  by  Dr.  Ginsburg  in  "  Cassell's 
Bible  Educator,"  vol.  i.  pp.  153. 

I.  The  unfilial  spirit  in  two  aspects. 

1.  He  that  smiteth  his  father  or  his  mother  (v.  15).  (1.)  A  child  may  smite 
'lis  parent  literally,  as  in  the  case  of  those  brutes  we  read  of  in  the  newspapers 
every  week.  (2.)  A  child  may  smite  his  parents'  authority  by  rebellion  in  thouglit, 
word,  or  deed ;  e.g.,  Absalom.  (3.)  A  child  may  smite  his  parents'  wealth  by 
extravagance  or  carelessness  ;  e.g.,  ancient  and  modern  spendthrifts.  (4.)  A 
child  may  smite  his  parents'  character  by  an  incautious  revelation  of  domestic 
secrets.  (5.)  A  child  may  smite  his  parents'  health  and,  by  misconduct,  bring 
their  grey  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave  ;  e.g.,  Joseph's  brethren.  (6.)  A  child 
may  smite  his  parents'  heart,  and  break  it  by  disobedience  and  wilfulness ;  e.g.^ 
sons  of  Eli. 

In  all  these  instances  (2-6)  a  child  may  eflFectually  smite  his  parents'  without 
lifting  a  finger. 

2.  "  He  that  curseth  {lit.  revileth)  his  father  or  his  mother."  (1.)  A  child  may 
revile  his  parents  by  an  assertion  oi personal  independence  ;  as  in  the  case  of  the 
prodigal  demanding  his  portion  of  goods  and  taking  his  journey  into  a  far 
country.  (2.)  A  child  may  revile  his  parents  by  speaking  of  them  in  a  careless 
and  irreverent  way.  What  else  is  it  when  a  youth  refers  to  his  father  as  '•  the 
governor,"  and  to  his  mother  as  the  "old  lady  "  ?  (3.)  A  child  may  revile  his 
parents  by  speaking  to  them  in  a  familiar  or  impertinent  way.  (4.)  A  child 
may  revile  his  parents  by  treating  their  counsels  with  contempt ;  and  (5.)  Alas  !  a 
child  may  revile  his  parents  by  cursing  them  to  their  face. 

II.  The  uniform  punishment  of  the  unfilial  spirit. — "  Shall  surely  be  put  to 
death."  The  letter  of  this  condemnation  is  now  repealed,  but  its  spirit  lives  on 
through  the  ages. 

1.  An  unfilial  child  dies  to  the  respect  of  civilised  society.  All  the  unwritten 
codes  of  humanity  agree  in  condemning  it  as  an  unpardonable  sin  to  treat  one's 
parents  with  disrespect. 

2.  An  unfilial  child  is  morally  chad.  If  the  sign  of  the  moral  life  is  "  love  of 
the  brethren,"  how  dead  must  he  be  in  whom  filial  respect  and  love  is  extinct ! 
It  would  be  easy  to  show  (1)  how  all  that  deserves  the  name  of  intelligence,  (2) 
veneration,  (3)  natural  affection,  and  all  the  higher  faculties  of  the  soul,  are 
utterly  destroyed  before  a  man  can  "smite"  or  "revile"  his  i'atlier  or  his 
mother. 

3.  An  unfilial  child,  inasmuch  as  he  breaks  a  moral  law,  and  a  law  that  partakes 
of  the  qualities  of  both  tables  and  combines  them,  dies  in  a  more  terrible  sense. 
*'  The  soul  that  sinneth  "  (sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law)  '•  it  shall  die." 

In  conclusion — (1.)  A  word  to  parents.  "Provoke  not  your  children  unto  wrath." 
Don't  do  anything  calculated  to  excite  those  distempers  which  may  express 
themselves  in  "  smiting  "  or  "  reviling  "  ;  but  "  train  them  up  in  the  M'ay  they 
should  go,"  *•  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord."  (2.)  A  further  word  to 
children.  "  Obey  and  honour  your  parents  in  all  things  in  the  Lord."  If  there 
is  anything  you  may  deem  objectionable,  remember  (a)  your  own  inexperience, 
and  (6)  your  indebtedness  to  those  who  have  given  you  liie  and  who  have  pre- 
served and  provided  for  it  till  now. 

Parent-smiters  and  Men-stealers. 

We  do  not  observe  any  deep  metaphysical  or  psychological  reasons  for  the 
order  and  number  of  these  laws.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  great  regard 
for  logical  order  in  the  Hebrew  spirit.  We  may  simply  discover  the  instructive 
and  very  suggestive  circumstance  that  the  three  crimes  mentioned  in  these  verses 

379 


CHAP.  XH.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

are  placed  in  the  same  cateirory,  and  have  meted  out  to  them  tlie  same  awful 
penalty.  Thus,  it  appears  that  the  man  who  curses  his  father  or  his  mother  ia 
no  better  than  the  man-stealer.  And  in  this  respect  the  social  code  of  Christian 
England  is  scarcely  equal  to  the  moral  code  of  the  Mosaic  economy.  It  is  not 
indeed  to  be  deplored  that  the  penalty  of  death  is  less  frequently  inflicted  in 
these  times  tlian  in  the  days  of  the  past;  but  it  is  to  be  lamented  that  reverence 
for  parents  is  not  nowa-days  a  virtue  very  strenuously  insisted  uj)on.  We  should 
not  now  think  of  placing  the  curser  of  parents,  or  even  the  stuiter  of  parents,  on 
the  same  level  with  the  nian-stealer.  Those  who  make  a  trade  of  kid-napping 
are  now  reprobated ;  but  cursers  of  fathers  and  of  mothers  are  at  least  not 
regarded  as  criminals,  if  indeed  they  are  not  welcomed  into  good  society.  There 
is,  however,  a  similarity  of  spirit  in  the  two  characters.  There  is  a  closer  con- 
nection between  the  curser  of  parents  and  the  man-stealer  than  we  may  at  first 
imagine.  Let  us  study  them  together,  as  placed  before  us  in  Holy  Writ,  and 
learn  to  avoid  the  evils. 

I.  The  crime  of  cursing  father  or  mother.  The  order  now  proposed  for 
discussion  as  logical  is  to  commence  with  cursing  father  or  mother,  then  smiting 
father  or  mother,  and  then  man-stealing.  This  crime  of  cursing  father  or  mother 
is  one  of  the  letters  of  the  Mosaic  economy  that  has  been  in  too  large  a  measure 
dropped  out  of  the  moral  alphabet  of  modern  society.  There  is  a  needs  be  that 
it  stand  out  in  brighter  colours.  It  is  not  by  any  means  a  desirable  circumstance 
that,  practically,  we  are  behind  the  Jews,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  the 
Egyptians  in  this  particular.  We  read  out  to  our  children  the  words,  "  Honour 
thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  but  society  does  not  on  a  large  scale  reprobate  those 
who  curse  their  fathers  and  their  mothers.  There  are  fathers  and  mothers 
who  entail  upon  their  children  a  heritage  of  woe ;  and  we  must  feel  pity 
for  such  children,  and  not  be  very  much  surprised  if  there  is  a  tendency  to 
curse  their  parents.  It  is  diflBcult  for  us  to  be  hard  upon  those  children  whose 
parents,  either  by  their  folly  or  by  their  wickedness,  have  entailed  upon  them  a 
depraved  physical  or  moral  nature.  Oh,  let  us  be  gentle  in  our  speech  towards 
those  whose  parents  have  been  vile,  reckless,  and  worthless  !  "What  a  severe  lot 
it  is  for  those  children  whose  homes  are  the  abodes  of  wretchedness,  or  the  hot- 
beds of  crime  !  Still,  crime  in  others  is  no  excuse  for  our  crimes.  Cursing  father 
or  mother  is  to  be  condemned  under  all  circumstances,  [a.)  It  is  to  be  condemned, 
for  it  is  a  reflection  upon  the  human  authors  of  our  being.  And  thus  it  is  in  a  sense 
a  reflection  upon  God  Himself.  Instead  of  thanking  God  for  our  creation,  we  are 
practically  cursing  God  that  ever  we  were  born.  There  is  a  great  deal  in  life  for 
which  to  be  thankful;  and  most  shun  the  process  of  giving  up  life.  Why,  then, 
should  we  curse  those  who  have  brought  us  into  life  ?  Why  should  we  curse 
the  dear  mother  whose  gentle  voice  has  hushed  our  sorrowful  wailing  into  peaceful 
slumbers  ?  Why  should  we  curse  the  father  whose  strong  hand  has  shielded 
from  danger  and  ministered  to  our  necessities?  (6.)  It  is  to  be  condemned, /(>r 
it  is  a  disparagement  of  God's  vicegerent.  If  there  is  any  being  in  this  Avorld  placed 
by  God  in  a  position  of  authority,  it  is  the  father.  He  is  the  type  of  the  eternal 
Father.  He  is  God's  true  representative  on  earth.  The  house  is  his  kingdom, 
and  the  children  are  his  subjects,  and  he  has  an  undoubted  right  to  sway  the 
sceptre  of  a  divinely-constituted  authority.  How  great,  then,  is  the  crime  of 
that  child  who  curses  his  father;  who  despises  God's  representative;  who  resists 
the  lawful  control  of  God's  vicegerent  !  Is  it  much  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
penalty  for  this  crime  in  that  early  society  was  death  ?  (c.)  It  is  to  be  condemned, 
/<»•  it  is  a  subversion  of  the  good  order  of  society.  The  family  constitution  is  the 
primal  form  of  government.  All  true  governments  are  but  its  development. 
The  true  ideal  of  a  nation  is  that  of  a  family  of  which  the  king  is  the  head  and 
father.  And  our  kingdom  is  established  for  this,  among  other  reasons,  that 
the  throne  is  built  upon  the  thrones  set  up  in  happy  English  homes.  Rightly 
380 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxr. 


conducted  family  life  is  essential  to  national  life  and  national  prosperity, 
liebellion  in  tlie  household  is  rebellion  in  the  nation.  Cursing  the  father  leads 
to  cursing  the  king.  Anarchy  in  the  home  means  anarchy  in  the  state,  and 
destruction  to  the  community.  We  liave  regretted  the  fact  that  we  seem  behind 
some  other  nations  in  not  branding  the  cursing  of  parents  as  a  crime  of  deepest 
dye  ;  but  we  have  to  rejoice  in  the  salutary  influence  of  so  many  Christian  homes, 
which  have  been  the  safeguard  of  our  nation ;  and  we  are  extremely  jealous  lest 
the  safeguard  should  be  removed  or  its  power  diminished. 

II.  The  crime  of  smiting  father  or  mother.  The  man  who  curses  his  parents  is 
the  man  who  is  prepared  to  smite  them  when  the  occasion  arises.  That  father 
cannot  safely  trust  himself  to  that  grown-up  son  who  has  ventured  to  curse, 
and  thus  shown  his  contempt  for  the  parental  authority.  Under  certain 
circumstances  it  may  be  right  for  the  father  to  smite  his  son.  There  may  be  too 
much  leniency,  as  well  as  too  much  severity,  in  the  family;  some  modern  father* 
appear  to  have  lost  faith  in  the  wisdom  of  Solomon's  proverbs.  They  spare  the 
rod,  and  by  bitter  experience  find  that  the  child  is  spoiled.  The  father  who 
never  smites  his  son  may  thank  God  if  that  son  never  smites  him.  However, 
never  use  the  rod  in  anger.  Administer  chastisement  in  the  spirit  of  prayer, 
for  the  child's  good,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  authority.  But  it  is  not  right 
for  the  son  to  smite  the  father.  The  son  had  better  suffer  undeserved  physical 
injury  than  venture  to  smite  his  father  or  his  mother.  The  reasons  adduced  for 
the  condemnation  of  those  who  curse  their  parents,  are  still  more  cogent  when 
applied  to  those  hardened  children  who  smite  their  parents.  What  a  wretch  is 
he  who  smites  the  motlier  tliat  has  given  of  her  life  for  the  promotion  of  his  life; 
who  has  poured  out  all  the  vast  wealth  of  her  natuie  in  order  to  nurture  up  to 
glorious  manhood.  The  penalty  of  death  for  this  crime  has  no  place  in  our  civil 
code  ;  but  the  man  who  smites  his  father  or  his  mother  will  find  that  the  stroke 
has  a  recoil  sooner  or  later.  Years  may  elapse  between  the  act  of  smiting  and 
the  fact  of  being  smitten.  But  the  return  stroke,  though  long  delayed,  at  last 
shall  come  with  fearful  pains.  Better  suff"er  thy  right  hand  to  be  amputated 
than  use  it  to  strike  thy  father  or  thy  mother. 

III.  The  crime  of  man-stealing.  We  have  seen  that  slavery  was  allowed  to 
continue  ;  but  man-stealing  was  made  subject  to  the  penalty  of  death.  Even  in 
those  rude  states  of  society  God  taught  the  great  lesson  that  He  had  made  of 
one  blood  men  of  different  nations,  as  well  as  men  of  the  same  nation. 
It  is  a  crime  to  steal  a  man's  property.  It  is  a  crime  to  steal  a  man's  character 
by  villanous  slander.  But  the  crime  of  crimes  is  to  steal  a  man's  person.  It  is 
a  striking  fact  that  this  Mosaic  enactment  has  been  exerting  a  powerful  influence 
from  age  to  age  ;  and  it  has  so  worked  that  the  kidnapper  has  never  for  long 
occupied  a  respectable  position  in  society;  and  the  time  is  fast  hastening  when 
the  word  may  be  eliminated  from  our  language,  and  kindred  words  from  all 
other  languages.  So  great  is  this  crime  that  the  Apostle  Paul  numbers  the  men- 
stealers  amongst  those  lawless  and  disobedient  ones  with  special  reference  to  whom 
the  law  is  made.  So  great  is  this  crime  that  there  is  in  every  rightly-constituted 
nature — yea,  in  every  man  not  deeply  sunk  in  sin  and  thoroughly  hardened  by 
iniquity — an  instinctive  horror  of  and  shrinking  from  the  man-stealer.  Exe- 
cutioners appointed  by  human  governments  may  not  now  put  the  man-stealer  to 
death  ;  but  his  doom  is  sealed.  Fearful  is  the  outlook.  Unless  he  truly  repent 
and  forsake  his  way,  his  lamp  too  shall  go  out  in  fearful  darkness.  And  the 
man  who  smites  his  father  or  his  mother  without  any  feeling  of  remorse,  and 
without  an  earnest  effort  to  restrain  himself,  is  quite  prepared  to  become  the 
man-stealer  when  the  opportunity  presents  itself ;  his  depravity  is  sufficiently 
great  to  avail  himself  of  the  ofi"ered  power  of  kidnapping  his  fellows. 

Lessons. — (1.)  These  three  crimes  taken  together  are  suggestive  of  the  genesis 
9f  crime.    There  is  the  indulgence  of  evil  thinking,  then  this  grows  into  evil 

381 


CHAP.  m.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


speaking,  and  then  comes  evil  acting.  Inward  cursing  grows  into  outward 
cursing,  and  this  cuhninates  in  crime  of  physical  violence.  The  man  who  perniita 
himself  to  curse  his  father  inwardly,  will  not  be  long  before  he  curses  outwardly. 
In  this  respect  cursing  and  smiting  follow  closely  upon  one  another.  And  the 
man  who  smites  his  fattier  or  his  mother  is  prepared  to  smite  anybody  else  if 
there  be  provncation  sufficient  and  no  dread  of  consequences.  The  children  who 
forsake  their  parents,  when  those  parents  are  God-fearing,  commence  a  downhill 
course  from  which  return  is  difficult.  (2.)  Gives  a  word  of  caution  to  parents. 
So  live,  and  work  ;  and  pray  that  your  children  may  not  curse  you,  but  have 
good  reason  to  bless  your  memories.  And,  parents,  remember  that  in  after  years 
children  may  think  they  have  reason  to  curse  you  for  being  too  indulgent  as 
well  as  for  being  too  severe.  (3.)  Gives  a  woi'd  of  caution  to  children.  The  wrong- 
doing of  parents  is  no  justification  for  the  wrongdoing  of  children.  Most  likely  a 
more  severe  penalty  awaits  the  child  who  has  been  favoured  with  many  privileges 
and  has  abused  them,  than  the  child  whose  privileges  have  been  few,  and  who 
has  accordingly  gone  astray.  Do  not  dwell  upon  what  your  parents  might  have 
done  for  you  if  they  had  been  different  or  had  acted  differently ;  but  reflect  upon 
the  more  pleasing  part  of  their  dealings  with  you.  And  try  to  make  the  best 
of  unpropitious  circumstances.  He  is  the  best  general  who  knows  how  to 
retrieve  mistakes.  He  is  the  world's  hero  who  fights  his  way  through  and 
surmounts  difficulties,  and  achieves  moral  victories. — W.  Burrows,  B.A, 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.— Verses  11-19. 

God's  Disapprobation  of  Brute  Force. — Verses  22-25. 

I.  One  of  the  great  underlying  principles  and  fundamental  axioms  of  the 
Mosaic  legislation  was  the  sanctity  of  human  life.  Hence  the  number  of 
hedges  and  guards  by  which  it  was  sur.rounded. 

1.  Life  is  everywhere  regarded  as  the  gift  of  God.  It  is  therefore  taken  for 
granted  that  He  alone  has  a  right  to  interfere  with  it  or  take  it  away. 

2.  Life  is  everywhere  regarded  as  given  for  the  express  purpose  of  p'omoting  the 
Creator's  glory,  and  fulfilling  those  duties  which  He  has  laid  doicn.  To  injure  or 
destroy  that  life,  therefore,  is  to  make  it  fail  of  the  end  for  which  it  was  given. 

3.  Life,  therefore,  is  to  be  protected  from — (1)  attacks  which  would  inflict  a 
temporary  injury  upon  it,  under  the  penalty  of  remuneration  for  loss  of  time  and 
medical  attendance  (vers.  18,  19);  or,  according  to  the  lex  talionis  (vers.  22-25), 
and  which  might  become  (2)  murder,  in  which  case  the  punishment  was  death. 

4.  Life,  however,  was  so  precious  that  even  the  manslayer,  if  his  crime  was 
accidental,  might  have  an  opportunity  for  clearing  himself  (ver.  13)  ;  thus  in  the 
wilderness,  anticipating  the  cities  of  refuge  (Numb.  xxxv.  ;  Deut.  iv.,  xix.  ; 
Josh.  XX.) 

5.  But  life  was  so  sacred  that  even  the  sanctuary  was  no  protection  to  the 
deliberate  murderer  (ver.  14.)    (See  1  Kings  i.  50,  ii.  28;  Lev.  iv.  7). 

II.  This  principle,  properly  applied,  means  the  extinction  of  all  strife,  whether 
between  individuals  or  nations.  There  may  be  circumstances  under  which  \)cv- 
sonal  encounter  or  national  war  may  be  justifiable,  as  when  rights  are  invaded 
or  the  helpless  oppressed.  But,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  quarrels  may 
be  settled  by  arbitration  or  mutual  concession.  At  any  rate,  this  grand  principle 
of  the  sanctity  of  human  life,  if  acted  on  all  round,  would  discourage  all  violence 
and  inaugurate  the  era  of  universal  peace  and  good  will  towards  man. 

God  Disapproves  of  Brute  Force. 

I.  Because  it  is  beneath  the  true  dignity  of  man.     Such  contests  as  described 
in  the  text  are  the  outcome  of  the  animal  and  lower  part  of  our  nature  (Jas.  iv. 
382 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xsi. 


1,  2),  and  reduce  man  to  the  level  of  the  beast.  But  God  has  given  man 
reason,  discretion,  self-control;  and  fighting  degrades  tlie  man.  This  applies  (1) 
to  what,  by  a  solemn  irony,  is  described  as  the  "  noble  (?)  art  of  self-defence  ;" 
(2)  to  the  vast  majority  of  those  wars  undertaken  to  gratify  an  individual's  or  a 
nation's  lust  of  glory,  revenge,  or  spoil. 

II.  Because  it  is  unnatural.  Humanity  is  a  brotherhood.  "  God  has  made 
of  one  blood  all  the  nations  of  men."  Therefore  men  should  be  prepared  (1)  to 
make  concessions  ;  (2)  to  forgive  ;  (3)  to  live  in  peace  and  unity  together. 

HI.  Because  it  is  dangerous — 

1.  To  the  victor  in  the  struggle.  (1.)  He  may  disable  his  adversary,  and  have  to 
pay  a  heavy  indemnification  (18,  19).  (2.)  He  may  have  to  pay  with  his  Ufe  the 
murderer's  forfeit  (ver.  12).  2.  To  the  vanquished.  It  may  mean  {a)  serious 
injury,  or  (6)  death. 

IV.  Because  no  worthy  object  is  gained.  Strength,  time,  skill,  money,  and,  it 
may  be,  life  are  expended  for  what  1  Merely  the  ascendency  of  the  strongest  and 
the  compulsory  subjection  of  the  weak. 

V.  Because  it  is  eminently  unchristian.  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and 
in  divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in 
these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  His  Son." 

1.  It  is  contrary  to  the  example  of  Christy  "  who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled 
not  again  (1  Pet.  ii.  23),  and  who  "  did  not  strive." 

2.  It  is  contrary  to  the  precept  of  Christ.  "  Love  one  another  ; "  "  Love  your 
enemies;  "  "They  that  use  the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword;  "  "My  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world  else  would  My  servants  fight." 

3.  It  is  contrary  to  the  whole  body  of  Christian  teaching.  Paul  (2  Tim.  ii.  24 ; 
Heb.  xii.  14) ;  Peter  (1  Epis.  iii.  8-11) ;  James  (iii.  13-16),  Jude  (Ep.  9) ;  and 
as  for  John  every  chapter  in  his  epistles  is  against  it.  This  principle  applies 
(I.)  To  the  dogmatist.  (II.)  To  the  controversialist.  The  instrument  need  not 
be  fist  or  stones.  God  disapproves  of  the  employment  of — (i.)  force  of  intel- 
lect ;  (ii.)  fluency  of  speech ;  (iii.)  power  of  lung  when  exerted  against  moral  prin- 
ciples.— J,  W,  Burn. 

Stkivers  and  Smiters. — Verses  18-27. 

There  is  in  this  passage  no  punishment  appointed  for  the  mere  striven  He 
is  simply  held  responsible  for  any  evil  consequences  that  may  ensue  from  the 
strife.  So  that  he  who  would  be  on  the  safe  side,  as  regards  either  the  being 
injured  or  being  the  cause  of  injury  to  another,  must  learn  to  "  walk  honestly, 
as  in  the  day; — not  in  strife  and  envying."  For  mental  strife  stirreth  up 
anger;  and  this  leadeth  to  physical  strife;  and  this  to  violent  smiting;  and 
this  sometimes  terminates  in  death.  "  He  loveth  transgression  that  loveth 
strife." 

I.  The  striver  who  injures  his  opponent.  The  man  smitten  with  a  stone  in 
a  contention,  and  forced  to  take  to  his  bed,  is  entitled  to  compensation.  The 
smiter  must  pay  for  the  loss  sustained  during  enforced  absence  from  work,  and 
must  also  be  responsible  for  all  the  injured  man's  medical  requirements.  Acts 
have  consequences,  and  men  are  to  be  held  responsible  for  such  consequences. 
On  this  principle  we  still  proceed  in  great  measure ;  and  especially  is  this  true 
when  the  consequences  are  immediate.  Move  with  caution.  Let  every  deed  be 
the  result  of  prayerful  deliberation.  Who  can  tell  what  the  deed  of  to-day  may 
produce  in  the  far  off"  to-morrow  ? 

II.  The  smiter  who  injures  his  servant.  The  man  who  smites  his  servant  or 
his  maid  with  a  rod,  and  causes  death,  is  to  be  surely  punished.  It  is  plain 
that  capital  punishment  is  not  to  be  inflicted  on  this  smiter  ;  for  it  is  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  judges  to  award  the  damages.     If  capital  punishment  were 

383 


CHAP.  XXI.  HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


intended,  it  is  strange  that  it  is  not  stated,  as  in  the  foregoing  passages.  Perhaps 
the  term  "rod"  is  here  employed  designedly;  for  where  an  iron  was  used  malicious 
intention  was  supposed,  and  death  was  the  punishment  where  death  was  caused. 
If,  however,  the  injured  servant  continue  a  day  or  two,  the  striker  shall  not  be 
punished  ;  for  the  servant  is  the  master's  money.  The  master  suffers  the  loss  of 
his  servant's  services,  and  therefore  receives  sufficient  punishment.  If  the  servant 
or  the  maid  lose  either  an  eye  or  a  tooth,  through  being  struck  by  the  master, 
then  the  servant  or  maid  so  suffering  is  entitled  to  liberty  as  a  compensation. 
Such  is  the  merciful  provision  fur  the  slave's  physical  welfare.  A  tooth  is  but 
a  small  price  to  pay  for  liberty.  Many  slaves  have  risked  their  lives  in  order  to 
purchase  the  precious  boon  of  freedom.  Even  the  physical  part  of  man's  nature 
is  important.  A  slave's  body  is  God's  workmanship,  and  must  be  treated  with 
respect. 

III.  The  striver  who  injures  a  pregnant  woman.  Very  often  women  meddle 
with  the  strifes  of  husbands  or  brothers.  It  is  natural  that  women  should  seek 
to  separate  the  contending  parties.  And  if  such  women  get  injured  in  their 
efforts,  we  sometimes  say  it  serves  them  right  for  interfering.  But  the  Mosaic 
code  did  not  so  affirm ;  and  we  think  rightly.  Strivers  should  be  held 
responsible  for  the  results  of  their  quarrels.  It  would  greatly  alter  the 
condition  of  things  if  warlike  strivers  could  be  held  responsible  for  the  results  of 
their  contentions.  As  the  result  of  the  pregnant  woman  suffering  permanent 
injury  we  have  an  enforcement  of  the  law  of  retaliation.  In  rude  states  of 
society  we  may  proceed  on  the  principle  of  an  eye  for  an  eye,  &c.;  but  we  may 
aspire  to  and  work  up  to  a  state  of  society,  thoroughly  permeated  with 
Gospel  principles,  where  all  the  members  of  the  state  will  be  members  of 
Christ's  mystical  body — when  this  law  shall  vanish,  and  the  higher  laws  of 
Christian  love  and  forbearance  shall  be  in  full  operation.  It  will  tlien  be  an 
easy  thing  not  to  resist  evil,  for  this  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  And, 
till  those  Elysian  days  appear,  "Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher 
powers.  For  there  is  no  power  but  of  God  ;  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God."  "  If  thou  do  that  which  is  evil,  be  afraid ;  for  he  beareth  not  the 
sword  in  vain  ;  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon 
him  that  doeth  evil." — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Vers.   18-27.   Passion   and   conten-  wounds  must  look  to  the  healing  of  his 

tion  breed  very  bad  events  amongst  neighbours, 

neighbours.  Security  and  prosperity  of  creatures 

Not  only  death,  but  the  injury  of  is  the  end  of  God's  judgments  against 

man,  God  desires  to  prevent.  violent  men.     The  lives  and  comforts 

It  is  just  with   God  that  he  who  of  the  poorest  slaves  are  dear  to  God, 

and  secured  by  Him. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  28-36. 

God's  Regard  for  the  Safety  of  Man  and  Beast. — Ferses  28-36. 

This  is  an  extension  of  the  principle  maintained  in  the  preceding  section,^ 
the  sanctity  of  human  life.  So  sacred  is  it,  that  it  is  not  merely  to  be  protected 
from  injury  or  murder,  but  from  accident.  And  not  only  human  but  animal 
life.     Even  that  must  not  be  sacrificed  carelessly.     Then — 

I.  God  cares  for  the  safety  of  man, 

1.  If  an  ox  injured  a  man  for  the  first  time,  the  life  of  the  ox  only  was  for- 
feited (ver.  28).     But  2.  If  the  owner  of  the  ox,  acquainted  with  the  proved 
384 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


vicious  character  of  his  beast,  neglected  to  put  him  under  restraint,  and  the  oX 
Icilled  his  victim  as  culpably  negligent,  (1)  the  owner  was  put  to  death;  or  (2) 
his  life  commuted  for  a  fine. 

II.  God  cares  for  the  safety  of  the  beast.  Other  scriptures  demonstrate  this 
(Matt.  vi.  26  >  &c.). 

1,  lu  the  case  of  a  beast  falling  into  an  unprotected  pit  (or  well),  the  penalty 
was  adequate  remuneration  for  the  loss  (vers.  33,  34).  2.  In  the  event  of  an 
ox  exliibiting  vicious  propensities  for  the  first  time,  both  the  ox  and  its  victim 
were  to  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  equally  divided ;  but  after  its  proved  viciousness, 
the  owner  for  culpable  carelessness  was  to  bear  the  entire  loss. 

None  but  a  superficial  mind  will  deem  this  legislation  trivial.  It  involves 
important  principles  recognised  in  all  civilised  codes.  The  application  is,  that 
God's  regard,  as  expressed  in  the  law,  should  be  man's  as  expressed  in  action. 
The  Jew,  in  the  literal  case  before  us,  must  put  a  wall  round  his  pits  or  wells, 
or  cover  them  in  some  way  and  "  keep  in  "  his  intractable  bulls  :  the  Christian, 
in  practical  life,  must  adopt  every  precaution  necessary  for  the  safety  of  his  neigh- 
bour or  his  neighbour's  property.  Hence  there  are  matters  about  which  a  man 
may  not  simply  consult  his  own  interest.  God  and  society  demand  that  we 
consult  the  interest  of  others.  Thus  selfishness  is  checked,  and  provision  made 
for  harmony  and  peace  and  safety  between  man  and  man.    The  text  suggests — 

I.  That  provision  for  the  safety  of  others  should  be  made.  We  must  not 
argue  that  others  are  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  if  they  walk  into 
danger  it  is  their  own  fault.  No,  the  Christian  law  is,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself."  We  may  be  able  to  walk  amidst  the  dangers  of  our  own 
field  with  impunity,  because  we  are  familiar  with  them,  and  are  armed  against 
them.  Our  neighbour  may  not  be.  Wherefore,  "  If  eating  flesh  or  drinking 
wine,"  &c.     "Destroy  not  thy  brother  for  whom  Christ  died." 

II.  That  this  provision  should  be  made  promptly.  We  must  not  argue  that 
it  will  be  time  to  adopt  precautions  when  we  see  our  neighbour  coming.  No, 
Christian  life  must  be  regulated  by  the  principle  that  "  prevention  is  better 
than  cure."  We  are  not  at  liberty  to  wait  till  the  accident  has  occurred.  Life  is 
too  short,  and  too  valuable,  for  such  experiments.  We  save  life  equally  by  preven- 
tion as  by  rescue.  There  may  be  no  conspicuous  heroism  in  taking  precautions, 
but  God  counts  it  as  very  acceptable  service.  Davy  did  more  for  humanity  by 
inventing  his  simple  lamp  than  he  would  by  daring  attempts  to  rescue  hundreds 
of  victims  from  exploded  mines.  And  so  it  is  better  by  far  to  save  a  man  from 
moral  ruin  than  by  indefatigable  attempts  to  save  him  when  ruined. 

III.  That  this  provision  should  be  permanent.  That  accidents  are  excep- 
tional does  not  alter  the  case.  Most  of  the  permanent  arrangements  of  life  are 
made  to  meet  exceptional  cases.  A  house  is  not  built  for  weather,  which  with 
us  is  pretty  uniformly  mild ;  but  so  as  to  stand  the  severe  stress  of  occasional 
torrents  and  winds.  A  shipbuilder  does  not  contemplate  the  fair  weather ;  but 
the  exceptional  storm.  So  our  neighbour  may  be  calling,  or  his  ox  straying,  at 
any  moment.  The  visit  may  be  uncertain,  but  the  uncertainty  is  permanent. 
So  should  be  our  means  of  meeting  it.  Be  prepared,  therefore,  for  accidents, 
and  make  sure  in  case  of  uncertainties.  And  depend  upon  this,  he  who  is 
careful  about  his  neighbour  will  be  equal  to  any  emergency  that  may  occur 
respecting  himself. 

Application — (i.)  Beware  of  injuring  your  neighbour's  soul  by  any  unguarded 
inconsistency,  (ii.)  Beware  of  injuring  your  neighbour's  friendship  by  any 
unguarded  passion,  (iii.)  Beware  of  injuring  your  neighbour's  character  by  any 
unguarded  word,  (iv.)  Beware  of  injuring  your  neighbour's  peace  by  any 
unguarded  look  or  action,  (v.)  In  all  matters  concerning  your  neighbour,  remem- 
2q  385 


auAP.  ixi.  BOMILETIC  COMMBNIAHT:  EXODUS. 


ber  that  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so 
unto  them." — J.  W.  Bam. 

The  Penalties  of  Carelessness. 

In  a  nomadic  state  of  society,  great  care  is  required  in  the  management  of 
cattle,  if  interests  are  not  to  clash,  if  the  welfare  of  the  community  is  to  be 
promoted.  Even  when  the  children  of  Israel  reached  the  Promised  Land,  there 
would  be  still  need  for  caution,  and  great  precision  in  the  laying  down  of  laws. 
The  wise  foresight  of  the  legislator  is  seen  in  these  particular  laws  with  refer- 
ence to  dangerous  cattle. 

I.  Life  is  superior  to  property. — The  ox  that  had  gored  a  man  to  death  was 
to  be  killed,  and  put  out  of  the  way.  His  flesh  was  not  to  be  eaten.  The  ox 
is  stoned  to  death  ;  and,  legally,  it  would  involve  physical  uncleanness  to  eat  of 
the  flesh.  Is  there  Old  Testament  symbolism  in  this  fact  1  Does  the  ox  sym- 
bolise the  murderer  ?  Does  the  Almighty  thus  in  a  most  significant  manner 
set  forth  the  aw  fulness  of  murder  1  This,  however,  may  be  safely  inferred,  that 
property  should  ever  be  subordinate  to  life.  What  a  pity  that  this  noble  prin- 
ciple of  the  Mosaic  code  is  not  more  fully  carried  out  in  modern  days !  We 
rightly  slaughter  cattle  to  prevent  the  spread  of  disease  ;  but  the  farmer  would 
object  to  have  an  ox  slaughtered  because  it  had  unfortunately  gored  a  man  to 
death.  There  is  still  at  work  in  modern  society  the  influence  of  this  mistaken 
principle, — the  omnipotence  of  property.  We  need  to  learn  the  preciousness  of 
human  life. 

II.  The  careless  man  is  culpable. — If  the  animal  had  been  known  to  gore  ;  if 
this  fact  had  been  testified  to  the  owner,  and  proper  precautions  had  not  been 
taken,  then  the  owner  was  in  some  measure  participant  in  the  evil  doings  of  the 
vicious  creature.  Carelessness  is  culpable.  He  that  knoweth  to  do  good,  and 
doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin.  To  prevent  evil  by  wise  precaution  is  our  bounden 
duty,  and  is  an  indirect  method  of  doing  good.  There  are  degrees  of  careless- 
ness, and  degrees  of  guilt.  The  man  may  so  conduct  himself  as  to  declare  that 
he  rather  rejoiced  in  the  ox's  murderous  tendency ;  and,  if  so,  the  man  must  not 
only  have  hib  ox  killed,  but  he  himself  is  to  be  put  to  death.  But  there  may 
be  mitigating  circumstances  about  the  owner's  conduct.  The  suff"erers  may 
take  a  lenient  view  of  the  transaction.  Then  the  owner  of  the  ox  shall  give  a 
proper  ransom  for  the  life  which  has  been  forfeited,  whether  son  or  daughter. 
But  if  it  be  a  manservant  or  a  maidservant  that  is  killed,  then  thirty  shekels  of 
silver  shall  be  given  to  the  master ;  which  was  probably  the  usual  market  price 
of  a  slave.  All  life  is  precious  ;  but  it  seems  to  be  indicated  that  some  lives  are 
more  precious  than  others.  Thirty  shekels  is  a  high  price  for  some ;  but  a  hundred 
shekels  would  be  a  low  price  for  others.  After  death  has  visited,  then  estimates 
nearer  the  truth  of  a  man's  worth  will  be  formed. 

III.  Man  is  responsible  for  preventable  evil. — If  into  the  uncovered  pit  an 
ox  or  an  ass  fall,  the  owner  of  the  pit  shall  make  good  the  damage.  He  shall 
pay  the  price  of  the  animal  so  killed  ;  and  receive  the  dead  beast,  of  which  he 
could  only  use  the  skin,  and  other  such  parts.  The  flesh  was  unclean.  If  we 
leave  a  pit  uncovered  we  must  take  the  cousequencea  Will  the  Almighty  hold 
us  responsible  for  the  moral  pits  we  have  left  uncovered?  We  have  not  placed 
precautionary  signals  in  sufficient  number  along  those  highways  where  moral 
pits  and  quagmires  abound. 

IV.  Community  of  interest. — In  the  Jewish  polity  men  were  not  to  be  allowed 
to  consider  their  own  interests  as  paramount.  They  were  to  consider  the  welfare 
of  others.  The  man,  whose  ox  had  killed  the  ox  of  another,  was  in  a  measure 
responsible  for  the  loss  occasioned.  The  goring  ox  was  to  be  sold,  and  thus 
removed  out  of  the  sight  of  those  to  whom  it  had  rendered  itself  obnoxious. 

386 


EOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :   EXOD  US. 


And  the  money  got  for  tlie  living  ox  was  to  be  divided  ;  and  the  dead  ox  also 
they  shall  divide.  It  is  likely  that  the  dead  ox  had  gored.  But  if  the  ox  had 
been  known  to  gore  aforetime,  then  the  owner  must  pay  ox  for  ox ;  and  the 
dead  shall  be  his  own.  The  master  must  be  watchful  over  the  very  cattle  that 
he  owns.  He  must  have  respect  to  the  welfare  of  his  neighbour.  Let  us  feel 
that  we  have  interests  in  common.  The  prosperity  of  one  is  the  prosperity  of 
all  in  a  degree.  In  the  long  run  there  can  be  no  individual  interests  separate 
from  the  interests  of  the  whole  community.  Selfishness  is  self-defeating  and 
suicidal.  If  there  cannot  be  community  of  goods,  there  must  always  be  com- 
munity of  interests — W.  Burrotvs,  B.A, 


ILLUSTRATIONS    TO    CHAPTER    XKI» 

BT 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Moral  Law!  Ver.  1.  Travelling  some 
Alpine  pass,  where  the  narrow  road,  cut  out 
of  the  face  of  the  rock,  hangs  over  a 
frightful  gorge,  it  is  witli  friendly  eyes  you 
look  on  the  wall  that  restrains  your  restive 
steed  from  backing  into  the  gulf  below.  Such 
are  the  restraints  God's  law  imposes — no 
other.  It  is  a  fence  from  evil — nothing  else. 
Men  hate  the  Divine  restrictions  as  the  mad- 
man raves  against  the  padded  walls  which 
save  him  from  deeds  of  horror.  Thank  God, 
our  hearts  are  not  left  to  themselves. 

"  For  wholesome  laws  preserve  us  free, 
By  stinting  of  our  liberty." — Butler. 

Slavery-Bias!  Ver.  2.  Martin  says  that 
slavery,  both  Indian  and  Negro,  that  blighting 
upas  which  has  been  the  curse  of  the  West 
Indies,  has  accompanied  the  white  colonist — 
whether  Spaniard,  Frenchman,  or  Briton — 
in  his  progress,  tainting  like  a  plague  every 
incipient  association,  and  blasting  the  efforts 
of  man,  however  well  disposed,  by  its  demon- 
like influences  over  the  natural  virtues  with 
which  the  Creator  has  endowed  him  ;  leaving 
all  cold,  and  dark,  and  desolate  within.  But 
his  limitation  is  unjust  to  the  "pale-faces," 
for  black  and  red  and  white  skins  have  been 
alike  addicted  to  enslaving  their  fellows.  In 
Germany,  England,  and  Russia  a  modified 
kind  of  slavery  has  existed.  In  the  last- 
named  country  it  was  only  a  few  years  ago 
that  the  masses  of  serfs  were  emancipated. 
Although  the  serfs  of  Russia,  the  oid  villeins 
of  England,  and  the  like,  could  hardly  be  de- 
nominated slaves  in  the  sense  in  which  that 
word  is  understood  to  apply  to  the  Roman 
slave,  or  to  the  modern  African  slave  ;  yet 
there  is  no  doubt  that  these  servants  of  feudal 
chiefs  worked  for  their  masters,  and  were  sold 
by  them,  very  much  as  the  modern  serf. 

"  Thus  man  devotes  his  brother,  and  destroys; 
And  worse  than  all,  and  most  to  be  deplored. 
As  human  nature's  broadest,  foulest  blot. 
Chains  him  and  tasks  him,  and  exacts  his 

sweat 
With  stripes." — Cowper. 


Slave- Trade  I  Ver.  2.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  a  great  distinction  lies  between  "slavery  " 
and  the  "slave  trade."  The  primitive  domestic 
slavery  which  has  for  ages  prevailed  in  Africa, 
bears  no  comparison  with  the  cruel,  oppres- 
sive bondage  under  which  the  poor  negroes  so 
long  groaned  in  America.  The  Portuguese 
were  the  first  to  begin  this  infamous  traffic  at 
Cape  Bajedor  in  1442,  But  the  first  cargo  of 
slaves  was  conveyed  to  Jamaica  by  some 
Genoese  merchants  in  1517,  to  whom  the 
Emperor  Charles  V.  granted  a  patent  for  the 
annual  supply  of  4000  negroes  to  his  West 
Indian  possessions.  England  first  sullied  her 
hands  with  "the  blood  of  bondage  "  in  1562, 
when  Charles  II.  sanctioned  an  expedition  of 
three  ships  under  Captain  Hawkins. 

"  I  would  not  have  a  slave  to  till  my  ground, 
To  carry  me,  to  fan  me  while  I  sleep. 
And  tremble  when  I  wake,  for  all  the  wealth 
That  sinews,   bought  and   sold,  have  ever 
earned." 

Slave-Sufferings!  Ver.  2.  Little  Benome 
was  an  African  girl.  Sent  by  her  mother  to 
one  of  Africa's  sunny  fountains  for  water,  she 
saw  a  slave-hunting  party  approach.  Rushing 
home,  the  villagers  were  alarmed  and  escaped 
to  the  woods.  Their  village  was  burnt,  and 
next  day  themselves  pursued.  The  fugitives 
were  captured  by  the  men-stealers,  and 
Benome  with  her  mother  and  many  others 
were  tied  together  and  marched  off  to  tlie 
coast.  The  way  led  through  a  desert  and 
across  a  river.  Here  the  cruel  hunters 
seized  a  babe  in  arms,  and  flung  it  alive 
into  the  jungle  to  be  devoured  by  wild 
beasts.  The  coast  reached,  mothers  and 
daughters,  brothers  and  sisters,  were  sold 
separately,  and  shipped  to  America.  Hun- 
dreds were  imprisoned  in  the  hold  of  the  ship; 
and  there,  like  bales  of  goods,  kept  till  the 
voyage  was  over.  Benome's  ship  was,  how- 
ever, captured  by  a  British  man-of-war,  and 
Benome  and  the  others  were  taken  to  the 
Island  of  Trinidad  for  emancipation.  Hero 
she  learned  to  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

387 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


**  O  Ensrlnnd,  empire's  home  and  head, 
First  ill  eacli  art  <>f  peace  and  pow'r, 
Miirhty  the  billow-crest  to  tread, 
iMi<;htv  to  rule  the  battle  hour. 
But  mii^htiest  to  relieve  and  save, — 
Rejoice  that  thou  hast  freed  the  slave." 
— Carlisle. 

Slave-Emancipation!  Vers.  2-4.  One  of 
the  uraiidcsi.  results  of  Ciiristiun  ruissions  to 
the  West  Indies  was  tlie  emancipation  of  tlie 
slaves  in  all  the  Britisli  Colonies  in  1838.  The 
enemies  of  freedom  had  predicted  anarchy  and 
reljellion.  They  loudly  averred  that  tiie  freed- 
men  would  at  once  rise  against  their  former 
owners,  ami  seek  revenge.  But  it  was  not  so. 
The  utmost  quiet  prevailed.  A  Watch-night 
meeting  was  held  in  different  places.  Thou- 
sands of  men,  women,  and  children  were 
found  upon  their  bended  knees  before  God  to 
receive  the  blessing  of  freedom  from  heaven. 
When  the  clock  struck  twelve,  whicli  was  the 
dcath-knell  of  slavery,  they  rose  to  their  feet, 
and  sung  with  united  heart  and  voice,  as  they 
had  never  sung  before — 

"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow  t 
Praise  Him,  all  creatures  here  below! 
Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host — 
Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

Freewill-Serfdom!  Ver.  6.  As  in  nature's 
field,  says  Law,  so  in  Israel's  story,  almost 
every  object  reflects  Christ.  A  Hel)rew  servant 
is  the  subject  of  this  verse,  i>ut  one  for  whom 
freedom  lias  no  charms.  Attachment  binds 
him  to  his  master's  home,  and  a  new  ordinance 
is  appointed  to  sanctify  this  willing  offer  of 
perpetual  service.  It  may,  perhaps,  come  as 
a  new  thouglit  to  some,  that  in  this  servant's 
choice  and  constant  love,  Jesus  reveals  Him- 
self. In  the  4Uth  Psalm,  where  faith  ascends 
in  heaven-high  flight,  the  Eternal  Son,  in 
close  communion  with  the  Eternal  Father,  is 
heard  declaring,  "  Mine  ears  hast  Thou 
opened,"  i.e.,  digged  by  Tliy  hand.  Thus 
we  see  the  God-man  stooping  to  the  lowest 
grade  —  seeking  a  servant's  voice  —  submit- 
ting to  a  servant's  toil.  Jehovah's  fellow  is 
Jehovah's  workman  in  the  labour-field  of 
grace.  We  have,  then,  in  this  abject  state  a 
speaking  portrait  of  the  love  of  Jrsus.  "Be- 
hold My  servant,  whom  I  uphold  "  (Is.  xlii.  1). 
"  I  am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth  "  (John 
xiii.). 

"  To  conquer  and  to  save,  the  Son  of  God 
Came  to  His  own  in  great  humility. 
Who  wont  to  ride  on  cherub  wings  abroad, 
And  round  Him  wrap  the  mantle  of  the 
sky." — Ileber. 

Slave-Service !  Ver.  7.  Swinnock  says 
that  civd  sul  jection  to  man  came  in  by  sinful 
defection  from  God.  The  word  "  servant"  is 
thought  to  be  derived  from  d  servanda,  because 
those  who  were  taken  in  battle  and  might  have 
been  slain  were  saved  (2  Kings  v.  2).  As 
servitude  came  in  witii  a  curse  (Gen.  ix.  25), 
10  sovereignty  is  promised  as  a  blessing  (Qen. 
388 


xxvii.  9).  It  was  usual  for  the  debtor  to  be- 
come servant  to  the  creditor  amongst  the 
Romans,  by  the  law  of  the  Twelve  Tables.  The 
French  were  wont  also  to  sell  themselves  to 
noblemen  for  debt;  and  the  Jews  were  not 
ignorant  of  this  practice  (2  Kiiigs  iv.  1). 
Titus  Sempronius  would  sell  his  aged  and 
weak  servants  as  cattle.  Cato  PoUio  com- 
manded one  of  his  servants  to  be  thrown  into 
his  fishponds  for  breaking  a  glass  which  he 
valued  highly,  tliougli  he  had  an  abundant 
stock  of  tiiem.  When  Augustus  Caesar  heard 
of  it,  he  entered  the  place  where  the  glasses 
were,  and  broke  them  all. 

"  Why  didst  thou  this  I    Man  I  was  he  not 

thy  brother? 
Bone  of  tliy  bone,  and  flesh  and  blood  of 

thine? 
But  ah,  tliis  truth,  by  Heaven  and  reason 

taught. 
Was  never  fully  credited  on  earth." — Pollok. 

Homicide!  Ver.  12.  Pause  and  look  for 
a  moment  on  these  drops  of  gore  that  stain 
the  fresh  greensward  of  earth.  It  rests  silent, 
but  how  significant,  upon  the  ground  !  It  lies 
there  a  memorial  of  the  curse  which  God  had 
pronounced  on  man,  "Thou  shalt  surely  die." 
It  lies  a  mirror,  wlierein  sin  may  see  its  foul 
features  most  accurately  represented,  and 
whence  the  homicide  may  start  back  appalled 
at  his  own  image.  It  is  an  awful  thing  to 
send  any  man  into  eternity,  still  more  awful 
if  he  is  unprepared.  Anger  is  too  often  the 
fruitful  cause  of  staining  the  human  hand 
with  the  "red  rain."  All  perfumes  will  not 
sweeten  this  hand  1 

"  Will  all  the  mighty  ocean  wash  this  blood 
Clean  from  my  hand  ?     No ;  this  my  hand 

will  rather 
The  multitudinous  seas  incarnadine, 
Making  the  green  one  red." — GUfillan. 

Parricide!  Ver.  15.  This  was  by  the 
Roman  law  punished  in  a  much  severer 
manner  than  any  other  kind  of  homicicie. 
After  being  scourged,  the  delinquents  were 
sewn  up  in  a  leather  sack  with  a  live  dog,  a 
cock,  a  viper,  and  an  ape,  and  then  cast  into 
the  sea.  Solon,  in  his  laws,  made  none 
against  parricide,  conceiving  it  impossible 
that  any  one  should  be  guilty  of  so  unnatural 
a  crime.  And  yet  we  are  told  that  Tullia,  the 
wife  of  Tarquin,  drove  over  the  corpse  of 
Tullius,  her  own  father  ;  the  wheels  of  her 
chariot,  dashing  through  the  pool  of  gore,  be- 
sprinklinsr  the  trarments  of  the  parricide  with 
a  baptism  of  blood.  By  the  order  of  Anti- 
pater,  ill  his  very  presence — some  say  with 
his  own  hands — his  motlier  Tliessalonica  was 
put  to  death  because  he  thought  siie  favoured 
his  brother.  When  a  Tahitian  became  tired 
of  his  aged  parent,  he  would  either  place  him 
in  a  separate  hut  to  die  of  starvation,  or  thrust 
him  through  with  a  spear.  Recently,  in  tlie 
south  of  France,  a  young  man  killed  and 
buried  his  widowed  mother  in  order  to  be 
owner  of  the  little  farm. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAF.  XXL 


••  Blood  of  the  soul  1     Can  all  earth's  foan- 
tains 
Make  thy  dark  stain  disappear  ?  " 

— Sigourney. 

Slave-Taking!  Ver.  16.  Men  defended 
the  modern  slave-trade  by  Scripture  allusions  ; 
but  there  was  little  or  no  analogy  Ijetween  the 
two.  Ancient  heathen  nations  made  slaves 
either  (1)  by  sentence  of  courts  for  breach  of 
the  laws  of  tlie  land;  or  (2)  liy  capture  of 
soldiers  in  battle  ;  and  the  Jews  may  have 
acted  similarly.  But  there  is  no  warrant  for 
"  slave-huntini^ ;"  and  such  pictures  of  the 
pursuit  of  African  villagers  as  modern  writers 
have  lined  in  pathetic  language,  would  have 
aroused  emotions  of  horror  in  the  Hebrew 
heart.  In  Africa,  petty  wars  were  got  up. 
Slave-hunting  parties  were  organised  for  the 
express  purpose  of  surprising  peaceful  villages 
in  the  interior,  capturing  the  inhabitants,  and 
dragging  them  into  peri)etual  slavery.  These 
parties  were  generally  lieaded  by  base  Portu- 
guese, who  were  assisted  in  their  nefarious 
enterprise  by  such  depraved  negroes  from  the 
coast  as  would  enlist  for  such  service.  Eng- 
land has,  however,  secured  treaties  witii  Egypt 
and  Zanziljar  and  Malagasy,  empowering  her 
cruisers  and  soldiers  to  put  down  this  iniqui- 
tous traffic  with  resolute  hand. 

*'  Proudly  on  Cressy's  tented  wold 
The  lion-flag  of  Etigland  flew ; 

As  proudly  gleamed  its  crimson  fold 
O'er  the  dun  heights  of  Waterloo  ; 

But  other  lyres  shall  greet  the  brave  ; 

Sing  now,  that  we  have  freed  the  slave." 

Selling  Slaves!  Ver.l6.  The  Koran  justifies 
slavery  on  two  grounds  only:  1.  A  religious 
war;  '2.  Captives  in  such  war.  The  Sultan 
of  Turkey  declares  that  man  is  the  most  noble 
of  all  the  creatures  God  has  formed  in  making 
him  free,  therefore  selling  people  is  contrary 
to  the  will  of  the  sovereign  Creator.  Tlie 
Paslia  of  Egypt  has  also  denounced  slavery  in 
the  strongest  terms.  Tiie  Shah  of  Persia  raised 
some  religious  objection  to  the  abolition  of 
tlie  slave-trade,  but  he  was  met  by  tlie  opinion 
of  six  of  his  chief  MoUahs  that  selling  male 
and  female  slaves  is  an  abomination.  It  is 
wortliy  of  remark  that  Mahomet  strove  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  slave,  and 
gradually  to  extirpate  slavery  itself,  which 
from  old  times  had  taken  root  in  Arabia  as 
well  as  in  many  other  countries. 

'*  Dear  as  freedom  is,  and  in  my  heart's 
Just  estimation  prized  above  all  price, 
I  would  much  rather  be  myself  the  slave, 
And  wear  the  bonds,  than  fasten  them  on  him." 

Slave-Sellers!  Ver.  16.  The  Banians  of 
Zanzibar  figure  prominently  in  the  literature 
connected  with  the  East  African  slave-trade. 
These  men  are  Hindus,  i.e.,  natives  of  India. 
They  are  to  be  found  in  large  numbers  in 
Katty  war ;  l)ut  their  stronghold  is  P.\litana. 
There  they  have  beautiful  temples,  to  which 
bands  of  pilgrims  periodically  flock  from  other 
countries.     They  possess  the  most  tender  feel- 


ings for  animals,  and  would  run  any  risk  to 
prevent  cruelty  to  them.  But  though  they 
have  an  elaborate  system  for  the  protection  of 
even  noxious  creatures,  they  have  no  regard 
for  human  life.  These  are — along  with  the 
Bhatias — the  slave-dealers  in  Zanzibar  ;  and 
when  they  have  acquired  by  this  nefarious 
traffic  a  competency,  they  return  to  their 
native  land.     Thus 

•'  There's  naught  so  monstrous,  but  the  mind 

of  man, 
In  some  condition,  may  be  brought  to  approve." 

— Lillo. 

Homicide  !  Ver.  20.  Dr.  Leiand  writes 
concerning  the  Spartans,  that  nothing  could 
exceed  their  cruelty  to  their  serfs  —  their 
helots,  as  they  called  them.  Not  only  did 
they  treat  them  in  their  general  conduct  with 
great  harshness  and  insolence,  but  it  was  part 
of  their  policy  to  massacre  them  on  several 
occasions  in  cold  blood,  and  without  provoca- 
tion. Several  authors  have  mentioned  their 
kruptia — so  called  from  their  lying  in  ambus- 
cade in  thickets  and  clefts  of  rocks,  from 
which  they  issued  out  upon  the  serfs,  and 
killed  all  they  met.  Sometimes  they  set  upon 
them  in  the  open  day,  and  murdered  the 
ablest  and  stoutest  of  them  as  they  were  in 
the  fields  at  work.  But  English  and  American 
writers  have  been  forced  to  admit  the  record 
of  many  such  homicides  in  more  modern  times. 
Murdered  "  Uncle  Toms"  are  no  myth. 

•'  Ah  !  for  the  tale  the  slave  could  speak, 
Ah!  for  the  shame  of  England's  sway  ; 

On  Afric's  sands  the  maddeii'd  shriek, 
'Neath  soutliern  suns  the  burning  day: 

Te  sounds  of  guilt — ye  sights  of  gore — 
Away  !  for  slavery  is  no  more." 

Slave-Sorrows!  Vers.  23-25.  All  honour 
Livingstone's  righteous  indignation  against 
the  cruelties  which  he  was  obliged  to  witness 
as  he  travelled  amid  the  horror  of  the  slave- 
traffic.  On  the  Luongo,  lie  describes  an 
incident  in  words  which  show  this  feeling. 
Six  men  were  singing  as  if  they  did  not  feel 
the  weight  and  degradation  of  the  slave-sticks. 
I  asked  the  cause  of  their  mirth,  and  was  told 
that  they  rejoiced  at  the  idea  of  coming  back 
after  death,  and  hunting  and  killing  those 
who  had  sold  them.  Some  of  the  words  I  had 
to  inquire  aliout;  for  instance,  the  meaning  of 
the  words  "  to  hunt  and  kill  by  spirit  power." 
Then  the  song  started  afresh  :  "  Oh  !  you  sent 
us  off  to  the  sea-coast,  but  the  yoke  is  off  when 
we  die,  and  back  we  sliall  come  to  haunt  and 
to  kill  you."  Then  all  joine<l  in  the  chorus, 
which  was  the  name  of  each  seller.  Thestrain 
told  not  of  fun,  but  of  the  bitterness  and  tears 
of  such  as  were  oppressed. 

"  O  for  a  lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness, 
Some  boundless  contiguity  of  shade, 
Where  rumour  of  ojipression  and  deceit 
Might  never  reach  me  more." — Cowper. 

Eye  for  Eye !  Ver.  25.  Selden  says  that 
this  does  not  mean  that  if  I  put  out  anothei 

389 


OHAT.  xxn,  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


man's  eye,  therefore  I  must  lose  my  own  (for  Pitfallfl  I     Vers.  33,  34.     Evils  are  wrought 

what  is  he  better  for  that?),  though  this  is  by  want  of   thought,  as  well   as  by  want  of 

commonly  received.     It   means  that  I  must  heart.     Bare  want  of  tliought  is  censured  as 

give   bim  what  satisfaction   an  eye  shall  be  sinful.     There  is  a  selfi.sh  and   heedless  dis- 

judged   to   be   worth.      Accordingly,   Cruick-  regard  of   tlie   rights  and  personal  safety  of 

sliank   relates  the   case  of   a  slave,  who  ap-  otliers.      But    tliore    are    moral    as    well    as 

pealed    to  a    traditionary  law  which    entitled  material  pits.     The  gin-palaee  keeper  should 

him  to  freedom  for  i lie  loss  of  an  eye,   in   liis  be    compelled    to    write    u[),     "An    open    pit 

master's  service,  from  tlie  recoil  of  a  branch  liere. "     Keepers  of  h:iunts  of  vice  should  be 

of  a  tree.     Compensation,  tlien,  and  not  re-  forced  to  have  for  their  sign    the  opinion  of 

tribution,  is  the  essential  element  in  this  law.  the  wise  man  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs — "The 

Substitution  is  here,  and  not  revenge.  Way  to  the  Pit." 

"  You  satisfy  your  anger  and  revenge  ;  "  Our  dangers  and  delights  are  near  allies ; 

Suppose  this,  it  will  not  From  the  suinc  siem  the  rose  and  prickle 

Repair  your  loss." — MassiiKjer.  rise." — LanieU 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

Critical  Notes. — 2.  No  blood  be  shed  for  him.]  This  is  a  free  translation,  which,  however, 
fairly  gives  the  purport  of  the  original  words.     The  Hebrew  phrase  reads  literally  :  "Tliere  ia 

at  for  him  bloods"  {'eyn  lo  ddmim),  the  last  word — in  the  plural — plainly  standing  for  "blood- 
guiltiness."  "  There  is,  in  his  case,"  or,  "in  reference  to  him,"  "  no  blood-guiltiness  "  resting 
on  any  one.  No  further  blood  is  to  he  shed  by  way  of  avenging  the  death  of  one  who  had  lost 
ais  life  in  the  way  described.    We  have  heie  an  instance  of  the  underlying  admission  in  the  axiom, 

'  Blood  for  blood"  as  the  rule  which  calls  for  the  caution  of  the  text,  as  an  exception.  8,  9. 
Judges.]  See  Critical  Note  on  chap.  xxi.  6.  18.  Witch.]  Heb.  m'khashshephah  :  from  the  root 
khu shaph,  "to  speak  softly,  to  murmur,  to  whisper,  to  listen,  to  act  mysteriously,  to  mutter; 
hence  to  practise  magic,  i.e.,  to  mutter  magical  formulas.  It  belongs  to  those  Hebrew  words 
which  received  in  usage  the  additional  idea  of  something  heathenish,  idolatrous,  and  forbidden  " 
(Fiirst).  The  LXX.  rather  remarkably  renders  the  verse:  "  Ye  shall  not  acquire  {Tr€pLTroiT)<jeTe) 
sorcerers."  31.  And  ye  shall  be  holy  men.]  This  seemingly  abrupt  clause  is  to  be  taken  in  a 
relation  of  strict  sequence  with  all  that  has  gone  before.  As  much  as  to  say  :  "  And  so — namely, 
by  your  observance  of  all  these  instructions — ye  shall  be  (or  become)  holy  men."  It  is  true  tliat 
these  words  are  introduced  simply  by  the  conjunction  vav ;  the  part,  however,  whicli  this 
small  word  plays  in  Hebrew  syntax  is  beginning  to  be  more  riglitly  appreciated.  Its  strong 
sequential  force  is,  no  doubt,  more  commonly  noticed  when  it  is  construed  with  a  verb,  in 
which  case  it  very  frequently  requires  to  be  translated  "and  then,"  "and  so,"  "so,"  "so 
that;"  but  it  "can  also  denote  the  sequence  of  thought  before  any  other  word  (and  was  in 
that  case  originally  spoken  with  a  tone  peculiar  to  itself)"  {Ewalii,  "Intro.  Heb.  Gram.," 
sec.  348).  And  so  it  may  have  this  force  with  a  noun  as  here.  This  very  example  is  a  strong 
proof  of  sucli  a  usage  ;  since  thereby  alone  does  the  fitness  of  these  words  to  their  jilace 
appear.  The  thought  evolved  by  this  legitimate  recognition  of  their  fitness  is  one  of  which  the 
earnest  teacher  of  God's  peoi>le  may  make  a  most  fruitful  use.  The  end  of  redemption  ia 
holiness;  the  rule  and  guide  of  holiness  is  the  revealed  will  of  the  Thrice  Holy  One. 

MAIN  HOMILETJCS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Yersea  1-6. 

Actual  and  Virtual  Criminality. 

The  Mosaic  law  is  a  schoolmaster.  Not  a  mere  pedagogue  to  guide  mankind 
to  the  place  or  person  where  education  may  be  obtained,  but  a  veritable  school- 
master to  educate  mankind — to  lead  men  up  out  of  a  low  into  a  high  social 
condition,  to  develop  humanity.  We  do  not  deny  the  fact  tliat  the  Mosaic  law, 
is  a  pedagogue,  Avhile  we  strive  to  bring  into  prominence  the  fact  that  it  is 
itself  also  an  educator.  Tiie  educational  power  of  the  law  is  seen  in  this  pas- 
sage, as  well  as  in  others.  Here  men  are  taught  to  discriminate  between  crime 
and  crime.  Wliile  sin  is  one  in  its  essence,  yet  there  are  degrees  in  criminality. 
Crime  is  variable,  all  sinners  are  not  equally  guilty. 

I.  Men  must  sufier  for  crime.     The  man  who  steak  an  ox  or  a  sheep  is  not 
390 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxn. 


merely  to  make  good  the  stolen  animal,  but  must  be  mulcted  in  a  penalty, 
The  stolen  ox  must  be  replaced  by  another.  But  four  oxen,  or  three  sheep,  is  the 
price  of  the  crime.  And  if  the  thief  have  nothing,  then  he  is  to  be  sold  for  his 
theft.  The  judges  must  thus  determine.  And  out  of  the  money  thus  obtained 
the  loser  of  the  animal  must  receive  compensation.  It  is  better  to  suffer  wrong 
than  to  do  wrong.  The  evil-doer  must  ultimately  be  a  sufferer.  The  man  who 
BuflFers  evil  patiently  must  ultimately  receive  compen.-ation.  The  gz-eat  moral 
law  of  the  universe  cannot  be  thwarted.  He  who  hopes  to  gain  by  wrong- 
doing will  find  that  his  hope  is  cut  off  by  the  sharp  and  sure  stroke  of  the  hand 
of  retribution.     Honest  gains  may  be  slow,  but  they  are  sure  and  blessed. 

II.  Men  must  suffer,  unavenged,  the  extreme  consequences  of  criminal  con- 
duct. If  the  thief  is  killed  while  in  the  act  of  pursuing  hi.s  criminal  course, 
then  no  one  is  to  be  held  responsible  for  tlie  slaughter.  "There  shall  no  blood 
be  shed  for  him,"  If  a  man  meets  with  evil  while  doing  evil,  then  the  human 
consciousness  declares  that  it  serves  him  right.  And  here  truly  the  voice  of  all 
peoples  is  the  voice  of  God.  But  danger  might  arise  if  men  took  the  law  into  their 
own  hands,  so  that  they  are  not  permitted  to  pursue  the  thief,  and  slay  him  in 
revenge.  In  the  night,  and  in  self-defence,  the  thief  may  be  unwittingly  slain, 
then  he  reaps  as  he  has  sown.  But  when  the  sun  has  risen,  when  the  time  of 
danger  is  over,  extreme  measures  can  only  be  regarded,  as  dictated  by  revenge. 
Even  evil-doers  have  rights  which  must  be  respected.  It  is  better  to  suffer  evil 
than  to  give  way  to  a  revengeful  spirit.     "  Avenge  not  yourselves." 

III.  Men  must  learn,  by  degrees  of  suffering,  that  there  are  degrees  of 
criminality.  The  thief  who  kills  or  sells  the  stolen  ox  must  restore  fivefold ; 
but  if  the  theft  be  found  in  his  hand  alive,  then  he  shall  restore  double.  We 
may  picture  the  thief  arrested  in  his  course  by  the  voice  of  conscience.  He  does 
not  proceed  to  extreme  lengths.  He  seems  to  be  on  the  verge  of  confession. 
The  law  has  regard  to  moral  states.  A  slight  penalty  is  judged  for  a  first 
offence.  The  man  who  has  been  repeatedly  in  prison  receives  a  severe  sentence. 
The  great  Lawgiver  is  wise  and  merciful.  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful 
and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins." 

IV.  Men  must  learn  that  property  has  rights.  It  seems  likely  that  the  case 
presented  in  verse  five  is  that  of  the  man  who  purposely  causes  his  beast  to 
feed  in  another  man's  field,  or  on  the  herbage  growing  between  the  vines ;  and 
of  the  best  of  his  field  and  of  the  best  of  his  vineyard  shall  he  make  restitution. 
Though,  from  our  reading  of  the  law,  if  this  should  happen  as  the  result  of 
carelessness,  we  should  expect  that  restitution  would  have  to  be  made.  Com- 
munistic theories  were  not  taught  in  the  Old  Testament.  And  the  trial  of  com- 
munism was  a  short-lived  and  unsuccessful  experiment  in  the  early  Church. 
The  peculiar  theory  of  some  communistic  advocates  seems  to  be  self-enrich- 
ment at  the  expense  of  others.  The  cattle  of  others  must  not  be  allowed  to 
graze  on  my  lands,  while  my  cattle  may  trespass  anywhere.  When  human  selfish- 
ness is  thoroughly  destroyed,  when  men  are  as  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  their 
neighbours  as  for  their  own,  then  boundary  lines  may  be  obliterated,  and  courts 
of  justice  may  be  abolished. 

V.  Men  must  learn  to  consider  the  welfare  of  their  neighbours.  Love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,  is  a  law  for  all  economies.  The  virtual  incendiary  must 
make  restitution.  The  man  may  simply  have  been  burning  the  weeds  or  stubble 
of  his  own  ground,  but  he  burned  too  near  his  neighbours  standing  corn.  He 
may  be  sorry  for  the  destruction  ;  but  sorrow  of  itself  will  not  fill  the  granary. 
Sorrow  must  work  repentance,  and  repentance  must  show  itself  in  ample  re.-^ti- 
tution.  Be  careful  how  you  handle  fire.  There  are  fires  that  cause  such  awful 
destruction  that  compensation  is  impossible.     Who  can  make  restitution  for  the 

391 


CHAP.  xxn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EX0DV8, 


fires  of  lust,  of  sensuality,  and  of  criminality,  kindled  in  the  souls  of  men  ?    Evil- 
doers have  much  to  answer  for.     What  hand  can  stay  their  ever-burning  fires! 

— IV.  Burrows,  B.A, 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
The  Law  of  Robbery. — Verses  1-4. 


God  made  provision  not  only  for  the 
acquisition  of  property,  but  for  its 
security.  Heuce  tliis  law,  which  re- 
spects—1,  Theft.     2.  Housebreaking. 

I.  Theft,  vers.  1-4.  As  the  wealth 
of  an  Israelite  consisted  mainly  in  flocks 
and  herds,  the  depredations  of  the  thief 
were  directed  for  the  most  part  against 
them.  1.  If  the  stolen  animal  were  de- 
stroyed or  sold  ( 1 )  in  the  case  of  an  ox,  as 
the  more  valuable  for  food  and  service, 
and  the  owner  losing  its  work  as  well  as 
its  literal  value,  the  penalty  was  fivefold. 
(2)  In  the  case  of  a  sheep,  the  penalty 
was  fourfold  (2  Sam.  xii.  6).  But — 
2.  If  the  animal  were  not  sold  or  de- 
stroyed, the  penalty  was  only  double, 
as  the  thief  would  probably  be  a  novice 
in  his  art. 

II.  Housebreaking,  vers.  2,  3.  The 
public  sentiment  (which  ever  recog- 
nises that  a  man's  house  is  his  castle) 
against  this  act,  it  may  be  presumed, 
was  so  high,  that  the  protection  of  a 
robber  from  sanguinary  vengeance  was 
necessary.  1.  If  his  depredations  oc- 
curred at  midnight,  and  he  lost  his  life 
in  the  attempt,  tlie  right  of  self-pro- 
tection on  the  part  of  the  householder 
was  recognised.  2.  If,  however,  they 
occurred  during  the  day  when  he  might 
be  identified  or  apprehended,  and  he 
was  slain,  even  the  life  of  a  thief  was 
precious,  and  taking  that  life  was 
murder  (chap.    xxi.    12).     3.    In   the 


case  of  his  success  and  detection,  the 
penalty  was  double  the  value  of  the 
stolen  property,  or  slavery.  4.  In  the 
case  of  n-on-success,  he  obtained  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt.  (See  also  Lev. 
vi.  4,  5.) 

Learn — 

i.  That  God's  providence  extends  to 
property  as  well  as  persons.  Botli  are 
His  gift.  Neither  must  be  interfered 
with  except  by  the  original  donor. 

ii.  That  those  who  endeavour  to 
thwart  that  providence  play  a  losing 
game.  The  law  of  retribution  imposes 
not  only  the  loss  of  the  apparent  gain 
but  of  more.  An  act  of  ni justice  pre- 
vents enjoyment,  entails  the  loss  of 
self-respect,  the  approbation  of  con- 
science, the  censure  of  good  men,  and 
the  anger  of  God. 

iii.  That  the  recognition  of  that 
providence  is  not  inconsistent  with, 
but  demands  the  use  of,  means.  It  is 
an  abuse  and  perversion  of  it  to  tamely 
submit  to  wrong  when  the  legitimate 
prevention  of  wrong  is  within  our 
reach. 

iv.  That  providence  protects  even 
the  life  of  the  wrong  doer,  and  no  man 
must  wantonly  interfere  with  that  pro- 
tection. It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  send 
a  man  into  eternity  red-handed  in  his 
guilt.  Milder  measures,  as  all  history 
testifies,  may  produce  reformation, 
— /.  fV.  Bum, 


The  Penalty  of  Carelessness. — Verses  5,  6. 


As  in  chapter  xxi.  28-26, — the  prin- 
ciple is  laid  down  that  a  man  must  "not 
only  look  on  his  own  things,  but  also 
on  the  things  of  others." 

1.  If  a  man,  negligent  of  doors  or 
fences,  "shall  let  his  beast  go  loose,  and 
itsliall  feed  "  (according  to  LXX.  Vulg. 
Syr.  followed  by  Luther)  in  another's 
field ;  or  2.  If  a  man,  according  to  the 
31)2 


custom  of  Eastern  countries  before  the 
autumnal  rains,  to  prevent  the  ravages 
of  vermin  and  to  prepare  the  soil  for  the 
next  crop,  shall  burn  the  dry  grass  and 
stubble  in  his  field,  and  neglect  to  keep 
tlie  fire  within  safe  and  proper  bounds  ; 
then,  3.  Ilestitution  must  be  made. 

Learn — 

i.  To  be  careful  of  your  neighbour's 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap,  xxii. 


material,    intellectual,    and     spiritual  so  much   mischief  in  the   word,  are 

interest,  and  do  not  damage  them  by  a  quenched. 

careless  word  or  action.  iv.  If  those   interests   are   invaded, 

ii.  In  order  that  those  interests  may  render  a  frank,  manly,  and  ample  resti- 

not  be  invaded,  put  a  strong  check  on  tution.     1.  Confess  your  fault.     2.  In 

those  loose  and  vagrant  so-called  inter-  the  case  of  loss  make  it  up.     3.  In  the 

ests  of  your  own.  case   of  injury   to    character,    let   the 

iii.  In  order  to  prevent  any  possi-  acknowledgment  be  co-extensive  with 

bility   of    the   transgression  of   those  the  slander.     4.   Let  those  who  have 

interests,  see  that    those  passions  of  been  injured  forgive  as  they  hope  to  be 

avarice,  envy,  and  revenge  which  cause  forgiven.                           J.  W.  Burn. 

Things  Entrusted  and  Lost. 

If  the  social  compact  is  to  rest  on  solid  foundations,  there  must  be  a  wide- 
spread feeling  as  to  the  sacredness  of  trusts.  In  societies  one  man  is  dependent 
upon  another,  and  there  will  arise  occasions  when  either  goods  or  cattle  must 
be  entrusted  to  the  keeping  of  others.  Law  must  hold  them  responsible  to 
whom  goods  have  been  entrusted.  They  must  faithfully  discharge  the  trust. 
They  must  render  true  accounts.  Balance  sheets  must  be  submitted  for  in- 
spection. The  trustee  occupies  a  responsible  position.  Every  man,  morally 
considered,  is  a  trustee.  Each  man  ought  to  consider  himself  as  his  brother's 
keeper.  One  day  accounts  will  have  to  be  rendered.  How  solemn  is  man's 
position  as  a  moral  trustee.  Let  there  be  a  faithful  discharge  of  duties,  and 
there  will  be  a  wonderful  display  of  Divine  love  and  mercy. 

I.  The  course  to  he  pursued  when  the  thief  is  found.  If  the  goods  have 
been  stolen  out  of  the  trustee's  house,  and  the  thief  is  discovered,  then  the  case 
is  clear.  The  trustee  is  free  from  all  blame,  and  the  thief  must  pay  double  for 
that  which  he  has  stolen.  The  thief  might  have  taken  the  goods  ot  the  trustee 
as  well  as  the  goods  entrusted  to  his  keeping,  and  therefore  it  is  not  needful  to 
suppose  him  guilty.  If  the  trustee  has  taken  the  same  precaution  with  that 
which  is  another  man's  as  with  his  own,  then  he  has  proved  his  faithfulness. 
Law  requires  no  more. 

II.  The  course  to  be  pursued  when  the  thief  is  unknown.  If  the  goods  are 
stolen,  and  the  thief  is  not  discovered,  then  there  may  be  a  case  of  embezzle- 
ment. The  master  of  the  house  is  responsible.  His  innocence  must  be  proved. 
It  must  be  shown  that  there  has  been  no  evil  connivance.  This  is  to  be  done 
by — 1.  An  appeal  to  the  judges.  It  will  be  their  difficult  task  to  decide  whether 
the  accused  is  guilty  or  innocent.  Evidence  must  be  taken.  The  truth  must 
be  elicited  by  careful  cross-examination.  And  whom  the  judges  shall  condemn, 
he  shall  pay  double  unto  his  neighbour.  2.  An  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Judge. 
The  sacredness  of  a  religious  oath  has  been  held  by  nations  in  rudest  states. 
There  is  a  religious  instinct  in  men,  which  speaks  of  his  Divine  original.  Low 
has  that  man  fallen  who  can  easily  violate  a  religious  oath.  And  yet  how 
many  in  our  day  can  trifle  with  this  solemn  engagement !  If  the  owner 
accepts  the  oath,  then  the  trustee  is  freed  from  blame.  We  certainly  must  take 
into  consideration  the  character  of  him  who  swears.  Happy  the  man  whose 
character  is  above  suspicion,  whose  simple  "yea"  is  deemed  conclusive. 

III.  The  course  to  be  pursued  when  cattle  are  stolen  from  the  trustee. 

There  is  diflficulty  in  comprehending  the  purport  of  verse  12  when  taken  in 
connection  with  the  preceding  verses.  If  they  had  not  been  present  then  we 
might  fairly  have  supposed  that  the  trustee  is  more  responsible  for  the  safety 
of  cattle  than  for  the  safety  of  goods.     Thus  we  may  perceive  that  it  is  a  more 

393 


CHAP.  xxn.  HO  Ml  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


difficult  matter  to  steal  cattle  than  to  steal  money.  Therefore  the  trustee  to 
whom  cattle  is  entrusted,  and  from  whom  they  have  been  stolen,  must  make 
restitution  unto  the  owner.  But  if  the  cattle  be  torn  in  pieces,  and  he  be  able 
to  briny  it  for  a  witness,  then  he  shall  not  make  good  that  which  was  torn. 
Perhaps  the  trustee  was  present  at  the  attack,  and  endeavoured  to  drive  away 
the  wild  animal,  and  the  torn  pieces  rescued  from  the  jaws  of  the  destroyer  are 
the  witnesses  of  his  heroism. 

IV.  The  course  to  be  pursued  when  injury  is  done  to  borrowed  things.    If 

the  borrower  has  sole  charge,  then  he  is  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  damages 
that  may  happen.  But  if  the  owner  be  with  it,  he  shall  not  make  it  good  ;  if 
it  be  an  hired  thing,  it  came  for  his  hire.  It  seems  as  if  the  borrower  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  the  hired  service  of  the  owner.  Tlie  piece  of  the  dead  beast 
must  be  subtracted  from  the  pay.  We  must  be  careful  of  borrowed  property. 
All  that  we  have  has  been  lent  unto  us  by  the  Lord,  and  He  will  call  us  to 
account  for  injuries  done  to  that  with  which  we  have  been  entrusted. 

V.  The  course  to  be  pursued  when  a  maid  is  enticed  to  her  undoing.  Some 
suppose  this  to  be  a  case  of  trust  like  all  the  rest.  Tlie  maid  has  entrusted 
hei-self — her  honour  and  virtue — to  the  man,  and  he  has  betrayed  the  trust.  He 
has  violated  her  person,  he  has  spoiled  her  virginity,  and  he  must  endow 
her  to  be  his  wife.  He  has  no  power  of  choice  in  the  matter,  but  the  father 
may  for  wise  reasons  utterly  refuse  to  give  the  maid  unto  her  betrayer,  and  he 
must  pay  money  according  to  the  dowry  of  virgins.  The  father  ought  to  know 
what  is  for  the  good  of  his  child.  He  is  likely  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  to  know  that  his  daughter's  happiness  would  not  be  safe  in  the 
keeping  of  such  a  man.  It  is  always  wise  to  take  the  counsel  of  parents.  Let 
daughters  especially  not  forsake  the  guide  of  their  youths.  Seducers  ought  to 
be  compelled  to  marry  the  seduced  if  the  parents  are  willing,  or,  if  not,  to  make 
restitution.  This  would  lessen  the  amount  of  the  prostitution  which  is  one  of 
our  national  sins. — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

The  Sanctity  of  Human  Trusts. — Verses  7-13. 

This  paragraph  recognises  the  sane-  deemed  sufficient.      2.  But  if  stolen, 

tity  of  trust  reposed  on  the  principles  as  careless,  he  had  to  make  restitution. 

— \.  of  neighbourliness;   2.  of  trade.  3.  Or  if  slain  by  wild  beasts,  and  the 

L  If  a  man  entrusted  property,  ver.  carcasewere  produced,  then,  as  his  cour- 

7,  "money  or  stuff,"  which  it  was  im-  age  and  vigilance  were  not  at  fault,  he 

possible  or  inconvenient  to  keep  him-  was  released  from  responsibility, 

self,  to  his  neighbour,  the  trustee  was  III.  But  the  responsibility  must  be 

lesponsible  for   its   safety.       1.  If  it  submitted  to  judicial  examination  and 

was  stolen  and  the  thief  discovered,  decision,  ver.   9,      Thus  guarding  on 

of  course  the  thief  was  punished.     2.  the  one  hand  recklessness,  and  on  the 

But  if  the  thief  escaped,  the  holder,  other  unreasonable  exactions, 

either  as  negligent  or  guilty,  was  fined  Application. — "Bear  ye  one  another's 

double  its  value.     From  verse  9,  how-  burdens,  and  so  fulfil,"  not  only  the 

ever,  it  would  appear  ttiat  the  judges  law  of  Moses,  but  "  the  law  of  Christ." 

had  some  discretion  in  the  matter.  i.  On  the  one  hand — (1.)  Be  neigh- 

II.  In  the  case  of  any  beast,  lent  hourly  (Luke  vi.  30,  &c.).     (2.)  Take 

presumably  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  the  same  care  of  the  matters  in  which 

being   hurt  or  lost.     1.  If  upon  oath  you  have  obliged  your  neighbours,  as 

the  borrower  declared  his   innocence  you  do  of  your  own.     If  he  has  en- 

and  proved  his  carefulness,  that  was  trusted    his    goods    to    you,    protect 
391 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXIL 


them.  If  his  secrets,  do  not  divulge 
them.  If  his  liberty  or  character, 
through  previous  service  of  yours,  do 
not  threaten  them.  If  the  guardian- 
ship of  his  defenceless  children,  do  not 
neglect  them.  ii.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  your  neighbour  has  obliged  you — 
(l.^  Do  not  impose  on  his  good  nature. 
(2.)  Don't  suspect  that,  if  your  interests 


have  been  damaged  because  it  was  his 
interest  to  damage  them,  he  has  done 
so.  (3.)  In  ordinary  cases,  unless  you 
have  good  reason  for  the  contrary, 
take  his  word.  (4.)  Don't  make  him 
suffer  for  circumstances  over  which  he 
had  no  control.  The  whole  subject  is 
full  of  interest  to  masters  and  servants, 
employers  and  employed. — J.  JV.  Burn. 


Concerning  Borrowing.— Ferses  14,  15. 


This  is  an  extension  of  the  preced- 
ing principles.  Borrowing  might  be  for 
the  purpose  of — 1,  obligation  ;  or  2, 
trade. 

I.  If  that  which  was  borrowed  re- 
ceived hurt  in  the  absence  of  its  owner, 
verse  14,  the  owner  was  to  be  indem- 
nified, 

II.  But  if,  as  might  be  the  case  when 
the  loan  were  cattle,  and  the  owner 
were  present,  the  sum  for  which  it  was 
hired  was  understood  to  cover  the  risk 
of  accident,  and  the  owner  bore  the 
loss. 

Learn — 

i  On  the  one  hand — (1.)  to  be  oblig- 


ing. If  you  can  do  a  needy  neighbour 
a  good  turn  by  lending  advice  or 
material  assistance,  do  so.  (2.)  Don't 
make  your  needy  but  obliged  neigh- 
bour answerable  for  any  accident  that 
may  occur  through  your  own  misfor- 
tune or  fault. 

On  the  other  hand — (1.)  Be  careful 
not  to  abuse  that  which  is  in  kindness 
lent  you;  or  (2.)  (grave  though  minor 
inability  of  life)  forget  to  return  it, 
and  thus  render  evil  for  good.  Book- 
borrowers  should  note  this.  But  (3.) 
rather  both  in  principle  (2  Kings  vL 
5)  and  in  action  suffer  the  loss  than 
inflict  it. — /.  W.  Burn. 


Social  Evils. — Verses  16-19. 


1.  Are  recognised  in  the  Word  of 
God,  and  recognised  as  abominable 
before  God  and  man.  But  unfortu- 
nately they  are  not  so  recognised  by 
Christian  communities  and  govern- 
ments. Hence  their  prevalence  and 
their  enormities. 

2.  Are  dealt  with  delicately,  but 
firmly,  by  the  "Word  of  God,  Old  and 
New  Testament  alike.  But,  from 
mock  modesty  and  a  strange  stupidity 
or  inhumanity,  are  not  so  dealt  with, 
but  are  rather  encouraged  by  Chiistian 
communities  and  governments.  And 
the  result,  of  course,  is  ruin  and 
misery  now,  and  to  the  third  and 
fourth  generation. 

3.  Should  urge  every  man  who  takes 
the  Bible  as  his  law,  and  who  loves  his 
fellow-creature,  to  adopt  every  legiti- 
mate means,  at  all  times,  and  every- 
where, to  bring  back  society  and 
government  to  the  spiiit,  at  anyrate,  of 
the  legislation  here  enforced. 


I.  Contrast  the  Mosaic  precept  with 
the  Christian  practice  with  regard  to 
the  seducer. 

1.  Then  the  penalties  fell  on  the  real 
criminal.  (1.)  He  must  marry  his 
victim ;  or(2.)  in  case  the  parents  should 
interfere,  pay  a  fine  of  50  shekels  of 
silver — the  amount  of  her  dowry. 

2.  Now  the  penalty  falls  upon  the 
victim.  (1.)  It  is  true  a  feeble  senti- 
ment (anything  but  universal)  is  ex- 
pressed, but  nowhere  legally  as  to  the 
obligation  of  marriage.  But  when  that 
obligation  is  not  recognised,  the  poor 
creature  loses  all,  loses  reputation, 
position,  opportunity  for  retrieving 
her  character,  inherits  the  scorn  of  her 
sex,  and,  driven  mad  with  woe,  sinks 
into  a  suicide's  grave.  (2.)  While  in 
the  second  case,  the  villain  holds  his 
head  as  high  as  ever,  often  escapes  all 
penalty,  and  when  that  penalty  is  in- 
curred it  is  the  amount  he  spends  upon 
his   dog.      Shame    on   our    Christian 

395 


OHAP.  xxiL  HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EXOD  US. 

society,  whicli  adds  burdens   to   that  Learn — 

which  by  itstdf  is  too  heavy  10  be  borne.  i.  The  awful  sanctions  of  personal 

Shame  ou  our  inhiiinau  and  immoral  pnrity    and    chastity    (1    Cur.   iii.    16, 

legislation,  -whicii  dares  to  put  a  pre-  17,  vi.  9-20). 

miura  on  vice  and  to  let  tlie  oppressors  ii.   To  expend   your   wrath   on    the 

go  free.     (See  also  Deut.  xxii.  23-29).  riglic  offender. 

II.  1.  The  M(;saic  precept  concerning  iii.   Do  not  shun  the  society  of  the 

the  beast  was  death  witliout  mercy.  offender  (Luke  vil    27  ;  John  iv.  18; 

2.  The  Christian  practice  is  to  put  but  Gal.  vi.  1  ;  Mark  ii.  17  j  cf.  John 

a  cloak  over  his  crime  or  to  hurry  him  xiii.  15). — /.  W.  Burn. 
away. 

Divine  Justice  and  Divine  Compassion. 

The  strictness  of  the  Divine  justice  is  seen  in  these  ancient  enactments ;  but 
there  is  also  revealed  the  tenderness  of  the  Divine  compassion.  The  law  is 
severe  on  evil-doers,  in  order  that  well-doers  may  be  encouraged  and  strength- 
ened. God  is  just  to  punish  the  unjust  and  the  oppressor;  but  He  is  compas- 
sionate to  the  weak  and  helpless.  How  tenderly  He  cares  for  the  widow  and 
the  orphan.  Their  mournful  cries  touch  His  Divine  heart.  Here  are  combined 
the  justice  of  the  ruler  and  the  tenderness  of  the  father.  We  must  be  just, 
but  justice  must  be  tempered  by  mercy,  and  sweetened  by  compassion.  Let 
the  beautiful  humaneness  of  our  religion  be  always  manifested. 

I.  Irreligion  must  be  checked.  The  witch  is  especially  mentioned  because 
women  are  more  addicted  to  these  evil  practices  than  men.  She  is  instrumental 
in  the  promotion  of  radical  irreligion.  She  invokes  the  aid  of  demoniacal  powers. 
She  nurtures  all  that  is  evil  in  man.  She  is  an  evil  worker  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  gain,  or  securing  power,  or  carrying  out  her  desire  for  revenge.  "  Thou 
shalt  not  suffer  the  witch  to  live."  Perhajis  if  she  repents  and  forsakes  her  evil 
ways,  pardon  may  be  granted.  It  is  strange  that  this  enactment  is  carried  out 
in  countries  where  the  Bible  is  not  read.  Witchcraft  is  very  generally  abhorred. 
We  must  avoid  all  causes  which  tend  to  the  spread  of  irreligion. 

II.  Unnatural  abominations  promote  irreligion.  The  beastly  is  opposed  to 
the  spiritual.  Keligion  exalls  humanity,  while  irreligion  degrades  it.  "  Whoso- 
ever lieth  with  a  beast  shall  surely  be  put  to  death." 

III.  False  sacrifices  are  the  outcome  of  irreligion.  We  sometimes  use  the 
word  religion  in  a  loose  sense.  And  in  this  way  we  speak  of  idolaters  as  re- 
ligious. But  religion  is  that  which  binds  the  heart  of  man  to  the  service  of 
his  Maker.  That  man  is  not  religious,  in  the  scriptural  sense,  at  least,  who  offers 
sacrifice  unto  a  god  made  by  ait  and  man's  device.  There  are  those  who  insist 
on  a  religious  spirit,  and  say  that  forms  are  no  matter.  But  a  right  spirit  will 
embody  itself  in  a  right  creed,  and  express  itself  in  right  forms  of  religious  wor- 
ship. It  is  ridiculous  to  affirm  that  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  what  god  we 
offo-  sacrifices,  in  what  form  we  worship,  so  long  as  the  heart  is  right.  "  He 
that  sacrificeth  unto  any  god,  save  unto  the  Lord  only,  he  shall  be  utterly  de- 
stroyed." Spiritual  destruction  at  least  will  be  the  result  of  erroneous  creeds 
and  immoral  practices.  Erroneous  creeds  are  very  often  the  forced  product  of 
spiritual  death  or  decline.  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God,  shall  see  His  truth, 
and  be  led  into  right  ways. 

IV.  Inhumanity  is  opposed  to  true  religion.  "  Thou  shalt  neither  vex  a 
stranger,  nor  op})ress  him  ;  for  ye  were  strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt."  Knobel 
says,  "  The  persons  meant  are  the  Canaanitish  and  non-Canaanitish  strangers, 
who  staved  as  individuals  among  the  Israelites;  the  Canaanites  as  a  whole  are, 

396 


HOMILETtC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxii. 


according  to  this  lawgiver  also,  to  be  extirpated."  No  penalties  are  laid  down 
now  for  the  non-observance  of  this  command.  An  apjieal  is  simply  made  to 
the  former  condition  of  being  strangers.  The  remembrance  of  our  own  afSic- 
tions  ou<;ht  to  make  us  sympathetic  with  the  afflicted.  But  in  the  day  of  our 
prosperity  we  forget  the  days  of  adversity,  and  have  not  a  due  consideration 
for  those  in  adverse  circumstances.  Vex  not  the  stranger,  for  thy  soul  was  once 
vexed  in  a  strange  land.  Oppress  not  the  foreigner,  and  he  will  come  to  love 
thee,  and  to  admire  that  religion  which  has  taught  thee  compassion. 

V.  Gentleness  towards  the  weak  is  highest  manhood  and  noblest  religion 
"Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this,  To  visit  the 
fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from 
the  world."  An  exalted  humanity  al)hors  the  conduct  of  him  who  oppresses 
the  widow  and  the  orphan.  Tlieir  very  helplessness  should  be  their  strength. 
If  the  oppressor  makes  them  cry,  their  cries,  though  only  the  sighing  of  crushed, 
hearts,  will  jiieroe  the  heavens.  The  oppressor  will  be  hnally  crushed  by  means 
of  the  oppressed.  It  is  the  great  law  of  nature  and  of  revelation  that  as  a  man 
sows  so  shall  he  reap.  Retribution  will  come  sooner  or  later.  The  oppressor 
of  widows  and  orphans  shall  be  killed  with  the  sword,  and  their  wives  shall  be 
widows,  and  their  children  fatherless.  Escape  is  only  in  seeming.  The  pros- 
perity of  the  wicked  cannot  be  for  ever.  Oppressors  must  be  destroyed.  Tyr- 
ants must  feel  the  awful  recoil  of  their  tyranny.  Let  us  hasten  for  forgiveness 
and  for  power  to  amend  our  ways  to  Him  whose  gentleness  was  such  that  He 
did  not  break  the  bruised  reed. — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
WITCHCRAFT. — Verse  18. 

The   term   is    here   used   to   repre-  (Isa.   viil    19).     8.    As   frustrated  by 

<ent  the  whole  class  of  wizards,  necro-  God  (Isa.  xliv,    25).     9.    As  a  power 

mancers,    and    diviners     with    which  from  which  the  godly  have  nothing  to 

the  world  has  been  infested  from  a  fear,  for  there  is  no  solitary  prayer  in 

very  early  date,  and  is  in  one  form  or  the  whole  Bible  to  be  protected  from 

another  infested  still,  who,  when  not  its  enchantments,  and  no  thanksgiving 

gross  impostors,  appeal  to  a  power  not  for  deliverance  from  thenx 
in  subordination  to  Divine  law,  and  are  The  belief  in  witchcraft  has  prevailed 

therefore  guilty  of,  and  punislied  for  in  all  ages,  and  been  sanctioned  by  some 

high  treason  against  the  government  of  of  the  most  eminent  men.    Amongst  the 

God.     The  Bible  regards  it —  heathen,  Pythagoras,    Plutarch,  Pom- 

1.  As  a  stern  and  diabolical  reality  pey,  Crassus,  Csesar,  were  all  under  its 
(Lev.  XX.  27;  Deut.  xviii.  9).  2.  As  spelL  The  progress  of  modern  civil- 
unlawful  trafficking  with  the"  unseen  sation  has  not  destroye<'  ''lis  upas 
world  (Lev.  xix.  31  ;  Isa.  viii.  19,  blight,  for  it  counts  its  de\>..v;ts  l)y  the 
"For  the  living  to  the  dead,"  i.e.,  thousand  to-day.  But  whether  it  comes 
on  behalf  of  the  living  to  the  in  the  foi-m  of  astrology  with  its  star- 
dead.)  3.  As  sometimes  trickery  and  gazing,  palmistry  with  its  hand-reading, 
imposture  (Isa.  viii.  19),  "that  peep  and  or  spiritualism  with  its  media  and 
mutter"  (probably  ventriloquise.  See  trances  and  dark  seances,  it  is  the  same 
art.  Pythoness,  Smith's  Die.  Bil)le).  4.  foul  abomination  reprobated  by  the 
As  filthy  defilement  (Lev.  xix.  31).  5.  A^'ord  of  God.  In  this  coun.try  we  only 
As  deserving  death  (Lev.  xx.  6.  cf.  now  meet  with  it  in  the  latter  form, 
text).     6.    As  one  of   the  crimes  for  and  as  such — 

which  the  Canaanites  were  destroyed.  1.  It  is  dangerous.     1.    Because  it 

7.  As  inconsistent  with  a  trust  in  God  destroys,  all  faith  in  the  person  and 

397 


oHAF.  xzn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


providence  of  God,  and  hence  imperils 
the  hopes,  aspirations,  and  safety  of 
the  soul.  2.  Because  it  tends  to  debase 
man's  moral  standards,  and  to  obliterate 
the  fact  of  sin.  3.  Because  its  direct 
aim  is  to  subvert  Christianity,  and  to 
abolish  the  Word  of  God.  4.  Because 
it  comes  before  the  imagination  and 
the  affections  with  plausible  appeals. 

II.  It  shuns  the  light.  1.  Its  per- 
formances, like  the  old  witchcraft,  take 
place  in  the  dark,  and  under  circum- 
stances the  force  of  wliich  requires  the 
exertions  of  the  strongest  will.  On 
the  contrary,  the  grand  facts  of  both 
Old  and  New  Testaments  were  "not 
done  in  a  comer,"  but  in  the  light  of 
day.  2.  It  is  chary  of  the  open 
exhibition  of  its  credentials  to  the 
critic  and  the  unbeliever;  this  privilege 
is  reserved  for  those  who  first  believe 
in  the  magician  and  in  his  powers.  The 
miracles  and  otlier  credentials  of  the 
Bible — court  scrutiny — were  mainly  for 
the  convictions  of  those  who  disbelieved. 
3.  And  why  does  it  slmn  the  light]  For 
the  old  reason  (John  iii.  19-21). 

IIL  It  is  unlawful.  1.  Because 
expressly  forbidden  in  the  Word  of 
God.  Christ  and  His  apostles  meet 
the  spirits  not  in  darkened  cabinets  but 
with  open  exorcism.  2.  Because  of  its 
avowed  mission  to  pry  into  and  traffic 
with  the  unrevealed  matters  of  the 
spirit-world.  God  has  emphatically  set 
His  face  against  this  (Deut.  xxix.  29). 
3.  Because  it  is  "another  gospel "  (GaL 
i  8). 

IV.  It  is  partly  gross  imposture.    1. 


Spiritual  realities  are  solemn  and  im- 
posing, and  woithy  in  every  way  of 
the  high  source  from  which  they  ema- 
nate. When  God  communicated  to  the 
prophets  and  apostles  we  do  not  hear 
that  it  was  on  d;mcing  tables,  illegible 
inscriptions  on  slates,  or  through  books 
made  luminous  by  phosphoric  oil.  We 
do  not  hear  of  angels  or  spirits,  whether 
in  Old  Testament  or  New,  pulling  men's 
hair,  scattering  sweetmeats,  rapping  on 
walls,  hurling  bed  pillows,  appearing  in 
regimentals,  or  handling  hot  coals.  2. 
Spiritual  realities  in  the  Bible  were 
never  discovered  to  be  small  tricks. 
Tiiey  were  never  found  to  be  men 
and  women  ventriloquising,  speaking 
through  tubes,  using  electric  batteries, 
or  stuffed  gloves ;  nor  were  the  spirits, 
when  suddenly  embraced,  found  suffi- 
ciently substantial  to  be  armed  with 
fists  and  nails.  3.  Spiritual  realities 
in  the  Bible  have  never  been  explained 
by  natural  phenomena  as  have  much  of 
the  legerdemain  of  modern  magic. 

V.  It  is  uniformly  useless.  1.  For 
harm  (Isa.  viii  19),  when  there  is  a 
firm  trust  in  God.  2.  For  good  (Luke 
xvL  27-31),  when  there  is  no  such 
trust 

Application. — i.  It  is  at  the  Church's 
peril  that  she  ignores  what  is  condemned 
in  the  Word  of  God,  and  what  threat- 
ens the  well-being  of  the  world.  iL 
Or  fails  to  expose,  check,  and  destroy 
what  threatens  to  be  the  most  gigantic 
superstition  of  modern  times  (1  John 
iv.  1). — J.  W.  Burn. 


God's  Exclusive  Right  to  Man's  Devotion.— Ferw  20. 


We  remark — 

I.  That  this  claim  is  founded  on 
right.  It  is  not  an  arbitrary  fiat,  but 
a  reasonable  demand.  By  creation, 
providence,  and  grace,  all  belongs  to 
God.  God,  therefore,  asks  us  but  to 
sacrifice  His  own. 

II.  That  no  other  power  has  the 
right  to  make  this  claim.  The  whole 
Bible  goes  upon  the  fact  that  "  an  idol 
is  nothing  in  the  world."  Sacrifice  to 
them,  therefore,  can  be  but  the  out- 

398 


come  of  superstition,  and  must  end  in 
disappointment. 

III.  That  this  claim  involves  self- 
deniah  God  demanded  the  best  of 
the  flocks  and  herds.  He  now 
demands  our  best  faculties  in  their 
fullest  vigour  (Rom.  xii.  1). 

IV.  That  this  claim  is  very  widely 
disregarded.  Man  "robs"  God  (Mai. 
iii.  8),  and  still  sacrifices  to  idols. 
We  set  up  pride,  vanity,  ambition, 
selfishness,   pleasure,   friendship,   and 


ROM  I  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXII. 


desecrate  the  holiest  qualities  of  our 
nature  by  offering  theui  to  other  tlian 
the  living  God. 

V.  That  the  recognition  of  this 
claim  can  alone  secure  our  higliest 
well-being.  1.  The  literal  punishment 
of  death  passed  away  with  the  theo- 
cracy, but  the  spirit  of  it  lives  on 
through  the  ages.  As  God  is  the  only 
source  of  spiritual  life,  and  the  sacri- 
fice of  ourselves  to  Him  through  Christ 
the  only  means  of  securing  that  life, 
spiritual  death  is  a  penalty  of  neglect. 
But,  2,  by  rendering  to  God  that  which 


belongs  to  Him,  body,  spirit,  soul,  pos- 
sessions, friendships,  by  contact  with 
Him  and  separation  to  Him,  they  are 
enriched,  elevated,  sanctified,  and  glori- 
fied.    Observe — 

i.  That  God's  claims  can  never  be 
fulfilled  without  God's  help.  ii.  That 
idolatry,  the  disregard  and  contempt  of 
those  claims  (as  Jewish  history  testifies), 
was  uniformly  the  result  of  neglecting 
to  procure  that  help.  iii.  That  that 
help  God  is  able,  willing,  and  anxious 
to  afi'ord  "Little  children,  keep  your- 
selves from  idols." — J.  W.  Burn. 


International  Eights. — Verse  21. 


Strictly  interpreted,  this  passage 
bears  on  duties  to  foreigners  dwelling  in 
the  country,  and  supplies  a  motive  for  it; 
they  themselves  had  been  foreigners ; 
and  is  another  practical  application  of 
the  "  golden  rule."  But  its  principle 
may  be  enlarged,  so  as  to  compass 
the  rights  of  nations  to  justice,  human- 
ity, and  peace  in  their  relations  to  one 
another. 

I.  The  rights  of  foreigners  as  indivi- 
duals. Here  is  a  word,  3000  years  old, 
of  special  force  in  many  cases  (thank 
God,  not  in  all)  to  us  Englishmen.  We 
are  surrounded  by  men  from  all  nations 
under  heaven.  We  should  not  oppress 
them — 1.  By  reminding  them  that 
they  are  not  at  home;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  endeavour  by  a  generous 
hospitality  to  make  them  feel  at  home. 
2.  By  noticing  their  peculiarities  and 
criticising  or  exaggerating  them  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  try  to  conform  as  far 
as  possible  to  them,  so  as  to  make  them 
less  conspicuous.     3.  By  taking  advan- 


tage of  their  imperfect  acquaintance 
with  our  language  and  manners  in  trade, 
law,  debate ;  but  rather  assist  them 
with  all  the  means  at  our  disposal.  4. 
Because  (1.)  artificial  boundaries  should 
not  separate  between  men  of  the  same 
blood,  the  same  wants,  the  same  feelings. 
(2.)  We  may  be  (some  of  us  have  been) 
placed  in  the  same  position  as  regards 
homelessness,  peculiarities,  and  imper- 
fections. 

n.  The  right  of  foreigners  as  nations. 
— 1.  If  weak  to  protection,  if  strong 
to  equal  privileges  of  freedom,  courtesy, 
and  laws.  2.  To  be  regarded  irrespective 
of  our  mere  interests,  which  are  not 
'*  the  measure  of  right  and  wrong  aU 
over  the  world."  3.  Because  we  have 
had  to  claim,  and  still  do  claim,  the 
same  for  ourselves. 

Learn — i.  Not  to  let  our  insular  posi- 
tion generate  an  insular  feeling,  ii.  To 
act  upon  principles  of  honour  and 
humanity,  iii.  To  follow  peace  with 
all  men. 


GrOD's  Care  for  the  Widow  and  Fatherless. — Verses  22-24. 


The  widow  and  the  orphan  were 
God's  special  care,  and  their  oppression 
was  one  of  those  crimes  the  punish- 
ment of  which  God  reserved  to  Him- 
self. This  is  one  of  those  instances 
which  reveal  the  large  and  compre- 
hensive and  spiritual  character  of  the 
Mosaic  law.  God's  people  were  not 
tied  down,  as  is  often  supposed,  to  a 


fixed  and  literal  obedience  to  a  number 
of  fixed  and  literal  enactments.  Much 
(as  in  the  case  before  us)  was  left  to 
their  common  sense  and  humanity, 

1.  No  legal  provision  was  made  foi 
the  widow  except  (1.)  The  duty  of  her 
eldest  son  or  nearest  relative.  (2.) 
Her  right  to  a  share  in  the  triennial 
third  tithe  (Deut.  xiv.  29,  xxvi.   12). 

399 


OHA?.  zxn. 


BOM  I  LET  IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


(3.)  Her  right  to  irleanings  (Dtait. 
xxiv.  19)  and  religious  leasts  (Dcut. 
xvi.  11-1-i).  (4.)  Her  exemption  Irom 
the  necessity  of  giving  her  garments  to 
pledge. 

But  2.  Her  rights  were  everywhere 
recognised  and  (1)  (Dent,  xxvii.  19, 
Isa.  1.  17,  Jer.  vii.  6,  xxii.  3,  Zech.  vii. 
10,)  threw  her  upon  that  charity  which 
is  above  rubrics.  (2.)  (Ps.  xciv.  6,  Isa 
X.  2,  Ezek.  xxii.  7,  Matt.  iii.  5,  xxiii. 
14)  Any  neglect  of  or  cruelty  to  them 
was  most  severely  condemned. 

3.  The  New  Testament  declares 
"  pure  religion  and  undefiled  "  to  be 
(James  L  27).     Our  text  declares — 

I.  That  widows  and  orphans  have 
claims  upon  our  regard. 

1.  They  have  claims  upon  our  sym- 
pathy. Their  stay,  comfort,  defence 
is  gone.  What  state  can  be  more 
sorrowful  or  helpless  ! 

2.  They  have  claims  upon  our  pro- 
tection and  help.  Our  resources  are 
only  held  in  stewardship  for  God's 
purposes,  and  to  what  better  purpose 
could  they  be  applied,  both  as  regards 
its  intrinsic  merits  and  the  Divine  will 
concerning  it. 

n.  That  widows  and  orphans  have 
special  privileges. 

1.  God  has  legislated  for  them.  Not 
in  the  dry  and  hard  manner  in  which 
penal  and  ceremonial  codes  are  obliged 
to  be  enacted,  but  in  a  way  which 
throws  them  on  the  broad  and  better 
principles  of  humanity  and  love. 

2.  God  stands  in  a  peculiar  relation 


to  them  (Ps.  Ixviii.  5).  In  tlie  al)- 
sence  of  tlieir  natural  guardians  lie 
takes  them  under  His  wing. 

3.  God  is  alwiiys  ready  to  help  them; 
to  hear  tlieir  cry  (ver.  23,  Jer.  xlix.  11). 

III.  That  any  oppression  of  the 
widov  and  fatherless  will  be  rigor- 
ously punished,  ver.  24. 

1.  The  oppressor  is  left  to  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  who  will 
surely  avenge  His   own   (Luke  xviiL 

7-) 

2.  The  oppressor  is  left  to  the  ter- 
rible retribution  of  a  hard  and  cruel 
heart,  which  inflicts  as  much  punish- 
ment on  the  subject  as  on  the  ol)ject. 

3.  The  oppressor  is  left  to  the  cer- 
tain contempt  and  execration  of  his 
fellowmen. 

Husbands  and  fathers,  learn — 

i.  To  provide  for  the  wants  of  those 
whom  you  may  leave  behind  to  mourn 
your  loss.  1.  Make  diligent  use  of  your 
time,  and  save  all  you  can  for  tliem. 
2.  Your  life  is  uncertain,  insure  it.  3. 
We  don't  know  what  a  day  or  an  hour 
may  bring  forth,  have  all  your  affairs 
in  order,  so  as  not  to  add  perplexity 
to  trouble  already  too  heavy  to  be 
borne.  It  is  "  afflicting  them,"  not  to 
do  so.     (See  i.  Tim.  v.  8.) 

ii.  Then,  having  made  a  proper  use 
of  means,  leave  them  with  calm  faith 
in  the  power  and  goodness  of  their 
"  Father  in  heaven." 

iii.  Help  the  widow  and  the  orphan, 
as  your  wife  may  be  left  a  widow  and 
your  children  fatherless. — J.  IF.  Burn. 


MAIN  HOMJLETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPE.— Versa  25-31. 

The  Divine  Nature  has  Two  Aspects. 

The  Almighty  declares  Himself  gracious  unto  those  who  cry  unto  Him  for 
succour ;  and  in  His  provision  He  makes  special  regulations  for  the  protection 
of  those  who  might  easily  become  the  prey  of  the  ungracious.  "  With  the 
mercil'ul  man  thou  shalt  thyself  be  merciful,  and  with  the  upright  man  thou 
shalt  shew  Thyself  upright.  With  the  pure-  thou  wilt  shew  thyself  pure  ;  and 
with  the  Iroward  Thou  wilt  shew  Thyself  unsavoury.  And  the  afflicted  people 
Thou  wilt  save  ;  but  Thine  eyes  are  upon  the  haughty,  that  Thou  mayest  bring 
them  down."  The  haughty  must  not  presume  upon  tlie  Divine  graciousness  ; 
but  the  afflicted  people  may  reasonably  hope  in  His  salvation. 

I.  We   must  learn  to  deal  tenderly  with  the  poor.     "  Blessed  is  he  that 
considereth  the  poor  ;  the  Lord  will  tleliver  him  in  time  of  trouble."     The  cause 
of  the  poor  is  the  cause  of  God.     The  Bible  should  be  the  poor  man's  Book 
400 


ffOMIT.  ETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EXO  D  US.  chap.  xxrt. 


In  no  other  ethical  systems  is  their  case  fully  considered,  or  are  their  claims 
urgently  pressed.  The  subject  of  usury  is  difficult.  We  must  find  it  hard  to 
settle  what  is  mere  proper  interest,  and  what  is  usury.  Certainly  the  exigency 
of  the  poor  must  not  be  abused.  In  that  early  society,  where  money  was  not 
largely  required,  we  may  suppose  that  money  was  to  be  lent  without  interest. 
That  it  must  be  very  small,  at  least,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  poor 
man's  raiment,  given  for  a  pledge,  must  be  returned  to  him  before  the  sun  has 
gone  down.  The  mantle  marks  the  extreme  of  poverty  in  general.  The 
imiigent  Oriental  covers  himself  at  night  in  his  outer  garment.  Great  cruelty 
is  characteristic  of  him  who  keeps  in  pledge  the  poor  man's  protection  from  the 
cold  of  an  Eastern  night.  How  many  are  those  who  cry  because  of  the  advan- 
tage taken  of  their  poverty  !  While  God  is  gracious  unto  those  who  call  for 
help,  what  will  He  be  to  the  pitiless.  Let  men  be  gracious  unto  the  poor  that 
God  may  be  gracious  unto  those  who  are  indeed  poor  and  needy,  though  rich  in 
earthly  possessions. 

II.  We  must  be  respectful  in  our  dealings  with  those  in  high  estate.    The 

word  "gods"  in  verse  28  is  taken  by  some  to  mean  the  Deity.  Thus  the 
Israelites  are  commanded  not  to  revile  the  deity.  A  more  general  way  of 
dishonouring  God  than  that  of  directly  cursing  Jehovah.  And  this  view  is 
sup])osi'd  to  be  supported  by  the  next  sentence,  "  nor  curse  the  ruler  of  thy 
people,"  as  God's  vicegerents,  as  the  one  next  to,  and  placed  in  a  position  of 
authority  by  God.  Certainly,  he  who  dishonours  "the  powers  that  be" 
dishonours  Him  by  whom  the  powers  are  appointed.  Even  Paul's  practical 
opposition  to  the  powers  is  accompanied  by  wonderful  Christian  courtesy.  We 
must  not  curse  tlie  rulers  ;  and  the  rulers  must  not  oppress — must  not  interfere 
with  the  authority  of  conscience.  When  rulers  and  consciences  are  opposed 
resistance  must  follow,  but  resistance  may  be  courteous  while  it  is  firm.  The 
highest  style  of  gentleman  is  the  Christian.  Let  us  forbear  cursing  or  reviling, 
lest  we  dishonour  the  Infinite  Euler. 

III.  We  must  be  prompt  in  presenting  our  offerings.  He  gives  twice  who 
gives  quickly.  Delays  are  dangerous.  Delay  not  to  offer  the  first  of  thy  ripe 
fruits,  and  of  tliy  liquors.  The  fruit  of  all  is  to  be  presented  as  an  offering  to 
Him  who  is  the  first  great  cause  of  all  productiveness.  In  these  New  Testa- 
ment times  M'e  reverse  the  order.  The  first  we  give  ourselves ;  and  the  last, 
if  we  can  ea  ily  spare  it,  we  give  to  God  ;  and  yet  surely  He  has  a  greater 
claim.  If  under  the  law  God  could  command  the  first  of  all,  how  much  more 
under  the  Gospel !  The  God  of  revelation  is  the  God  of  nature,  we  must  not  do 
unnecessary  violence  to  nature  even  for  the  promotion  of  religion.  Seven  days 
must  the  sheep  be  with  the  dam  before  it  is  offered.  A  truly  religious  spirit  will 
not  interfere  with  natural  productiveness  and  social  prosperity. 

IV.  The  glorious  purpose  of  all  Divine  legislation.  "  And  ye  shall  be  holy 
men  unto  Me."  This  is  the  great  directing  motive  for  all  God's  movements 
with  reference  to  His  people.  Holy  men  must  have  regard  to  tlie  beauty  and 
welfare  of  the  temple  when  the  spirit  of  holiness  is  enshrined.  Ye  shall  not  eat 
any  flesh  that  is  torn  of  beasts  in  the  field  ;  ye  shall  cast  it  to  the  dogs.  Defile  not 
the  temple  of  God.  The  body  is  the  soul's  temple.  The  purity  of  the  temple 
promotes  the  purity  of  the  worshipper. —  fF.  Burrows,  B.A. 

Concerning  Loans.— Ferses  25-27. 

While  every  one   is  liable  to  those  nent    poverty,     the    legitimacy    and 

fluctuations    of   fortune    which   entail  necessity   of  loans  is  apparent.     The 

temporary  embarrassment   or   perma-  same  remark  applies  to  loans  on  secu- 
2h  401 


cbap.  xxn. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


rity  for  purposes  of  trade.  Loans  are 
only  illegitimate  when  applied  to  im- 
moral purposes,  or  when  they  encour- 
age indolence.  The  law  before  us  pro- 
vides— 

I.  That  in  a  case  of  real  distress  the 
rules  of  an  ordinary  commercial  trans- 
action were  to  be  set  aside,  and  the  loan 
decided  on  the  principles  of  humanity 
(Lev.  XXV.  35-43,  Deut.  xxiii.  19). 

II.  That  in  a  matter  of  business 
(presumably)  when  the  loan  is  under 
some  risk,  but  which  is  expected  to 
yield  the  borrower  some  kind  of  profit ; 
then,  as  in  the  case  of  mortgages  and 
pawnbroking,  a  security  is  required. 
But  this  security,  if  a  necessity  of  life, 
as,  e.g.,  the  loose  outer  robe  used  for  a 
coverlet  as  well  as  a  garment,  was 
to  be  restored  when  wanted. 


III.  That  the  graciousness  of  God 
should  be  the  motive  of  man's  conduct 
to  his  fellow  in  matters  of  obligation, 
and  even  business. 

IV.  That  in  this  case,  and  in  others 
which  were  to  be  decided  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  iiumanity,  God  took  the  con- 
sideration of  the  infraction  of  His  law 
into  His  own  hand. 

Application. — L  Avoid  borrowing  or 
lending  as  far  as  possible,  ii.  When 
needful  or  in  the  way  of  business,  let 
mercy  and  generosity  enter  into  the 
transaction,  as  well  as  interest  and 
justice.  iii.  God  has  been  gracious 
to  you,  be  gracious  to  your  fellow 
(Matt.  X.  8).  iv.  Remember  that 
God  "  executeth  righteousness  and 
judgment  for  all  that  are  oppressed." 
— /.  /F.  Burn. 


The  Divine  Right  of  Magistrates  to  Respect. —  Verse  2^. 


There  has  been  some  controversy 
about  the  interpretation  of  the  first 
clause,  Thou  shalt  not  revile  Elokim. 

1.  Some  understand  it  God,  conform- 
ably with  Gen.  i.  1  and  general  usage. 
(De  Wette,  Keil,  Knobel,  Speaker's 
Com.,&c.)  2.  Some(as  A.V.  LXX.  Vulg. 
Luther,  Cranmer,  &c.)  Gods.  Philo 
and  Josephus  understand  it  as  express- 
ing liberality  to  gods  of  other  nations. 
And  3.  (The  Targum,  Syr,  Saadia, 
Theod.  Genevan,  &c.)  as  the  marg. 
judges.  The  second  may  be  dismissed. 
The  third  is  untenable,  as  in  that 
case  Elohim  would  have  the  article 
prefixed.  The  first  is  the  ordinary 
translation,  and  as  here  employed, 
suggests  that  magistrates  wield  the 
delegated  authority  of  God,  rule  by 
Divine  right,  and  are  therefore  en- 
titled to  respect  (Josh,  iv,  14,  Ps.  xxL 
6,  7  ;  Prov.  xxiv.  21,  22;  Eccles.  viii 

2,  3). 

L  That  the  powers  that  be  are 
ordained  of  Go(l  (Rom.  xiii.  1-5;  1 
Peter  ii.  13- 15). 

IL  That  magistrates  must  be  treated 
with  respect,  both  their  persons  and 
their  decisions  (Josh.  i.  16-18). 

1.  Because  they  administer  that 
nrhich  when  it  is  law  at  all,  is  based 
402 


on  the  will  and  authority  of  God 
(Rom.  xiii.  2). 

2.  Because  they  administer  that  which 
is  the  bulwark  of  national  stability  and 
personal  safety  (Rom.  xiii  3). 

in.  That  magistrates  must  receive  re- 
spect, irrespective  of  the  efiect  of  their 
decision  (Prov.  xvii.  26). 

1 .  Because  they  are  but  the  servants 
of  the  law. 

2.  Because  if  through  human  infir- 
mities, justice  should  occasionally  mis- 
carry, it  is  better  to  sufi'er  than  to 
bring  the  law  into  disrepute  (Prov. 
xxiv.  21,  22). 

3.  But  it  their  decisions  violate  con- 
science, then  Acts  iv.  19,  20;  v.  29. 

IV.  That  magistrates  must  be  secure 
against  all  hostile  action  (Prov.  xvii 
26;  Job  xxxiv.  17,  18). 

1.  Fear  will  warp  the  judgment. 

2.  Fear  will  divert  the  course  of 
justice. 

V.  That  magistrates  are  not  only 
entitled  to  respect,  but  to  our  sym- 
pathy and  pravers  (Ps.  xxii.  1,  2 ; 
Ezra  vi.  10  ;  1  Tim.  ii.  2). 

VL  That  disrespect  to  magistrates 
is  severely  condemned  (Jude  8). 

Application.  —  Let  magistrates,  all 
who   are   In   authority   and  all   who 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   XXII. 


udmini'ster  law  whether  civil  or  domes- 
tic, whether  in  law  courts,  homes  or 
houses  of  business,  remember — i.  That 
they  are  responsible  to  God  (2  Sam. 
xxiii.  3).  Let  them  see  (1)  that  they 
accurately  know  tlie  law,  and  (2)  that 
their   administration  is  conscientious 


and  courageous  (Ps.  Ixxii.  iv.  12-14). 
ii.  That  they  are  responsible  to  man. 
Upon  their  decisions  depend  the  well- 
being  of  the  citizen,  and  the  stability 
of  the  realm,  iii.  That  their  title  to 
sympathy  and  veneration  is  recognised 
by  the  people  at  large. — /.  W.  Burn. 


Consecration. — Verses  29-31. 


These  laws  are  most  appropriately 
interrupted  by  the  revelation  of  God's 
claims  upon  us  and  ours.  This  revela- 
tion teaches  us — 

I.  That  God's  law  should  lead  us  to 
consider  oiir  relation  to  the  Lawgiver. 

1.  We  are  not  slaves  under  the  rigor- 
ous and  iron  rule  of  an  inflexible 
despot  (John  xv.  15  ;  Rom.  viii.  15). 

2.  But  sons  under  the  mild,  free, 
and  benignant  rule  of  our  Father  in 
heaven  (Num.  xi.  12;  Dent.  xxii.  6; 
Rom.  viil  15,  16 ;  James  i  25,  ii.  12). 

3.  And  should  therefore  disseminate 
and  obey  those  laws  which  are  for  our 
Father's  glory  and  our  brother's  good. 

II.  That  this  relation  to  the  Lawgiver 
should  lead  to  the  practical  acknow- 
ledgment of  His  claims  upon  the  ser- 
vice of  all  we  have. 

1.  He  has  claims  upon  our  property. 
We  are  only  stewards  (1  Cor.  iv.  7). 

(1)  Those  claims  upon  part  of  it  are 
literal  and  exclusive,  and  must  be 
acknowledged  by  benevolence  to  the 
poor  and  the  support  of  his  ministers. 

(2)  Those  claims  are  upon  the  whole 
of  it,  and  must  be  acknowledged  by  the 
use  of  all  our  property  in  getting  the 
will  of  God  "  done  on  earth  as  it  is 
done  in  heaven." 

2.  He  has  claims  upon  our  children. 
(1)  We  must  be  cautious  how   we 

abrogate  this  literal  claim  upon  one  of 
them.  If,  under  the  old  dispensation, 
one  was  to  be  specially  dedicated  to 
His  service,  there  are  stronger  reasons 
for  the  same  under  the  new.  While 
education  for  the  ministry,  as  a  mere 
profession,  cannot  be  too  strongly  repro- 
bated, yet  when  God  comes  to  call  at 
your  house  for  "  labourers  for  His 
harvest,"  let  Him  find  one  at  least  of 
your  children  ready  for  that  call.  Let 
all  parents,  whether  rich  or  poor,  take 


heed  to  their  privileges  and  duties  in 
this  direction. 

(2)  But  as  God  has  claims  upon  all 
of  your  chiklren,  see  that  they  are 
dedicated  to  Him  and  *'  trained  up  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord." 

III.  That  God's  claims  should  be 
acknowledged  jirst.  "  The  first  of  thy 
ripe  fruits,"  &c. 

1.  Let  God's  claims  be  acknowledged 
first  in  the  order  of  time.  The  Jew 
embraced  the  first  opportunity — as  soon 
as  the  sheep  could  leave  its  dam,  and 
the  child  its  mother,  God's  claim  was 
recognised.  Surely  the  Christian 
should  not  be  behind  the  Jew.  In 
God's  cause  as  well  as  man's,  "  he 
pays  twice  who  pays  promptly."  Do 
not  wait  tdl  the  end  of  the  quarter  or 
the  year  before  you  pay  your  subscrip- 
tion.    Let  it  be  at  the  beginning. 

2.  Let  God's  claims  be  acknowledged 
first  in  point  of  quality.  "  First  of 
ripe  fruits."  Other  laws,  based  upon 
these  claims,  enact  that  the  gifts  shall 
be  without  blemish.  God's  sacrifices 
were  of  the  best  of  beasts,  God's  house 
was  the  best  in  the  land.  How  sad 
the  contrast  between  this  and  Christian 
customs.  Any  scrap  of  money,  or 
time,  or  prosperity,  is  good  enough  for 
God's  use,  and  any  barn  good  enough 
for  His  worship.  And  when  a  noble 
spirit  is  awakened,  it  is  met  with  the 
old  and  usual,  "  To  what  purpose  is  this 
waste  ] "  Not  that  God  is  particular, 
whose  is  tlie  earth  and  the  fulness 
thereof!  He  can  value  the  widow's 
mite.  But  let  them  see  to  it,  who 
live  on  the  fat  of  the  land  and  give  a 
reluctant  morsel  to  God's  cause  ;  who 
can  give  the  whole  twenty-four  hours  to 
their  own  interest,  and  not  as  many 
minutes  to  God's,  and  who  sleep  in 

403 


CdAP.  XStl. 


IIOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


palaces  but  worship  in  hovels  (Hairg. 

3.  Lot  God's  claims  be  recognised 
first  in  order  of  interest.  If  the  rest 
of  the  flock  died,  this  must  be  given 
to  God.  But  now  God's  interests  are 
consideied  last.  After  having  con- 
sulted the  claims  of  self,  famil}'-,  busi- 
ness, then  if  anything  is  left  it  may  be 
given  to  God.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  there  must  be  retrenclunent  then 
God's  interests  are  considered  first — 
to  be  invaded  and  ignoreil,  and  the 
suinea  dwindles  down  to  half  a 
sovereign,  &c. 

IV.  That  God's  claims  should  be 
acknowledged  systematically.  "First," 
"on  the  eighth  day."  God  here  de- 
manded a  definite  amount  at  a  definite 
time.  God's  claims  must  not  be  con- 
sidered more  recklessly  or  haphazard 
than  those  of  family  and  business. 
The  Christian  rule  must  not  be  re- 
pealed till  God  repeals  it  (I  Cor. 
xvi.  1,  2). 

V.  That  our  relation  to  the  Divine 
Lawgiver  shouhl  lead  to  the  practical 
acknowledgment  of  His  claims  upon 
all  we  are,  ver.  31.  God's  claim  is 
everywhere  on  ourselves.  No  proxies, 
as  such,  are  permitted.  There  are 
many  who  acknowledge  God's  claims 
on  what  they  have  that  but  practically 


repudiate    them    which    are   personal. 
But  (1  Cor.  vi.  20). 

1.  God  demands  personal  holiness. 
(L)  Separation  from  sin.  (2.)  St^para- 
tion  to  Himself.  (See  on  chap.  xix.  10.) 
God's  command  is,  "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I 
am  holy,"  "  God's  will  "  is  "  even. your 
sancLification." 

2.  God  demands  a  practical  exhibi- 
tion of  that  holiness  in  the  dignity 
and  nobility  of  our  lives.  The  flesh 
that  was  torn  by  wild  beasts  was  not 
forbidden  as  unclean,  but  because  it 
was  mean  and  paltry  for  those  members 
of  the  "  kingdom  of  priests "  to  eat 
their  leavings.  So  the  Christian,  in  his 
living  and  general  conduct,  must  not 
condescend  to  practices  which  degrade 
his  profession  and  dishonour  his  God. 

Learn — 

i.  That  all  you  have  belongs  to  God. 
1.  How  noble.  2.  How  safe  are  our 
possessions. 

ii.  That  all  we  are  belongs  to  God. 
I.  What  dignity  (Rev.  L  5,  6).  2. 
What  promises  (Matt.  vi.  25-34;  2. 
Cor.  vi.  16-18,  vii.  1  ;  Rom.  viii-  28).  3 
What  safety  (Luke  xii.  32  ;  John  x. 
28,  29;  Rom.  viii.  31-39).  And  what 
glory  (Rom.  viii.  18;  1  John  iii.  2), 
belong  to  the  sons  of  God. 

iii.  "  What  manner  of  persons  ought 
we  to  be  1  "—J.  W.  Bum, 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXII, 

BY 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Divine  Ensictments  I  Vers.  1-31.  (1)  There 
is  a  world  of  difFerence  between  a  stained  glass 
window  and  a  kaleidoscope.  Their  relative 
values  are  very  ditrereiit,  and  so  is  their  s'rnc- 
ture.  The  piece.s  of  variegated  glass  are  flung 
anyhow,  for  ilie  prism  to  arrange  ;  whereas, 
tliose  employed  m  the  window  arc  all  arranged 
to  give  a  l)eautifiil,  effective,  and  ahiding 
impression.  These  separate  enactments  are 
not  strung  together  haphazard.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  are  chords  divinely  arranged  to 
produce  harmony  in  the  world,  and  give  forth 
strains  of  Divine  adoration  in  tlieir  observance. 
(2)  If  one  side  of  a  tree  grows,  and  the  other 
does  not,  the  tree  acquires  a  crooked  form. 
It  may  he  fruitful,  but  it  cannot  be  beautiful. 
God  would  liave  humanities  and  nationalities, 
theocracies  and  individualities,  both  rich  in  the 

40X 


beauties  of  holiness  and  the  fruits  of  righteons- 
ness.  The  unequal  growth  of  the  Christian 
graces  is  undesirable  ;  hence  the  numerous 
Divine  precautions  to  make  them  alike  fair, 
fragrant,  and  fruitful. 

"  Stern  lawgiving  !  yet  thou  dost  wear 
The  Godhead's  most  benignant  grace  ; 
Flowers  laugh  before  thee  on  their  beds  ; 
And  frairrance  in  thy  footing  treads  ; 
Thou  dost  preserve  the  stars  from  wrong." 
—  Wordsioorth, 

Dishonesty!  Ver.  1.  (1)  Matthew  Henry 
says,  "  That  which  is  won  ill  will  never  wear 
well,  for  there  is  a  curse  attends  it,  which 
will  waste  it,"  Many  a  fraudulent  speculator 
on  'Change  is  none  the  richer  for  the  gains 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS, 


CHAP.  XXII. 


dishonestly  obtained  from  widows  and  old 
maids.  Honesty  is,  after  all,  the  best  policy  ; 
for  very  frequently,  the  same  corrupt  disi>osi- 
tions  which  incline  men  to  the  sinful  ways  of 
getting  will  incline  tliem  to  the  like  sinful 
ways  of  spending,  {'i)  In  a  recent  Court  of 
Queen's  Bench  trial  of  some  men  of  note,  for 
dishonest  building  estate  transactions,  the 
judge  passed  sentence  of  imprisonment,  adding 
tliat  during  the  ititirval  pecuniary  iesii:utit)n 
would  have  to  be  made  ;  ntherwise  at  the  ex- 
piry of  the  term,  they  would  au'ain  be  brought 
uji  on  other  counts  of  the  indictment.  Restitu- 
tion and  retribution  were  here  combined. 
"The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard." 

"  The  sun  of  justice  may  withdraw  his  beams 
Awliile  from  earthly  ken  j    but  soon  these 

clouds. 
Seeming  eclipse,  will  brighten  into  day." 

—Bally. 

Full  Restitution!  Ver.  3.  A  youth  having, 
in  a  moment  of  peculiar  temptation,  plundered 
his  emjiloyer,  was  sentenceil  to  several  years' 
penal  servitude.  His  conduct  in  prison  was  80 
exemnlary  that  he  was  soon  released  on  parole. 
Filled  with  a  deep  sense  of  his  sin  before  God, 
and  his  ingratitude  to  his  employer,  he  resolved 
to  make  tiie  utmost  amends.  By  dint  of  dili- 
gence, energy,  and  industry,  he  raised  sufficient 
to  refuiui  tlie  monies,  including  interest  in 
full.  He  then  presented  himself  before  his 
old  niasier  in  the  spirit  of  a  sincere  penitent, 
expressed  liis  sorrow  for  the  dishonest  action, 
and  presented  the  full  amount  with  interest. 
Conscience  and  a  desire  to  live  before  God 
combined  to  achieve  this  happy  result  of 
full  restitution.     Conscience 

*•  In  leaves  more  durable  than  leaves  of  brass 
Writes  our  whole  history."  — Toung. 

Trespass-Tribute!  Ver.  5.  Chandler  in 
his  '"Asiatic  Travels,"  observes,  that  the  tame 
cattle  are  very  fond  of  vine-leaves,  and  are 
permitted  to  eat  them  in  the  autumn.  He  ob- 
served about  Smyrna  that  the  leaves  were  de- 
cayed, or  stripped  by  the  camels  and  herds  of 
goats,  which  were  permitted  to  browse  after 
the  vintage.  If  those  animals  were  so  fond  of 
vine  leaves,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Mosts,  in 
anticipation  of  possessing  the  vineyards  and 
oliveyards  of  Canaan,  forbade  by  an  express 
law  any  selfish,  wilful  intrusion  of  one  man's 
cattle  into  the  property  of  another.  The  tres- 
pass would  prove  a  serious  injury,  if  it  took 
place  before  the  time  of  the  vintage  ;  and  if  it 
occurred  afterward8,it would  still  he  {ilundi.ring 
the  food  of  the  neighbour's  own  cattle.  This 
law  has  i's  moral  aspect,  and  applies  to  the 
"  spiritual  vineyards  of  humanity." 

*'  Man  spoils  the  tender  beauty 
That  blossoms  on  the  sod. 
And  blasts  the  loving  heaven 

Of  the  great,  good  world  of  God." 

— Household  Words. 


Law  and  Love!  Ver.  5.  Two  small  farmers 
— the  one  a  Christian  the  other  a  worldling — 
owned  adjoining  lands.  Frequently  the  pioua 
farmer  found  his  neighbour's  cow  enjoying  the 
rich  grass  of  his  meadow  field,  in  spite  of 
hedgerow  and  gateway.  After  driving  back 
tlie  animal,  and  closing  the  gate  time  after 
time,  the  humble  Cliristian  sent  to  tlie  churlish, 
dishonest  neit;hboiir  to  say,  that  it  grieved  him 
more  to  witness  Ins  neigliiionr's  dislionesty 
than  to  lose  the  fodder  for  his  cattle  ;  and 
therefore,  if  his  neighbour  could  not  give  up 
breaking  the  hedge  and  openinir  the  gate  for 
his  cow  to  trespass,  he  Viould  cheerfully  feed 
the  animal  for  nuthing  along  with  his  own 
stock.  This  tenderness  of  heart  for  his 
conscience  touched  the  neiglihour,  and  he  at 
once  confessed  his  constant  practice  of  dis- 
honesty, and  offered  to  make  restitution  in  any 
'  way. 

"  Conscience,  what  art  thou?  thou  tremendous 

power  ! 
Who  dost  inhabit  us  without  our  leave  ; 
And  art  witliiii  ourselves  another  self, 
A  master-self,  that  loves  to  dominate, 
And    treat    the     miglitj    frankly    as    the 

slave  ? " 

Honesty !  Ver.  9.  (1)  Entrusted  !  A 
writer  m  the  "  Sun<lay  at  Home,"  alluding  to 
the  honesty  of  the  ^lalays  in  the  Dutch  Indies, 
says  that  his  lusiness  required  frequent 
absences,  durinir  which  he  left  his  house  in 
their  care.  Before  setting  out,  he  gave  the  key 
of  his  bureau  to  he  mandoor,  and  told  him  to 
take  care  of  the  money  it  contained.  He  says 
he  never  found  a  single  farthing  amissing — 
that  sometimes  returning  late,  the  servant 
would  be  found  sleeping  close  to  the  bureau 
for  its  greater  security — and  that  during  all 
the  time  he  passed  in  the  island,  he  had  no 
occasion  to  complain  of  the  theft  of  any  article. 
(2)  Lost !  Not  far  from  St.  Petersburgh  lived 
a  pour  woman,  whose  only  livelihood  arose  from 
the  visits  of  a  few  shipmasters  on  their  way  to 
the  capital.  One  of  these  left  behind  a  sealed 
bag  of  money  ;  which  the  woman  put  away  in 
her  cupboard  till  it  should  be  claimed.  Years 
rolled  on  ;  and  though  often  in  great  want, 
the  bag  of  gold  still  remained  sacredly  intact. 
Seven  years  afterwards,  some  shipmasters  were 
again  staying  at  her  house,  when  one  of  them 
remarked  that  he  would  never  forget  the  town 
they  were  then  visitinL',  for  he  had  years  be- 
fore lost  a  sealed  bag  of  700  roubles.  The 
poor  woman  overhearing  the  remark,  said, 
"  Would  you  know  it  by  the  seal  ?  "  Tiie  ship- 
master pointed  to  a  seal  hanging  by  his  watch- 
chain  ;  and  the  bag  was  at  once  produced  and 
restored  to  its  rightful  owner. 

"  An  honest  man  is  still  an  unmoved  rock. 
Washed  whiter,  but  not  shaken   with   the 
shock."  — Davenport. 

Trust-Eestitation  !  Ver.  9,  (1)  Recently 
a  lady  went  to  Paris  on  a  visit,  entrustit;g  her 
house  and   furniture   to  a  friend,  on   whose 

405 


OKAP.  xxn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTA.BT:  EXODUS. 


honesty  she  relied.  Unfortunately  the  confi- 
dence was  misplaced  ;  and  during  her  absence, 
articles  of  considerable  value  were  removed. 
Oa  her  return,  the  discovery  was  made,  and 
tlie  person  guilty  of  so  contemptible  a  breach 
of  trust  arraigned.  The  judi;e  ordered  him  to 
restore  all  the  objects  of  vertu  wliich  he  had 
purloined,  and  to  suffer  a  term  of  imprison- 
ment for  his  breach  of  trust.  (2)  A  poor 
widow  entrusted  the  title-deeds  of  some  pro- 
perty, left  by  her  husband,  to  a  solicitor,  in 
wliom  she  had  confidence.  Her  trust  was, 
however,  grossly  abused,  as  he  retained  the 
deeds  on  tiie  plea  of  some  false  debt  due  by 
the  husband.  After  long  and  persistent  en- 
deaTours  to  obtain  recovery  of  the  documents, 
but  in  vain,  the  defrauded  widow  was  advised 
to  apply  to  the  Lord  Chancellor.  On  inquiry, 
the  judge  decided  that  the  dishonest  lawyer 
must  either  deliver  up  the  title-deeds  and 
make  restitution  for  their  retention,  or  be 
struck  off  the  roll  of  solicitors. 

"  Justice  has  her  laws. 
That  will  not  brook  infringement ;  in  all  time. 
All  circumstances,  all  state,  in  every  clime, 
She  holds  aloft  the  same  avenging  sword. " 

— Percival. 

(jonBcience-Eestitution  !  Ver.  12.  Gray 
mentions  that  as  a  gentleman  in  London 
entered  his  house,  he  found  a  well-dressed 
female  sitting  on  the  stairs.  She  asked  pardon 
for  the  liberty  she  had  taken,  saying  that  she 
had  taken  refuge  for  a  few  minutes  in  his  house 
from  a  mad  dog.  On  hearing  her  story,  he 
gave  her  some  refreshment  before  she  left. 
In  the  evening,  his  wife  missed  her  gold  watch 
— it  having  been  purloined  by  the  forenoon 
visitor.  Fifteen  years  afterwards,  the  watch 
was  returned,  with  a  note  from  the  thief.  It 
stated  that  the  Gospel  had  recently  changed 
her  heart,  and  that  in  consequence  she  desired 
to  return  the  watch  to  its  rightful  owner. 

"  Conscience  I     It  is  a  dangerous  thing. 
It  made  me  once 
Restore  a  purse  of  gold." — Shakespeare. 

Seduction-Solatium!  Vers.  16, 17.  Marriage 
or  money  are  the  only  earthly  compensations 
which  can  be  made.  Unhappily,  Wilson's 
"Tales of  the  Borders"  abound  with  instances, 
in  which  this  law — still  in  force — was  utterly 
disregarded  altogether  in  its  compensatory 
aspects.  So  far  are  men  from  any  disposition 
of  heart  towards  the  act  of  restitution,  that 
English  law  has  to  be  framed  and  put  in  force 
to  compel  them  to  make  solatium,  either  by 
matrimonial  contract  or  pecuniary  indemnity. 
One  of  the  most  painful  of  the  annals  of  British 
Law  Courts  is  that  which  concerns  the  dis- 
closure of  man's  beartlessness  in  regard  to  the 
maiden  whom  he  has  seduced.  Law,  how- 
ever, can  only  enforce  compensation  ;  and  it 
remains  for  grace  to  suppress  the  inclination. 
St.  Benedict  relates  that  when  he  felt  this 
desir.  upon  liim,  he  rushed  fiom  his  cave,  and 
i06 


flnng  himself  into  a  thicket  of  briars  and 
nettles,  in  which  he  rolled  himself  until  the 
blood  flowed.  This  expedient  could  only  be  a 
temporary  relief;  and  tlie  only  efficient  and 
permanent  method  of  preventative  is  "  Prayer 
for  divine  grace." 

'•  Terrestrial  objects,  disenchanted  there. 
Lose  all  their  power  to  dazzle  or  ensnare ; 
One  only  object  then  seems  worth  our  care- 
To  win  the  race."  — Elliott. 

Witchcraft  and  Wizardry!  Ver.  18.  (l)The 
Church  of  liome  subjecte(i  persons  suspected 
of  witchcraft  to  the  most  cruel  torments  ;  but 
itself  is  the  most  notorious  offender  in  this  re- 
spect. Its  pretended  miracles  from  the  blood 
of  St.  Janwarius  to  the  trance  of  La  Pucelle 
are  a  concentration  of  superstitious  wizardry. 
In  tens  of  thousands  of  cases  the  victims — 
often  innocent — were  burned  alive ;  while 
others  were  drowned  by  the  test  applied.  Rome 
herself,  the  apocalyptic  wizard  clothed  in 
scarlet,  is  to  know  the  retributive  penalty  of 
this  law  :  "  She  stiall  not  be  suffered  to  live." 
(2)  Sad  as  are  the  evidences  of  superstitious 
wizardry  in  modern  spiritualism  of  America 
and  England,  there  is  this  sure  solace,  that  all 
witchcraft  is  doomed  sooner  or  later.  It  is 
Carlyle  who  says,  that  the  burning  of  a  little 
straw  may  hide  the  stars  of  the  sky ;  but  the 
stars  are  there,  and  will  reappear.  Truth  ia 
Eternal. 

"  Truth,  crushed  to  earth,  shall  rise  again — 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers  ; 
But  Error,  wounded,  writhes  in  pain. 
And  dies  among  her  worshippers." 

— Bryant. 

Witchcraft!  Ver.  18.  The  river  Dart  is  a 
bright  clear  stream,  which  takes  its  rise  amid 
the  wild  beauty  of  our  English  Alps — the  Dart- 
moor  range.  Long  years  ago,  a  crowd  was 
gathered.  Here  were  the  middle-aged  and 
young  farmers  and  labourers,  with  mingled 
fear  of  all  witches,  and  hatred  to  witchcraft  a 
part  of  their  very  creed.  Here  also  were 
women  with  rancorous  tongues;  little  children, 
with  babes  in  their  mothers'  arm,  gathered  as 
for  a  holiday.  The  squire's  daugh  er  has 
been  condemned  to  the  test  of  witchcnft ;  if 
shesinks,  she  is  guilty;  if  she  rises  and  escapes, 
she  is  innocent.  Arrayed  in  white  garments, 
she  is  led  towards  the  river  through  the  crowd, 
whose  cruel  jests  and  coarse  words  are  the 
first  gauntlet  her  pure  mind  must  run.  The 
tender  arms  were  grasped,  and  the  graceful 
form  hurled  into  the  stream,  swollen  witli  the 
unusually  heavy  rains.  Suddenly  a  cry  was 
raised  ;  the  cruel  crowd  gave  way  ;  and  a  man 
rushed  breathlessly  to  the  river's  brink.  It 
was  the  maiden's  lover,  to  whom  she  was 
shortly  to  be  united  ;  and  having  heard  of  the 
dreadful  ordeal  designed,  he  had  hastened  to 
rescue  her  from  the  "witch's  test."  Too  late! 
Without  a  word,  he  plunged  in  after  her.  A 
gleam  of  a  white  robe — a  sudden  uplifting  of 
a  man's  strong  arm — were  all  that  the  super- 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXII. 


stitious  onlookers  ever  saw  more  of  the  maiden 
•r  her  lover. 

"  But  endless  is  the  list  of  human  ills, 
And  sighs  might  sooner  fail  than  cause  to 
sigh."  — Young. 

Idol-Sacrifices  I  Ver.  20.  Idolaters  and 
their  sacrifices,  says  Dr.  Chapin  !  You  cannot 
find  any  more  gross — any  more  cruel — on  the 
broad  earth,  than  within  a  mile's  area  of  the 
pulpit.  Dark  minds,  from  which  God  is 
oliscured  !  Deluded  souls,  whose  fetish  is  the 
dice  box,  or  the  bottle  !  Apathetic  spirits, 
steeped  in  sensual  abomination — unmoved  by 
a  moral  ripple — soaking  in  the  swamp  of 
animal  vitality !  These  are  your  modern 
Daphne  and  Delphian  idolaters.  False  gods, 
more  hideous,  more  awful  than  Moloch  or 
Baal — worshipped  with  shrieks — worshipped 
with  curses ;  with  the  heart  hstone  for  the  blood- 
Btained  altar,  the  drunken  husband  for  the 
immolating  priest,  and  women  and  children 
for  the  sacrificial  victims!  These  are  your 
modern  idol-holocausts.  This  verse  may  not 
be  applicable  to  Clirisiianised  England  in  its 
literality;  but  the  moral  vein  lies  hidden  be- 
neath the  literal  surface.  In  its  moral  aspect 
it  is  England's  obligation  of  a  truth. 

"  Turn  thee  from  these,  or  dare  not  to  inquire 
Oi  Him  whose  name  is  jealous,  lest  in  wrath 
He  hears  and  answers  tliine  unblest  desire ; 
Far  better  we  should  cross  His  lightning's 
path, 
Than  be  according  to  our  idols  heard, 
And  God  should  take  us  at  our  own  vain 
word."  — Keble. 

Idolater's  Doom  !  Ver.  20.  A  philosopher, 
states  the  Hebrew  Talmud,  once  remarked 
to  Gamaliel  :  "  Instead  of  uttering  threats 
against  the  worshippers  of  idols,  why  does  not 
God  rather  turn  His  wrath  against  the  idols 
themselves?"  The  wise  Ral)bi  replied  by  a 
story.  A  prince  had  an  insolent  and  rebellious 
son,  who,  among  other  insults  to  his  father, 
had  the  audacity  to  bestow  his  father's  name 
upon  his  dog.  His  father  was  full  of  wrath  ; 
but  against  whom?  To  this  inquiry,  the 
philosopher  made  reply,  "  The  son,  douhtless  ; 
but  if  God  were  to  send  all  these  idols  into 
destruction,  there  would  no  longer  be  any 
danger  of  idolatry  in  the  world."  The  pious 
Hebrew  at  once  retorted :  "  The  barbarians 
deify  the  rivers  and  waters,  the  stars  and  suns. 
Would  you  then  have  God,  on  account  of 
the  folly  of  some  of  His  creatures,  plunge 
creation  in  ruin  ?  If  any  one  steals  seed, 
and  afterwards  sows  it  in  the  ground,  does  it 
remain  fruitless  on  accouut  of  its  having  been 
stolen  ?  "  Hence  the  doom  of  death  upon  the 
Jewish  idolater. 

"  If  I  have  souglit  to  live 
But  in  one  light,  and  made  a  mortal  eye 
The  lonely  star  of  my  idolatry. 
Thou  that  art  Love,  oh  pity  and  forgive." 
— Mcmana, 


Strangers'  Rights  1  Ver.  21.  A  certain 
shepherd  had  a  flock  which  he  led  daily  to 
pasture,  and  which  he  brought  home  each  even- 
ing to  the  fold.  It  came  to  pass  on  a  time 
tliat  a  stag  voluntarily  joined,  and  became  the 
inseparable  companion  of  the  flock.  When 
they  went  to  the  pasture  it  went  thither ;  when 
they  returned  to  the  fold,  it  returned  with 
them.  Tiie  shepiierd  greatly  loved  the  stag-,and 
often  charged  his  servants  tliat  nothing  should 
be  wanting  to  its  welfare.  But  the  servants, 
astonished  at  the  injunction,  inquired  of 
tlieir  master  his  reason.  "This  poor  animal, 
accustomed  to  the  wilderness,  has  left  its 
natural  freedom  of  roaming,  and  joined  itself 
fearlessly  to  us  !  Sliould  not  we,  therefore,  be 
kind  to  it,  and  not  vex  or  oppress  it  ?"  God 
loves  tiie  stranger  in  giving  him  food  and 
raiment ;  and  He  enjoins  similar  consideration 
on  the  part  of  the  Jews.  He  requires  still  more 
of  Christians  in  this  respect.  There  is  a  pro- 
mise :  "Be  careful  to  entertain  strangers,  for 
thereby  some  have  entertained  angels  una- 
wares." 

"  And  He  will  leave  the  ninety-nine  that  range 
In  pleasant  pastures  where  the  grass  grows 

sweet, 
And  seek  us  till  He  sets  our  wandering  feet 
Where  tempting  herbage  springs  and  cooling 
waters  meet."  —Mason. 

Strangers!  Ver.  21.  Upon  the  higher  Alps, 
the  snow  is  sometimes  piled  so  high,  and  sa 
evenly  balanced,  that  a  crack  of  a  whip  or  the 
shout  of  a  voice  may  give  sufficient  vibrations 
to  the  air  as  to  bring  down  the  whole  mass  upon 
the  travellers  below.  So  in  our  moral  world, 
there  are  souls  just  hovering  over  the  abyss  of 
ruin.  A  word,  or  even  a  look,  from  us,  may 
cause  them  to  plunge  down  into  depths  from 
which  there  is  no  return.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  helping  hand  stretched  out  to  them  in  the 
moment  of  peril  may  lead  them  into  the  safe, 
sure  way  of  peace.  To  vex  the  stranger,  or 
afflict  the  alien,  may  lead  to  the  overthrow  of 
all  the  life  of  hope  in  him  ;  whereas  kindness 
may  induce  him  to  give  heed  to  those  truths 
of  Scripture,  which  have  led  in  your  case  to  the 
practise  of  the  Christian  virtues.  Many  a 
stranger  has  been  alienated  from  the  gospel  by 
the  cruelties  and  oppressions  of  its  professors. 
Better  those — 

"  Who  lead  the  blind  old  giant  by  the  hand 
From  out  the  pathless  desert  where  he  gropes, 
And  set  him  onward  in  his  darksome  way." 

— Lowell. 

Widow  Woes  I  Ver.  22.  The  Jewish  law 
required  a  man's  brotlier  to  many  his  widow. 
In  numerous  countries,  notably  India,  widows 
are  devoted  to  great  privations  from  the  time 
their  husbands  die.  At  the  Isthmus  of  Darien, 
when  a  widow  dies,  such  of  her  children  aa 
cannot  from  tender  age  provide  for  their  own 
subsistence,  are  buried  in  the  same  grave  with 
ber.     It  was  one  of  the  most  heinous  of  Phari- 

407 


OHAT.  XXII. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


saic  offences,  which  drew  down  the  stern  male- 
(lictidii  of  Jesus  upon  them,  that  they  vexed 
and  afflicted  the  wiciows  in  Israel.  One  of  the 
uiost  toucliing  of  His  jiarablus  is  based  upon 
the  wrong-doinij  of  a  jioor  widow's  adversary, 
and  tlie  indifference  of  the  jinige  towards  lier 
importunate  plea.  It  is  reinarkalde  that  tlie 
Lord  in  verse  'li  alludes  to  the  "  crviuLr  of  the 
widow  "  as  ever  to  l-e  heeded  by  Him.  He 
may  hear  long  witii  them.  There  may  be  a 
long,  and  from  our  view-point  inexplicable 
delay  ;  but  let  not  the  oppressed  widow  de- 
spair. He  will  avenge  her — His  widowed  and 
oppressed  Church.  When  the  cry  ri.ses,  broken 
and  stifled,  but  eager,  as  uttered  by  one  en- 
during dread  wrong,  God  in  heaven  hears  it 
well  pleased. 

"  You  take  my  house,  when  you  do  take  the 

prop 
That  doth  sustain  my  house  ;  you  take  my 

life, 
When  you   do  take   the  means  whereby  I 

live."  — Shakespeare. 


Orphan  Oppression !  Verse  24.  Other  of- 
fences are  punished  by  the  medium  of  human 
justice  ;  but  God  is  His  own  avenger  of  this 
heinous  wronjr.  Years  ago,  a  rural  parish  clerk 
was  left  in  cliarge  of  an  orplian  relative  of  his 
wife.  He  appropriated  the  monies,  and  abused 
the  boy.  Forceil  by  persistent  cruelties  to  flee 
away  from  home,  lie  reached  Australia,  where 
God  raised  up  friends  He  prospered  in  life, 
and  became  a  landowner.  His  dishonest  and 
tyrant  guardian,  none  the  richer  for  liis 
fraudulent  gains,  yielded  to  evil  counsellors — 
took  part  in  a  local  crime,  and  was  tried  and 
transported  to  the  Australian  convict  settle- 
ment. Here,  he  made  his  escape  with  a  fellow 
convict,  and  both  took  refuire  in  a  cave.  They 
quarrelled  over  the  fire,  as  to  which  should  have 
possession  of  certain  stolen  articles,  and  in  the 
dispute  their  gunpowder  flask  fell  into  the 
flames.  It  instantly  exploded  in  the  face  of 
the  convicted  tyrant,  depriving  him  of  eye- 
sight;  while  his  comrade,  seizing  the  things 
in  dispute,  left  his  blind  companion  in  the 
cave.  As  he  was  shrieking  piteously  for  help, 
some  horsemen  passed  by ;  and  overhearing 
his  agonising  screams,  they  alighted  from  their 
horses  and  entered  the  cavern.  The  leader 
was  the  "defrauded  orplian,"  who,  having  nobly 
struggled  to  position  and  honour,  now  knelt 
by  his  oppressor,  whose  system  was  so  shattered 
by  the  sliock,  that  he  died  a  few  minutes  after- 
wards. 

••  Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly, 
Yet  tliey  grind  exceeding  small  ; 
Though  witli  patience  He  stands  waiting, 
With  exactness  grinds  He  all." 

— Longfellow. 

Orphan  Obligations  1  Vers.  22-24.  Orphans 

should  he  grateful  to  their  benefactors.     God 

Himseli  will   reward    tlum.      A   poor  widow 

took  an  orphan  left  by  a  next  door  neighbour, 

408 


into  her  own  family.  For  years  she  struggled 
on  with  the  humble  proceeds  of  mangling  in 
the  court,  until  illness  came.  The  orphan 
youth  obtained  a  place  in  tlie  city,  which  en- 
abled him  to  find  necessaries  for  tiie  widow  and 
her  children,  most  of  whom  were  younger  than 
himself.  His  lei.sure  hours  were  spent  in 
minisierinir  to  the  wants  of  his  benefactress, 
and  insirncting  her  children.  As  he  grew  up, 
his  honesty  and  shrewdness  won  him  a  post 
of  confidence  and  competence  in  his  firm  ; 
enabling  him  to  advance  the  temjioral  wel- 
fare of  his  adopted  brothers  and  sisters.  All 
of  them  were  placed  in  good  situations.  In 
course  of  time  the  orphan  became  the  junior, 
then  the  head  partner  of  his  firm.  He  pur- 
chased a  rural  estate;  and  in  one  of  tho 
prettiest  of  the  cottages  he  placed  the  poor 
widow  ;  poor  no  longer,  but  enriched  with  a 
handsome  annuity  for  life.  Here  she  lived 
happy  and  honoured  ;  dying  at  last  in  the 
arms  of  him  whom  she  had  received  as  a 
penniless  child,  and  whom  she  had  rescued 
from  the  fate  of  a  youthful  London  Arab. 

"  Kind  hearts  are  more  than  coronets. 
And  simple  faith  than  Norman  blood." 
— Tennyson, 

Security  Pledges!     Vers.   26,   27.     In  all 

parts  of  iSouthern  Africa  the  skin  cloak  is  the 
covering  of  males  and  females  by  day  and 
night.  The  Hottentot  cloak  is  composed  of 
sheepskins,  retaining  the  wool  on  the  inside 
of  it ;  and  in  this  he  sleeps  comfortably  under 
a  bush  or  tree.  In  the  East,  extreme  heat 
of  the  day  is  often  succeeded  by  extreme  cold 
of  tho  night.  The  Israelite  encamping  in  the 
vvilderne.s.s  would  probably  be  often  content 
with  such  a  cloak  or  mantle.  No  doubt  in 
the  Holy  Land  there  would  be  many  poor, 
who  could  afford  no  other  raiment  than  this 
by  night  and  day.  The  Red  Indian  has  his 
blanket,  in  which  he  wraps  himself  when 
wandering  in  his  vast  native  forests.  The 
thoughtful  and  gracious  care  of  God,  there- 
fore, shines  out  sweetly  in  this  humane  and 
considerate  enactment.  Man  should  follow 
the  Divine  example. 

"  Have  love  I     Not  love  alone  for  one, 
But  mail,  as  man,  thy  brothers  call ; 
And  scatter,  like  the  circling  sun. 
Thy  charities  on  all."  — SchUler. 

Gratitude-Gifts !  Vers.  29,  30.  St.  Paul 
stamps  the  sin  of  ingratitude  to  God  as  pecu- 
liarly heiiiou.s,  when  he  says  of  the  heathen 
(Rom.  i.)  that  they  were  not  thankful.  Seneca 
— between  whom  and  St.  Paul  some  suppose 
that  there  was  personal  intercourse — says  : 
"  We  are  thankful  to  a  friend  for  a  few  acres 
of  laud  only,  or  for  a  little  money  ;  and  yet 
for  the  possession  of  the  whole  earth,  which 
God  has  siven  us,  we  care  not  to  testify  any 
grateful  returns."  The  English  proverb  de- 
clares a  humiliating  axiom  :  "  The  river 
passed,  and  God  is  forgotten."     The  Italiaa 


SOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


aati.  zxiii. 


form  of  it  sounds  a  still  sadder  depth  of 
ingratitude  :  "  The  peril  passed,  the  saint 
mocked,"  Mandrabulus  the  Samian,  having 
vowed  to  the  goddess  Juno  a  golden  rana  if 
sLe  disclosed  to  him  a  certain  mine,  the  Gieek 
story  runs  that  under  her  auspices  and  direc- 
tion he  was  the  discoverer.  Once  in  posses- 
sion, however,  his  votive-offering  of  a  golden 
ram  dwindled  down  into  a  silver  one  ;  that 
again  for  a  brass  one  ;  and  at  last  nothing  at 
all.  God  here  lays  down  the  law  of  Divine 
gratitude,  in  which  are  also  involved  the 
Divine  rights  of  human  self-consecration  : 
"All  that  I  have  is  Thine;"  "I  am  my 
Beloved's,  and  my  Beloved  is  mine;  "  "Let 
my  iieloved  come  into  His  garden,  and  eat 
His  pleasant  fruits."     But 

'*  Man,  the  worldly,  ingrate  man  can  ever 
Enjoy    God's   gifts,    but    never   mind   the 

Giver  ; 
And  like  the  swine,  though  pampered  with 

enough, 
His  eyes  are  never  higher  than  the  trough." 
— Quarles. 


Cheerful  Consecration  I  Ver.  30.  As  fruits 
artificially  raised  or  forced  in  the  hothouse 
have  not  the  exquisite  flavour  of  those  fruits 
which  are  grown  naturally,  and  in  their  due 
season  ;  so  that  obedience,  which  is  enforced 
by  the  requirements  of  the  law,  wants  the 
genuine  flavour  and  sweetness  of  that  obe- 
dience which  springs  from  a  heart  warmed 


with  the  love  of  God  in  Christ.  God  loves  a 
cheerful  giver,  for  this  among  other  reasons ; 
The  votive-fruits  of  such  self-dedicatinn  are 
exceeding  sweet  to  His  taste.  "  How  much 
betoer  is  thy  love  than  wine  !  and  the  smell 
of  thine  ointments  than  all  spices  !  "  (Cant, 
ii.  10). 

"  Come,  bring  thy  gift.     If  blessings  were  aa 
slow 
As  men's  returns,  what  would  become  of 
fools  ?  "  — Uerhert. 

Legislation-Links  I  Ver.  31.  The  study 
of  the  Mosaic  laws  will  repay  the  students. 
"They  will  repay  the  historian,"  says  Hamil- 
ton ;  "  for  they  will  introduce  him  to  a 
civilisation  compared  with  which  the  Greek 
culture  and  Roman  commonwealth  are  bar- 
barisms. They  will  repay  the  jurist,  for  in 
the  dividends  and  compensations — the  doc- 
trine of  trespass  and  damage  and  malice  pre- 
pense laid  down  by  the  Hebrew  lawgiver,  he 
will  find  the  origin  or  earnest  of  much  in  our 
own  British  statute-book.  And  they  will  re- 
pay every  student  of  morals  and  of  mankind; 
for  thoughts,  says  Wines,  colonise  as  well  aa 
races  ;  ideas,  like  families,  have  a  genealogy 
and  a  propagation.  The  cradle  of  all  codes  is 
the  law  of  Mosaic  enactments." 

"  These  are  the  lessons  God  would  write — 
These  laws  as  with  a  burning  pen. 
In  traces  of  eternal  light, 
Upon  the  hearts  of  men."    — SchiUer. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 


Ceitioal  Notes. — ^1.  Thon  shalt  not  raise]  =  tissa,  from  the  inf.  nafa,  in  its  simple  sense, 
"to  carry,"  and  in  its  ethical,  "to  bear  about  in  the  heart."  Hence  tissa  is  a  pregnant  word, 
and  siiniities  :  "  Thou  slialt  neither  raise  nor  carry  abroad,  nor  harbour  in  your  heart,  evil  re- 
port." 2.  Thou  shalt  not  followj.  Our  idiomatic  expression,  "  to  he  after,"  i.e.,  to  preserve  a 
course  of  p'-rsistent  getting  at  a  person  or  thing  answers  well  to  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
words,  lo  tihyeh,  "  be  not ; "  achrey,  "after ; "  rabbim,  "  multitude  ;  "  le  rdoth,  "  for  evil."  In  other 
words,  do  not  get  at  the  multitude  with  evil  designs,  and  so  become  an  evil  mito  the  multitude. 
Hence  the  appositeuess  of  the  other  clause  of  the  sentence  becomes  evident,  if  rii,'htly  ren- 
dered :  "  Neither  shalt  thou  speak  in  a  cause  to  incline  (to  the  multitude)  to  wrest  judgment." 
The  exhortation  means,  "  not  to  give  way,  or  bend  {lintoth),  on  account  of  the  pressure  of  the 
multitude,  and  thus  suffer  the  multitude  to  become  an  occasion  for  evil  unto  thee."  3.  Thou 
shalt  not  adorn]  {tehdar),  i.e.,  gloss  over  the  cause  of  a  man  (though  he  be)  dal  =  destitute.  6.  The 
poor  referred  to  in  this  verse  is  "thy  poor  onea"  (ebyoncha),  in  the  sense  of  simply  being  in,  or 
Buffering  from,  want,  but  not  being  absolutely  destitute.  19.  Thou  shalt  not  seethe,  &c.] — 
This  command,  taken  in  connection  with  the  preceding  one,  justifies  tlie  explanation  of  ancient 
commentators  that  it  was  given  to  banish  a  pagan  rite,  in  the  offering  up  as  an  harvest 
thanks-offering  of  a  kid  seethed  in  its  mother's  milk.  With  the  milk  of  this  oblation  the 
fields,  gardens,  and  orchards  were  sprinkled,  in  the  belief  that  favour  of  the  deities  for  a  good 
harvest  in  the  coming  year  would  be  thus  secured.  This  commandment  may,  however,  also 
imply  a  prohibition  against  cruelty  and  outrage  of  nature.  Eabbinism  look  occasion  to  adduce 
from  this  commandment  injunctions  of  an  extensive  culinary  kind,  according  to  which  every 
Jew  was  strictly  prohibited,  not  only  from  using  milk,  butter,  or  cheese  with  meat,  but  he  is 
obliged  to  keep  separate  gets  of  kitchen  utensils  for  each  of  those  two  classes  of  food, 

409 


CHAP.  xxin.  EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Vertea  l-«t 

EuLEs  FOR  Judicial  Proceedings. 

We  see  a  connection  running  through  the  whole  of  these  verses.  They  may 
all  be  said  to  have  a  bearing  upon  judicial  proceedings.  Rightly  received  they 
tend  to  promote  the  integrity  of  the  witness,  the  uprightness  of  the  judge,  and 
the  correctness  of  the  judicial  conclusion.  AH  must  regard  themselves  under 
law.  Subjects  are  under  law.  Lawgivers  and  law  administrators  are  likewise 
under  law.  There  can  be  no  escape  from  law.  The  highest  condition  is  that 
of  being  riileJ  by  the  great  law  of  love. 

L  Perjury  is  to  be  avoided.  "  Thou  shalt  not  raise  or  receive  a  false  report ; 
put  not  thine  hand  with  tlie  wicked  to  be  an  unrighteous  witness."  If  the  re- 
ceiver is  as  bad  as  the  tliief,  then  the  receiver  of  a  false  report  is  as  bad  as  the 
raiser.  If  we  pass  out  of  the  court  of  justice  and  say  that  men  are  not  to  raise 
false  reports,  which  is  undoubtedly  true,  and  that  the  receivers  are  just  as  guilty 
as  the  raisers  of  false  reports  ;  then  we  get  a  very  jiainful  view  of  even  Christian 
(so  called)  society.  Such  is  the  corruption  of  liuman  nature  that  we  delight  in 
listening  to  a  false  report,  though  we  may  doubt  its  accuracy.  Laws  against 
perjury  are  severe,  and  justly  so,  for  the  perjurer  is  one  of  the  vilest  of  men. 

n.  The  influence  of  the  multitude  is  to  be  repudiated.  Too  often  the  multi- 
tude is  omnipotent.  •'  Tlie  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God,"  is  a  proverb 
which  is  injurious,  which  is  in  great  measure  false,  but  which  shows  how  men 
follow  the  leading  of  the  crowd.  The  voice  of  the  sovereign  people  is  too  often 
appealed  to  as  the  divinest  law.  The  conclusion  of  the  thinking  multitude  will 
very  likely  be  correct ;  but  the  movements  of  the  unreflecting  multitude  are  just 
as  likely  to  be  under  the  direction  of  folly ;  and  the  greater  part  of  large  gather- 
ings are  unreflecting.  The  crowd  will  cut  a  man's  head  off  to-day,  and  canonize 
him  to-morrow.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  multitude  passes  so  qtiickly  from 
crying  '*  Hosannah  "  to  crying  "  Crucify."  The  leaders  of  the  people  exercise  a 
responsible  function.  Too  often  the  leaders  are  only  led.  The  men  are  bene- 
factors who  work  to  create  a  healthy  public  opinion.  Judges,  above  all  men, 
should  be  free  from  the  influence  of  the  multitude. 

m.  False  sentiment  must  find  no  place.  '*  Neither  shalt  thou  countenance  a 
poor  man  in  his  cause."  Thou  shalt  not  wrest  the  judgment  of  thy  poor  in  his 
cause.  Tenderness  for  poverty  is  misplaced  when  it  leads  to  the  perversion  of 
justice.  The  emotional  must  not  be  stifled,  but  kept  in  its  right  position.  The 
emotional  must  be  subordinate  to  the  intellectual  and  deliberative  faculties.  In 
all  our  judgments  let  us  preserve  the  true  position  of  our  God-given  faculties. 

IV.  Prejudice  must  be  laid  upon  one  side.  Regard  the  directions  in  verses 
4  and  5  not  merely  as  enjoining  upon  men  the  duty  of  doing  good  to  tliose 
who  hate  them,  but  as  showing  that  the  judge  must  not  let  pi-ejudice  influence 
while  seeking  to  come  to  a  conclusion.  I'hus  we  see  a  purpose  in  the  placing 
of  them  in  this  part  of  the  general  legal  directions.  It  is  certain  that  judges 
ought  to  be  even-handed,  as  free  on  the  one  hand  from  the  sentiment  of  pity  as 
from  the  feeling  of  hatred  on  the  other. 

V.  The  bribe  must  be  at  once  rejected.  How  true  universally  are  thosa 
words — the  gift  blindeth  the  wise.  Gold  can  throw  a  yellow  film  over  the  most 
keen-sighted  of  men,  that  they  see  not  clearly.  All  things  are  tinged  with  the 
colour  of  the  metal  prostituted  to  a  base  purpose. 

VI.  And  yet  the  judge  must  not  be  a  hard  oppressor.     He  must  give  the 
410 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXIIL 


poor  stranger  a  fair  chance.  He  must  make  due  allowance  for  his  timorousness  ; 
for  ye  know  the  heart  of  a  stranger.  How  suggestive  from  the  homiletical 
point  of  view  !  1.  Sorrowful  dispensations  increase  knowledge.  2.  Sorrowful 
dispensations  develop  refinement.  3.  Sorrowful  dispensations  enlarge  sympathy. 
4.  Sorrowful  dispensations  promote  beneficence. 

V.  Judges  themselves  must  be  judged.  "I  will  not  justify  the  wicked." 
Therefore  be  careful.  The  innocent  and  righteous  slay  not.  Fearful  will  be 
tlie  doom  of  unjust  judges.  Slaughtered  innocents  will  confront  them,  and  fill 
tlieir  souls  with  unutterable  anguish.  God  is  judge,  and  a  great  day  of  trial 
will  come  to  universal  man. — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VERSES, 
Slander. — Verse  1  {first  clause). 


The  word  rendered  '*  thou  shalt  not 
raise  "  is  from  S'^2  to  take  away  j  hence 
both  text,  "raise,"  and  margin  "receive," 
are  correct.  In  this  law  slander  is 
characterised,  prohibited,  and  pun- 
•«5hed. 

I.  Slander  is  characterised — 

1.  Slander  consists  in  originating  a 
false  report.  (1.)  It  may  be  from  envy. 
(2.)  It  may  be  from  carelessness  ;  judg- 
ing appearances  merely.  (3.)  It  may 
be  from  hasty  conclusions,  through  not 
taking  into  consideration  the  whole  of 
the  circumstances  of  a  given  case,  or 
not  waiting  for  its  full  explanation. 

2.  Slander  consists  in  listening  to 
false  reports.  (1.)  Because  it  counte- 
nances and  encourages  the  slanderer. 
(2.)  Because  you  allow  it  to  be  reported 
to  one  at  least  who  ought  not  to  have 
heard  it.  (3.)  Because  repeated  encou- 
ragement of  slander  may  make  you  a 
bianderer. 

3.  Slander  consists  in  circulating  a 
false  report  (Lev.  xix.  16.)  (1.)  It 
may  be  circulated  confidentially;  "I 
wouldn't  let  any  one  know  it  for  the 
world  !  It  may  not  be  true,  you  know." 
(2.)  It  may  be  circulated  as  an  ordi- 
nary topic  of  information  in  gossip. 
(3.)  It  may  be  circulated  by  a  pretended 
desire  to  benefit  the  individual  con- 
cerned: "Don't  you  think  I  ought  to 
mention  it  to  him  1 "  (4.)  It  may  be 
circulated  by  implication ;  shoulders, 
eyes,  lips,  hands,  may  be  all  eloquent 
with  slanderous  insinuations.     (5.)  It 


may  be  circulated  negatively:  "I  don't 
believe  it ;  now,  do  you  1 " 

II.  Slander  is  prohibited. 

1.  Affecting  antecedents.  (1.)  A 
man's  character  does  not  consist  in 
what  he  has  been,  but  in  what  he  is. 
(2.)  What  a  man  has  been  ought  not 
to  be  a  lever  to  hft  him  into  it  agaia 
(3.)  Even  if  a  man  has  been  very  bad 
in  the  past,  he  may  be  very  good  in  the 
present. 

2.  Affecting  character.  A  man's 
character  is  his  all ;  if  you  take  that 
away,  you  leave  him  "  poor  indeed  !  " 

3.  Affecting  his  family  or  social 
relations. 

4.  Affecting  his  goods. 

III.  Slander  is  punished.  This  is 
one  of  those  commandments  which 
are  addressed  to  the  conscience,  com- 
mon sense,  and  good  feeling,  and  is 
not  followed  by  judicial  punishment. 
But  does  the  slanderer  escape?  Nay, 
verily ! 

1.  He  is  excluded  from  religious  fel- 
lowship (Ps.  XV.  3). 

2.  He  is  the  object  of  Divine  ven- 
geance (Ps.  X.  5). 

3.  He  is  exposed  to  the  contempt  of 
mankind  (Pro v.  x.  18). 

4.  He  is  excluded  from  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  (Rev.  xxii.  15).  See  some 
excellent  remarks  by  Wesley  (Sermon 
xxii.  on  Matt.  v.  5-7). 

In  conclusion — 1.  Exod.  xx.  16;  2. 
Matt,  xviil  15  j  and  3.  GaL  vi.  1. 

— /.  JV.  Bum. 


411 


OHAV.  xxin. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


The  Duties  of  Witnesses  {last  clause  of  verse  1-3). 


I.  Not  to  co-operate  in  an  unright- 
eous cause,  ver.  1.  This  "command- 
ment is  exceeding  broad,"  and  conveys 
a  lesson — 

1.  To  judicial  witnesses.  (1.)  Per- 
sonal friendships.  (2.)  The  guilt  of 
the  accused  on  some  other  point. 
(3.)  A  show  of  justice  must  not  in- 
fluence us. 

2.  To  all  partisans,  controversialists, 
politicians. 

3.  To  trades  unionists,  &c. 

II.  Not  to  co-operate  in  any  un- 
righteous cause  because  it  is  popular, 
ver.  2. 

1.  Because  majorities  are  no  test  of 
truth.  Multitudes  may  be  roused  by 
passion,  prejudice,  or  self-interest. 

2.  Because  men  should  be  weighed 
as  well  as  counted. 

3.  Because  righteousness,  from  the 
constitution  of  human  nature,  is  often 
unpopular,  and  in  the  minority. 

III.  Not  to   co-operate   in   an   un- 


righteous cause  because  it  is  apparently 
benevolent,  ver.  3;  (Lev.  xix.  15). 

1.  Because  we  may  be  putting  a  pre- 
mium on  vice  which  is  the  source  of  all 
misery.  (1.)  By  endeavouring  to  con- 
ceal the  crime.  (2.)  By  extolling  other 
virtues,  so  as  to  minimise  the  enormity 
of  guilt.  But  to  what  purpose  is  it  if 
we  extol  a  man's  honesty,  if  he  is  lazy, 
or  a  drunkard;  or  his  sobriety,  if  a 
thief? 

2.  Because  justice  is  above  mere  sen- 
timent, and  for  the  wellbeing  of  the 
whole  community,  and  not  for  the  ex- 
clusive benefit  of  a  class. 

3.  Because  of  its  influence  on  the 
object  himself.  Let  a  man  feel  that 
you  do  this  or  that  for  him  simply 
because  he  is  poor,  and  he  will  see  no 
advantage  in  helping  himself. 

Learn  then — 

i.  To  entertain  none  but  righteous 
considerations,  ii.  To  pursue  them  at 
all  cost. — /.  fF.  Burn. 


On  Duties  to  Enemies. — Verses  4,  6. 


Notice — 

I.  That  duties  to  enemies  are  en- 
joined (Prov.  xxiv,  17  ;  1  Thess.  v.  15). 

1.  It  is  our  duty  to  protect  the  in- 
terests of  our  enemy.  (1.)  If  they  are 
damaged,  we  should  endeavour  to 
retrieve  them.  (2.)  If  they  are  in 
danger  of  damage,  we  should  endea- 
vour to  prevent  them  (James  v.  19, 
20). 

2.  It  is  our  duty  to  help  the  diffi- 
culties of  our  enemy.  (1.)  His  mind 
may  be  in  difficulties.  (2.)  His  soul 
may  be  in  difficulties.  (3.)  His  mate- 
rial interests  may  be  in  difficulties. 

IL  That  duties  to  enemies  are  diffi- 
cult: "and  wouldest  forbear  to  help 
him." 

1.  Such  duties  are  against  the  grain 
of  human  nature. 


2.  Such  duties  are  apparently  against 
self-interest. 

3,  Such  duties  require  self-deniala 
and  sacrifices. 

III.  That  duties  to  enemies  are 
rewarded  (Prov.  xxv.  21,  22  ;  Matt  v. 
44,  45  ;  Rom.  xii.  20). 

IV.  That  neglect  of  duties  to  ene- 
mies is  punished  (Job  xxxi.  29;  Prov. 
xxiv.  18).     In  conclusion — 

i  Our  text  applies  to  all  enmity, 
whether  polemical,  political,  or  na- 
tional, ii.  Its  precepts  should  be 
obeyed,  because  we  may  be  in  the 
wrong  and  our  enemy  in  the  right, 
iil  Because  God  has  Himself  set  us 
the  sublime  example.  "  When  we 
were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  by 
the  death  of  His  Son." 

W.  Bum. 


The  Duties  of  Judges. — Verses  6-9. 


Our  text  enjoins — 
I.  That  judges  should  be  impartial 
412 


1.  In  particular   towards  the  poor, 
ver.   6.      (1.)   Because    the   poor   are 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxiil. 


most  open   to  the   oppression   of  the  1.  Because  the  bribe  may  blind  him 

powerful.     (2.)  Because  the   poor  are  to  the  true  merit  of  the  case  ;  and 

often  at  a  disadvantage  for  the  want  of  2.    Because   the   bribe    may   weigh 

technical  knowledge,  or  means  to  pro-  down  and  pervert  his  judgment  on  the 

cure  legal  assistance.     (3.)  Because  the  wrong  side, 

poor  are  easily  overawed.  IV.  Tliat  judges  should  be  conside- 

2.  In  general  towards  the  right,  ver.  rate,  ver.   9  ;  particularly  in  regard  to 

7,  first  clause.     Not  to  aid  or  abet  a  foreigners.     Because — 

wrong  cause.  1.  Tliey  had  been  foreigners  them- 

II.  That  judges  should  be  cautious,  selves,  and  had  suffered  for  the  want 

particularly   with    regard   to    matters  of  consideration. 

relating  to  capital  punishment.     *'  The  2.  They  therefore  knew  something 

innocent  and  righteous  slay  thou  not."  of  the  sufferings  of  foreigners.      (1.) 

1.  The  case  must  be  clearly  proved.  Foreigners  may  be  ignorant  of  the  law 

2.  The  accused  to  have  the  benefit  of  and  unwittingly  break  it.     (2.)  When 
the  doubt.  broken,  they  may  know  nothing  of  legal 

3.  Because  justice  would  be  done,  technicalities,  or  be  unable  to  pay  legal 
If  the    criminal    escaped   an    earthly  expenses. 

doom,    God   would    "  not  justify   the  Application. — "  I  will  not  justify  the 

wicked"  (Prov.  xL  21).  wicked"  applies  to  the  judge  as  well 

IlL  That  judges  should  be  incorrupt,  as  to  the  accused.     Judges  will  have 

ver.    8,    either  in  the  shape  of  direct  to  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of 

bribe  or  indirect  present.  Christ. — /.  W.  Burn. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGBAPE.^Verses  10-12. 

Sabbatic  Years  and  Days. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  life  according  to  nature  is  the  highest  good.  Now, 
most  certainly,  a  life  conducted  on  the  principles  laid  down  by  Him  who  is  the 
God  of  nature  and  of  grace  is  the  highest  good, — being  productive  of  the 
largest  amount  of  happiness.  The  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  the  Almighty 
are  manifested  in  the  appointment  of  the  Sabbath  ;  and  those  consult  their 
highest  good — not  only  their  future,  but  their  present  Avelfare — who  observe 
that  appointment,  and  devote  a  seventh  of  their  time  to  rest,  and  to  the 
cultivation  more  especially  of  the  spiritual  life. 

I.  The  beneficence  of  the  Sabbatic  year.  1.  //  is  henejicent  to  the  land. 
Every  seventh  year  the  land  must  rest  and  lie  still.  Even  in  high  farming  it 
is  found  needful  to  give  the  land  a  rest  by  a  change  of  crops.  The  earth  is 
wonderfully  productive,  and  has  a  marvellous  power  of  renewing  its  youth  from 
year  to  year,  and  from  age  to  age.  But  this  power  of  productiveness  must  not 
be  stretched  too  far.  The  land,  too,  must  have  its  Sabbath.  A  shortsighted 
policy  works  the  land  until  it  becomes  comparatively  barren  ;  and  tlius  selfish- 
ness, in  the  long  run,  is  not  as  profitable  as  a  spirit  directed  by  Divine  regula- 
tions. 2.  It  is  beneficent  to  the  owner  of  the  land.  He  learns  by  this  arrangement 
to  husband  his  resources,  and  to  be  provident.  One  reason  of  the  poverty  of 
uncultured  tribes  is,  that  ihey  are  not  provident.  They  do  not  look  into  the 
future,  and  store  up  seed  for  the  coming  harvest.  This  Sabbatic  year  will 
teach  the  owner  to  be  provident.  It  will  teach  him  to  have  a  wise  management 
of  afi"airs.  He  will  be  taught  to  take  a  large  view  of  God's  dealings.  He  will 
Bee  that  the  world  is  not  conducted  on  the  haphazard  principle.  There  is 
method  in  the  Divine  government  Thus  the  farmer's  reflective  faculties  are 
developed.  He  is  not  to  be  a  mere  working  machine ;  but  a  king  in  nature 
moving  in  subjection  to  the  Divine  King,  learning  lessons  of  dependence  upon 

413 


OHAP.  XXIII.  HOM ILBTIQ  COMMBNTAR  Y :  EXOD  US. 


God,  and  admiring  the  bounty  of  that  God  who  in  six  years  gives  ample  sup- 
plies for  the  seventh,  3.  It  is  beneficent  to  the  pow  and  to  the  beasts,  "  that  the 
poor  of  thy  people  may  eat :  and  what  they  leave,  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall 
eat."  The  poor  have  a  divine  right  to  the  charities  of  the  rich.  There  is  no  law 
against  the  plenty  obtained  by  six  years'  hard  labour;  but  here  is  a  wise  limit 
to  the  spirit  of  acquisition.  The  poor  must  not  envy  the  rich  their  six  years' 
plenty  ;  and  the  rich  must  not  deny  to  the  poor  the  power  to  glean  in  the 
seventh  year.  God  cares  even  for  oxen  ;  and  the  rich  must  care  for  those  who 
are  God's  care.  If  God  cares  for  oxen,  how  much  more  for  those  made  in  His 
image.  That  community  must  be  safe  and  prosperous  where  there  is  this 
mutual  consideration.  Communistic  violence  will  not  be  known  in  that  land 
where  the  rich  do  not  oppress  the  poor.  There  is  plenty  for  all  in  God's  vast 
universe.  Let  there  be  no  waste,  but  a  wise  economy.  Surely  six  years' 
produce  is  enouirh  for  the  reasonable  and  benevolent  owner  of  property  1  Let  the 
poor  have  the  gleanings  of  the  seventh  year. 

n.  The  beneficence  of  the  Sabbatic  day.  The  blessed  Saviour  said,  "  The 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath."  And  in  the  Old 
Testament  we  find  that  the  appointment  of  the  Sabbath  was  a  beneficent 
arrangement  for  man's  welfare.  But  some  so  read  our  Saviour's  words  that  the 
Sabbath  is  divested  of  any  binding  power.  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man, 
and  therefore  if  man  does  not  want  to  keep  a  Sabbath  he  has  no  need  to  do  so. 
Put  the  statement  in  another  form.  It  is  self-evident  that  food  was  made  for 
man,  and  not  man  for  food.  No  one  would  ever  think  that  the  statement 
meant  that  man  need  not  take  food.  It  was  made  to  meet  man's  physical 
necessities,  and  he  cannot  do  without  it.  Now,  just  in  the  same  way  as  food 
was  made  for  man,  so  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man's  physical,  intellectual, 
and  moral  nature.  The  Sabbath  was  not  made  for  man  as  a  toy  is  made  for 
the  child,  to  minister  for  an  hour  or  two  to  its  amusement,  and  then  to  be 
destroyed.  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man  as  the  sun  was  made  for  man,  to 
give  us  light,  heat,  beauty,  and  productiveness.  The  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man  as  the  revolving  seasons,  as  the  sweet  interchange  of  day  and  night  were 
made  for  man,  that  this  world  may  be  to  him  a  glorious  dwelling-place.  The 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  as  the  Bible  was  made  for  man,  that  he  may  attain 
the  true  conceptions  of  manhood,  that  the  true  royalty  of  his  nature  may  not 
be  blotted  out  of  existence,  that  he  may  rise  above  mere  notions  of  animality, 
that  he  may  stand  in  this  world  conscious  of  the  dignity  of  his  origin  and  the 
greatness  of  his  sublime  destiny.  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man  as  the 
Saviour  Himself  was  made  a  man  for  men,  that  the  powers  of  evil  may  not  gain 
a  complete  mastery,  and  that  they  may  sit  in  heavenly  places,  clothed  in  gar- 
ments of  spiritual  fashion,  and  radiant  with  Divine  beauty.  The  Sabbath  was 
made  for  man  as  heaven  is  made  for  redeemed  man.  A  lefuge  from  the  storms 
of  life.  A  home  of  peace  after  the  six  days  of  care  and  toil.  A  goal  to  which 
we  look  with  glad  hearts,  and  towards  which  we  work  with  liopeful  spirits  amid 
the  intense  struggles  and  fervid  contests  and  fierce  strifes  of  existence.  There 
are  those  who  seem  to  regard  the  Sabbath  as  an  infringement  on  their  rights, 
and  as  a  robbery  of  the  time  they  might  otherwise  profitably  employ  in  trade 
or  commerce.  And  they  strive  to  frustrate  the  purposes  of  Divine  benevolence 
by  putting  seven  days'  labour  into  the  six,  and  tlien  taking  the  seventh  day  for 
the  purpose  of  recruiting  an  over-wrou<.dit  physical  or  mental  nature.  But  it 
will  not  do.  By  and  by  the  man  will  be  compelled  to  pay  the  penalty  of  his 
folly.  Six  days  tlioii  shalt  do  thy  work,  and  on  the  seventh  day  thou  shalt  rest. 
To  put  seven  days'  labour  into  six  is  like  stretchinLr  tiie  bow  until  it  siia[)s  and 
is  destroyed.  Man  needs  periods  of  rest  and  reh^ase  fiom  care,  from  toil,  and 
from  business,  and  this  need  is  met  by  the  appointment  of  the  Sabbath.  Thia 
414 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    XXIII. 


is  one  of  the  most  beneficent  of  Divine  institutions  ;  and  it  is  the  one  that  is 
the  most  universally  observed.  The  greater  part  of  civilized  humanity,  as  if  by 
instinctive  feeling,  seem  to  appreciate  its  beneficence.  Its  infringement  is  only 
the  result  of  a  narrow  selfishness  that  would  soon  bring  the  social  fabric  to 
awful  ruin.  The  Sabbath  is  not  for  work,  is  not  for  pleasure  that  may  be 
harder  toil  than  our  accustomed  work,  is  not  for  doing  little  odds  and  ends  for 
which  we  have  not  time  in  the  week,  but  for  rest — rest  of  body  and  rest  of 
mind — rest  in  divine  service,  rest  in  peaceful  worship,  and  rest  in  holy  employ- 
ments. The  Sabbath  day  fosters  the  spirit  of  benevolence.  The  letter  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  not  binding,  but  the  spirit  is.  We  must  do  all  that  lies  in  our 
power  so  that  the  ox  and  the  ass  may  rest,  and  the  son  of  the  handmaid  and 
the  stranger  may  be  refreshed.  In  this  world  of  selfishness  it  will  foster  a 
benevolent  spirit,  and  produce  restful  feelings  to  strive  to  minister  to  the  welfare 
of  the  lower  animals,  and  the  refreshment  even  of  the  stranger.  The  Sabbath 
throws  open  the  arms  of  love,  and  would  enfold  a  wearied  universe  and  impart 
abiding  rest. — W.  Burrows,  B.A, 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES, 
The  Sabbatio  Year — Verses  9-11. 


For  the  whole  subject,  see  Dr.  Mil- 
ligan's  article  on  "  Sacred  Seasons  "  in 
Cassells'  "Bible  Educator."  This  law 
was  intended — 1.  To  show  the  fertility 
of  the  land  of  promise.  Every  seventh 
year,  without  skill  or  toil,  the  land  would 
produce  of  itself  suflGicient  for  the  poor 
and  the  beasts  of  the  field.  2.  To  en- 
courage habits  of  thrift  and  forethought, 
60  that  they  might  provide  for  the  year 
of  rest.  3.  To  test  (1.)  their  faith  in 
the  providence,  and  (2.)  their  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws  of  God.  The  subject 
suggests — 

I.  That  periods  may  arrive  by  the 
Older  or  permission  of  God  when  work 


must  be  laid  aside.     Commercial  de- 
pression, sickness,  old  age. 

II.  That  the  prospect  of  such  periods 
should  lead  us  to  provide  for  them. 
We  are  not  like  "  fowls  of  the  air,"  or 
"  grass  of  the  field,"  which  have  to  be 
literally  fed  and  clothed  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  and  are  utterly  unable  to 
forecast  and  provide  for  contingencies. 

IIL  That  the  prospect  of  such  periods 
should  teach  us  resignation  to  the 
will  of  God  and  faith  in  His  goodness 
(Matt.  vi.  25-34). 

Application. — i.  There  remaineth  "a 
rest "  for  the  people  of  God;  ii  Prepare 
for  that  rest  by  faith  and  obedience. 
—J.  W.  Bwn. 


Laboxjr  and  Rest. — Vers$  13. 


This  verse  teaches  us — 

L  That  rest  is  needful,  "May  be 
refreshed." 

.  1.  Rest  is  needful  that  the  exhausted 
faculties  may  repose  after  past  work. 

2.  Rest  is  needful  that  those  faculties 
may  be  invigorated  for  future  service. 

3.  Rest  is  needful  that  work  may 
not  become  irksome  ;  for  if  so  (1.)  It 
will  be  done  slovenly;  and  (2.)  Done 
imperfectly. 

4.  Rest  is  needful  that  work  may  be 
free  and  joyous. 

II.  That  rest  is  mercifully  provided. 


1.  This  rest  is  provided  by  God,  lest 
man  should  not  overlook  its  necessity. 

2.  This  rest  is  provided  by  God  lest 
the  servant,  the  foreigner,  or  the  beast 
should  be  defrauded  of  their  right  to 
it. 

IIL  That  rest  should  be  diligently 
earned.  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  do  thy 
work."  1.  Not  lounge  over  it ;  2.  Not 
neglect  it ;  but  3.  Do  it  earnestly,  con- 
scientiously, and  well 

Application. — i.  A  lesson  to  employers, 
God  has  provided  this  rest,  beware  how 
you  steal  what  God  has  given  to  man. 

5 


CHAP.  xxm.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

ii.  A  lesson  to  working  men.  This  rest  ing  is  the  direct  cause  of  (1.)  Intel- 
is  yours  by  right.  Then  (1.)  claim  it;  lectual evils;  overtaxed  brains, &c. ;  (2.) 
(2.)  don't  abuse  it;  (3.)  don't  curtail  that  moral  evils;  neglect  of  the  rights  of 
of  others;  (4.)  work  during  your  own  God  and  man;  (3.)  physical  evils, 
time,  rest  during  God's,  iii.  A  lesson  Science  has  demonstrated  the  need  of 
to  the  world  at  large.     Sabbath-breuk-  one  day's  rest  in  seven. 

MAIN  UOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse  13. 

The  Need  of  Circumspection. 

The  man  who  makes  a  wise  use  of  his  eyes  is  in  so  far  circumspect.  Words 
that  primarily  set  forth  bodily  actions  are  secondarily  applied  to  the  description 
of  mental  states  and  actions.  Circumspection  is  descriptive  of  a  mental  condi- 
tion, and  denotes  intensity  and  watchfulness  of  spirit.  The  man  who  takes 
heed  to  himself  and  his  ways  is  circumspect.  "  In  all  things  that  I  have  said 
unto  you  be  circumspect."  There  never  was  greater  need  for  circumspection. 
This  exhortation  is  for  all  time. 

I.  Circumspection  is  difficult.  It  is  difficult,  from  the  fact  that  we  are  blind, 
and  are  unconscious  of  our  sad  state.  The  blind  man  moves  with  caution  because 
he  feels  his  defect.  Carelessness,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  opposite  of  circum- 
spection, is  characteristic  of  a  childish  state.  It  is  difficult  for  the  child  to 
command  its  attention.  There  is  a  deal  of  childishness  in  full-grown  men.  It 
is  difficult  for  the  photographer  to  get  a  happy  expression  fixed  upon  the  pre- 
pared glass.  The  sitter  cannot  bear  the  necessary  fixity  of  gaze,  and  the  coun- 
tenance assumes  an  unnatural  aspect.  This  is  typical.  It  is  difficult  to  keep  the 
mind  fixed  upon  the  great  problems  of  life,  and  the  ears  ever  open  to  the 
reception,  and  the  understanding  ever  on  the  stretch  to  the  true  perception  of 
the  voice  of  God.  Circumspection  is  not  a  mere  listless  gaze.  It  is  a  looking 
round  about,  but  it  is  a  looking  with  an  earnest  purpose  in  order  to  see  what 
dangers  are  to  be  avoided,  what  voice  is  to  be  obeyed,  and  what  course  is  to  be 
pursued.  All  mental  efforts  in  the  initial  stages  are  difficult,  and  circumspection 
is  a  mental  effort.     It  must  sometimes  be  a  prolonged  mental  strain. 

II.  Circumspection  is  wise.  It  is  not  by  ease,  but  by  difficulties,  that  the  world's 
great  heroes  have  been  created.  The  smooth  pathway  is  the  most  attractive, 
but  it  is  not  the  one  selected  by  wisdom.  "See  that  ye  walk  circumspectly  ; 
not  as  fools,  but  as  wise  redeeming  the  time."  The  man  is  unwise  who  does  not 
constantly  employ  his  powers  of  mental  vision.  Circumspection  we  consider 
wise  in  the  merchant,  the  soldier,  the  sailor,  and  the  statesman.  Circumspec- 
tion is  wise  on  the  part  of  moral  beings,  or  those  who  have  great  duties  to 
discharge.  There  is  a  right  spirit  in  which  feast  days  and  days  of  rest  must  be 
kept,  and  it  is  wise  to  be  circumspect. 

III.  Circumspection  is  wise,  for  it  is  helpful.  Helpful  to  the  individual.  The 
exercise  of  circumspection  increases  our  power  of  being  circumspect.  It  will 
become  a  habit.  All  difficully  will  vanish.  And  then  all  his  nature  will  be 
enlarged.  He  will  march  through  this  world  thoroughly  alive  to  its  great 
movements,  and  its  solemn  realities.  He  will  not  be  easily  surprised  by  any 
foe.  H»)  cannnt  be  taken  unawares,  for  He  is  always  on  the  watch-tower. 
Every  power  and  faculty  of  His  nature  will  be  brought  into  play.  Helpful  to 
the  community.  The  careless  horse  in  the  team  hinders  all  the  rest.  A  great 
many  overlookers  would  have  to  be  discharged  if  all  workers  were  circumspect. 
What  a  blessed  revolution  would  circumspection  produce  in  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical communities !     What  holy  rejoicings  on  feast  days  if  all  f tasters  were 

416 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxm. 


circumspect !  What  undisturbed  and  delightful  repose  on  rest  days  if  all  were 
truly  circumspect ! 

IV.  TMs  circumspection  is  required — 1.  By  reason  of  the  condition  of  out 
nature.  We  are  materialised.  The  spiritual  essence  has  been  eliminated. 
Idolatry  is  alluring  and  compatible.  This  was  the  danger  of  the  Jews.  This 
is  still  our  danger.  One  of  our  great  literary  men  lately  said  he  was  only 
interested  in  what  he  could  "  see  and  touch."  Is  not  this  the  idolater's  temper  1 
2.  By  reason  of  the  condition  of  our  surroundings.  The  Jews  were  the  only 
theocratic  nation.  They  were  surrounded  by  idolaters.  It  was  needful  for 
them  to  be  circumspect.  There  is  a  revivification  of  materialistic  philosophy. 
Matter  is  deified.  Idols  are  being  projected  from  the  ingenious  minds  of 
scientists.  We  may  not  be  in  danger  of  bowing  down  to  misshapen  idols  of  the 
hand  ;  but  we  are  in  danger  of  worshipping  misshapen  idols  of  the  mind.  We 
must  be  circumspect.  3.  Increased  circumspection  is  required  with  reference 
to  those  evils  to  which  we  are  specially  liable.  The  Jews  were  not  even  to 
mention  the  name  of  heathen  gods  ;  for  this  was  their  special  danger.  We 
know  how  easy  a  thing  it  was  for  them  to  lapse  into  idolatry ;  therefore  the 
need  of  increased  circumspection.  "  Let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin 
which  doth  so  easily  beset."  Where  danger  threatens  let  the  forces  gather. 
Let  us  consider  the  circumstances  of  our  times,  the  peculiar  dangers  to  which  we 
are  liable ;  let  us  be  increasingly  circumspect.  4.  Increased  circumspection  is 
required  in  those  things  that  may  seem  of  little  inipoi'tance.  It  is  a  strict 
charge  not  to  let  the  name  of  other  gods  be  heard  out  of  the  mouth.  The  Jew 
might  be  disposed  to  resist  tliisas  unreasonable.  Words  are  little  things,  but  in 
them  are  great  powers.  The  utterance  of  our  thoughts  increases  their  vitality 
and  their  potency.  The  more  we  speak  about  the  evil  thing,  the  less  is  our 
repugnance  to  it.  Let  abhorrence  of  idolatry  be  so  great  that  we  shall  not 
deign  to  mention  the  name  of  other  gods.  0  God,  keep  the  door  of  my  lips,  as 
well  as  guide  the  motions  of  my  heart  I — W.  Burrows,  B.A. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES, 

Circumspection. — Verse  13. 

I.  In    general.      "  In    all    things."  ness  should  lead  to  despair  on  the  one 

Moses  is  drawing  to  the  close  of  these  hand,  and  recklessness  on  the  other, 

precepts,  and  looking  back  upon  them,  (2.)  God  would  not  command  the  im- 

he    says  —  "Be    circumspect."      The  possible.     (3.)  There  is  "  grace  to  help 

original  (IDli^)  suggests —  in  time  of  need." 

1.  That  we  should  be  fully  awake  .  ^\  I^  particular,  "  make  no  men- 
to  the  importance  of  the  Divine  com-  tion,"  &c.     Because 

mauds.     (1.)  Give  them  intelligent  and  1-  That  would  be  uncircumspect  in 

reverent  examination.    (2.)  Store  them  the  first  and  greatest  commandment, 
up  in  the  memory.     (3.)  Study  them  2.  That  would  be  to  forfeit  the  help 

iu  their  beneficent  operation.  promised  to  the  circumspect. 

2.  That  we  should  be  on  our  guard  3.  That  would  be  to  yield  to  a  ten- 
against  temptations  to  break  the  Divine  d^ncy  to  be  uncircumspect  in  every- 
commands.     Temptations  are  (1.)  sud-  thing. 

den;  (2.)  insidious;  (3.)  deceiving.  Christians  —  i.   "Watch  and  pray, 

3.  That  we  should  be  careful  "  to  lest   ye   enter   into    temptation."     ii. 
remember  His  commandments  to  do  Live  so  as   "to  adorn  the  doctrine  of 
them."     (1.)  There  is  a  danger  lest  an  God  your  Saviour  in  all  things." 
exaggerated  estimate  of  human  weak-  «'•  ^-  Bum, 

21  417 


CHAP.  xxm.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


MAIN  H0MILETIC8  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Veriu  1*-1J. 

Pilgrimage  Feasts. 

The  three  feasts  referred  to  in  this  passage  are — The  Feast  of  the  Passover, 
the  Feast  of  Pentecost,  and  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  or  ingathering  ;  and  may 
be  regarded  as  tlie  pilgrimage  feasts.  We  do  not  consider  them  to  be  of 
patriarchal  origin.  They  evidently  refer  not  to  a  pastoral  but  to  an  agricul- 
tural state  of  society.  The  offerings  are  such  as  an  agricultural  people  might 
be  expected  to  present.  They  are  indicative  of  the  fact  that  tlie  people  were 
not  mere  keepers  of  sheep,  but  tillers  of  the  land.  Our  religious  feasts  must  be 
appropriate  to  our  conditions.  Our  religious  offerings  must  be  characteristic  of 
our  state,  and  proportioned  to  our  means.  God  requires  from  us  only  that 
which  we  are  able  to  give.  Let  each  give  according  to  that  which  he  has 
received  from  the  great  Giver. 

I.  Religious  feasts  are  memorials.  The  feasts  of  this  world  very  often  are 
made  only  fur  empty  laughter,  and  too  frequently  the  laughter  is  turned  into 
mourning.  Many  of  those  who  give  feasts  give  them  in  order  to  minister  to  the 
desire  of  display,  or  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  some  advantage.  For  this 
reason  our  blessed  Lord  tells  the  givers  of  feasts  to  call  in  the  poor,  the 
maimed,  the  halt,  and  the  blind.  But  the  feasts  appointed  to  be  observed  by 
God  are  memorials.  These  three  feasts  are — 1.  Memorials  of  God's  past  deal- 
ings. The  word  Passover  indicates  the  nature  of  the  feaat  of  unleavened  bread. 
It  is  a  memorial,  not  of  the  fact  that  the  children  of  Israel  passed  through  the 
Red  Sea  ;  but  of  the  fact  that  the  destroying  angel  passed  over  the  abodes  of 
the  Israelites.  It  is  a  memorial  of  a  wonderful  Divine  deliverance.  Of  all  the 
feasts  of  the  Jewish  economy,  this  is  the  one  great  feast  which  has  been  brought 
into  prominence  by  the  observance  of  the  feast  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  '*  Christ 
our  Passover  is  sacrificed  for  us."  This  great  memorial  feast  of  the  Jews  was 
typical  and  prophetical.  It  pointed  onwards  through  the  intervening  centuries 
to  the  greater  feast  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  one  feast  celebrated  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  natural  Israel,  while  tlie  other  celebrates  the  deliverance  of  the 
spiritual  Israel.  The  one  feast  has  become  absorbed  and  lost  in  a  greater 
feast ;  but  the  other  feast  will  be  perpetually  celebrated.  We  shall  pass  away 
from  drinking  the  symbolical  wine  of  earth  to  the  glorious  privilege  of  drinking 
the  new  wine  in  our  Father's  kingdom.  The  one  feast  was  local,  but  the  other 
was  intended  to  be  universal  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  feast  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  has  been  so  widely  observed.  Churches  that  have  departed  from  the 
faith  and  lapsed  into  idolatry  have  stuck  to  this  Christian  ordinance.  And  we 
may  consider  it  prophetical  of  the  destined  universality  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
2.  Memorials  of  our  dependence  upon  God's  care.  While  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread  brings  into  prominence  the  lesson  that  God  is  a  deliverer  to  His  people, 
the  feasts  of  harvest  and  of  ingathering  bring  into  prominence  the  lesson  that 
God  is  a  provider  and  a  sustainer.  They  make  impressive,  and  teach  by  appro- 
priate symbolism,  the  utterance  of  the  great  singer  of  the  Israelitish  Church — 
**  He  maketh  peace  in  thy  borders,  He  filleth  thee  with  the  finest  of  the  wheat." 
They  have  a  manifest  tendency  to  raise  the  heart  in  adoring  gratitude  to  "  God, 
who  gives  rain  from  heaven  and  fruitful  seasons,  and  fills  our  hearts  with  food 
and  gladness."  Let  us  never  forget  that  it  is  God  who  makes  the  earth  fruitful. 
While  some  keep  their  feasts  in  iionour  of  **  natural  causes,"  the  "  uniformity 
of  Nature's  laws,"  and  a  "  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,"  let  us  keep  our  feasts 
t©  celebrate  the  goodness  of  Him  who  is  the  first  cause  of  all  so-called  natural 
3auses,  the  Giver  and  Enforcer  of  Nature's  laws,  and  the  Glorious  Designer  who 
causes  the  atoms  to  consort  together,  so  as  to  produce  the  useful  and  the 
418 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxni. 


beautiful  3.  Memorials  of  our  present  condition.  Not  only  and  merely  in  tht, 
sense  of  being  dependent  creatures,  but  that  while  in  tliis  world  we  are  but 
pilgrims.  Tlie  feast  of  ingathering  was  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  During  this 
festival,  the  Jews  were  to  dwell  in  tents  or  booths.  It  was  a  reminder  of  their 
wilderness  life.  Even  in  our  feasts  let  there  be  the  chastening  thought  that 
here  we  have  no  continuing  city.  Our  feasts  are  but  temporary  as  were  the 
booths  in  which  the  Israelites  dwelt.  The  only  perpetual  feast  is  that  which 
shall  be  celebrated  in  heaven.     This  earth  is  not  our  rest. 

II.  Religious  feasts  are  not  to  interfere  with  the  duties  of  life.  The  wisdom 
of  Divine  arrangements  is  seen  in  the  appointment  of  these  feasts.  The  Pass- 
over was  observed  in  the  month  Abib — the  month  of  the  ears  of  corn  ;  the 
Feast  of  Pentecost,  after  the  corn  had  all  been  safely  gathered  ;  and  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  after  the  vines  and  fruit-trees  had  been  stripped,  so  that  no 
feast  interfered  with  those  times  when  work  was  most  pressing.  Diligence  in 
business  is,  or  may  be,  religious  worship.  God  may  be  honoured  by  the  work 
of  this  life.  Those  are  divine  who  do  lowliest  acts  in  a  divine  spirit.  The 
Jew  was  religious,  not  only  when  he  brought  the  first-fruits  of  his  labours  as  an 
ofleriiig  to  God,  but  when  he  ploughed,  and  sowed,  and  reaped,  that  he  might 
have  fii'st-fruits  to  place  upon  God's  altar. 

III.  Stated  religious  feasts  are  helpful  to  a  religious  spirit.  "  Three  times 
thou  shalt  keep  a  feast  unto  Me  in  the  year."  "  Three  times  in  the  year  all  thy 
males  shall  appear  before  the  Lord  God,"  There  are  some  who  object  to  set 
times,  and  say  that  set  times  develop  mere  empty  formalism,  and  that  we  ought 
always  to  be  in  a  religious  spirit.  The  Divine  Legislator  did  not  follow  this 
method.  And  while  the  gospel  sets  us  free  from  the  trammels  of  the  law,  it 
nevertheless  shows  the  propriety  of  stated  religious  observances.  And  we  are 
"  not  to  forsake  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together."  The  more  loyal  a  man 
is,  the  more  he  will  rejoice  in  stated  seasons  for  the  expression  of  his 
loyalty.  The  more  spiritual  a  man  is,  the  more  thankful  will  he  be  for  oppor- 
tunities of  public  worship,  to  break  up  the  course  of  his  earthly  life,  and  to 
develop  his  spiritual  nature. 

IV.  Religious  feasts  must  promote  the  social  and  benevolent  instincts  of  our 
nature.  All  are  to  appear  together  before  the  Lord  God.  The  separateness 
brought  al)0ut  by  daily  pursuits  is  to  be  broken  up.  There  is  to  be  a  com- 
mingling of  feeling  and  sentiment.  This  is  an  Old  Testament  provision  which 
is  greatly  needed  in  these  times.  Cold  isolation  pervades  the  business,  the 
social,  and  the  religious  worlds.  We  do  not  appear  together  before  the  Lord 
God.  None  are  to  appear  empty  before  the  Lord.  The  grasping  spirit  of 
selfishness  must  not  be  allowed  to  move  on  without  being  disturbed.  The  best 
way  to  uproot  selfishness  and  to  develop  benevolence  is  to  give  unto  God's 
cause. 

V.  The  ofi'erings  at  religious  feasts  must  be — 1.  Pure.  No  leavened  bread  is  to 
be  eaten.  Nothing  that  savours  of  corruption.  We  must  seek  for  purity  of  motive 
in  our  religious  feasts.  They  must  be  free  from  heathen  luxury,  or  heathen 
magical  arts.  "  Thou  shalt  not  seethe  a  kid  in  his  mother's  milk."  Arabs  boil 
the  flesh  of  kids  in  sour  milk.  A  delicacy  for  the  feast.  Or  to  scatter  the 
milk  on  the  field  tor  the  production  of  a  good  harvest.  2.  Of  the  best.  The 
best  of  the  first-fruits.  The  best  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  surely  the  best 
in  the  New  Testament  Such  offerings  are  productive  of  prosperity.  The  very 
?Hort  to  secure  a  surplus  will  pruiuute  care  and  develop  provident  habits. 
Nothing  that  is  given  to  God  can  be  lost. — W.  £urr:nos,  B.A. 

419 


CHAP.  xxiiL  HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


SUOGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

God's  Provision  for  His  People's  Enjoyment. — Verses  U-16. 

We  remark —  not  engender  slovenliness  and  unclean- 

I.  That  seasons  for  rejoicing  were     ness,  ver.  18. 

commanded.  Let  those  who  tliink  that  VI.  That  seasons  of  rejoicing  must 
the  old  dispensation  was  gloomy  re-  not  be  desecrated  by  unnatural  or  super- 
member  that  there  was  Divine  injunc-  stitious  ceremonies,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
tion  for  joy  and  feasting  three  times  a  seethe  a  kid  in  his  mother's  milk  ;  "  an 
year.  outrage  on  nature  and  connected  with 

II.  That  these  seasons  for  rejoicing  witchcraft.     In  conclusion — 

were  conveniently  appointed.      Not  in  If  Judaism  was  areligion  of  jov, much 

winter,   but — 1.   In    spring,   Passover.  moresoisClnistianity.     Tlie  laiter — i, 

2.    Summer,    first-fruits.     3.    Autumn,  was  inaugurated   as  "glad   tidings   of 

ingathering.  great  joy."     ii.   Its    leading    fact   and 

III.  That  these  seasons  for  rejoicing  doctrines  are  grounds  of  joy  (1  John  i. 
had  a  religious  basis.  1.  The  feasts  1—4).  iii.  Its  great  central  and  funda- 
were  "unto  God."  2.  Were  in  remem-  mental  principle  is  an  occasion  of  joy 
brance  of  Divine  services  which  made  (Rom.  v.  11).  iv.  The  "fruits  of  the 
rejoicing  possible.  Spirit   are  joy."      v.    It   provides   an 

IV.  That  these  seasons  for  rejoicing  eternity  of  joy.  vi.  But  remember  the 
were  connected  with  religious  acts,  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength,  and  it 
vers.  17-19.  1.  Personal  dedication,  is  onlj^  "in  the  Lord"  that  we  can  re 
2.  Sacrifices.  joice  evermore  (Phil.  iv.  -i). 

V.  That  seasons  of  rejoicing  must  — /.  W.  Burn, 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH— Venet  20-25. 

Divine  Guidance. 

I.  There  is  a  divine  way.  There  is  a  divine  way  for  individuals.  Joseph, 
Abraham,  Daniel,  and  David  were  led  in  the  right  way.  The  saints  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  were  guided  in  the  divine  way.  And  all  those  who  seek 
divine  guidance  may  hope  to  be  led  in  the  right  divine  Avay.  There  is  a  divine 
way  for  nations,  and  those  nations  that  seek  to  walk  in  the  way  of  national 
uprightness,  and  recognition  of  God's  supremacy,  will  attain  a  true  national 
greatness  and  perpetuity.  And  there  was  such  a  way  for  the  Israelites.  1. 
This  way  was  through  the  ivilderness.  Such  are  the  conditions  of  our  present  exist- 
ence. Every  way  to  greatness,  to  glorv,  and  to  divinely-prepared  places  is 
through  the  wilderness.  Tiiis  is  the  law  of  nature  as  Avell  as  of  grace.  2.  This 
way  was  beset  with  enemies.  There  are  always  seen  and  unseen  forces  and  powers 
opposing  the  onward  and  upward  course  of  those  who  are  striving  after  nobility 
and  the  accomplishment  of  divine  purposes.  The  march  of  the  Israelites  was 
opposed,  and  the  nearer  they  came  to  the  realisation  of  their  hopes  the  more 
numerous  did  their  foes  appear.  The  greatest  struggle  takes  place  just  before 
the  final  victory.  The  valley  of  decision  is  the  valley  of  stern  conflict.  The 
fact  that  the  powers  of  evil  concentrate  their  skill  and  their  strength  may  be 
taken  as  a  sign  that  we  are  in  the  right  way.  3.  This  divine  xcay  loas  one  of 
many  privations.  Travellers  must  not  expect  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  home. 
The  march  of  the  Israelites  was  not  a  summer's  holiday.  We  must  expect 
privations,  and  maintain  a  quiet  faith  and  a  spirit  of  patient  and  heroic  endurance. 
4.  This  divine  way,  then,  was  contrary  to  mere  human  liking.  Notice  the  frequent 
complainings  of  the  children  of  Israel.  And  oh,  God's  way  is  not  our  way !  Ours 
may  be  pleasant  at  first  but  bitter  at  last,  but  God's  way  is  the  reverse ;  and 
420 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxiu. 

yet  not  exactly,  for  sweets  are  graciously  mingled  with  the  bitters.  There  ia 
hunger,  but  there  is  manna.  There  is  thirst,  but  there  is  clear  water  from  the 
smitten  rock.     There  is  perplexity,  but  there  is  an  angel  to  guide  and  protect. 

II.  This  way  leads  to  divinely-prepared  places.  All  is  well  that  ends  well, 
and  tliis  way  is  well,  for  it  brings  to  a  prepared  place.  Many  are  willing  to  en- 
dure if  they  are  certain  of  securing  rich  results.  Hopes  are  blasted  in  mere 
human  pursuits;  but  if  we  faithfully  fultil  divine  conditions  we  shall  come  to 
divinely-prepared  places.  The  Almighty  has  prepared  all  lands.  His  wisdom 
planned,  and  His  power  built  up,  the  goodly  frame  of  this  terrestrial  universe. 
He  has  made  the  green  earth,  and  stretched  above  the  blue  sky  in  striking  con- 
trast. His  Divine  hand  has  shaped  every  form  of  loveliness.  But  the  Almighty 
seemed  to  come  forth  in  the  greatness  of  His  love,  in  the  depth  of  His  wisdom, 
and  in  the  energy  of  His  power,  in  order  to  make  Palestine  the  most  fruitful 
and  beautiful  of  lands,  the  joy  of  all  climes,  the  song  of  all  countries,  the  goodly 
heritage  of  the  host  of  nations.  How  eminently  fitting  that  this  lovely  land 
should  be  selected  to  be  the  dwelling-place  of  His  chosen  people,  and  the  mag- 
nificent stage  on  which  should  be  enacted  the  most  glorious  transactions  of  all 
time.  Palestine  was  a  specially  prepared  place,  and  to  it  the  wilderness  way  was 
the  course  for  the  Israelites.  Heaven  is  a  specially  prepared  place.  "  I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you."  A  place  in  the  best  of  all  places.  A  home  in  tlie 
best  of  homes.  A  dwelling-place  where  all  the  abodes  are  mansions.  A  seat 
wh'ie  all  the  seats  are  thrones.  A  city  where  all  the  citizens  are  kings. 
W.iat  matters  it  though  the  way  be  long  and  sometimes  dreary,  so  long  as  the 
pLice  is  so  attractive  ;  and  we  cannot  fail  to  reach  it  if  we  obey  divine  directions. 

III.  The  travellers  on  this  way  are  favoured  with  a  Divine  Guide.  We  cannot 
tell  whether  this  angel  was  a  created  angel,  or  the  second  person  in  the  Trinity 
— tlie  angel  that  was  with  the  Church  in  the  wilderness.  But  we  learn  his  great- 
ness. The  divine  name  was  in  him.  The  divine  name  is  indicative  of  the 
divine  character.  We  presume  the  name  was  in  him  as  a  reflection  of  the  divine 
glory,  as  a  granted  prerogative,  as  a  token  of  delegated  authority,  as  investing 
with  glorious  attributes,  and  imparting  unusual  dignity  and  majesty.  This 
name  was  in  him  as  a  power  to  inspire  religious  awe,  and  to  restrain  irreverent 
trifling.  '"Provoke  him  not;  for  My  name  is  in  him."  This  angel  was  competent. 
Unerring  wisdom  never  appoints  the  incompetent  to  important  offices.  And  this 
angel  was  appointed  by  infinite  wisdom.  He  knows  all  the  way,  understands  all 
its  dangers  and  diflnculties,  and  is  competent  both  to  guide  and  to  protect.  Jesus 
Christ,  the  angel  of  the  new  covenant,  is  a  perfect  guide,  fully  competent  to  direct 
and  protect.  He  has  trodden  every  inch  of  the  way.  He  has  personally  inspected 
the  course.  He  gives  ample  directions  to  those  wlio  are  to  go  before  us  to  keep 
us  in  the  way,  and  to  bring  us  to  the  divinely-prepared  place. 

IV.  Divine  promises  are  contingent  on  the  faithful  pursuits  of  divine  methods. 

God  promises  seed-time  and  harvest,  but  we  only  expect  harvest  as  the  result 
of  prepared  soil  and  planted  seed.  Many  of  those  to  whom  the  promises  were 
given  did  not  enter  the  promised  land  because  they  did  not  carrj'^  out  the  con- 
ditions. "  Ye  shall  serve  the  Lord  your  God,  and  He  shall  blc-^s  thy  bread  and 
thy  water" — is  a  law  and  a  promise  lightly  read  for  all  economies.  We  must 
obey  the  voice  of  the  angel;  and  then  God  will  be  an  enemy  to  our  enemies, 
and  afflict  those  who  afflict  us.  Retribution  must  fall  sooner  or  later  upon  the 
heads  of  all  persecutors. 

The  divine  methods  may  be  thus  summarised — Caution,  obedience,  self- 
restraint,  and  the  entire  destruction  of  all  that  has  the  remotest  tendency  to 
damage  the  moral  nature.  Caution — "Beware  of  him."  Watch  with  intense 
interest  as  you  would  watch  a  guide  in  some  difficult  pass.     "  Obev  his  voice." 

'421 


CTBAP.  XXIH. 


IIOMILETIO  00MMBNTAR7 1  EXODUS. 


Listen  attentively  to  the  utterance.  Interpret  as  to  the  spirit.  Eagerly  catch 
the  solemn  whisper  of  the  infinite.  Self-restraint.  "  Provoke  him  not."  Do 
not  trifle  with  your  guide.  He  is  very  merciful,  but  there  is  a  period  when 
even  mercy  seems  to  expire.  "  He  will  not  pardon  your  transgressions."  The 
doom  of  triflers  is  sealed.  The  despisers  have  only  a  gloomy  prospect.  "  For 
if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  tlie  truth,  there 
remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment 
and  fiery  indignation,  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries."  "Provoke  him  not." 
"Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry." 

Thou  shalt  not  only  refrain  from  bowing  down  to  the  gods  of  the  heathen; 
but  thou  shalt  utterly  overthrow  them,  and  quite  break  down  their  images.  Tlie 
material  and  the  moral  are  strangely  inteiblended.  The  very  presence  of  the 
suggestive  material  image  will  surely  damage  the  moral  nature.  The  spiritual 
requires  to  be  carefully  guarded.     We  cannot  be  too  watchful. 

Amid  the  din  of  human  voices  let  us  have  an  ear  open  to  the  Divine  voice. 
Let  us  believe  in  angelic  ministry.  Amid  many  seductive  ways  that  present 
themselves,  let  us  cleave  to  the  one  divine  way ;  and  through  divine  grace,  and 
through  faith  in  the  Kedeemer,  we  shall  come  to  the  prepared  place. 

— W.  Burrows^  B.A» 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

The  Angel  of  the  Covenant. — Verses  20-23. 


The  people  had  prayed  for  a  media- 
tor. (See  on  chap.  xx.  19.)  God  now 
appoints  a  greater  than  Moses  to  act 
in  that  capacity.  The  present  section 
reveals  the  nature  and  office  of  the 
mysterious  person,  the  proper  attitude 
towards,  and  the  reward  of  obedience 
to  Him. 

1.  His  nature  was  divine. 

L  Equal  with  God.  (L)  Bearing 
the  divine  name ;  "  My  name  is  in 
Him."  The  incommunicable  covenant 
name  of  Jehovah.  (2.)  Performing 
divine  actions  ;  "  Mine  angel  shall  go," 
&C.,  "  I  will  cut  them  off."  So  New 
Testament,  "I  and  My  Father  are 
one." 

2.  Distinct  from  the  personality  of 
the  speaker,  "  I  send,"  so  New  Testa- 
ment, "  The  Father  which  sent  Me." 

For  an  able  resume  of  this  argument 
for  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  see  Lid- 
don's  "  Bampton  Lectures,"  pp.  52-56. 
(See  also  Gen.  xxxii, ;  Hosea  xii.  3,  4 ; 
Josh.  v.  14  ;  Judges  ii.  xii;  Malachi 
iii.  i.,  &c,) 

IL  His  office  was  to  conduct  the 
covenant  people  to  the  fulfilment  of 
God's  covenant  engagement. 

1.  Providence.  "  To  keep  thee  in 
the  way."  So  Christ  "  upholds  all 
422 


things  by  the  word  of  His  power.** 
"  In  Him  all  things  consist."  Generally 
and  particularly  He  preserves  those 
who  trust  in  Him  (John  x.  28). 

2.  Eedemption.  "To  bring  thee 
into  the  place  which  I  have  prepared." 
Israel's  redemption  is  only  half  accom- 
plished as  yet.  So  Christ's  eternal 
redemption  is  not  complete  till  the  last 
enemy  is  destroyed  (John  xiv.  2,  3). 

III.  The  proper  attitude  towards 
Him. 

1.  Fear.  Carefulness  not  to  dis- 
please Him.  Christ  is  the  Saviour  of 
those  only  who  believe  in  Him.  To 
others  He  is  a  "  savour  of  death  unto 
death." 

2.  Obedience.  "Obey  His  voice," 
So  says  the  Father  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment (Matt.  xviL  5) ;  and  Himself 
(Matt,  xxviii.  20).  This  implies — 
(1.)  Trust  in  His  person.  (2.)  Subjec- 
tion to  His  authority.  (3.)  The  prose- 
cution of  His  commands. 

IV.  The  reward  of  obedience  to  Him, 
vers.  22,  23.  (1.)  Identification  and 
sympathy  with  us  in  our  cause.  "  I 
will  be  an  enemy,"  &c.  (2.)  Victory 
over  our  foes  (1.  Cor.  xv.  57),  world, 
flesh,  devil,  death,  &c.  (3.)  Inheritance 
in  the  promised  land. 


EOMJLETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxm; 


Learn —  God's  grace  has  been,  through  Jesua 

i.  (2  Tim.  i.  9),  That  God's  grace  has  Christ,  with  His  people  up  to  the  pre- 

been  manifested  in  Jesus  Christ  from  sent  moment,     iii.  And  will  be  till  the 

the  beginning  of  the  world,     ii.  That  end  of  the  world. — /.  W.  Burn. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH —  Verm  27-33.. 

The  Power  of  Moral  Forces. 

In  our  estimation  of  the  powers  of  the  world  we  do  not  always  give  sufficient 
prominence  to  the  power  of  moral  forces.  Much  has  been  accomplished  by 
material  force,  but  this  must  be  under  the  direction  of  intellectual  force.  And 
this  is  shorn  of  its  greatest  strength  if  it  be  not  allied  with  moral  force.  The 
greatest  movements  of  the  world  have  been  moral  movements.  The  battles 
that  have  done  most  to  shape  the  destinies  of  mankind  have  been  those  where 
moral  forces  have  been  largely  at  work.  The  power  which  must  be  exalted 
above  all  others  is  moral  and  spiritual  power.  Consider  then  the  grandeur  of 
moral  forces. 

L  The  strength  of  moral  forces.  God's  fear  is  a  moral  power,  is  a  religious 
power  ]  and  this  is  to  exercise  an  intimidating  influence  upon  the  enemies  of 
Israel.  God's  people  are  to  win  their  onward  way  to  the  promised  land,  not  by 
force  of  arms,  not  by  skill  and  heroism  and  strategy  on  the  battle  field  ;  but  by  the 
all-subduing  force  of  a  Divine  fear  scattering  the  opposing  hosts.  We  have 
heard  what  an  unreasonable  panic  can  do  in  paralysing  an  army  and  causing  it 
to  flee.  But  here  is  a  true  cause  for  panic — even  God's  fear.  The  people  of 
God  must  seek  to  be  strong  by  the  possession  and  exercise  of  moral  force. 

IL  The  power  of  littles  backed  by  moral  force.  We  need  not  inquire  whether 
the  word  hornets  is  used  in  a  literal  or  a  metaphorical  sense  ;  for  the  lesson  is 
equally  true  that  moral  force  can  accomplish  great  results  by  means  of  small 
instrumentalities.  It  only  requires  to  send  forth  the  hornets,  and  they  will  drive 
out  the  Hivite,  the  Canaanite,  and  the  Hittite.  If  the  moral  force  be  there,  the 
feeblest  instrumentalities  will  be  sufficiently  adequate  to  the  achievement  of  stu- 
pendous and  glorious  results.  Look  not  to  the  size  and  strength  of  the  material 
forces,  but  to  the  vigour  and  power  of  the  moral  force.  The  world's  true  victors 
are  the  moral  victors.  If  only  locusts  constitute  their  army,  yet  the  Hivite,  the 
Canaanite,  and  the  Hittite  will  flee  before  their  conquering  march. 

III.  Moral  forces  move  to  the  production  of  distant  results.     In  all  our 

contests  we  are  impatient  of  results.  But  those  that  work  in  the  moral  sphere 
have  need  of  inuch  patience  The  enemies  are  not  to  be  driven  out  in  one  year. 
Regard  must  be  had  to  the  future.  Unseen  Divine  preparations  are  going  on 
while  we  are  fretting  with  impatience.  If  the  victory  were  gained  too  soon,  the 
land  might  become  desolate,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  might  multiply  to  the 
destruction  of  the  victors.  He  who  rules  in  the  moral  sphere  knows  best  how 
to  guide  moral  forces. 

IV.  The  movements  of  moral  forces  are  not  hurried.  By  little  and  little  I 
will  drive  them  out  from  before  thee,  until  thou  be  increased,  and  inherit  the 
land.  The  best  disciplined  armies  move  with  precision.  There  is  no  hot  haste 
in  Divine  movements.  By  little  and  little  is  a  very  general  law  of  Divine  pro- 
cedure both  in  the  kingdoms  of  nature  and  of  grace.  That  which  is  to  be  last- 
ing, must  be  by  little  and  little ;  and  therefore  moral  movements  must  be 
according  to  this  law,  for  they  are  to  produce  permanent  results. 

V.  Moral  forces  will  continue  to  move  until  the  purpose  is  finally  accom- 

4:^3 


OHAF.  ZXUI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EX0DU8, 


plished.  The  fear  will  operate,  and  the  hornets  must  sting,  and  all  forces  must  be 
brought  into  play,  until  ihe  time  has  come  to  set  the  boimds  from  the  Red  Sea 
on  the  south  even  unto  the  sea  of  the  Piiilistiues,  or  Mediterraiu'an  Sea,  on  the 
west;  and  from  the  Arabian  desert  on  the  east  to  the  river  Euphrates  on  the 
north.  Divine  purpose  cannot  fail.  There  may  be  seeming  delay,  but  never 
defeat.  Through  ihe  centuries  the  purpose  is  ever  ripening.  Nothing  is  so 
certain  in  the  universe  as  that  these  mural  forces  must  ultimately  prevail. 

VI.  Moral  forces  are  ever  on  the  side  of  right  doers.  There  must  be  no  com- 
promises with  evd  li'  the  nioial  forces  of  the  universe  are  to  be  enlisted  on  oui 
side  and  in  our  cause.  Thou  shalt  make  no  covenant  with  false  gods.  Moral 
strength  departs  so  soon  as  we  enter  into  unholy  alliance  with  the  wicked.  Evil 
companionship  leads  to  evil  conduct.  To  serve  false  gods  is  to  set  for  ourselves 
a  destructive  snare.  The  wicked  are  weak,  and  impart  weakness.  The  rigiiteoua 
are  bold  as  a  lion.     They  themselves  are  irresistible  moral  forces. 

— W.  Burrows,  B.A. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
WoRLDLiNESS. — Verses  24,  26 ;  32,  33. 


Nothing  is  more  em})hatic  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  than  God's 
condemnation  of  worldliness.  Theo- 
logians have  frequently  mystified  and 
misrepresented  it,  but  in  these  clauses, 
as  elsewhere,  it  is  exhibited  in  an  in- 
tensely real  and  personal  form.  The 
Israelites  were  to  be  placed  in  the 
midst  of  a  people  who  knew  not  God, 
and  who  followed  customs  that  God 
abhorred.  But  they  were  to  have  no 
communion  with  the  one,  ver.  62,  and 
to  keep  themselves  unspotted  from  the 
other.     Notice — 

I.  That  worldliness  is  described. 
It  is— 

1.  Not  asceticism.  That  was  utterly 
foreign  to  the  whole  genius  of  the 
Jewish  system.  No  race  ever  had 
more  facilities  for  intercourse  with 
other  nations,  or  more  extensively 
used  them.  The  Jews  have  been,  all 
through  their  history,  a  commercial 
nation  (1  Cor.  v.  10). 

2.  But  intimacy  and  friendship  with 
irreligious  men — (1.)  not,  however,  that 
which  is  necessary  to  the  performance 
of  kindly  offices  (see  vers.  4,  5),  but 
(2.)  partaking  of  their  spirit ;  "  making 
a  covenant  with  them,"  implying  affi- 
nity, sympathy  of  soul,  and  fellow- 
ship. 

3.  And  conformity  to  irreligious 
customs,   "doing   after   their  works," 

424 


"  making  a  covenant  with  their  gods." 
Irreligious  customs  may  be  broadly 
characterised  as  —  (1.)  Those  which 
God  cannot  sanction.  (2.)  Those 
which  can  do  no  real  and  lasting  good. 

II.  That  worldliness  is  dangerous. 

1.  It  brings  a  snare.  (1.)  Fellowship 
with  ungodly  men  may  through  fear 
of  ridicule  or  singularity  draw  us  into 
ungodly  practices.  (2.)  Conformity 
with  worldly  customs  may  beget  a 
liking  for  them  which  may  draw  us 
utterly  into  the  vortex. 

2.  It  leads  to  sin.  "  Lest  they  make 
thee  sin  against  Me"  (1  John  v.  19). 
(1.)  It  extinguishes  the  love  of  God 
(1  John  ii.  15).  (2.)  It  leads  to  enmity 
towards  God.  "  No  man  can  serve 
two  masters,"  &c.  (James  iv.  4). 

3.  It  ensures  God's  condemnation 
(Deut.  vii.  4;  1.  Cor.  xi.  12). 

III.  That  the  duty  of  unworldliness 
is  enjoined. 

1.  Nonconformity.  "  Thou  shalt 
not,"  vers.  24-32,  abstinence  from 
worldly  fellowship  and  customs,  &c., 
but  not  abstinence  merely,  but — 

2.  Active  antagonism.  He  who  is 
not  for  God  in  this  matter  is  against 
Him.  "Thou  shalt  utterly  overthrow 
them  and  break  down  their  images." 

3.  Positive  unworldliness.  "  Ye 
shall  serve  the  Lord  your  God  "  (John 
V.  19). 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xxin. 


IV.  That  tliose  who  observe  the 
duty  of  unworldliuess  are  blessed. 
«  And  He  shall  bless,"  &c. 

1.  Often  literally.  Worldliness 
brings  excess,  exhaustion,  and  disease. 
Godliness  promotes  temperance  and 
health. 

2.  Always  spiritually.  Even  eating 
and  drinking,  if  to  the  glory  of  God, 
are  ministers  of  blessing,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  that  there  is  moral  satisfaction, 
approbation  of  conscience,  and  a  sense 


of  the  benediction  of  heaven.  In  con- 
clusion— i.  Christ  has  overcome  the 
world  and  destroyed  the  fear  of  it 
(John  xvL  33).  ii.  God  will  keep  us 
from  its  evil  in  our  necessary  con- 
tact with  it  (1  John  xvii.  15).  iii. 
Faith  will  be  equal  to  any  emer- 
gency (1  John  v.  4;  Rom.  xii.  1,  2). 
iv.  Nonconformity  to  the  world  is 
one  of  the  tests  of  the  new  birth  (1 
John  V.  4). 

— J.  W,  Burn, 


Prospects  and  Progress. — Verses  26-31. 


Learn— 

I.  That  there  is  a  bright  and  exten- 
sive prospect  before  God's  people, 
vers.  26-31. 

1.  If  the  Christian's  prospect  is  at 
any  time  dark,  it  is  because  a  gloom  has 
settled  upon  his  hope.  The  promised 
land  in  all  its  fertility  and  beauty  is  a 
fact  both  in  this  life  and  in  that  which 
is  to  come. 

2.  If  the  Christian's  prospect  is  at 
all  contracted,  it  is  because  of  the 
narrowness  of  his  faith.  The  promise 
is  as  broad  as  God  can  make  it,  and 
if  the  believer  is  at  any  time  disap- 
pointed, it  is  not  because  God  is 
straitened,  but  because  he  is  straitened 
in  himself. 

3.  Let  the  Christian  be  fully  alive 
to  his  privileges,  and  feel  that  this 
broad  and  beautiful  land  is  for  him. 
Let  nothing  blanch  his  courage  or 
divert  his  step.  But  let  him  '*  strive 
to  enter  in." 

II.  That  this  prospect  is  to  become 
his  inheritance  by  Divine  power  and 
human  exertion.  These  are  always 
linked  together  (Phil.  ii.  12.  See  some 
excellent  remarks  in  Hooker's  Ser- 
mons, i.  vol.  iiL). 

1.  God's  energy  was  exerted — (1.) 
in  giving  them  the  land,  (2.)  in  driving 
out  its  inhabitants.  So  God  in  Christ 
has  effectually  weakened  the  power  of 
our  adversaries,  bruised  the  serpent's 
head,  destroyed  his  works,  and  over- 
come the  world,  (3.)  in  being  present 
with  them  in  all  their  undertakings, 
vers.  20-23.    So  God  says  to  us,  "  Cer- 


tainly I  will  be  with  thee."  "  If  God 
be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us." 

2.  But  that  energy  was  conditional — 
upon  their  exertions.  (1.)  Upon  their 
use  of  means.  So  we  must  make  use 
of  means.  The  whole  armour  of  God, 
steady  resistance,  courage,  activity, 
zeal.  (2.)  Upon  the  cultivation  of 
their  own  strength,  "Until  thou  be 
increased  :"  so  we,  by  the  use  of  means, 
must  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  know- 
ledge of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "Add 
to  your  faith,"  &c. 

III.  That  this  prospect  was  not  to 
be  inherited  all  at  once,  but  by  degrees, 
vers.  29,  30. 

\.  Because  this  is  God's  usual 
method  of  working  in  the  formation  of 
the  world,  in  the  course  of  providence, 
in  the  constiuction  of  nations,  in  phy- 
sical growth.  The  law  of  progress  is 
written  everywhere.  (1.)  Let  not  the 
sceptic  sneer  at  the  individual  Chris- 
tian because  he  is  not  perfect,  nor 
at  the  Church  because  it  is  not 
universal,  because  God  never  wantonly 
interferes  with  the  course  of  nature  or 
of  grace.  (2.)  Let  not  the  Christian 
be  discouraged  at  his  imperfections  if 
he  is  "  going  on  to  perfection,"  and 
"pressing  toward  the  mark."  Let 
not  the  Church  be  discouraged  at  the 
limited  range  of  her  operations  if  she 
is,  as  far  as  she  can,  "preaching  the 
gospel  to  every  creature." 

2.  Because  a  sudden  occupation  of 
the  land  might  be  dangerous  to  them- 
selves. They  could  not  cover  the 
whole    space,    and    the    unculti\aLed 

425 


OHAP.  xxm. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


tracts  would  be  a  covert  for  wild  beasts. 
Let  the  inhabitants  remain,  "  till  thou 
be  increased  and  inherit  the  land." 
(1.)  A  word  to  the  Church — perhaps 
it  is  wise  that  in  her  past  and  present 
Londition  she  has  not  "  covered  the 
whole  earth."  God  wants  the  work 
done  properly  and  perfectly.  Is  it  not 
fitting  then  that  her  own  growth  in 
grace,  power,  and  purity,  in  all  moral 
perfections  should  be  piomoted  first  1 
It  were  hardly  desirable,  since  the 
work  mil  be  accomplished  properly 
and  perfectly,  that  the  Church,  as  it 
has  presented  itself  in  any  century  of 
its  past  development  (witness  its  super- 
stitious fears,  corruption,  &c.)  should  be 


universal.  Better  to  let  other  systems 
keep  their  place  a  little  longer,  than 
that  the  Church,  weak  by  internal  dis- 
cord and  lack  of  faith,  should  be  un- 
equal to  fill  their  place,  and  perhaps  be 
beaten  by  worse  foes^ier  own  arro- 
gance and  pride. 

3.  A  word  to  the  believer.  It  is 
wise  that  some  enemies  should  remain 
a  little  longer  perhaps.  They  test 
your  faith  and  patience,  while  other 
departments  of  spiritual  life  and  grace 
are  preparing  for  a  contest  which  shall 
eventuate  in  ihoiv  perfect  overthrow. 

In  conclusion,  see  1  Cor.  xv. 
67,  68. 

—/.  W.  Bum. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XKIIh 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Mosaic  Morals  1  Ver,  1-19.  A  modern 
jurist,  Hennequin,  says  :  "  Good  right  had 
Moses  to  challenge  the  Israelites,  what 
Qation  hath  statutes  like  yours  I  a  worship 
BO  exalted — laws  so  equitable — a  code  so 
complex  I "  A  Frenchman  and  an  infidel,  he 
observes  that,  compared  with  all  the  legisla- 
tions of  antiquity,  none  so  thoroughly 
embodies  the  principles  of  everlasting  right- 
eousness. Lycurgus  wrote,  not  for  a  people, 
but  for  an  army  :  It  was  a  barrack  which  he 
erected,  not  a  commonwealth.  Solon,  on  the 
other  hand,  could  not  resist  the  surrounding 
eflfeminate  influences  of  Athens.  It  is  in 
Moses  aloue  that  we  find  a  regard  for  the 
right,  austere  and  incorruptible ;  a  morality 
distinct  from  policy,  and  rising  above  regard 
for  times  and  peoples. 

*'  But  what  could  Moses'  law  have  done 
Had  it  not  been  divinely  sent? 
The  power  was  from  the  Lord  alone, 
And  Moses  but  the  instrument." 

— Newton. 

Slander-Scandal!  Ver.  1-9.  It  must  be 
universally  acknowledged  that  mankind  at 
large  are  insatiable  reporters  of  gossip — that 
gossip  heats  by  friction— and  that  what  to- 
day is  only  an  unusual  circumstance,  is  to- 
morrow a  foul  crime.  If  an  apprentice  runs 
away  from  his  master,  the  latter  is  straight- 
way reported  to  have  killed  and  concealed 
him.  If  a  girl  is  found  drowned  without  any 
circumstance  whatever  to  warrant  such  a 
notion,  it  is  immediately  insinuated  that  she 
has  been  murdered.  If  a  husband  or  wife 
ciies  suddenly,  the  slander  is  at  once  broached 
tiiat  the  8iirvi%or  accomplished  the  death  for 
426 


sinister  purposes.  If  a  child  is  burnt  to  death, 
forthwith  the  calamity  floats  abroad  that  the 
parents  behaved  cruelly  to  the  child,  and  at 
last  burnt  the  body  to  destroy  all  traces  of 
their  wanton  and  unnatural  brutality.  The 
morbid  appetite  for  horrors  and  the  ordinary 
appetite  for  gossip,  when  combined  together, 
constitute  a  calumnious  power  of  terrible  eviL 
Hence  the  Mosaic  Law  here  seeks  to  dry  up 
the  fount  of  corruption  by  legal  bamers. 

"  For  Slander  lives  upon  succession  ; 

For  ever  licensed  when  once  it  gets  posses- 
sion." — Shakespeare. 

Slander-Sting!  Ver.  1.  It  is  fruitful  in 
variety  of  expedients  to  satiate  as  well  aa 
disguise  itself.  But,  says  Sterne,  if  these 
smooth  weapons  cut  so  sore,  what  shall 
we  say  of  open  and  unblushing  scandal,  sub- 
jected to  no  caution,  tied  down  to  no 
restraints?  If  the  one,  like  an  arrow  shot  in 
the  dark,  does  nevertheless  so  much  secret 
mischief,  this,  like  the  pestilence  which  rages 
at  noon-day,  sweeps  all  before  it,  levelling 
without  distinction  the  good  and  bad.  The 
whispered  tale 

"That,   like   the  falling  hill,  no  foundation 
knows ; — 
Fair-faced  deceit,  whose  wily,  conscious  eye 
Ne'er  looks  direct — the  tongue  that  licks 

the  dust, 
But,  when  it  safely  dares,  as  prompt  to  sting." 
— Thomson. 

Multitudes.  Ver.  2.  It  is  here  assumed 
that  the  multitude  do  evil ;  and  it  is  here 
implied  that  we  are  in  danger  of  copying  their 
example.     Hence  the  urgent  need  to  guard 


nOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  XX  nL 


•gainst  the  seductive  influence  of  the  multi- 
tude. This  is  best  accomplished  by  seeking 
the  grace  of  Qnd.  Colton  remarks  that  the 
mob  is  a  monster  with  the  hands  of  Briareus, 
but  the  head  of  Polyphemus,  strong  to 
execute,  but  blind  to  perceive.  If  Dryden  is 
correct,  how  valuable  the  command  not  to 
follow  a  multitude  :  "it  is  the  scum  that 
rises  upmost  when  the  nation  boils."  No- 
thing is  more  easily  swayed  than  the  multitude, 
and  that  sway  is  always  most  easy  in  the 
direction  of  evil. 

*'  And  since  the  rabble  now  is  ours, 

Keep  the  tools  hot,  preach  dangers  in  their 

ears, 
Till  they  run  headlong  into  evil  discords, 
And     do    our    business    with    their    own 
destruction."  — Otway. 

Judges !  Vers.  4-7.  Aristides  being 
judge  between  two  private  persons,  one  of 
them  declared  that  his  adversary  had  greatly 
injured  Aristides.  Interrupting  him  at  once, 
the  judge  said:  "Relate  rather  what  wrong 
he  hath  done  thee  ;  for  it  is  thy  cause,  not 
mine,  that  I  now  sit  judge  of."  Corrupt 
judgment  is  a  familiar  evil  in  Egypt,  Syria, 
and  other  Eastern  lands.  Of  these,  we  may 
say  with  Massinger,  "  petitions  not  sweetened 
with  gold  are  but  unsavoury  and  oft  refused  ; 
or,  if  received,  are  pocketed,  not  read." 

"  Who  painted  Justice  blind,  did  not  declare 
What  magistrates  should  be,  but  what  they 

are  ; 
Not  so   much   'cause  they  rich   and  poor 

should  weigh 
In  their  just  scales    alike,    but    because 

they, 
Now  blind  with  bribes,  are  grown  bo  weak 

of  sight, 
They'll  sooner  feel  a  cause   than    see   it 

right."  — Heath. 

Falsehood  -  Folly  1  Ver.  7.  There  is 
nothing  of  so  ill  consequence,  says  Lloyd, 
to  the  public  as  falsehood,  or — speech  being 
the  current  coin  of  converse — the  putting 
false  money  upon  the  world ;  or  so  dark  a  blot 
as  dissembling,  which,  as  Montaigne  remarks, 
is  only  to  be  brave  towards  God,  and  a  coward 
towards  man ;  for  a  lie  faceth  God,  and 
sbrinketh  from  man.  Therefore  a  lie  should 
be  trampled  on  and  extinguished  wherever 
found.  Carlyle  says,  "  I  am  for  fumigating 
the  atmosphere  when  I  suspect  that  falsehood, 
like  pestilence,  breathes  around  me."  Let 
those  who  bear  false  witness  remember 
Reade  when  he  says,  "that  every  false  re- 
port, great  or  small,  is  the  brink  of  a  precipice 
— the  depth  of  which  nothing  but  Omni- 
science can  fathom." 

*'  Lying's  a  certain  mark  of  cowardice ; 
And  when  the  tongue  forgets  its  honesty, 
The  heart  and  hand  may  drop  their  func- 
tions too. 
And  nothing  worthy  be  resolved  or  done. " 
— Soucherne. 


Judicial  VenaUty !  Ver.  8.  (1.)  Sir 
Thomas  More  succeeded  Cardinal  Wolsey  as 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  Many  abuses 
had  multiplied  during  "WTolsey's  chancellor- 
ship, more  especially  in  the  way  of  gratuities. 
Sir  Thomas,  however,  neither  in  his  own 
person  nor  in  that  of  any  under  him,  would 
allow  of  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  bribe. 
At  this  his  son-in-law  rather  complained,  say- 
ing, "The  fingers  of  my  Lord  Chancelloi 
Car  linal's  veriest  doorkeepers  were  tipped 
with  gold ;  but  I,  since  I  married  ycjur 
daughter,  have  got  no  pickings."  And  yet, 
no  matter  how  immaculately  impartial  a  judge 
may  be,  how  far  wrong  may  be  his  judg- 
ment !  Not  so  God  ;  His  judgment  is  uner- 
ring and  unimpeachable.  Venal  judges  can- 
not bribe  the  Divine  Judgment.  (2)  There 
is  a  machine  in  the  Bank  of  England  which 
receives  sovereigns  as  a  mill  receives  grain. 
This  is  for  the  purpose  of  determining  whole- 
sale whether  they  are  of  full  weight.  As  they 
pass  through,  the  machinery — by  unerring 
laws — throws  all  that  are  light  to  the  one  side. 
This  proceeding  affurds  the  most  vivid  simili- 
tude of  the  judicial  functions  at  the  Last  Day  ! 
Venal  judgments  will  be  weighed  in  the 
balances  and  found  wanting.  The  Lord 
Cardinal's  nngers,  as  well  as  those  of  his 
veriest  doorkeeper,  may  have  been  weighted 
heavily  with  gold,  but  this  will  not  avail  to  pass 
them  from  before  the  Divine  Judge  as  of 
standard  weight. 

"Of  mortal  justice,  if  thou  scorn  the  rod, 
Believe    and   tremble,  thou   art   judged  of 
God. "  — Swenam. 

Sacred  Seasons !  Ver.  10.  The  deeper 
basins  of  the  African  Sahara  are  frequently  of 
great  extent,  and  sometimes  contain  valuable 
deposits  of  salt.  Wherever  perennial  springs 
rise  from  the  earth,  or  wherever  it  has  been 
possible  to  collect  water  in  artificial  wells, 
green  aoses  break  the  monotony  of  the  desert. 
They  might  be  compared  with  the  charming 
islands  that  stud  the  vast  solitudes  of  the 
Southern  Seas.  A  wonderful  luxuriance  of 
vegetation  characterises  these  oas^'S  of  the 
wilderness.  And  what  is  life  but  a  wilder- 
ness ?  What  are  the  sacred  seasons  but  these 
emerald,  living  oases  ?  Here  the  pilgrims 
halt  for  refreshment  and  repose.  Here  they 
rest  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  lofty  palm- 
trees,  dip  their  vessels  in  the  waters  of  tha 
calm,  clear  fount,  feed  upon  the  luscious  clus- 
ters of  grape  and  pomegranate,  orange  and 
apricot.  Then  with  recruited  strength  they 
go  forth  again  upon  their  pilgrimage  towards 
the  Land  of  Rest  ;  singing  as  they  press 
onward  over  the  sands  of  time.  How  sweet 

"  To  hold  with  heaven  communion  meet — 
Meet  for  a  spirit  bound  to  heaven  ; 
And,  in  this  wilderness  beneath, 
Pure  zephyrs  from  above  to  breathe." 

— Bovring, 

Sabbath  Beneficence !  Ver.  12.  Stations 
on  the  line  of  your  journey,  remarks  Pulsford, 

427 


OBAT.  xxni. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


are  not  your  journey's  end  ;  Viut  each  one 
brings  you  nearer.  A  haven  is  not  Home ; 
but  it  is  a  place  of  quiet  and  rest  where  the 
rough  waves  are  stayed.  A  garden  is  a  {>iece 
of  common  land,  yet  it  has  ceased  to  be 
common.  It  is  now  an  effort  to  regain  para- 
dise. Such  are  the  Lord's  days.  Tlie  true 
Lord's  Day  is  the  rest  that  retnaineth  for  tlie 
people  of  God — is  the  upper  Eden  of  etemiry. 
But  its  earthly  type  is  the  ever-recurring 
weekly  world-Sabbath.  By  cultivating  our 
earthly  Sabbaths,  we  are  making  an  effort  to 
regain  the  lost  Paradise.  That  benefit  God 
designed,  and  that  blessing  God  will  confer. 
"  Sabbaths,  like  waymarks,  cheer  the  pilgrim's 
path, 
His  progress  mark,  and  keep  his  rest  in  view." 

"  In  life's  bleak  winter  they  are  pleasant  days, 
Short  foretastes  of  the  long,  long  spring  to 
come."  — Wilcox. 

Circumspection!  Ver.  13.  (1)  Circumspec- 
tion is  nothing  else  but  the  soul  running 
up  and  down,  to  and  fro,  busy  everywhere. 
It  is  the  heart  busied  and  employed  with 
diligent  observation  of  what  comes  from 
within  us,  and  of  what  comes  from  without 
us  and  into  u.'!.  Ah  !  souls,  says  Brookes,  you 
are  no  longer  safe  and  secure  than  when  you 
are  upon  your  watch.  While  Antipater  kept 
the  watch,  Alexander  was  safe.  A  watchful 
soul  is  a  soul  upon  the  wing,  a  soul  out  of 
gunshot,  a  soul  upon  a  rock,  a  soul  in  a  castle, 
a  soul  above  the  cloud,  a  soul  held  fast  in  the 
Everlasting  Arms.  (2)  Be  circumspect,  writes 
Dyke,  over  thine  heart.  It  is  like  a  wild  horse ; 
if  a  man  once  let  go  the  bridle  as  he  is  walking 
on  his  journey,  when  it  is  gone,  it  is  not  so 
easily  secured  again  ;  and  much  time  may  be 
Bpent  in  trying  to  recover  the  runaway.  Keep 
thine  heart  with  all  diligence,  for  out  of  it  are 
the  issues  of  life.  (3)  Be  circumspect,  counsels 
Reynolds,  for  thou  hast  many  foes.  When 
enemies  are  around,  generals  and  subalterns 
and  sentinels  are  all  on  the  alert.  The 
Christian's  foes  are  more  relentless  and 
numerous.  They  have  no  desire  that  thou 
ehouldst  reach  the  object  of  thy  pursuit. 
And  though  they  cannot  shut  thee  out  from 
the  Land  of  Promi.se,  the  stronghold  of 
eternity,  yet  may  they  do  much  to  hinder 
thy  march  thitherward. 

*'0h  watch  and  pray  !  for  thou  hast  foes  to  fight, 
Foes  which  alone  thou  canst  not  overcome  ; 
Watching  and  prayer  will  keep  thine  armour 

bright  ; 
Soon  will  thy  toils  be  o'er — thy  victory  won." 

— Mant. 

Festival  Functions!  Ver.  14-17.  The 
Israelites  were  to  be  peculiar  people.  They 
existed  not  for  themselves,  but  they  had  a 
function  to  fulfil  towards  all  mankind.  In 
order  to  fulfil  this  function,  it  was  needful 
that  they  should  be  for  a  time  a  peo|)le 
separate  and  self-contained,  singular  in  their 
usages,  and  sequestered  in  their  dwellings.  In 
428 


order  to  fix  them  down  to  one  spot,  they  had 
their  local  worship.  It  was  a  law  that  all  the 
men  amongst  tliem  should  rendt-zvous  at  the 
central  shrine  three  times  a  year.  Thus 
foreign  settlements  and  distant  journeys  were 
made  impossible  more  or  less.  The  Hebrew 
home  must  be  within  a  .short  and  easy  radius 
round  the  Temple  ;  and  if  he  went  abroad,  ht» 
carried  this  tether,  and  wa.s  pulled  back  again 
by  the  Pas.sover  or  some  other  feast. 

"  Where'er  I  roam,  whatever  realms  I  see, 
My  heart  untravelled  fondly  turns  to  thee ; 
Stdl  to  Mount  Sion  turns  with  ceaseless  strain, 
And  drags  at  each  remove  a  lengthening  chain." 
— Goldsmith, 

Humanity  and    Heathenism!      Yen    19. 

Various  explanations  have  been  given  of  this 
precept.  It  may  have  been  intended,  like 
Leviticus  xxii.  28,  to  enforce  humane  feelings 
towards  animals.  But  probably  the  forbidden 
dish  was  connected  with  idolatry.  Thomson 
says  that  the  Arabs  are  fond  of  it,  highly 
seasoned  with  onions  and  spices.  The  Arabs 
call  it  "  Lehn  imrntl."  The  Jews  will  not  eat 
it,  because  they  say  that  it  is  an  unnatural  and 
barbarous  dish.  It  is  also  a  gro.ss  and  unwhole- 
some dish,  calculated  to  kindle  up  animal  and 
ferocious  passions.  It  is  associated  with 
immoderate  feasting,  and  was  connected 
with  idolatrous  sacrifices.  As  the  Abyssinians 
are  fond  of  slicing  the  shoulders  and  hips  of 
living  animals,  and  as  other  civilised  and 
semi-civilised  heathen  are  addicted  to  boiling 
and  roasting  animals  alive,  there  may  have 
been  a  similar  practice  extant  among  them 
in  the  time  of  Moses  of  shearing  the  kid,  and 
seething  it  aZ/«'c.  M'Cheyne,  when  in  Poland, 
ofifered  a  Jewish  boy  some  bread-and-butter. 
Though  he  looked  eagerly  at  it,  he  laid  it  aside 
for  some  hours,  remarking  that  he  had  just 
eaten  flesh,  and  if  he  had  immediately  tasted 
butter,  it  would  have  been  a  violation  of 
Exodus  xxiii.  19. 

"Verily,  they  are  all  thine;  freely  mayestthou 

serve  thee  of  them  all ; 
They  are  thine  by  gift  for  thy  needs,  to  be 

used  in  all  gratitude  and  kindness." 

— Tupper. 

Covenant  Angel!  Ver.  20.  When  th« 
Israelites  were  delivered  from  Egypt,  how 
were  they  guided  on  their  way  to  Canaan 
through  the  trackless  desert  ?  "  The  Lord 
went  before  them."  In  chapter  xiv.  this 
glorious  One  is  called  "  The  Angel  of  God  " 
—  Isaiah  speaks  of  him  as  the  "  Angel 
of  His  Presence."  This  verse  shows  that 
the  only- begotten  Son  is  referred  to  for 
four  reasons.  (1)  "My  name  is  in  Him;" 
whereas  we  are  told  that  Jehovah  is  the 
Lord,  and  that  His  glory  He  will  not  give  to 
another.  (2)  "Obey  H is  voice ; "  which  counsel 
answers  to  that  on  the  Mount  of  Transfigu- 
ration, ''  Hear  ye  Him."  (3)  "  Provoke  Him 
not ; "  an  expression  gathering  deep  aud 
awful  meaning  when  we  read  the  warning  of 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OHAP.   XXIH. 


the  Apostle,  "  Let  us  not  tempt  Christ,  as 
Bome  of  them  also  tempted."  (4)  "  He  will 
not  pardon  your  transgressions  ;  "  a  monition 
singularly  harmonised  by  the  inquiry,  "Who 
can  forgive  sin  but  God  only?"  Christ  was 
the  Angel  who  was  with  the  Church  in  the 
wilderness.  This  was  that  Christ  of  God, 
who,  in  all  the  Church's  wanderings  and  dan- 
gers, has  evermore  been  her  Leader  and 
Defender. 

"  Anywhere   with    Jesus,  says  the  Christian 

heart  ; 
Let  Him  take  me  where  He  will,  so  we  do 

not  part." 

Obedience  and  Observance!    Ver.  21.    (1) 

Nothing,  says  Robertson,  can  be  love  to  God 
which  does  not  shape  itself  into  obedience. 
We  remember  the  anecdote  of  the  Roman 
commander  who  forbade  an  engagement  with 
the  enemy,  and  the  first  transgressor  was  his 
own  son.  He  accepted  a  challenge  from  the 
leader  of  the  other  host,  slew  and  spoiled  him. 
He  then,  in  triumphant  feeling,  carried  the 
spoils  to  liis  father's  tent ;  but  the  Roman 
father  refused  to  recognise  the  instinct  which 
prompted  this  as  deserving  of  the  name  of 
love.  Disobedience  contradicted  it.  ( 2 ) 
Whereas  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law. 
The  other  graces  shine  like  the  precious 
stones  of  nature,  with  their  own  peculiar 
lustre  and  varied  hues  ;  but  the  diamond  is 
white.  In  white  all  the  other  colours  are 
united  ;  and  in  love  all  the  other  graces  and 
virtues  are  centred.  Love  is  the  only  source 
of  true  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God. 
If  Israel  only  learned  to  love  God  with  all 
their  heart,  they  would  necessarily  love  His 
Law,  which  is  the  transcript  of  His  Divine 
Miud. 

"  Nay,  man's  chief  wisdom's  love — the  love  of 
God. 

The  new  religion — final,  perfect,  pure — 

Was  that  of  Christ  and  love.     His  great  com- 
mand— 

His  all-sufficing  precept — was  it  not  love  ? " 

— Bailey. 

PUgrim  Path!  Ver.  23.  Goethe,  the 
world's  favourite,  confessed,  when  he  was  80 
years  old,  that  he  could  not  remember  being 
in  a  really  happy  state  of  mind  even  for  a 
few  weeks  together ;  and  that,  when  he 
wished  to  feel  comfortable,  he  had  to  veil  his 
Belf-cousciousness.  The  following  is  the  clos- 
ing sentence  of  his  autobiography  :  "Child  I 
child  !  no  more.  The  coursers  of  time,  lashed, 
as  it  were,  by  invisible  spirits,  hurry  on  the 
light  car  of  our  destiny  ;  and  all  that  we  can 
do  is,  in  cool  self-possession,  to  hold  the  reins 
with  a  firm  hand,  and  to  guide  the  wheels, 
now  to  the  left,  now  to  the  right,  a  stone 
here,  a  precipice  there.  Whither  it  is  hurry- 
ing, who  can  tell  ?  And  who  indeed  can 
remember  the  point  from  which  it  started  ?  " 
What  a  contrast  to  Israel's  position  !  "  Mine 
Angel  shall  go  before  thee."  Happy  Christian 
Israelite,  he  knows  he  traverses  his  pilgrim 


path  under  Divine  guidance,  and  that  there 
is  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  "whither." 

"  Though  in  the  paths  of  death  I  tread. 
With  gloomy  honors  overspread, 
My  steadfast  heart  shall  fear  no  ill, 
For  Thou,  0  Lord,  art  with  me  still." 
— Addison. 

Worldliness.  Ver.  24,  25.  Pope  gives  us  an 
affecting  account  of  the  death  of  Viliieis,  Duke 
of  Bnckingliam.  After  having  been  master 
of  £50,000  per  annum,  he  was  reduced  to  the 
deepest  distress  by  his  vice  and  extravagance, 
and  breathed  his  last  moments  in  the  mean 
apartment  of  an  inn.  Such  is  often  the  end 
of  worldliness.  It  is  said  that  the  Duke  of 
Alva  starved  his  prisoners,  after  he  had  given 
them  quarter,  saying,  "  Though  I  promised 
your  lives,  I  promised  not  to  find  you  food." 
In  the  same  manner  does  the  world  deceive 
its  votaries.  The  Persians,  writes  Buck, 
when  they  obtained  a  victory,  selected  the 
noblest  slave,  and  made  him  a  king  for  three 
days.  They  clothed  him  with  royal  robes, 
and  ministered  to  him  all  the  pleasures  he 
could  choose  ;  but  at  the  end  of  all  he  was 
to  die  as  a  sacrifice  to  mirth  and  folly.  So 
worldliness  is  shortlived  ;  and  when  its  feast 
is  ended,  the  guests  are  only  like  those  who 
have  partaken  of  poisoned  food,  or  who 
"  have  fed  on  ashes." 

"  Ay,  beauteous  is  the  world,  and  many  a  joy 
Floats    through    its    wide    dominion.       But, 

alas  ! 
When    we  would  seize  the  winged  good,   it 

flies, 
And  step  by  step,  along  the  path  of  life, 
Allures  our  yearning  spirits  to  the  grave." 

— Goethe. 

Hornet-Harms!  Ver.  28.  The  hornet  is 
abundant  in  the  Holy  Land.  The  species  are 
larger  than  ours.  Instances  are  on  record  in 
profane  history  where  these  have  multiplied 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  beeonae  a  pest  to  the 
inhabitants.  Probably  the  insect  meant  is 
the  Abyssinian  fly.  Its  bite  produces  fatal 
boils ;  and  at  the  very  buzzing  of  a  swarm 
the  cattle  run  almost  mad  with  terror.  The 
Septuagiut  translates  the  word  "wasps." 
But  Dr.  Tristram  thinks  that  the  word 
"hornets"  here  is  metaphorical,  and  is  used 
of  a  panic,  i.e.,  of  sharp  stings  of  fear,  by  which 
flying  rum<iurs  stung  them  so  that  they  fled. 
It  is  wisely  counselled  to  avoid  the  pugnacious, 
poisonous,  quarrelsome  character  of  the  hor- 
net :  such  are  proverbially  called  "waspish  ;" 
a  number  of  them  are  rightly  designated  a 
hornet's  nest.  However,  it  seems  best  to 
regard  these  hornets  as  material  agencies — 
types  of  the  moral  agencies  to  which  they 
have  given  place  in  subsequent  ages  of  the 
world. 

"  Owls,  ravens,  crickets,  seem  the  watch  of 
death ; 
Nature's    worst   vermin  scare  her  godlike 
aoDM."  — Lee. 

429 


CHAP.  XXIV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Grace-Gro-wth !  Ver.  30.  "The  path  of  the 
just  is  as  a  shining  light  that  ehineth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day."  Many  a 
struggle  the  spiritual  Israel  have  in  overcom- 
ing inherent  leanings  to  sin  ;  but,  by  little 
and  little,  they  shall  drive  them  out.  And  as 
a  man,  looking  at  a  dial,  cannot  see  "the 
shadow  move,  yet  after  a  while  perceives  that 
it  has  moved  ;  so  it  is  with  Christian  progress. 
The  surrounding  nations  could  see  the  result 
of  Israel's  gradual  conquest  of  the  Canaanite 
nationalities,  until  tlie  laud  became  entirely 
their  own  possession.  The  work  of  grace,  says 
Salter,  if  begun,  is  gradually  and  continually 
going  on ;  and  it  will  not  be  completed  till  the 
image  of  God  can  be  seen  perfectly  reflected 
in  us.  The  conquest  of  self  is  steadily  and 
expansively  progressing  ;  and  by  and  by  the 
triumph  will  be  wholly  achieved.  Yet,  as 
Bishop  Reynolds  says,  we  must  not  expect  a 
fulness  until  the  time  of  the  restitution  of  ail 
things — wherein  the  light,  which  is  here 
but  sown  for  the  righteous,  shall  grow  up 
into  a  full  harvest  of  Canaan  conquest.  There 
may  be  slowness  in  the  struggle  onwards  to 
absolute  possession,  but  tliere  is  also  sure- 
ness  :   *'  Thou  shalt  inherit  the  land." 

"  No  mortal  eye  the  manner  sees, 
The  imperceptible  degrees. 
By  which  our  Lord  conducts  His  plan, 
And  brings  us  to  a  perfect  man." 

— Wesley. 

Prospect!  Vers.  20-30.  God  allures  Israel 
from  the  present,  where  all  was  dark  and  un- 
comely, into  the  future,  where  all  was  bright 
and  fair.  He,  as  it  were,  takes  the  Hebrew 
host  by  the  hand,  and  leads  them,  as  a  father 
his  child,  out  from  the  gloomy  wilderness 
region,  which  they  were  pacing  somewhat 
sadly,  into  the  fertile  fields  and  fruitful  glades 
of  Canaan  ;  so  that  joy,  or  at  least  the  faint 
reflection  of  it,  stole  into  their  hearts,  and 
lifted  up  their  heavy  eyes.  And  how  cheering 
the  Christian's  prospect  of  the  heavenly  Canaan 
— that  rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of 
God.  It  transfuses  the  life  of  heaven  through 
our  frame  ;  either,  on  the  one  hand,  making 
our  languid  pulse  to  beat  more  swiftly  ;  or,  on 
the  other,  our  feverish  pulse  to  throb  more 
calmly  and  evenly.     It  acta  as  a  regulator  of 


the  soul  in  its  wild  and  inconstant  movement* 
— neither  allowmg  the  spiritual  Hebrew  to 
sink  too  low,  nor  to  so  ir  too  high.  It  fills  with 
energy  to  face  the  toils,  and  with  ready  courage 
to  brave  tlie  dangers,  of  the  night. 

"  From  strength  to  strength  advancing,  only 
he, 

His  soul  well  knit  and  all  his  battles  won, 

Mounts,  and  that  hardly,  to  eternal  life." 

— A  mold. 

World-Snares!  Vers.  32,  83.  (1.)  Ai 
you  love  your  souls,  beware  of  the  world. 
It  has  slain  its  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands. What  ruined  Lots  wife,  but  the 
world  f  What  ruined  Achan,  but  the  world  ? 
What  ruined  Haman,  but  the  world  ?  What 
ruined  Demas,  but  the  world?  What  ruined 
Judas,  but  the  world  ?  The  gods  of  this 
world  are  indeed  a  snare.  (2.)  The  pleasures 
of  the  world  are  not  like  the  waters  of  the 
Nile,  which  leave,  when  they  are  gone,  the 
germs  of  beauty  and  fertility  to  bud  and 
blossom,  and  cheer  the  heart  of  man.  On  the 
contrary,  they  are  like  those  streams  polluted 
by  the  washings  of  poisonous  minerals,  de- 
positing the  seeds  of  disease  and  death  to  all 
who  drink  them.  (3.)  The  Keubenites,  hav- 
ing taken  a  liking  to  the  country  which  was 
first  conquered  because  it  was  prolific  in 
pasture,  renounced  the  promise  of  interest  in 
the  Holy  Land  ;  which  "  love  of  the  world  " 
proved  a  snare  to  them,  and  subsequently 
their  destruction.  So  the  gods  of  this  world, 
the  pleasures  of  sin,  lure  men  to  delight  in  the 
present,  and  forego  all  hope  of  heaven.  (4.) 
A  man  residing  on  the  coast  of  England,  and 
seeing  his  neighbours  grow  rich  with  foreign 
trade,  converted  his  goods  into  gold,  went  to 
Spain,  and  bought  a  cargo  of  figs.  On  his  way 
home  a  great  storm  compelled  him  to  throw 
the  cargo  overboard.  When  again  tempted 
by  the  sea,  he  said  : 
shall  never  deceive 
proved  a  snare  to  me  ; 
have  none  of  them." 


"  No  ;  your  fair  looks 
me  again ;  they  once 
get  thee  hence,  for  I'll 


'•  Is  this  a  friend  indeed,  that  I  should  sell 
My  soul  to  her,  give  her  my  life  and  youth. 
Till  my   feet,    cloven   too,    take   hold   on 
hell ! "  —Rouetti. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Cbitioal  Notes. — 1.  "  And  he  said  unto  Mcses."]  These  words  should  be  read  in  connee- 
tion  with  chapter  xi.  18.  The  order  of  events  seems  to  be  this — After  Moses  had  received  the 
ten  commandments,  he  drew  near  again  "where  God  was,"  and  then  he  received  the  book  of 
the  covenant  (xx.  19  to  xxiii.  33)  ;  and  before  leaving  the  presence  of  God  he  was  asked  to 
appear  again,  accompanied  by  Aaron,  Nadab,  and  Ahiliu,  together  with  seventy  of  the  elders  of 
Israel  (xxiv.  i.,  &c.)  6.  And  hall" of  the  blood  he  sprinkled  on  the  altar.]  This  preliminary  to 
the  act  of  communication  of  the  book  of  the  covenant  to  the  people  signifies  that  God  pledged 
Himself  to  fulfil  His  part  of  the  covenant  independently  of  the  acceptance  of  it  by  the  people. 
7.  And  he  took  the  book,  &c  ],  i.e.,  after  God  had  declared  Himself  bound  to  the  fulfilment  of 
430 


HOMI LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxiv. 


the  covenant.  8.  And  sprinkled  it  on  the  people,]  i.e.,  after  the  hook  of  the  covenant  had 
been  read  out  "in  the  audience,"  hS-osney^iiito  the  ears.  Thus  they  were  not  asked  to  declare 
their  willingness  to  do  and  obey  the  words  until  they  had  heard  them  distinctly  read.  Amid  all 
the  awful  grandeur  of  the  scene  God  dealt  with  them  as  intelligent  agents.  The  objection  that 
Moses  could  not  have  made  himself  heard  by  so  vast  a  multitude,  600,000,  besides  children,  ia 
met  by  the  fact  that  the  covenant  was  made  not  with  individuals  but  with  the  whole  Jewish 
nation,  so  that  there  could  be  no  ground  found  for  dissent  on  the  part  of  individuals  from  the 
engagements  of  those  who  heard  the  words  of  the  covenant  and  promised  obedience  to  them. 
The  same  argument  is  applicable  to  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  "on  tlie  people,"  which,  in  all 
probability,  was  only  sprinkled  on  some  few  individuals  who  were  considered  as  representatives 
of  the  whole  nation.  10.  And  they  saiw  the  God  of  Israel.]  The  words — "  they  saw  "rrVayiruh — 
in  this  verse  is  qualified  in  its  ordinary  meaning  by  the  word  "  saw  "  in  the  following  verse  (11). 
There  the  word  V4yech8uh=:they  saw — means  literally  '■^  they  mstonec?,"  that  is,  they  had  a 
vision  of  God  clear  enough  to  be  assured  of  His  actual  presence. 

Paved  =  libnath  in  this  construction  (stat.  constr.) — does  not  mean  brick-lebenah,  and  benca 
pavement,  but  should  be  rendered  white  or  transparent-splendour.  The  translation  of  "a 
paved  work  of  a  sapphire  stone  "=kim£l3eh  libnath  hassappir,  like  a  work  of  transparent 
sapphire. 

MAIN  HOMILETIOS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-8. 

The  Ratification  of  the  Divine  Covenant. 

There  are  divine  regulations  in  nature,  but  these  are  not  sufficient  for  man's 
guidance.  Nature  teaches  only  in  symbol,  and  these  symbols  cannot  always  be 
clearly  read  and  interpreted.  Nature's  teachings  are  not  adequate  as  a  rule  of 
life  for  man  as  a  moral  agent.  The  scientific  man  and  the  philosopher  would 
not  be  satisfied  without  a  book  revelation.  And  the  moralist,  who  should  be 
the  true  philosopher,  will  ask  for  a  direct  revelation  on  morals.  And  this 
requirement  is  met.  The  true  guide  for  man  in  the  realm  of  morals  is  the  re- 
velation of  God  as  found  in  the  Bible;  taken  in  its  completeness,  read  and 
interpreted  under  the  guidance  of  a  discriminating  wisdom.  The  old  covenant 
will  tend  to  illustrate  the  new ;  and  the  new  will  declare  what  part  of  the  old 
is  perpetually  binding. 

I.  God  makes  a  covenant  with  His  people.  Though  the  terms  of  the  old 
covenant  were  strict  and  severe,  yet  they  were  evidently  designed  for  the  good 
of  the  people  to  whom  they  were  delivered.  We  cannot  possibly  imagine  any 
advantage  that  might  accrue  to  the  Divine  Being  from  this  ancient  covenant. 
But  from  time  to  time  Ave  have  seen  that  great  advantage  would  result  to  the 
people,  in  so  far  as  they  followed  the  divine  rules  for  life  and  conduct.  Here, 
again,  the  divine  mercy  may  be  marked  in  that  God  makes  a  covenant  with 
His  people.  He  does  not  at  once  destroy,  but  labours  for  their  social  and 
national  prosperity. 

II.  God  reveals  the  terms  of  His  covenant  by  specially  endowed  messengers. 

Moses  was  specially  endowed  as  a  messenger  of  God.  He  displayed  the  posses- 
sion of  those  qualities  fitting  him  in  an  eminent  degree  to  be  a  legislator.  He 
ruled  with  a  wise  spirit.  He  stands  forth  as  one  of  the  master  spirits  of  hu- 
manity. He  was  further  fitted  for  his  office  by  special  divine  communications, 
and  by  special  disclosures  of  the  divine  glory.  He  alone  stands  in  the  divine 
presence.  The  people  must  stand  afar  off.  The  elders  must  worship  at  a  dis- 
tance. And  even  the  gifted  Aaron — the  progenitor  of  a  noble  priesthood — must 
not  come  nigh.  In  solitude,  Moses  must  approach  the  mysterious  realm.  This 
Moses  was  the  one  to  tell  the  people  all  the  words  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the 
judgments.  Those  lips,  touched  with  the  divine  hand  and  made  reflective  of 
the  divine  glory,  must  read  the  book  of  the  covenant  in  the  audience  of  the 
people.  The  old  covenant  was  given  by  Moses  who  reflected  the  divine  glory, 
but  the  new  is  given  by  Him  who  was  the  incarnation  and  visible  manifestation 
of  the  divine  glory. 

431 


CHAP.  xxiT,  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


m.  God  gives  definiteness  and  permanence  to  the  covenant.  *'  And  Moses 
wrate  all  the  words  of  the  Lord."  Yea,  God  Himself  is  represented  as  writing, 
and  we  find  reference  made  to  the  commandments  which  God  had  written. 
Oral  instruction  is  not  sufficient.  The  voice  of  tradition  is  vague.  As  time 
advances  that  voice  becomes  feeble  and  waverin^r.  The  moral  code  must  be 
clear  and  definite.  This  writing  of  the  covenant  may  be  taken  as  symbolical 
of  its  permanence.  To  this  day  the  broad  spirit — the  true  essential — of  the 
covenant  is  working  in  all  legal  codes  and  religious  systems. 

IV.  God  gives  solemn  emphasis  to  the  covenant  by  sacred  ceremonials.     We 

may  suppose  that  Moses  acted  under  divine  direction.  The  hands  of  Moses 
built  the  altar,  but  the  mind  of  God  directed  the  human  movements.  The  altar 
raised  as  indicative  of  the  divine  presence,  and  the  twelve  pillars  representative 
of  the  dwelling  place  of  the  twelve  tribes,  Moses  sends  the  young  men,  the 
life  and  vigour  of  the  people,  to  ofi"er  burnt  ofl'erings  and  sacrifice  peace  ofi'erings, 
the  divine  and  human  sides  of  the  great  solemnity.  Part  of  the  blood  was 
sprinkled  on  the  altar,  an  act  of  solemn  dedication  of  their  humanity  in  its 
completeness  to  God,  and  then  the  other  part  was  sprinkled  upon  the  people, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  the  divine  response  and  acceptance.  The  first  Testa- 
ment was  dedicated  with  blood.  Thus  the  covenant  was  rendered  emphatic  by 
solemn  observances.  The  blood  sprinkled  on  the  altar  and  on  the  people  would 
be  calculated  to  inspire  deep  reverence. 

V.  God  requires  a  voluntary  assent  to  the  terms  of  His  covenant.  There 
was  something  of  the  nature  of  an  appeal  to  the  people.  In  fact,  the  whole 
circumstances,  in  connection  with  the  promulgation  of  the  covenant,  constituted 
an  eloquent  appeal.  The  reading  of  the  book  of  the  covenant  by  such  a  reader, 
and  on  an  occasion  so  deeply  impressive  and  aff'ecting,  was  plainly  calculated 
to  draw  forth  the  universal  utterance  :  "  All  the  words  which  the  Lord  hath 
said  will  we  do."  The  whole  people  joined  in  the  declaration.  There  was  a 
pleasing  unanimity  in  the  promise,  but  there  was  unpleasant  difi'erence  as  to 
the  performance.  The  man  who  at  first  refuses  and  then  performs  is  nobler 
than  the  man  who  too  readily  acquiesces,  and  then  fails  to  fulfil  his  vows. 

VI.  Man's  highest  wisdom  is  to  promise  and  perform  obedience  to  all  the 
terms  of  God's  covenant.  Well  would  it  have  been  for  these  people  if  they  had 
kept  to  their  brave  resolve — "  All  that  the  Lord  hath  said  will  we  do,  and  be 
obedient."  There  are  poetical  states  in  peoples,  and  then  they  are  apt  to  be 
free  with  their  promises.  But  the  prosaic  condition  soon  arrives,  and  then  the 
promises  are  broken.  God's  covenant  ever  commends  itself  to  man's  higher 
nature,  or  to  man's  nature  in  its  loftier  and  holier  moods.  The  temptations  of 
life,  and  the  weakness  of  the  flesh,  render  us  unwilling  to  practice,  and  then 
unbelieving  as  to  the  virtue  of  the  divine  covenant.  Obedience  is  the  pathway 
of  light,  the  pathway  of  true  divine  knowledge,  and  the  pathway  to  the  realisa- 
tion of  divine  benedictions.  Let  us  obey,  and  then  shall  we  know  the  blessed- 
ness of  all  divine  covenants. 

There  is  a  slight  disarrangement  in  this  chapter,  as  Ewald  and  speakers 
commonly  shew.  Verse  3  logically  follows  verse  33  of  previous  chapter,  and 
verses  1  and  2  should  be  inserted  between  verses  8  and  9. 

— W.  Burrows,  B.A. 

The  Covenant. — Verses  3-8. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  impressive  acts  of  a  most  impressive  dispensation. 
It  was  also  one  of  the  most  important,  inasmuch  as  (1)  God  used  this  oppor- 
tunity to  "  avouch  Himself  to  be  the  God  "  of  Israel,  and  Israel  "  avouched 
432 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxiv. 


themselves  to  be  His  people."  And  (2)  it  is  the  great  fact  upon  which  the  New- 
Testament  lays  stress  as  typifying  tlie  great  covenant  work  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  (1  Cor.  xi.  25  ;  Heb.  viii.-ix.  For  some  valuable  remarks  in  this  latter 
application,  see  Dales'  "Jewish  Temple  and  Christian  Church,"  p.  163). 

I.  The  covenant  was  divinely  revealed.  "  And  Moses  came  and  told  the 
people."  1.  It  was  revealed  faithfully.  "  All  the  words  of  the  Lord  and  all  the 
judL'ments."  (1.)  It  consisted  of  **  words  "  for  their  direction  and  encouragement. 
(2.)  It  consisted  of  judgment  for  their  warning  :  so  the  covenant  of  Jesus  Christ 
consisted  of  '*  beatitudes  "  and  "  woes."  2.  It  was  revealed  intelligently.  Moses 
had  no  interest  in  suppressing  anything.  He  was  a  good  man,  and  would  not 
suppress  anything.  (1.)  It  was  not  an  appeal  to  their  superstition  and  credulity. 
It  consisted  of  laws  upon  the  wisdom  and  beneficence  of  which  2000  years  of 
legislation  have  not  improved.  (2.)  It  was  revealed  in  language  which  they 
could  all  understand.  (3.)  It  was  revealed  under  circumstances  which  attested 
its  divine  origin.     (4.)  It  was  an  appeal  to  their  reason,  piety,  and  interest. 

II.  The  covenant  was  accepted  by  man.  1.  Unanimously.  "  All  the  people 
.  .  .  with  one  voice."  2.  Heartily.  "  We  will  do."  3.  Specifically.  "  All  the 
words  which  the  Lord  hath  said."  There  had  been  a  general  acceptance  before 
(xix.  8).     4.  Speedily.     "  Moses  rose  up  early  in  the  morning." 

in.  The  covenant  was  permanently  embodied.  "And  M.o?,&s,  wrote  all  the 
words  of  the  Lord."  1.  A  written  revelation  is  necessary.  Memory  is  not  to 
be  trusted.  Traditions  from  a  long  past  are  apt  to  be  vague  or  to  diminish  or 
be  added  to.  Books  ^x  facts.  2.  A.  written  revelation  is  advantageous.  (1.)  A 
perpetual  direction  for  obedience  and  warning  against  disobedience.  (2.)  A 
standing  witness  of  the  divine  wisdom  and  goodness.  3.  A  written  revelation 
is  important.  An  everlasting  record  for  man's  benefit  of  what  has  proceeded 
from  the  mind  of  God. 

IV.  The  arrangements  for  the  covenant  were  carefully  and  impressively  pre- 
pared. 1.  (1)  An  altar  was  built  to  represent  God,  and  (2)  pillars  to  represent 
His  people.  2.  Young  men  were  selected  for  special  service  as  symbolising  the 
strength  and  earnestness  that  should  be  exerted  in  keeping  our  covenant  engage- 
ment. 3.  Sacrifices  were  off"ered.  (1.)  Burnt-ofierings,  to  signify  the  dedication 
of  the  people  to  Jehovah.  (2.)  Peace-offerings,  as  typifying  Jehovah's  recon- 
ciliation with  His  people. 

V.  The  covenant  was  ratified  with  blood.  1.  Half  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices 
was  sprinkled  on  the  altar  to  signify  Israel's  dedication  to  God.  2.  One  more 
opportunity  was  given  to  the  people  to  withdraw  from  their  engagement.  The 
law  was  read  and  the  people  renewed  their  vows.  3.  Then  the  other  half  of  the 
blood  was  sprinkled  on  the  people,  signifying  the  purification  of  the  people  and 
the  certainty  of  the  divine  favours,  and  the  whole  ceremony  closed  with  the 
memorable  words,  ver.  8. 

In  conclusion — 1.  Christ  is  the  mediator  of  a  better  covenant.  2.  That  His 
blood  is  sprinkled  on  the  altar  of  God  (Heb.  ix.  12),  and  in  the  heart  of  His 
pi'ople  (Heb.  ix.  13-15).  3.  That  He  has  instituted  a  "perpetual  memorial  of 
His  previous  death  until  His  coming  again  "  (1  Cor.  ix.  25). 


-/,  W.  Burn. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Vers.  1-8.    Again,  I  see  the  seventy  going  on  in  the  present  dispensation, 

left  at  some  little  distance  ;  I  see  Moses  when  the  affairs  of  the  Lord's  kingdom 

alone  go  up  into  the  mount  j  and  I  see  are  administered  through  subordinate 

the  affairs  of  the  people  committed  to  instrumentality.     The  4th  of  Ephesians 

Aaron  and  Hur.     It  appears  to  me  this  tells  us  that,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 

is  a  beautiful  presentment  of  what  is  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  God,  "He 
2k  433 


JBAP.  XXIV.  HOMTLETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


gavesome, apostles ;  andsome, prophets;  tomb  of  Jesus,  where  the  blood  of  the 

and  some,  evangelists;  and  some,  pastors  cross  has  opened  a  perfectly  cloudless 

and  teachers  ;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  prospect  to  the  vision  of  faith.     The 

saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  words,  "  afar  off,"  are  as  characteristic 

theedifyingof  the  body  of  Christ."  But,  of  the  law,  as  "draw  nigh  "  are  of  the 

meantime,  higher  transactions  aregoing  Gospel.     Under  the  law,  the  work  was 

on  in  the  mount — transactions  of  which  never  done  which  could  entitle  a  sinner 

you  and  I  know  nothing  except  through  to  draw  nigh.     Man  had    not  fulfilled 

the  precious  lattices  of  the  promises.  his  promised  obedience;  and  the  "blood 

By  and  by  the  time  will  come  when  we  of  calves  and  goats"  could  not  atone  for 

shall  see  our  glorious  Head;  see  Him  the  failure,  or  give  his  guilty  conscience 

in  His  glory,  see  Him  as  he  is.  — Krause.  peace.      Hence,  therefore,  he    had  to 

We  may  search  from  end  to  end  of  stand  "  afar  off."      Man's  vows  were 

the  legal  ritual,  and  not  find  those  two  broken  and  his  sin   unpurged  ;    how, 

precious  words,  "  draw  nigh."    Ah  !  no  ;  then,  could  he  draw  nigh  ]     The  blood 

such  words  could  never  be  heard  from  often  thousand  bullocks  could  not  wipe 

the  top  of  Sinai,  nor  from  amid  the  away  one  stain  from  the  conscience,  or 

shadows  of  the  law.     They  could  only  give  the  peaceful  sense  of  nearness  to  a 

be  uttered  at  heaven's  side  of  the  empty  reconciled  God. — G.  H.  M. 

MAIN  HOMILETJOS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  9-H. 

A  Glorious  Vision. 

There  was  an  indication  of  unity  in  the  Old  Testament  Church,  Moses  and 
Aaron,  Nadab  and  Abihu,  and  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel  went  up  together. 
Prophet,  priests,  and  representatives  of  the  people  were  united  together  on 
the  great  occasion.  And  there  must  be  this  practical  unity  on  the  part  of 
the  modern  Church  if  there  is  to  be  any  great  work  accomplished,  if  there  is 
to  be  any  glorious  divine  vision  obtained.  The  primitive  Church  was  united 
by  the  spirit  of  love.      PFe  need  the  welding  power  of  this  gracious  spirit. 

L  Glorious  ascension.  This  united  body  went  up  to  the  mount  of  divine 
manifestation.  The  Church  must  not  stay  in  the  plain.  There  are  mountains 
to  climb.  "  Upward  "  should  be  the  Church's  motto.  It  may  be  difficult  work 
to  climb,  but  difficulties  brace  up  the  energies.  Mountain  climbing  is  always 
wholesome.  The  more  we  climb  the  less  will  be  our  difficulty.  On  the 
summit  of  divine  mountains  are  gracious  manifestations  to  reward  the  praying 
climbers. 

n.  Blessed  vision.  "  And  they  saw  the  God  of  Israel ;  and  there  was  under 
His  feet  as  it  were  a  paved  work  of  a  sapphire  stone,  and  as  it  were  the  body  of 
heaven  in  his  clearness."  "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time."  It  may  be 
that  they  saw  no  objective  image,  but  only  the  place  where  the  God  of  Israel 
stood.  Certainly  it  was  a  vision  that  gave  them  very  exalted  views  of  the 
divine  nature.  The  very  place  of  the  divine  feet  was  glorious.  "  A  paved  work 
of  sapphire  stone,  as  it  were  the  body  of  heaven  in  his  clearness."  The  clear 
blue  stretched  itself  out  as  a  divine  pavement.  This  is  suggestive  of  calm  repose. 
We  may  rest  sweetly  on  the  divine  fidelity.  If  the  footstool  be  thus  glorious, 
how  glorious  must  be  the  throne  !  If  the  fringes  of  the  divine  vesture  are  thus 
splendid,  how  niucli  more  splendid  the  nature  that  is  thus  enshrined  !  Blessed 
visions  are  most  surely  the  portion  of  those  who  climb  the  divine  mountains. 
The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God.  Waiting  spirits  shall  not  wait  in  vain.  Pray- 
ing souls  shall  receive  special  disclosures  of  divine  love. 

in  Gracious  preservation.     "  Upon  the  nobles  of  Israel  He  laid  not  Hi> 
hand."     Sinners  may  well  fear  lest  the  hand  of  justice  crush  ;  but  saints  may 
434 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EXOD  US.  chap.  xxiv. 

believingly  clasp  the  hand  of  divine  mercy.  Faith  may  venture  where  tear 
cannot  approach.  The  nobles  who  trust  the  hand  of  God  will  find  that  it  is  a 
saving  and  not  a  destroying  hand.  God's  hand  will  never  be  laid  upon  the 
spiritual  nobility.  The  earthly  ignoble  may  become  spiritually  noble.  The 
nobles  of  the  spiritual  Israel  are  under  God's  protecting,  preserving  care. 

IV.  Wondrous  festivity.     "  Also  they  saw  God,  and  did  eat  and  drink," 

These  two  short  sentences  must  be  connected.  They  saw  God,  and  yet  they 
did  eat  and  drink.  Fear  says  that  the  sight  of  God  is  deatli,  but  faith  finds 
that  the  divine  vision  is  feeding  and  sustaining.  Blessed  are  they  that  did 
thus  eat  and  drink  after,  and  close  upon,  such  a  vision.  Here  is  a  wondrous 
festivity  indeed.  It  is  prophetic.  The  saints  shall  eat  and  drink  in  the  Divine 
Presence.  Their  food  will  be  heavenly  manna.  Their  drink  the  new  wine  of 
the  upper  Paradise.  Their  banqueting  chamber  the  courts  of  heaven.  The 
banner  over  them  will  be  love.  The  attendant  music  will  be  struck  from  golden 
harps.  The  song  will  be  that  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.  May  we  stand  amid 
prophets,  priests,  elders,  and  the  great  company  of  the  redeemed  ! 

— W.  BurrowSf  B.A. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 
Man's  Approach  to  God. — Verses  1,  2  ;  9-11. 

From  these  words  we  learn —  rewarded  by  a   manifestation   of  the 

I.  That  man's  approach  to  God  is  divine  glory,  ver.  10.  Not  a  literal 
commanded,  ver.  1.  This  is  both  rea-  or  physical  vision  of  "  the  king  "... 
sonable  and  necessary.  Servant  to  invisible  (Duet  iv.  2 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  16); 
master ;  scholar  to  teacher  ;  child  to  but  spiritual  (Isa.  vi.  ;  Acts  ix  3,  4, 
parent ;  sinner  to  Saviour.  and  refs. ;  1  Cor.  xii.  2). 

II.  That  man's  approach  to  God  V.  That  man's  approach  to  God  is 
must  be  through  a  mediator  ;  "worship  not  to  be  dreaded,  but  welcomed  and 
thou  afar  off,  and  Moses  alone  shall  enjoyed.  "  They  find  His  presence  no 
come  near  unto  the  Lord."  So  Jesus  more  a  source  of  disturbance  and  dread, 
has  entered  into  the  Holy  place  for  but  radiant  in  all  the  bright  loveUness 
us.  He  is  the  "  one  mediator,"  &c.,  of  supernal  glory  :  a  beautiful  sign  that 
"the  new  and  living  way  "(John  xiv.  6).  the  higher  religion  and  state  of  con- 
We  must  remember  that  this  was  in  formity  to  law,  now  established,  shall 
answer  to  their  own  prayer  (xx.  19).  work  onward  to  eternal  blessedness." 

III.  That   man's   approach  to  God      — Eivald. 

must  be  reverent.    "Worship  ye  afar         Application. — Heb.  iv.  14-16. 
ofi"."  —J.  W.  Bum, 

IV.  That  man's  approach  to  God  is 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Veraea  12-18. 

Divine  Preparations. 

Through  all  the  ages  the  Divine  hand  is  at  work.  In  the  kingdoms  of  nature 
and  of  grace  we  notice  vast  preparatory  processes.  And  the  Almighty  has  to 
do  with  individuals  as  well  as  communities.  He  brings  forth  His  chosen  instru- 
ments when  the  fit  time  has  come.  But  He  does  not  bring  forth  until  they  are 
fitted  for  their  work.  Moses  must  dwell  forty  days  and  forty  nights  on  Mount 
Sinai.  As  nature  has  its  barren  winter  and  fruitful  harvest,  so  God's  heroes 
have  the  winter  of  seclusion,  and  the  autumn  of  golden  productiveness. 

I.  Each  one  has  his  proper  position  to  occupy.  Moses  must  go  up  into  the 
Mount,  be  hidden  in  the  cloud,  and  hold  communion  with  the  Infinite.     Joshua 

435 


OHAP,  XXIV.  nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


must  attend  as  the  minister.  Aaron  and  Hur  must  act  in  the  place  of  Moses, 
and  be  the  administrators  of  justice  ;  and  the  elders  must  tarry.  They  may 
serve  wlio  only  staml  and  wait ;  and  this  is  sometimes  the  most  arduous  service. 
Tarry  is  very  often  an  unwelcome  vs/'ord.  Tarry  when  the  cloud  conceals  a 
sublime  mystery,  and  when  Moses  is  about  to  penetrate  that  mystery.  The 
man  who  can  tarry  in  a  right  spirit  has  a  well-disciplined  nature.  However, 
let  each  seek  his  proper  position. 

II.  Each  man  has  his  own  divine  vision.  There  was  one  vision  to  Moses, 
and  another  to  the  children  of  Israel.  Moses  entered  the  cloud  ;  but  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  stood  outside  the  cloud.  And  this  is  still  true.  The  Almighty 
is  differently  revealed  to  different  natures.  And  differently  revealed  to  the  same 
natures  at  different  periods.  There  is  the  revelation  of  the  cloud,  and  there  is 
the  revelation  of  the  devouring  fire.  To-day  we  may  experience  Divine  chidmgs, 
and  to-morrow  we  may  be  on  the  Mount  of  Beatitude. 

III.  But  there  are  specialities  of  work.  Moses  was  the  lawgiver.  He  was 
to  teach  unto  the  people  the  law  and  the  commandments,  which  God  delivered 
unto  him  on  the  Mount.  Moses  stands  out  in  solitary  grandeur  as  the  great 
lawgiver  of  the  Old  Testament.  His  name  stands  high  in  the  historic  scroll 
Grandest  and  noblest  of  men  !  His  words  and  works  speak  and  influence  through 
all  time. 

IV.  Therefore  there  must  be  speciality  in  the  preparation.  This  we  see  in 
the  whole  of  the  chapter  ;  and  it  has  already  been  a  subject  of  remark.    What- 

ver  may  have  been  the  nature  of  the  vision  vouchsafed  to  Moses,  it  must  have 
been  of  a  special  nature.  He  entered  the  cloud  and  conversed  with  God.  He 
breasted  the  devouring  fire,  and  was  not  consumed.  He  fasted  forty  days  and 
forty  nights,  and  yet  did  not  perish  of  hunger.  The  Bible  does  not  satisfy  an 
idle  curiosity.  No  history  writes  the  tale  of  that  forty  days  and  forty  nights* 
retirement.  The  deep  things  of  sjnritual  retirement  cannot  be  written.  But 
their  sublime  influence  will  be  felt.  Moses  was  brighter,  nobler,  and  truer  for 
the  mountain  retirement.  In  all  true  life  there  must  be  seasons  of  disappearance 
and  of  reappearance.  The  man  of  action  must  be  also  the  man  of  prayer.  The 
man  of  mighty  words  must  be  the  man  of  prolonged  meditation.  A  man  may 
have  high  swelling  words,  which  are  only  sound  and  nothing  more,  who  has 
never  been  guilty  of  half  an  hours'  deep  meditation.  Moses  was  not  an  empty 
rhetorician.  Aaron  was  the  fluent  speaker,  and  yet  the  words  of  Moses  are 
more  powerful  and  vital  than  the  words  of  Aaron.  Learn  to  be  much  in 
thought,  much  in  prayer,  much  in  mountain  solitude;  but  much  also  with  the 
people.  Be  not  the  empty-headed  demagogue  ;  and  be  not  the  useless,  selfish 
rechise.  Let  waiting  and  working  go  hand  in  hand.  Above  all  things,  obey 
the  Divine  voice.  Wait  even  six  days  for  the  Divine  utterance  ;  and  it  may  be 
that  on  the  seventh,  God  will  call  to  thee  out  of  the  midst  of  the  cloud. 

— W.  BurrmoSf  B.A, 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Communion  with  God. — Verses  12-18. 

All  great  lives  have  been  character-  I.  That    communion   with    God   is 

ised  by  close  and  frequent  communion  necessary. 

with  God.     Enoch,  Abraham,  Moses,  1.  Moses  went  up  after  the  solem- 

David,  our  Lord,  &c.,&c.   All  Scripture  nities    of    the    covenant.      Keligious 

and   Christian    iiistory  testify  to  the  teachers,  beware  how  your  duties  in- 

importance  and  })enefit  of  communion  terfere  with  your  devotions.     You  can 

with  God.     Our  text  teaches  us —  only  give  what  you  get,  and  you  can 
436 


nOMILETlG  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.   XXIV. 


only  get  what  you  give  by  communion 
with  God. 

2.  Moses  went  up  after  the  perform- 
ance of  his  official  duties  as  judge  and 
general  of  the  people.  Men  of  busi- 
ness, beware  how  your  engagements 
interfere  with  your  prayers.  Parents, 
&c.,  you  can  only  perform  the  duties 
of  life  well  by  the  "faith  and  fear" 
which  you  can  alone  get  from  God. 

II.  That  special  places  are  appointed 
for  communion  with  God.  "Come  up 
unto  the  mount." 

1.  God's  house  is  appointed  as  the 
place  where  God  records  His  name  and 
vouchsafes  His  blessing  (lleb.  x.  25  ; 
Matt,  xviii.  20). 

2.  The  privacy  of  our  own  chamber 
(Matt.  vi.  6). 

True,  where  there  is  a  praying  heart 
there  is  a  sanctuary ;  but  warehouses, 
counting-houses,  &c.,  are  hardly  places 
where  the  soul  can  pour  itself  out  to 
God. 

III.  That  preparation  should  be 
made  for  communion  with  God,  ver.  14. 
"  Shut  to  the  door  "  (Matt.  vi.  6). 

1.  Arrangements  should  be  made  so 
that  this  communion  may  not  be  inter- 
rupted. Let  not  servant,  nor  family, 
nor  callers  take  you  away  from  this 
important  business;  let  all  those  matters 
be  settled  before  you  commence. 

2.  Make  such  preparations  that  all 
worldly  and  anxious  thought  may  be 
left  outside,  and  give  yourselves  entirely 
up  to  the  business  in  hand.  How 
often  are  we  half  through  the  service 
before  we  begin  to  reap  any  benefit. 
It  was  not  without  significance  that 
the  Jews  had  a  day  of  preparation 
(Mark  xv.  42). 

IV.  That  communion  with  God 
should  be  most  frequently  alone.  The 
elders  were  to  tarry  behind.  This  is 
necessary. 

1.  Because  the  presence  of  others 


may  distract  the  mind  or  embarrass  the 

thoughts. 

2.  Because  the  presence  of  others 
may  call  our  attention  away  from  those 
intensely  personal  matters  which  con- 
cern our  own  souls  alone. 

3.  Because  there  are  sins  and  wants 
to  confess,  about  which  we  should  not 
like  our  dearest  friends  to  know. 

V.  That  in  communion  with  God 
the  presence  of  others  is  sometimes 
helpful  and  even  necessary.  "  And 
Moses  rose  up  and  his  servant 
Joshua," 

1.  There  are  occasions  on  which  we 
should  take  a  friend,  our  wives,  our 
children,  separately  with  us  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  There  are  matters 
which  concern  us  in  common,  Avant, 
interest,  &c.  Two  Christian  workers, 
e.g.,  two  partners  in  business,  husband 
and  wife  about  the  family,  &c. 

2.  The  same  applies  to  family  wor- 
ship and  prayer  meetings. 

VI.  That  communion  with  God  is 
the  condition  upon  which  man  may 
witness  the  Divine  glory.  "  And  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  abode  on  Mount 
Sinai  "  (vers.  16,  17  ;  Isa.  vi.) 

VII.  That  communion  with  God 
may  be  protracted,  and  man  must  not 
weary  of  it  (Acts  i. ;  Luke  xviii.  1-6  ; 
Acts  xii.  5  ;  1  Thess.  v.  17).  Man's 
duty  is  "to  wait  upon  the  Lord." 

1.  Sometimes  God  delays  to  test  His 
people's  faith. 

2.  Sometimes  in  order  that  the 
course  of  His  providence  may  not  be 
abruptly  interfered  with. 

Vill.  That  among  the  purposes  of 
communion  with  God  are  recognition 
of  the  divine  authority  and  prepara- 
tion for  future  work.  Moses  waited 
for  further  divine  instructions  (chaps, 
xxv.-xxxi.)     In  conclusion — 

(i.)  Ps.  Ixii.  5;  (iii.)  Isa.  Ix.  31. 

^  W.  Burn. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXIV, 

BT 

REV.  W.  ADAMSON. 


Elders  f  Ver.  1.  Pierotti  says  that,  among 
the  Jews,  the  elders  exercised  sreat  authority, 
aad  w  re  held  in   high   respect.     At  a  later 


period  the  word  became  a  regular  title,  irre- 
spective of  age  or  experience,  being  conferred 
generally   on   those  who,   by  their  wealth  or 

437 


CSAP.  XXIT. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


wisdom,  could  head  a  tribe  or  lead  in  public 
affairs  :  1.  From  Deut.  xxi.  2  it  would  appear 
that  in  certain  expiatory  rites  tliey  repre- 
sented the  city  or  the  niiole  nation.  In  Deut. 
xxii.  15  they  lormed  a  court  for  trying  crimes ; 
wliile  in  Numb.  xi.  16  tliey  were  selected  by 
Moses  to  aid  in  sup()orting  his  authority. 
Joshua,  in  chap.  vii.  ♦>,  relates  liow,  after  Is- 
rael's defeat,  he  and  the  elders  fell  down  be- 
fore the  ark.  2.  In  the  New  Testament  we 
have  the  seventy  disciples ;  and  in  the  apoca- 
lyptic scenery  of  heaven  are  twenty-four  lesser 
thrones  around  about  the  throne  of  God — oc- 
cupied by  four  and  twenty  elders.  These, 
sitting  in  tiie  symbols  of  priestliood  and 
royalty,  of  endurance  and  victory,  clothed  in 
white  raiment,  and  having  on  their  heads 
crowns  of  gold,  are  supposed  to  be  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  twelve  tribes  under  the 
Mosaic  and  Christian  dispensations  : — 

'•  For  the  Lord  their  God  hath  clothed  them 
with 

A  new  and  glorious  dress. 
With  the  garments  of  salvation,  with  the 
robes 

Of  righteousneaa." 

Covenant !  Ver.  3.  Awa^  on  the  lofty 
mountain-summit  is  a  spring  which  breaks 
into  two  parts,  one  flowing  down  one  side,  the 
other  adown  the  other.  A  man,  climbing  up 
the  wild  and  rocky  side,  traces  the  river  up 
to  its  source.  There  he  sees  the  other  flow- 
ing. He  follows  down  the  grassy  soft  slope, 
until  he  traces  its  descent  into  the  ocean. 
Even  so  with  Christ's  salvation  on  the  Mount 
of  Love.  This  is  not  a  new  covenant,  but  the 
renewal  and  fuller  development  of  the  ever- 
lasting covenant  with  Abraham,  Abel,  Adam, 
&c.  Its  living  stream  flowed  on  one  side  to 
David  and  Israel,  Abraham  and  Abel ;  on  the 
other  side  to  the  apostles  and  martyrs,  &c., 
snd  80  on  to  the  eternal  ocean. 

"  Jehovah's  covenant  shall  endure. 
All  ordered,  everlasting,  sure  ! 
0  child  of  God,  rejoice  to  trace 
Thy  portion  in  its  glorious  grace.** 

Law's  Province!  Ver.  3.  In  Gal.  iii.  17, 
the  apostle  says  that  law,  in  its  Mosaic  de- 
velopment, was  added  because  of  trariBgfession. 
He  does  not  say  that  there  was  no  law  before 
Adam  sinned,  much  less  does  he  assert  tliat 
there  was  none  before  Moses  received  it  here. 
There  is  law  in  heaven,  i.e.,  the  moral  law  of 
love,  and  that  law  Adam  had.  In  tlie  free 
state  of  Liberia  certain  judicial  enactments 
were  absent.  After  the  African  Republic  had 
existed  a  few  years,  some  of  its  subjects  com- 
mitted offences.  To  prevent  their  repetition 
Government  passed  certain  laws.  The  moral 
law  was  there  before,  and  the  Liberian  freed- 
men  were  as  morally  bound  to  obey  it  before 
a*  after  its  judicial  enforcement.  God  renewed 
the  covenant  more  stringently,  because  of 
previous  breaches  of  its  provisions.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  law  was  to  (1)  Point  out  clearly 
the  rule  of  human  duty  to  tread  tha  path 
438 


of  righteousness  ;  to  (2)  Press  home  man's 
natural  inability  to  keep  tlie  law  in  his  own 
strength ;  and  to  (3)  Pre])are  the  way,  like 
John  the  Baptist,  for  Clirist  to  enter  the 
sinner's  heart,  as  the  end  of  the  law  for  righte- 
ousness. 

"  By  His  life,  for  that  fulfilling  God's  com- 
mand exceeding  broad. 
By  His  glorious  resurrection,  seal  and  signet 
of  thy  God." 

Morning-Prayer  !  Ver.  4.  Milton  speaks 
of  the  breath  of  morning  being  sweet,  "Her 
rising  sweet  with  charm  of  earliest  birds." 
Vaughan  quaintly  says  that  mornings  are 
mysteries.  iMysteries  of  good  are  they  when 
well  used,  but  mysteries  of  evil  when,  as  too 
oft,  much  abused.  Mornings  are  well  used 
when  prayer  ushers  them  in.  Beecher  says, 
•'  Let  the  day  have  a  blessed  baptism  by  giving 
your  first  waking  thoughts  into  the  bosom  of 
God."  The  first  hours  of  the  morning  is  the 
rudder  of  the  day.  Carlyle  says  we  have  a 
proverb  among  us  that  "the  morning  is  a 
friend  to  the  muses,"  i.e.,  a  good  time  for 
study.  Is  it  not  more  true  that  it  is  a  great 
friend  to  the  graces — that  it  is  a  good  praying 
time  ?     Therefore 

"  Serve  God  before  the  world  ;  let  Him  notgo 
Until  thou  hast  a  blessing;  then  resign 
The  whole  unto  Him,  and  remember  who 
Prevailed    by   wrestling    ere   tlie    sun   did 
shine."  —  Vaughan. 

Gospel  and  Blood !  Ver.  6.  Foss  says  that 
he  once  heard  a  very  earnest  and  evangelical 
minister  say  that  he  had  been  accosted  by  a 
man  who  had  heard  him  preach  with  this 
remark :  "  1  do  not  like  your  creed ;  it  is  too 
bloody, — it  savours  of  the  shambles.  It  is  all 
blood,  blood,  blood."  To  this  the  faithful 
ambassador  replied,  "Well,  it  is  so,  for  it 
recognises  as  its  foundation  a  very  sanguinary 
scene — the  death  of  Christ,  with  bleeding 
hands,  and  feet,  and  side.  And  without  shed- 
ding of  blood  is  no  remission  of  sins." 

"Jesus,  our  Great  High  Priest, 
Has  shed  His  blood  and  diedj 
Our  guilty  conscience  needs 
No  sacrifice  beside. 
His  precious  blood 
Did  once  atone, 
And  now  it  pleads 
Before  the  throne."    — Watt$. 

Covenant-Obedience  I  Ver.  7.  Obedience 
is  our  universal  duty  and  destiny,  says  Carlyle, 
and  whoso  will  not  bend  must  break.  Upon 
which  Watson  adds  that  to  obey  God  un- 
willingly, as  Balaam  did,  is  to  resemble  the 
devils  who  came  out  of  the  man  possessed,  at 
Christ's  command,  but  with  reluctancy  and 
against  their  will.  If  a  willing  mind  be 
wanting,  there  wants  that  flower  which  should 
perfume  our  obedience  and  make  it  a  sweet- 
smelling  savour  to  God.  The  hireling  pro- 
phet's obedience  was  deficient  in  this  respect. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  ZXIT. 


that  it  lacked  the  frequent  odours  of  voluntary 
or  free-will  oflfering.  Israel's  apparently  full 
■elf-surrender  to  covenant-obedience  —  how- 
ever earnest  for  the  nonce — afterwards  turned 
out  signally  deficient  in  this  voluntary  grace. 
Their  vehement  covenant  -  protestations  of 
obedience  here  are  a  vivid  example  of  the 
Divine  testimony,  "The  heart  is  deceitful 
above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked, 
who  can  know  it?"  None  but  God,  who 
searcheth  the  heart  and  trieth  the  reins. 

"  Not  the  labour  of  my  hands 
Can  fulfil  Thy  law's  demands; 
Could  my  zeal  no  respite  know. 
Could  my  tears  for  ever  flow, 
All  for  sin  could  not  atone — 
Thou  must  save,  and  Thou  alone." 

— Toplady. 

Covenant-Blood !  Ver.  9.  Doddridge,  in 
his  "Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the 
Soul,"  suggested  a  solemn  covenant  being 
entered  into  with  God.  Samuel  Pearce  acted 
upon  it  by  writing  it  with  blood  drawn  from 
his  own  body.  But  he  soon  afterwards  fell 
into  sin,  and  thus  broke  his  covenant.  Driven 
into  more  close  examination  of  the  question, 
he  was  led  to  see  that  it  was  not  his  own 
blood,  but  that  of  Jesus.  Carrying  the  blood- 
stained covenant  to  the  top  of  his  father's 
house,  he  tore  it  into  pieces,  and  scattered 
them  to  the  winds,  resolved  thenceforth  to 
depend  upon  the  peace-making  and  peace- 
keeping blood  of  Jesus. 

**  Thy  blood,  not  mine,  0  Christ, 

Thy  blood  so  freely  spilt, 

Can  blanch  my  blackest  stains. 

And  purge  away  my  guilt." — Bonar. 

Sapphire-Pavement!  Ver.  10.  "Paved 
stone "  should  be  "  whiteness,  clearness." 
"  Splendour  of  sapphire,"  says  Wordsworth. 
Kalisch  calls  it  "pellucid  sapphire."  It  ia 
one  of  the  brightest  and  most  valuable  of 
jewels.  "  Born  of  darkness,"  says  Macmillan, 
"  it  yet  holds  in  its  core  of  focussed  rays  the 
blue  of  heaven."  There  is  one  variety,  of 
a  singularly  soft  pure  azure,  which  has  the 
power  of  retaining  its  lovely  memory  of 
heaven  even  by  candlelight,  when  an  ordinary 
sapphire  looks  black.  It  formed  the  throne 
of  glory  which  appeared  to  Ezekiel  in  visions ; 
and  here  it  forms  the  pavement,  like  the  body 
of  heaven  in  its  clearness,  under  the  feet  of 
the  God  of  Israel,  as  seen  by  the  elders  of 
Israel.  God's  throne  is  "Love,"  its  founda- 
tions are  "  Love,"  and  the  treadings  of  His 
feet  are  "  Love."  Such  an  interpretation  is 
in  strict  accordance  with  the  symbolism  of 
nearly  all  rations,  among  whom  sapphire-blue 
has  always  been  associated  with  ideas  of 
"  Love." 

*'  In  heavens  starred  pavement  at  the  mid- 
night, 
In   roseate   hues  that  come  at  morning 
dawn. 


In    the    bright    bow  athwart    the  falling 

showers, 
In  woods  and  waters,    hills  and   velvet 

lawn, 
One  truth  is  written,  all  conspire  to  prove. 
What  grace  of  old  revealed,  that  "God  is 

Love.  "  — Davies. 

Sapphire-Symbolism!  Ver.  10.  During 
the  Belfast  revival  of  1859,  one  of  the  con- 
verts who  had  previously  been  crying  out 
under  the  crusiiing  burden  of  an  evil  heart  of 
unbelief  said,  "  If  they  would  but  look  up  at 
the  blue  sky,  would  not  that  be  enough, 
Jesus?  I  used  to  think  it  was  only  the  blue 
iky  ;  1  did  not  know  that  Thoc  reignedst  up 
there."  How  came  she  to  connect  the  blue 
sky  with  the  Lord's  loving  tender  mercies? 
Was  it  not  because  she  was  Spirit-taught  ?  And 
is  not  the  blue  sky  a  most  beautiful  emblem 
of  the  pavement  of  love,  on  which  the  King's 
throne  rests  ? 

"  I  know  He  reigneth  now 
In  yonder  heaven  of  love  ; 
And  He  will  quickly  come  again, 
To  carry  me  above." 

Two  Tables  !  Ver.  12.  1.  Like  that  remark- 
able architecture  still  found  amid  Porter's 
"Giant  Cities  of  Bashan,"  where  a  door  will 
be  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock,  and  door, 
rock,  and  hinge  are  all  a  single  stone,  the  two 
tables  make  but  one  law.  The  fifth  com- 
mandment is  the  axis  or  hinge  on  which  they 
open  and  close — the  connecting  point  where 
you  pass  from  the  one  to  the  other.  2.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Talmud,  these  two  tables  were 
formed  of  sapphires ;  and  it  is  certainly  re- 
markable that  the  Hebrew  word  sappir  is  de- 
rived from  the  same  root  as  the  words  that 
signify  a  book,  writing,  or  engraving.  God's 
law,  like  His  throne,  is  based  on  "  Love." 
Christ  is  Incarnate  Love — blood-besprinkled 
blue — sapphire  soaked  in  sardine. 

**  Alone,  0  Love  ineffable  ! 

Thy  saving  name  is  given  ; 
To  turn  aside  from  Thee  is  hell. 
To  walk  with  Thee  is  heaven." 

—Whittles. 

Covenant-Mediation!  Ver.  12.  A  media- 
tor's hands  receive  the  tables,  thus  establish- 
ing signs  that  grace  is  in  the  Law  of  Sinai. 
God  states  His  claims  that  we  may  see  our 
need  of  help  to  pay  them,  while  our  sense  of 
ruin  is  designed  to  make  us  prize  the  gospel. 
Is  it  not  grace  to  urge  us  onward  towards  the 
Cros.? — towards  Him  who  is  the  Mediator  of 
the  New  Covenant  ?  To  bring  us  to  Christ, 
the  law  displays  God's  holiness,  sin's  heinous- 
ness,  hell  gaping  at  our  feet.  It  shows  that 
God's  whole  nature  abhors  evil,  and  is  pledged 
to  execute  just  wrath.  Peter  was  not  alarmed 
to  sink  him  fathoms  deep  in  Galilee's  blue 
waters,  but  to  persuade  him  to  lean  on  Christ — 
"Save  me,  I  perish."  So  the  law  convicts  the 
eiuner  that  he  may  seek  the  Mednuor's  help; 

439 


OBAP.  XXV.  UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


for  there  is  Buch  help  in  Christ,  and  Christ  particular  city,  thou  must  live  according  to  iU 

alone.  customs.     Moses  ascended  to  heaven,   where 

"  For  Christ  is  given  to  be  *'"^y  "'^i''*'''"  f^*-  """^  ^'"1"''  '  t'lerefore  he  be- 

The  covenant  of  God  to  thee  ;  ''^^^  assimilated   to   them      We  are   accus- 

lu  Him-Qod's  -oUien  scroll  of  li^ht  -  ^"""^"^  ^°  ^''^  '^"^  *^""'^'  '^"^^  ,^.'":"  ^''S^}^  ^f' 

The  darkest  truths  are  clear  and  l.r.ght."  ^P*^'"^  ^^  "-*'  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^"<i  '^""'^  =^'fo.        Ah 

flaq,  ~aal  Orozart  says,  truly  it  was  a  heavenly  not  an 

earthly  life  in  the  case  equally  of  Moses,  Elias, 

Forty-Days' Food!     Ver.  18.      Clarke  and  and  our  Lord. 

Paxton    Hood   allude   to   a  conversation    be-  ««  t     .  tt    f     i         ,•   •      ,        ^ 

tween  Rabbi  Meir  and  another  on  this  subject.  ^^^  '  ."f  feeds  on  living  bread 

"  Is  it  possible  that  any  man  can  fast  forty  ^  brinks  the  fountain  from  above, 

days  and  forty  nights?  "     To  this  Rabbi  Meir  L^^"^  on  Jesus  breast  his  head, 

replied,  "  When  thou  takest  up  thy  abode  in  a  ^^^^^^  ^"'^  ^^^^^  ""^  ^'^  love.  -WetUy. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Critioal  Notes. — 2.  An  offering.]  Trumah,  from  the  root  row,  "thatwhich  is  taken  off,"  from 
what  has  been  put  by  as  private  property  reserved  for  special  enjoyment.  Hence  the  injunction, 
"of  everyman  whose  heart  impelleth  him, "as  there  might  be  some  who  would  not  willingly  part  with 
what  they  associated  in  their  hearts  as  pleasurable  enjoyments,  for  the  offering  was  to  consist  of 
choice  things.  Trumah  coffering-,  also  admits  of  the  meaning  rawed,  i.e.,  to  higher  purpose,  from 
the  very  things  set  apart  for  earthly  pleasures  offering  should  be  made  for  the  building  of  the 
sanctuary.  Gifts  coming  only  from  persons  whose  heart  impelleth  them  had  to  be  the  material  of 
which  the  sanctuary  was  to  be  constructed,  and  in  such  love-built  sanctuary,  Jehovah  was  wilU 
ing  to  dwell.  9.  Pattern]  =:tabnith,  model  or  prototype,  conveys  the  idea  that  a  higher  pur- 
port than  the  construction  of  a  temporary  tabernacle  was  the  design  of  that  pattern,  evidently 
foreshadowing  Him  who  came  and  tabernacled  among  us,  and  in  the  tabernacle  of  our  flesh 
lovingly  offered  by  the  blessed  Virgin.      "Be  it  unto  me  according  to  Thy  word"  (Luke  L  38). 

MAIN  HOMILETIGS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-10. 

The  Laws  of  Sacrifice  and  Service.* 

We  are  taught  here — 

I.  That  whatsoever  is  done  for  God  must  be  done  willingly.  "  Speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  tliat  they  bring  Me  an  offering,"  ver.  2.  The  sanctuary 
was  to  be  built  through  offerings,  not  by  a  tax.  "  Of  every  man  that  giveth  it 
willingly  vnth  his  heart,"  ver.  2.  There  was  to  be  no  constraint  or  coercion.  The 
Hebrew  is  literally  rendered  :  "  On  the  part  of  every  one  whom  his  heart  drove." 
— Keil.  How  noble  is  service  and  sacrifice  when  it  is  the  spontaneous  fruit  of  the 
spirit !  How  joyful  is  such  giving  and  work  !  The  man  has  not  to  spur  him- 
self, to  argue  with  himself,  to  just  move  himself  to  action  and  charity  by  con- 
straint, but  his  heart  drives  him,  and  his  work  and  giving  are  full  of  joyfulness. 
How  efficacious  such  service !  A  piece  of  brass  touched  by  a  loving  soul  has 
more  power  in  it  than  shekels  of  gold  given  by  cold  hearts  and  cold  hands. 

II.  That  whatsoever  is  done  for  God  must  he  our  best,  vers.  3-7.  All  things 
of  beauty,  preciousness,  sweetness,  and  brightness.  We  must  ever  give  God  our 
best.  Let  us  be  sure  that  we  give  Him  the  best  of  ourselves — our  life  in  the 
beauty,  sweetness,  and  preciousness  of  youth,  and  not  the  scraps  of  a  wasted 
life  ;  let  us  give  Him  the  best  of  our  powers  in  seeking  to  understand  His  word 
and  worship  at  His  feet;  let  us  not  always  give  Him  the  smallest  coin  in  our 
purse ;  let  us  not  give  Him  the  worthless  scraps  of  our  time,  or  wealth,  or 

•  Most  of  the  sketches  on  Chapters  XXV.-XXXIII.  are  specially  contributed  to  this  Com- 
mentary by  Rev.  W.  L.VValkinson. 
440 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXT. 


ability,  or  influence ;  but  consecrate  to  Him  the  rarest,  fairest,  brightest  gifts 
of  life  and  fortune. 

III,  That  whatsoever  is  done  for  God  must  be  done  according  to  Divine 

method,  ver.  9.  And  this  command  is  constantly  repeated.  Let  us  beware  of 
*'  will-worship."  God  has  great  reasons  for  all  His  commandments,  and  we 
must  not  lightly  depart  from  them.  We  must  carry  out  God's  work  on  the 
lines  laid  down  in  God's  Word. 

IV.  That  whatsoever  is  thus  done  for  God  secures  a  great  reward.     "  And  let 

them  make  Me  a  sanctuary  :  that  1  may  dwell  among  them,"  ver.  8.  The 
people  gave  of  their  treasures  to  erect  the  tabernacle,  and  then  a  Glory  shone 
there  full  of  truth  and  grace.  Whatsoever  is  done  simply  and  spiritually  for 
God,  brings  us  nearer  to  God,  brings  God  nearer  to  us.  Let  all  bring  their 
services  and  sacrifices  to  God.  The  princes  gave  the  jewels  (chap.  xxxv.  27), 
but  the  poor  could  give  the  brass  ;  the  rich  gave  the  gold  and  scarlet,  but  the 
common  people  could  give  a  ram's  or  badger's  skin.  And  if  all  give  their  best, 
God  shall  bless  all  alike  (2  Cor.  viii.  11,  12). 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Vers.  1-10.  How  befitting  the 
wealthy  members  of  Christ's  Church 
among  us  is  disinterested  liberality ; 
The  tabernacle  was  mainly  formed  of 
the  spoils  of  Egypt  :  should  not  our 
worldly  gains  be  hallowed,  in  greater 
or  less  proportion,  to  the  glory  and 
honour  of  God  1  The  people  of  Israel 
brought  much  more  than  enough  for  the 
service  of  the  works  which  the  Lord 
commanded  to  be  made.  Indeed, 
Moses  gave  commandment  and  they 
caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  throughout 
the  camp.  Let  neither  man  nor  woman 
make  any  more  work  for  the  offering 
of  the  sanctuary.  So  the  people  were 
restrained  from  bringing  (Exod.  xxxvi, 
5,  6).  Only  think  of  a  proclamation 
in  Christian  England  to  restrain  the 
liberality  of  British  Churches  in  the 
cause  and  service  of  their  Lord  and 
Saviour  !  What  a  rebuke  to  our  too 
general  parsimony  is  here  ! 

— W.  Mudge. 

Surely,  divine  philanthropy  needs 
not  the  excitement  and  the  gaze  of 
notoriety  to  give  it  impulse.  When 
the  stony  rock  of  the  human  heart  is 
smitten,  and  a  fountain  of  living  water 
therein  opened,  its  overflowings  will 
be  felt,  and  the  Christian,  like  Abra- 
ham, will  become  a  blessing  in  the 
place  of  his  sojourn.  Israel's  offering 
to  the  tabernacle  was  a  willing  offering  : 
and  it  is  the  will  spiritualised,  subdued, 


and  sweetly  captivated  to  the  yoke 
of  Christ,  that  constitutes  the  seat  and 
source  of  all  true  charity.  The  walls  of 
Jerusalem  rose  rapidly  under  Nehemiah 
and  his  faithful  coadjutors,  for  the 
defence  and  security  of  the  holy  city 
against  Sanballat  and  his  arrogant 
compeers ;  and  the  reason  assigned 
for  the  successful  prosecution  of  their 
labour  is,  The  people  had  a  mind  to  the 
work  (chap.  iv.  6).  With  like-mind- 
edness,  like  results  would  follow : 
whereas,  without  aprimary  consecration 
of  ourselves  to  God,  our  most  laborious 
efforts  may  prove  abortive.  "  Every 
man  according  as  he  purposeth  in  his 
heart,  so  let  him  give  ;  not  grudgingly 
or  of  nece.^sity  :  for  the  Lord  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver  "  (2  Cor.  ix.  7).  It  is 
principle  which  the  great  Father  and 
Giver  of  all  Good  chiefly  regards  in 
the  conduct  of  His  creatures  (1  Sam. 
xvi  7).  Hence  it  is,  that  mites  may 
be  inestimable  and  millions  may  be 
contemptible.  Look  well,  then,  unto 
the  state  of  your  hearts  before  God,  and 
let  no  attention,  however  sedulous  and 
constant,  to  the  outward  custom  and 
duties  of  religion,  make  you  forgetful 
of  your  inward  frame.  And  at  the 
same  time,  remember,  the  higher  your 
station  in  society,  the  more  command- 
ing your  influence  and  wealth  may  be, 
still  greater  responsibilities  rest  upon 
you — Ibid. 

441 


OBAF.  ZXT. 


HO  Ml  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


(1.)  The  tabernacle  then  was  a  type  or 
smblem  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt, — or  as  the  ori- 
ginal expresses  it,  tabernacled — among 
us."  Such  a  manner  of  representing 
the  sojourn  of  the  spirit  within  its 
tenement  of  clay,  is  frequent  among 
the  sacred  writers.  St.  Paul  calls  the 
body  "our  earthly  house  of  this  taber- 
nacle." St.  Peter  declares  "  that  he 
must  soon  put  it  off,"  or  exchange 
mortality  for  life.  Even  thus,  the 
Saviour  spake  of  His  own  flesh,  "De- 
stroy this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I 
will  raise  it  up."  His  body  was  the 
vail ;  and  in  His  incarnation,  when  He 
descended  from  heaven,  and  became 
"Emmanuel,  God  with  us,"  Heshrouded 
essential  Deity  in  the  likeness  of  our 
flesh.  And  as  the  Most  High  dwelt 
visibly  within  the  sanctuary,  even  on 
the  ark,  so  did  He  reside  iu  the  human 
nature  and  tabernacle  of  His  dear  Son  : 
for  "iw  Christ  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily."  "  JFe  beheld  His 
glory,  the  glory,  as  of  the  only  begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 
Dark,  indeed,  had  been  the  tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness,  unless  the  Shekinah 
had  shed  its  radiance  through  it,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled  it. 
Dark  and  dreary  had  been  the  huma- 
nity of  Christ,  to  the  eye  of  those  who 
looked  for  salvation  through  Him, 
unless,  in  the  humiliation  of  that  exter- 
nal character  which  exhibited  "  no 
beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him," 
they  could  also  behold  the  ineffable 
splendour  shed  forth  by  the  Mighty 
God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  tlie 
Prince  of  Peace.  God  was  in  "  Christ, 
reconciling  the  world  to  Himself." 

(2.)  This  consideration  leads  me  to 
add,  that  the  tabernacle  was  a  symbol  of 
every  real  Christiaii.     God  dwelt  within 


the  sanctuary  in  the  wilderness.  He 
dwells  within  every  renewed  and 
believing  heart.  /  will  set  My  sanctuary 
among  thfm  for  evermore.  My  tabernacle 
also  shall  be  with  them.  Ye  are  the 
temples  of  the  living  God.  In  Christ 
Jesus  ye  also  are  buildtd  together  for  att 
habitation  of  God.  through  the  Spirit.  In 
the  soul  of  every  true  follower  of  the 
Saviour  does  the  Father  dwell,  the 
object  of  his  worship,  the  author  of 
his  blessings,  the  principles  of  his  spiri- 
tual and  everlasting  life.  And,  as  the 
ark  held  the  commandments  and  kept 
them  from  pollution,  so  must  he  in 
whom  the  Father  dwells,  and  in  whom 
Christ  is  formed  the  hope  of  glory,  lay 
up  the  law  in  his  heart,  and  preserve 
it  from  pollution. 

The  tabernacle  also  typified  the 
Church.  It  was  an  emblem  of  the 
heaveidy  temple.  "  I  heard,"  said  the 
beloved  John,  when  the  consummated 
felicities  of  the  Redeemer's  Church 
burst  upon  him  in  the  visions  of  Pat- 
mos — "I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of 
heaven,  saying.  Behold,  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell 
with  them,  and  they  shall  be  His  people, 
and  God  Himself  shall  be  with  them, 
and  be  their  God."  Did  He  take  up 
His  dwelling  in  their  hearts,  as  over 
the  ark,  in  the  ancient  sanctuary  t 
Did  His  love,  His  presence,  and  His 
Spirit  fill  their  minds,  as  the  Sheki- 
nah filled  the  holy  of  holies  1  Oh,  then, 
what  will  be  the  splendour  of  His 
appearance,  when  the  cloud  shall  bo 
withdrawn,  and  His  faithful  worship- 
pers shall  see  Him  as  He  is  1  Glorious 
things  are  related  of  the  tabernacle, 
and  glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee, 
0  thou  temple  of  the  everlasting 
hills. — Buddicom. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  TEE  PARAORAPH.—  Veria  10-17. 

The  Law  op  God. 

The  ark  of  the  covenant,  containing  the  two  tables  of  the  testimony,  was 
itself  a  symbol  of  its  contents.     It  symbohsed — 

I.  Tlie  graciousness  of  the  law.     The  chest  was  covered  with  gold  (ver.  11). 
Law  is  irfMienillv  used  as  the  antithesis  of  grace  ;  but,  really,  the  law  in  its  inmost 
4iJ 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xrv. 


essence  is  love.  Men  speak  sometimes  of  the  "  beautiful "  laws  of  nature — the 
laws  of  the  moral  universe  are  beautiful  also.  The  law  is  "good" — generous, 
just,  unchalleugeable — the  expression  of  essential  purity  and.  kindness. 

Moral  law  has  become  terrible  in  our  eyes,  because  we  have  broken  it  and 
felt  its  penalty ;  but  as  we  are  forgiven  and  restored  to  purity  and  understand- 
ing, the  moral  law  ever  becomes  more  gracious  and  precious  in  our  sight.  The 
law  was  borne  in  a  chest  of  gold,  not  of  iron,  for  the  law  is  not  a  harsh  rule  of 
lite,  propounded  by  despotism,  but  the  rule  of  action  delivered  by  Eternal 
Wisdom  and  Love  to  secure  the  protection  and  happiness  of  the  whole  universe. 
There  is  only  what  is  tender  and  generous  on  the  first  table !  God  asks  not 
from  us  blood,  sweat,  and  tears,  but  love.  And  only  the  spirit  of  a  noble  justice 
and  a  generous  love  breathes  in  the  second  table. 

IL  The  immortality  of  the  law.  The  ark  was  made  of  acacia  wood — an 
incorruptible  wood.  The  moral  law  abides  for  ever.  When  Christ  came  it  was 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  this  law.  His  sacred  humanity  was  the  golden  ark 
in  which  the  moral  law  was  republished  with  living  power.  All  those  systems 
which  seek  to  abolish  or  relax  the  moral  law,  whether  they  are  found  within 
the  Christian  Church  or  without  it,  are  intensely  anti  Christian.  This  law  is 
the  law  of  the  eternal  universe.  The  fashion  of  the  world  passeth  away,  but 
the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever.  Heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away, 
but  not  a  jot  or  tittle  of  the  law  shall  perish. 

HI.  The  supremacy  of  the  law.  "  And  shalt  make  upon  it  a  crown  of  goK 
round  about"  (ver.  11).  This  law  is  sovereign.  All  must  bow  to  it.  The 
augel  that  keeps  it  not  is  cast  from  heaven.  The  kingdom  that  will  not  bow 
to  it  is  broken.  The  life  that  will  not  obey  it  is  damned.  Blessed  are  all 
those  who  keep  it,  but  woe  to  all  who  despise  it.  Let  us  remember  this  in  our 
outward  life  of  business,  pleasure,  politics,  society;  let  us  remember  it  in  our 
inner  life  of  imagination,  thought,  and  passion. 

IV.  The  holiness  of  the  law.  This  is  set  forth  by  the  fact  that  the  staves  of 
the  ark  were  "  not  to  be  taken  from  it  "  (ver.  15).  So  that  there  was  no  need 
for  the  ark  to  be  touched.  The  law  of  God  is  glorious  in  holiness,  and  is  not 
to  be  touched  by  us.  How  mixed  are  the  graceful  fables  of  Greece,  the  mytho- 
logies of  India,  the  moral  systems  of  China,  the  visions  of  Mahomet !  But 
this  law  is  altogether  pure  and  sublime.  Nothing  must  be  added  to  it — nothing 
must  go  into  the  ark  besides  it  ;  nothing  must  be  taken  from  it.  It  stands  alone, 
the  sublime  manifestation  of  the  mind  and  character  and  purpose  of  God. 

1.  Let  the  priests  sustain  the  law.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  priests  to  carry 
the  ark,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  priests  still  to  sustain,  to  hold  up,  to  magnify 
the  law.  2.  Let  the  people  follow  the  law.  The  ark  directed  the  steps  of  Israel. 
Where  the  law  does  not  lead  us,  let  us  not  go :  where  it  directs  the  way  we 
shall  be  right  and  safe  and  happy. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  TEE  VEHSES. 

Vers.  10-17.  1.  With  reference  to  the  He  cometh  into  the  world,  He  saithi 

ark,  we  believe  that,  in  its  materials.  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldest  not> 

construction,  and  use,  it  might  point  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  Me  :  in 

to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  true  ark  burnt-  offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sins 

of  the  everlasting  covenant ;  uniting  in  Thou  hast  had  no  pleasure.    Then  said 

Himself  the  divine  and  human  natures,  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the  volume  of  the 

and  exhibiting  in  His  life  a  most  perfect  book  it  is  written  of  Me  [namely,  in 

conformity  to  all  requirements  of  God's  Ps.  xl.  6-8],  I  delight  to  do  Thy  will, 

juBt  and  holy  law.     "  Wherefore  when  0  God  :  yea,  Thy  law  is  within  my 

413 


OHAF.  XXV.  IIUMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


heart"  (Heb.  x.  5-7).     Jesus  Christ,  finite;  a  power  that  is  almighty  ;  a  love 

then,  is  the  grand  depository  of  the  that  is  inestimable,  and  a  mercy  that 

Father's  will.     The  costliest  and  most  is  boundless  and  endless  as  eternity, 

exquisite   productions    of   human   art,  combined  to    prepare    a   body  for  the 

although  shittim-wood  and  gold  alone  Son  of  God  (Luke  i.   35).     No  worm 

may  enter  into   their  composition,  af-  might  corrode  His  flesh  ;  no  stain  might 

ford  but  imperfect  resemblances  of  the  soil  His  sj^irit.     All  was  incorruptible 

person  anil  work  of  our  glorious  Im-  and  pure  in  the  world's  Redeemer. 
manueL     An  understanding  that  is  in-  — JV.  Mudge. 

MAIN  UOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  17-28. 

The  Mercy-Seat. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  mercy-seat ;  the  piece  of  temple  furniture 
in  the  text  is  the  shallow  of  which  Christ  is  the  substance. 

L  In  Christ  the  mercifulness  of  the  Divine  nature  is  fully  declared.  The 
Old  Testament  is  ever  celebrating  the  mercy  of  God.  Some  contend  that  the 
God  of  the  Old  Testament  is  an  inexorable  and  cruel  deity,  but  the  inmost  idea 
of  the  whole  dispensation  is  that  of  the  Divine  mercifulness  (Exod.  xx.  6). 
This  glorious  idea  runs  through  the  whole  of  their  worship  ;  the  whole  cere- 
monial culminates  on  the  golden  mercy-seat.  And  this  idea  also  runs  through 
the  whole  of  their  literature.  But  in  Christ  we  have  the  clear,  full  declaration 
of  the  mercifulness  of  God.  Thus  Zacharias  :  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel ;  for  He  hath  visited  and  redeemed  His  people,  to  perform  the  mercy 
promised  to  our  fathers  "  (Luke  i.  68-72).  The  mercifulness  of  God  is  hinted 
in  nature  ;  it  is  more  clearly  made  known  in  Mosaism  ;  it  is  finally  and  fully 
declared  in  Jesus.  Mercy  for  the  worst  (Luke  xix.  10);  mercy  for  all;  mercy 
through  all  generations.  The  Cross  of  Christ  is  the  true  rainbow  in  the  black 
cloud  which  hangs  over  the  destinies  of  the  world. 

II.  In  Christ  the  mercifulness  of  the  Divine  nature  is  manifestly  reconciled 
with  the  claims  of  truth  and  righteousness  (veis.  18-20).  The  cherubims  over 
the  mercy  seat  symbolise  the  fact,  that  the  extension  of  mercy  to  mankind  is 
justified  in  the  eyes  of  the  heavenly  universe.  When  man  fell,  the  cherubims  were 
the  witnesses  of  his  guilt  and  of  his  exclusion  from  paradise  (Gen.  iii.  24),  and 
now  they  are  the  consenting  witnesses  to  his  forgiveness  and  restoration.  Some 
speak  as  if  it  were  a  very  easy  thing  for  God  to  show  mercy  to  a  world  of  sinners, 
but  Revelation  throughout  reminds  us  that  it  was  not  such  an  easy  thing  as 
sentiment  suggests.  The  claims  of  truth  and  righteousness  were  to  be  sustained. 
These  conflicting  claims  are  reconciled  in  Christ.  God  shows  mercy  in  the  Cross 
without  sacrificing  truth  (ver.  21).  The  law  is  the  basis.  Although  God  pardons 
sinners,  the  truth  is  honoured.  God  shows  meicy  in  the  Cross  without  sacri- 
ficing righteousness.  The  golden  mercy-seat,  sprinkled  with  blood,  tells  how 
the  holiness  of  God  was  vindicated  by  the  death  of  Christ  (Rom.  iii.  19-27). 
The  universe  of  glory  looks  down  with  wondering,  consenting  eyes  upon  the 
resumption  of  the  world  in  Jesus  Christ  (1  Peter  i.  12). 

in.  In  Christ  alone  will  the  Divine  mercifulness  be  extended  to  guilty  men 

(ver.  22).  Tliere  would  Goil  meet  with  Israel,  and  there  alone.  God  will  only 
save  and  bless  men  through  Christ  crucified.  There  is  no  other  name  given  by 
whicli  men  can  be  saved.  1.  We  all  need  mercy.  Where  is  the  man  who  can 
stand  before  God  on  the  grounds  of  justice  1  2.  We  may  all  find  mercy.  There 
is  no  exception.  The  mercy  of  Cliiist  is  infinite,  universal,  everlasting.  3.  Let 
us  so  seek  this  mercy  thac  we  may  find  it.  Come  to  the  mercy-seat  with  peni- 
tence, renouncing  all  sin  j  come  with  a  bold  faith. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxv. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Vers.  17-23.  Then,  again,  we  Lave  to  reading,  as  it  were,  in  blazing  letters, 

remark  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  the  condemnation  of  My  beloved  people. 

"  mercy-seat ; "     it    literally    signifies  This  is  just  what  God  has  conilescended 

"covering,"  The  mercy-seat  was  a  com-  to  say  in  another  place,  "Their  sins 

plete  covering;  it  came  between  the  law  and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember 

and  God.       The  law  condemned  the  -no  mo-re"  or,  as  we  have  it  again  in  the 

people  who  had  broken  that  law ;  when  103d  Psalm,  "As  far  as  the  east  is 

God  commanded  the  mercy-seat  to  be  from  the  Avest,  so  far  hath  He  removed 

placed  over  it,  it  was  as  if  He  had  said,  our  transgressions  from  us." 

Cover  it,  I  will  not  look  upon  it;  it  would  — W.  H.  Krause,  M.A. 
be  impossible  to  look  upon  it  without 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Yenet  23-80. 

The  Table  of  Shew  Bread. 

This  table,  with  its  burden  and  furniture,  must  be  regarded  in  a  two-fold 

sense.     It  teaches — 

I.  That  all  life  springs  from  God.  These  loaves  on  the  golden  table  certainly 
signify  the  fact  that  out  of  the  love  of  God  comes  the  sustenance  of  man.  1. 
God  is  the  supporter  of  our  natural  life.  The  golden  table  reminds  us  of  the 
golden  harvest  which  God  gives  for  the  preservation  of  the  world.  As  the 
loaves  were  continually  renewed,  so  from  year  to  year  does  God  give  us  rain  and 
fruitful  seasons,  filling  the  heart  of  man  with  food  and  gladness.  But,  2.  God 
is  the  giver  of  spiritual  nourishment  to  the  world  of  souls.  Man  lives  not  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  which  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God. 
This  is  the  heavenly  bread  which  is  given  in  Jesus  Christ.  (1.)  The  shew 
bread  was  made  of  the  finest  of  the  flour,  and  in  Christ  we  have  the  pure 
spiritual  truth  for  which  the  soul  longs  (Isa.  Iv.  2).  (2.)  The  number  of  the 
loaves,  twelve,  indicate  the  fulness  of  the  provision  that  there  is  in  Christ  for 
the  soul.  It  satisfies  the  intellect,  the  afi'ections,  the  conscience.  He  "satis- 
fieth  the  longing  soul,  and  filleth  the  hungry  soul  with  goodness  "  (Ps.  cvii.  9). 
(3.)  The  continued  renewal  of  the  bread  signifies  the  everlasting  power  and 
grace  of  Christ.  It  always  satisfies — it  satisfies  for  ever  (John  vi.  35  ;  John 
vi.  51).  In  Christ  we  have  not  a  hollow  shape  of  old  history,  not  a  phantom 
shape  of  the  imagination,  but  food  for  the  heart  and  life — a  living,  loving,  per- 
sonal, strengthening  Saviour.  *'  Whoso  eats  His  flesh  and  drinks  His  blood  hath 
eternal  life." 

n.  That  all  life  must  be  consecrated  to  God.  These  loaves  were  to  lie  before 
the  face  of  Jehovah  as  a  meat-ottering  presented  by  the  children  of  Israel  (Lev. 
xxiv.  8).  The  frankincense  sprinkled  upon  the  bread,  or  consumed  over  it,  indi- 
cated that  it  was  offered  up  to  God,  and  thus  all  life  must  be  consecrated  to  God. 
It  comes  from  Him,  and  it  must  be  yielded  up  to  Him.  Fully  given  to  Him — 
constantly  given  up.  To  Him  must  ever  go  up  the  offering  of  our  love,  the 
incense  of  our  worship,  the  sacrifices  of  our  obedience.  The  table  of  pure  gold 
on  which  the  loaves  stood  may  well  suggest  the  pure  heart,  without  which  all 
our  gifts  and  services  are  rejected.  The  cans,  cups,  dishes,  &c,  of  the  table,  all 
of  pure  gold,  remind  us  that  we  must  keep  our  members  as  instruments  of 
righteousness  unto  God,  and  that  all  our  gifts  and  possessions,  all  the  associa- 
tious  and  details  of  life,  must  be  holy  and  uudefiled. 

445 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 


Vers.  23-30.  1.  Fine  flour  was  to  form 
the  ingredient  of  the  bread,  and  even 
this  was  to  pass  through  a  fiery  ordeal  in 
its  preparation  :  thus  the  very  purest 
bread  must  furnish  the  table  of  the  holy 
place.  See  we  not  here  the  impressive 
import  of  the  words,  My  Father  giveth 
you  the  true  bread  from  heaven  1  The 
bread  of  God  is  He  which  cometli  down 
from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto  the 
world  (John  vi.  32,  33).  Inconceivably 
fine  and  free  from  all  impurity  is  this 
bread.  Still,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  Him  (Isa.  liii.  10).  The  Son  of 
God  passes  through  most  appalling  trial 
in  order  to  the  demonstration  of  His 
glorious  perfection  (Heb.  ii.  10);  and, 
blessedly  to  observe,  every  succeeding 
humiliation  and  sorrow,  though  deep- 
ening in  agony  and  increasing  in  inten- 
sity at  eveiy  ste[),  endured  by  Jesus 
Christ,  does  hut  leave  Him  more  trium- 
phant in  righteousness  and  glorious  in 
holiness. — fV.  Mudge. 

We  observe  another  direction  which 
God  gave  with  regard  to  the  table  of 
shew  bread.  God  said  to  Moses,  "  Thou 
shalt  put  pure  frankincense  upon  each 
row,  that  it  may  be  on  the  bread" — not 
mixed  up  with  it,  but  "  on  the  bread, 
for  a  memorial."  The  "pure  frankin- 
cense "  was  to  be  placed  on  the  "pure 
table."  The  sweetness  of  that  provision 
which  God  has  made  for  His  people  is 
here  set  before  us.  We  want  this  idea 
to  be  fastened  on  our  minds,  dear 
brethren,  that  Jehovah  is  as  much  de- 
lighted with  that  which  is  the  food  and 
nourishment  of  His  people,  as  tliey 
themselves  can  be,  when  they  find  their 
wants  sati>fied  to  the  very  utmost. 
There  is  such  communion,  such  oneness 


between  God  and  His  Church,  that  the 
very  thing  His  people  want  is  the  very 
thing  in  which  He  Himself  takes  de 
light.  So  that  when  the  believing  soul 
feeds  upon  Jesus,  the  bread  of  life,  this, 
like  sweet  incense,  comes  up  with  ac- 
ceptance before  the  Lord. 

Observe  the  two  ideas  suggested  by 
this  continual  placing  of  bread  before 
the  Lord.  First,  it  was  the  very  food 
which  God  provided  for  His  people  ; 
it  was  abundantly  good  food  for  them, 
and  it  was  always  the  same.  Just  as 
it  is  said  of  the  manna,  *'  The  children 
of  Israel  did  eat  manna  forty  years  " — 
all  the  time  of  their  wilderness  history. 
A  spiritual  appetite  will  always  like 
the  same  food,  even  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

But  there  is  a  second  idea  suggested 
by  the  continual  ]ilacing  of  this  bread 
before  the  Lord.  You  mark  there  was 
provision  made  for  all  the  tribes.  Not 
one  of  the  Lord's  people  shall  want  the 
spiritual  food  that  is  best  for  them. 
God  is  bound,  by  everlasting  covenant 
engagements,  to  nourish  and  to  feed 
all  His  people.  Not  one  of  them  shall 
ever  complain  that  good  food  has  not 
been  provided  for  him.  According  to 
the  greatness  of  our  wants,  the  Lord 
will  abundantly  satisfy  our  necessities. 
This  is  a  truth  which  the  Lord's  people 
are  very  slow  to  receive.  We  look  at 
others, and  we  say.  Oh,  if  I  had  the  faith, 
the  love,  the  diligence  of  such  or  such 
an  individual  in  the  famil/  of  God, 
all  would  be  well.  Depend  upoT»  it, 
brethren,  the  Lord  knows  how  to 
satisfy  all  His  people  with  the  food  that 
is  best  for  them. — W.  Krause. 


MAIN  IIOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  Sl-40, 

The  Candlestick. 

Christ  is  the  "  light  of  the  world."  and  His  Church  is  the  lamp-holder,  the 
light-bearer.  What  does  the  candlestick  teach  in  respect  to  the  Christian 
Churcli  ? 

I.  The  necessity  of  purity,  if  the  Church  is  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  ol 
Christ.     1.  "The  candlestick  must  be  of  pwre  gold,"  ver.  31.     Again,  ver.  36, 
ii6 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  mt. 


an  impure  Church  cannot  keep  the  light,  and  diffuse  the  light  (Rev.  ii.  5). 
Here  the  Ephesian  Church  is  warned  that  if  they  do  not  repent  and  amend,  the 
light  that  is  in  them  shall  become  darkness.  An  impure  ministry  cannot  shed 
this  light  long.     And,  personally,  if  we  are  to  be  evangehsts  we  must  be  pure. 

2.  The  Church  must  be  really  pure,  "  Of  beaten  work  sliall  the  candlestick  be 
made,"  ver,  31.  It  was  to  be  solid,  not  hollow.  The  goodness  of  the  Church, 
Mie  minister,  &c,,  must  not  be  formal  and  ceremonial,  but  real  and  heart-felt. 

3.  And  the  lowest  workers  and  instruments  for  Christ  must  be  holy.  Tongs 
and  snuff  dishes  must  be  of  pure  gold.     We  are  taught — 

n.  The  grand  mission  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  It  is  a  candlestick — its  great 
mission  is  to  diffuse  light.  We  see  sometimes  all  pains  taken  with  the  candle- 
stick— in  its  ornamentation,  &c., — and  it  is  forgotten  that  the  end  of  a  candle- 
stick is  to  give  light,  A  church  is  grand  architecturally,  but  what  of  that  if  it 
is  not  a  light-giving  centre  'i  A  ministry  is  eloquent,  but  what  of  that  if  it  does 
not  shed  the  clearer  light  which  leads  us  to  the  Lambi  ver.  37.  We  are  re- 
minded— 

III.  That  the  Church  must  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God  as  made  known 

in  Jesus  Christ.  The  candlestick  was  seven-branched,  ver.  32.  There  is  com- 
pleteness and  fulness  of  light  in  Christ,  and  the  Church  must  seek  to  set  forth 
fully  the  manifold  light  of  the  Gospel.  On  matters  of  belief  and  matters  of 
duty,  our  relations  to  God  and  man,  body  and  soul,  this  world  and  the  next. 
Let  nothing  deter  us  from  making  known  the  whole  counsel  of  God. 
We  are  reminded — 

IV.  Of  the  beautiful  fruits  which  will  spring  forth  under  the  shining  of 
Christian  truth,  vers,  33-35,  Flowers  and  pomegranates.  Beautiful  flowers 
and  sweet  fruits  are  the  creations  of  the  light.  Thus,  if  the  Church  is  faithful, 
the  wilderness  around  her  shall  bloom.     We  are  reminded — 

V.  Of  the  constant  vigilance  which  the  Church  must  exercise  to  keep  the 
tmth  undimmed.  In  verse  38  we  read  of  tongs  and  snuff-dishes.  Let  us 
watch,  and  carefully  remove  whatever  would  dim  the  shining  of  the  light  of 
Christk     Discipline  in  the  Church ;  discipline  in  ourselves. 


SUGGEST  I VE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Vers.  31-40.  The  candlestick  of  pure  Moreover,  it  is  not  a  partial  state- 
gold  comes  next  in  order,  for  God's  ment  even  of  Divine  truth  that  will 
priests  need  light  as  well  as  food  ;  and  suffice  for  the  edification  of  the  Church 
they  have  both  the  one  and  the  other  or  of  the  nation.  Not  one  or  more  of 
in  Christ.  In  this  candlestick  there  is  the  seven  lamps  of  the  seven-branched 
no  mention  of  anything  but  pure  gold,  candlestick  must  burn  apart  from 
"  All  of  it  shall  be  one  beaten  work  of  others :  all  must  burn  together,  and 
pure  gold."  "  The  seven  lamps  "  which  send  their  commingled  blaze  in  com- 
"gave  light  over  against  the  candle-  bined  and  united  radiancy  around  her 
stick,"  express  the  perfection  of  the  holy  place.  A  mutilated  Bible,  or  a 
light  and  energy  of  the  Spirit,  founded  book  of  garbled  extracts  in  the  place 
upon  and  connected  with  the  perfect  of  the  Bible,  ought  to  be  the  wonder 
efficacy  of  the  work  of  Christ,  The  and  the  grief  of  Christendom. — W. 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  can  never  be  Mudgt, 
separated  from  the  work  of  Christ. 


447 


CHAP.  XXT. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXOUUa. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXV. 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Typology!  Vers.  1-40.  If  you  hold  up 
your  hand  between  the  candle  and  the  wall, 
what  do  you  see  ?  That  shadow  of  your  hand 
is  not,  however,  of  the  same  size  and  colour. 
It  is  only  an  outline.  Holding  up  some 
beautiful  object  which  we  have  never  seen 
before,  its  shadow  would  give  but  a  feeble  im- 
pression of  itself.  So  Hel).  x.  1  says,  that  the 
Law  had  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come. 
Those  good  things  have  come  ;  and 

'*  Man  has  gazed  on  heavenly  secrets, 
Sunned  himself  in  heavenly  glow  ; 
Seen  the  glory,  heard  the  music, — 
We  are  wiser  than  we  know." 

—Mackay. 

Cheerful-Giving  !  Ver.  1.  1.  A  missionary 
Msociation  having  been  formed  at  Huahine, 
in  the  South  Seas,  the  native  Christians  were 
reminded  that  they  must  give  "  willingly  with 
their  hearts  "  One,  however,  brought  a  pig 
to  the  treasurer,  Huatia,  and  throwing  tlie 
animal  down  at  his  feet,  said  in  angry  tone, 
"  Here  is  an  offering  for  your  society."  Hua- 
tia calmly  explained  to  the  giver  that  such 
offerings  were  for  God,  not  for  any  Society, 
and  that  "  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver."  He 
then,  to  the  chagrin  of  the  native,  added, 
"Take  it  back  again,  for  God  does  not  ac- 
cept angry  gifts."  2.  In  Tahiti,  on  a  similar 
occasion,  a  person  brought  a  quantity  of  cocoa- 
nut  oil  to  King  Pomare,  exclaiming  in  a  very 
bad  spirit,  "Here  are  five  bamboos  of  oil; 
take  them  for  your  Missionary  Society."  The 
churlish  giver  was  greatly  surprised  when 
Pomare  pushed  aside  his  offering  with  the 
rebuke,  "I  cannot  mix  your  angry  bamboos 
with  God's  oil,  so  take  them  away."  As 
Beecher  says,  There  are  some  who  give  as  a 
perennial  fountain  does,  freely  and  without 
force,  while  tliere  are  others  who  resemble  a 
well  which  requires  much  pumping, 

"  See  the  rivers  flowing 
Downward  to  the  sea. 
Pouring  all  their  treasures 

Bountiful  and  free."    — Procter. 

Church-Contributions!  Vers.  2-8.  A  mis- 
sionary rode  one  day  into  a  ruined  village 
seeking  subscriptions  to  build  a  churcii  in  the 
neighl)Ourhood.  He  called  upon  a  Neirro  Chris- 
tian, whom  he  found  living  with  his  wife  and 
family  and  beneaih  the  fallen  roof  of  his  hut, 
which  the  earthquake  had  recently  shaken  and 
shattered.  On  ascertainini;  the  missionary's 
object  the  neu:ro  went  back  to  the  hut,  and 
from  amongst  the  confusion  of  overturned 
furniture  brought  ten  dolhirs.  Struck  by  this 
liberal  gift,  the  servant  of  God  remonstrated 
with  the  donor,  but  he  promptly  replied,  "  Sir, 
448 


we  must  build  up  God's  house  before  our  own, 
and  get  into  it,  and  then  our  prayers  will  bring 
down  such  a  blessing  as  will  soon  set  all  right 
again." 

"  Give,  give,  be  always  giving  I 
Who  gives  not  is  not  living. 
The  more  you  give, 
The  more  you  live."       — Anon, 

Free- Will  Offerings !  Ver.  3.  1.  An  Alpine 
missionary  relates  an  interesting  circum- 
stance of  the  Christians  at  Vanvert,  in  regard 
to  the  scheme  for  erecting  a  sanctuary  there. 
"Some,"  he  says,  "^gave  money  in  francs,  some 
devoted  portions  of  their  wearing  apparel, 
some,  and  these  not  a  few,  sacrificed  their 
earrings  and  necklaces,  some  could  give 
nothing  but  a  cheese,  or  a  sheep,  they  were 
so  poor."  2.  This  has  its  parallel  in  Southern 
Africa,  where,  on  one  occasion,  to  build  a 
church,  the  natives  contributed  oxen,  cows, 
sheep,  goats  ;  also  horns,  skins,  ostrich 
feathers,  eggs,  &c.  Of  them,  St.  Paul  might 
say,  "  Their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto  the 
riches  of  their  liberality  ;  for  to  their  power, 
yea,  and  beyond  their  power,  they  were  willing 
of  themselves,  praying  us  with  much  entreaty 
that  we  would  receive  their  gift"  (1  Cor.  viii. 
3).     Then 

"  Give !    as  the   morning  that  flows  out  of 
heaven  ; 
Give  !  as  the  waves  when  their  channel  ii 

riven ; 
Give !   as  the   free  air  and   sunshine   are 
given  ; 

Lavishly,  utterly,  joyfully  give." 

Israels' -Gifts!  Vers.  4-7.  1.  Bush  re- 
marks that  the  hair  of  the  Eastern  goats,  par- 
ticularly that  of  the  Angola  species,  is  of  the 
most  delicate  and  silky  softness,  and  wrought 
into  the  kind  of  cloth  known  by  the  name  of 
camlets.  2.  Thomson  relates  that  the  vast 
flocks  which  annually  come  from  Armenia  and 
Northern  Syria  are  nearly  all  males,  and  that 
tiie  Itatlier,  therefore,  is  literally  rams'  skins 
dyed  red.  3.  Macmillan  says  that  the  spices 
here  were  to  perfume  the  oil.  It  was  com- 
posed of  two  pars  of  myrrh,  two  parts  of 
cassia,  one  part  cinnamon,  and  one  part  sweet 
calamus,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the 
purest  olive  oil  to  give  it  the  proper  consistency. 
4.  Spices  were  also  used  in  making  the  in- 
cense; and,  according  to  rabbinical  tradition, 
a  priest  or  Ijevite,  one  of  the  fifteen  prefects 
of  the  temple,  was  retained,  whose  special 
duty  it  was  to  prepare  this  precious  compound. 
So  precious  and  holy  was  this  'sweet  incense" 
considered,  that  it  was  forbidden  to  make  • 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXV. 


similar  perfume  for   private  use  on  pain  of 
death. 

**  Man   is  the  world's  high  priest ;  he  doth 

present 
The  sacrifice  for  all  ;  while  they  below 
Unto  the  service  muiter  an  assent, 
Such  as  springs  use  at  fall,  and  winds  that 

blow,"  — Herbert. 

Ark-Speech!  Vers.  10-17.  God  gives  pre- 
eminence to  the  ark  ;  as  the  heart  and  core  of 
all  religion.  1.  It  tells  us  in  language  clear 
and  emphatic  that  Christ  should  fill  up  the 
foreground  of  each  thought  and  word  of  ours, 
that  no  reserve,  no  unworthy  veil  sliould  ob- 
scure the  brightness  of  His  smile,  and  that  no 
man  should  hide  Him  in  the  rear.  2.  It  also 
tells  us  that  underneath  the  seeming  barren- 
ness of  the  Mosaic  tabernacle  details  lie  hidden 
many  precious  truths — hidden  for  man  to 
search  for — hidden,  that  when  sought  and 
found,  man  may  taste  tlie  sweetness  of  dis- 
covery and  possession.  We,  therefore,  should 
not  forget  that 

**  The  roots  of  fairest  bloom   lie  sometime 
hidden 
The  deepest  underneath  the  soil ;  that  stones 
Of    purest     ciystal     are    from     gloomiest 
mines."  — Bickcrstetk. 

Shittim-Wood  I  Ver.  10,  Dr.  Shaw  says 
that  the  acacia,  being  by  far  the  largest  and 
most  common  tree  of  these  deserts,  there  is 
good  reason  to  conjecture  that  the  shittim- 
wood,  of  which  tlie  several  utensils  of  the 
tabernacle  were  made,  was  that  of  the  acacia. 
The  tree  abounds  with  flowers  of  a  globular 
shape,  and  of  an  excellent  smell ;  which  is 
another  proof  of  its  being  the  Scripture  shitta 
tree.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  Hebrew 
verb  shata,  because  the  sharpness  of  its  spines 
made  animals  decline  or  turn  aside.  This 
plant  is  so  hard  and  solid  as  to  become  almost 
incorruptible.  In  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  it 
is  joined  with  the  myrtle  and  other  sweet 
smelling  plants. 

**  The  cedar  waved  its  arms  of  peaceful  shade. 
The  vine  embraced  the  elm,  and  myrtles 

flower'd 
Among  the  fragrant  orange  groves." 

Ark-Symbolism!  Ver.  10.  St.  John  tells  us 
that  with  enraptured  eye,  he  beheld  the  Temple 
of  God  opened  in  heaven,  and  saw  therein  the 
ark  of  God's  testament  (xi.  19).  The  veil  had 
been  rent  at  Christ's  death  ;  tlierefore  its 
snowy  surface,  with  richly  inwrought  cherubic 
figures  of  scarlet  and  gold,  no  longer  concealed 
the  holiest  of  all  from  view.  The  covenant- 
ark  is  visible.  John  gazes  on  this  familiar 
symbol  so  often  and  so  long  associated  with 
the  fortunes  and  tlie  history  of  the  Hebrew 
people,  the  palladium  of  their  liberties,  the 
rallying-poiiit  in  every  hour  of  disaster.  It 
had  now,  however,  a  deeper  significance  as  the 
type  of  the  great  Propitiatory — the  true  ark 
of  testimony.  In  the  glories  of  His  Divine 
Person,  says  Macduff,  and  in  the  fulness  of 
21. 


His  mediatorial  work,  Jesus  is  set  in  the 
heavenly  temple,  the  pledge  and  guarantee  of 
eternal  safety  and  peace  to  the  Church  pur- 
chased with  His  blood.     I  thank  thee 

"For  countless  mercies  from  Thy  hand,  my 
God, 
Which  never  cease; 
For  each  sprinkling  of  that  cleansing  blood 
Which  speaketh  peace." 

—E.  0.  a  B. 

Ark  of  Testimony!  Ver.  11.  It  is  God's 
will  that  His  Son  should  be  set  forth  without 
a  cloud,  in  full-orbed  splendour.  Hence,  He 
first  shows  that  which  shows  Him  most  clearly. 
1.  ft  was  for  the  ark  that  the  Hoiy  Tent  was 
reared — that  the  holiest  place  was  set  apart. 
As  the  richest  jewel  in  the  sacred  casket,  as 
tlie  topstone  of  the  hallowed  pile,  is  the 
Covenant-Ark  given  precedence.  2.  It  ex- 
hibits Christ  in  its  substance  of  wood  and 
gold — as  the  ark  of  redemption — as  very  man, 
and  spotless  man,  conjoined  with  perfect 
Deity.  3.  It  testifies  to  the  kingship  of 
Christ  in  the  crown  that  surrounds  its  sum- 
mit;  for  He  hath  on  His  vesture  and  on  His 
thigh  a  name  written,  "King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords"  (Rev.  xix.  16).  4.  It  speaks 
of  Christ  abiding  as  the  inmate  of  the  faithful 
heart,  but  passing  on  if  not  heeded  ;  for  the 
staves  might  not  be  taken  out. 

"Jesus,  Master!  I  am  Thine; 

Keep  me  faithful,  keep  me  near; 
Let  Thy  presence  in  me  shine. 

All  my  homeward  way  to  cheer. 
Jesus  I  at  Thy  feet  I  fall — 
Oh,  be  Thou  my  all  in  all." 

Mercy-Seat!  Vers.  17-23.  1.  A  lid  is 
placed  above  the  Ark  for  the  purpose  of 
hiding  the  Law  from  every  eye.  The  re- 
quirements of  the  Law  are  very  long  and 
wide,  their  breadth  embracing  the  wliole  of 
each  man's  life.  But  Christ  covers  the  vast 
dimensions  of  the  requiring  and  condemning 
code;  for  an  exact  covering  conceals  all 
claims.  2.  A  lid  of  solid  gold  is  made,  be- 
cause mercy  has  no  birthplace  but  in  heaven. 
And  wliat  is  mercy  but  Christ  in  His  finished 
work  ?  He  is,  says  Law,  the  mirror  of  God's 
loving  heart^the  pinnacle  of  tender  grace. 
He  is  the  mountains  towering  above  moun- 
tains, in  which  every  grain  is  God's  goodness. 

"  While  reason,  like  a  Levite,  waits 
Where  priest  and  people  meet, 
Faith,  by  a  'new and  living  way,' 
Hath  gained  the  Mercy-Seat." 

Mercy-Model!  Ver.  17.  Our  Lord  said, 
"Be  ye  merciful,  as  jour  Father  also  in 
heaven  is  merciful."  1.  Sterne  says  some- 
what strongly  tiiat  while  we  may  imitate  the 
Deity  in  all  His  attributes,  mercy  is  the  only 
one  iu  which  we  can  pretend  to  equal  Him. 
We  cannot,  indeed,  give  like  God  ;  but  surely 
we  may  forgive  like  Him.  2.  Ilichter  says. 
When  thou  showest  mercy,  the  man  who  has 
pierced  thy  heart  stands  to  thee  in  the  rel*" 

449 


CHAP.  XXV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


tion  of  the  sea-worm  that  perforates  the  shell 
of  the  oyster,  which  straightway  closes  the 
wound  with  a  shinini;,  precious  pearl. 

*'  Tlie  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained  ; 

It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  irom  heaven 
Upon  the  place  beneath  :  it  is  twice  bless'd  ; 
It  blessetli   him   tliat  i^ives,  and  him  that 
takes." — Shakespeare. 

Cherubims!  Ver.  IS.  The  form  of  the 
cherubim  used  in  the  tabernacle  is  uncertain. 
From  the  other  descriptions  of  these  symbolic 
figures  in  Scripture,  we  perceive  that  wliile 
the  same  type  was  adhered  to,  tiie  details  of 
the  form  varied.  1.  Fairbairn  considers  them 
to  have  symitoiised  the  fulness  of  life,  i.e., 
life  most  nearly  and  essentially  connected 
with  God-life,  as  it  is  or  shall  be  held  by  those 
who  dwell  in  His  immediate  presence — pre- 
eminently, therefore,  spiritual  and  iioly  life. 
2.  Brown  is  of  opinion  that  these  cherubim 
represent  the  redeemed  themselves,  preoccu- 
pied in  the  holy  and  delightful  exercise  of 
meditation  upon  the  my'>;eries  of  grace — the 
same  beinsrs  as  were  inwrougiit  upon  the 
Cherubic  Veil.  3.  Law  says  that,  being  of 
the  same  material  as  the  Mercy-Seat,  and  in- 
deed of  one  piece,  they  teach  that  the  heirs  of 
life  have  no  dependence  but  on  Christ ;  that 
they  are  one  with  Him,  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature  ;  and  that  their  expanded  wings 
indicate  the  devoted  and  ever-ready  zeal  of 
believers  to  serve  God.  4.  A  reference  to 
these  has  been  found  in  Cant.  vi.  12  :  "The 
chariots  of  My  willing  people."  During  the 
Gospel  and  Millennial,  and  even  in  the  Eternal, 
ages,  Christ  will  be  borne  abroad — 

"Himself  the  Bridegroom  on   the  right  of 

power, 
Where  in  the  heaven  of  heavens  He  sate 

embosom'd, 
All  in  His  Glorious  Majesty,  and  deign'd 
Ascend  the  chariot  of  Omnipotence, 
Borne  onward  by  cherubic  shapes." 

Mercy-Mirror  I  Ver.  21.  Trapp  quaintly 
Bays  that  in  the  heaven-bow  there  are  many 
wonders.  Amongst  these  are  its  beautiful 
shape  and  various  colours.  It  also  has  two 
contrary  significations  ;  fair  weather  and  foul. 
It  is  a  monument  of  God's  justice  in  drowning, 
and  of  God's  mercy  in  delivering  the  world. 
The  Jews  have  an  odd  conceit,  that  the  name 
Jehovah  is  written  on  it.  Whenever,  there- 
fore, they  behold  its  lovely  arch  tliey  hide 
their  eyes,  confess  their  sins,  and  adore  the 
Divine  Mercy.  But  the  rainbow  is  not  visible 
after  nightfall.  Mercy  is  like  it  ;  we  must 
never  look  for  it  when  night  has  gathered. 
It  shines  not  in  the  other  world.  If  we  refuse 
mercy  here,  says  Le  Bas,  we  shall  not  find  it 
spanning  the  dark  vault  of  death  and  hell. 
Mercy's  bow  is  only  visil>le  now,  Justice — 
"  Doth  bend  itself  into  a  hollow  shroud, 

On  which,  when  Mekct  doth  but  cast  her 
face, 

A  thousand  colours  do  the  Bow  enchase." 

—Flttcher. 
450 


Throne  of  Grace!  Ver.  22.  Ballow  sayi 
th:it  between  the  humble  ami  contrite  heart 
aYiid  the  flajesty  of  heaven  there  are  no  barriers. 
The  only  password  is  Prayer.  1.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  blood-bosprinkled  mercy-seat  betore 
which  the  soul  prostrates  itself  in  supplica- 
tion. There  God  is  present  to  hear,  answer, 
and  bless.  There  He  will  open  all  His  heart, 
and  deal,  as  friend  with  friend,  in  all  the  free- 
ness  of  familiar  love.  2.  The  Mosiiic  throne 
of  grace  has  disappeared.  But  Christ  ever 
lives.  In  Him  the  Throne  of  Grace  cannot  be 
moved.  Essential  blessings  have  eternal  life  ; 
and  he  who  passes  often  to  it  through  the 
parted  veil,  will  return  laden  with  blessings — 
rich  in  grace — refreshed  with  heavenly  con« 
verse  and  meet  for  a  heavenly  home. 

**  How  dreary  and  how  lonely 
This  changeful  life  would  be. 
Without  the  sweet  communion, 
The  secret  rest  witli  Thee  1" 

Table  of  Shewbread !  Ver.  23.  1.  A  carved 
representation  of  this  is  visible  on  the  famous 
Arch  of  Titus.  In  height  it  was  to  be  co- 
equal with  the  ark,  whilst  the  measure  of  ita 
length  and  breadth  were  to  be  less.  The 
substance  also  was  identical ;  the  inner  frame 
being  incorruptible  acacia  wood,  the  outer 
case  shining  in  the  chaste  splendour  of  pure 
gold.  2.  The  rings  mentioned  in  verse  22 
were  not  found  in  the  table  which  was  after- 
wards made  for  the  Temple,  nor  indeed  in  any 
of  the  sacred  furniture  where  they  had  pre- 
viously been,  except  in  the  Ark  of  the  Cove- 
nant. These  rings  were  for  the  insertion  of 
the  staves  to  carry  it  from  place  to  place 
during  the  wilderness  wanderings.  3.  Many 
see  in  this  table  a  type  of  the  Divine-human 
nature  of  Christ.  He  is  the  one  full  table 
which  is  ever  full.  And  as  the  thought  and 
plan  of  the  shewliread  table  were  wholly  from 
above,  and  of  no  human  pattern  or  design, 
so  Ciirist  is  the  offspring  of  full  grace,  and 
comes  forth  from  God. 

"  I  would  rejoice  for  all  that  Thou  hast  given 
in  Christ  to  Me, — 
For  grace,  and  peace,  and  gladdening  hope 
of  heaven. 
Not  bought,  but  Fbkk." 

Shewbread !  Ver.  30.  1.  Literally  it 
means  "bread  of  faces,"  or  "bread  of  pre- 
sence," from  being  always  set  before  the  face 
and  presence  of  God.  This  bread  was  com- 
posed of  twelve  unleavened  loaves,  which  were 
sprinkled  over  with  frankincense,  and,  it  is 
stated  in  the  Alexandria  version,  with  salt 
likewise.  Jahn  says  that  they  were  placed 
in  two  piles,  one  above  another,  and  were 
chanired  every  Sunday  l)y  the  priests.  2.  Law 
says  that  faith  knows  this  emblem  well,  having 
often  sat  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  with  rapture, 
and  heard  Him  say,  "  I  am  the  Bread  of  Life." 
The  numbered  bread  is  a  clear  picture  of  the 
numbered  Church,  whose  members  sit  together 
with  Christ  in  heavenly  places,  on  whom  rest* 
the  constant  fragrance  of  His  infinite  merits 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXTi. 


The  ministers  of  Christ  every  Sundny  place 
Ciirist  before  their  flocks, — ever  the  same,  yet 
ever  new.     3.  Gray  sees  in  this  presence-bread 
the  tribute  of  Cliristian  hearts  ;  the  outflow  of 
our   gratitude.     As   flowers   carry  dewdrops, 
trembling  on  the  edges   of   the   petals,  and 
ready  to  fail  at  the  first  waft  of  wind,  or  brush 
of  bird,  so  the  heart  should  carry  its  beaded 
wcrds  of  thanksgivin^r,  and  at  the  first  breath 
of  heavenly  flavour  let  down  the  shower,  per- 
fumed with  the  heart's  gratitude. 
"  Angels,  help  us  to  adore  Him, 
To  behold  Him  face  to  face  ; 
Sun  and  moon  bow  down  before  Him, 
Dwellers  all  in  time  and  space. 

Praise  Him  !  Praise  Him  ! 
Praise  with  us  the  God  of  Grace." 
— Lyte. 

Candlestick!  Ver.  31.  1.  Macduff  says 
that  this  unquestionably  denotes  the  Church 
of  Christ,  just  as  do  the  golden  candlesticks 
in  Rev.  i,  Tliere,  we  are  taken  back  to  the 
sacred  furniture — to  the  one  candlestick  with 
its  branches  or  lamps.  We  are  also  reminded 
of  the  similar  beautiful  and  suggestive  vision 
of  the  prophet  Zechariah,  when  he  saw  the 
candlestick  all  of  gold,  with  its  seven  lamps, 
fed  from  the  upper  reservoir  of  holy  olive  oil, 
in  chap.  iv.  2.  The  priest  attending  to  its 
lamps  symbolises  Jesus,  the  great  High  Priest. 
In  Rev.  1.  He  is  represented  as  moving  in 
their  midst,  their  common  bond  of  union.  It 
is  no  longer  one  planet,  but  a  system,  of  which 
He  is  the  glorious  sun  and  centre.  The  light 
of  the  world  is  Christ.  No  candlestick,  no 
Church  shines  of  itself;  from  Him  its  light 
emanates. 

•*  Come  nearer.  Sun  of  Righteousness  I  that  we. 
Whose  swift  short  hours  of  day  so  swiftly 
run, 
So  overflowed  with  love  and  light,  may  be 

So  lost  in  glory  of  the  nearing  Sun, 
That  not  our  light,  but  Thine,  the  world  may 
see, 
New  praise  to  Thee  through  our  poor  lives 
be  won." — Havergal. 

Candlestick-Branches  I  Ver.  32.  (1.)  El- 
liot  says  that  the  seven  branches  were  remov- 
able from  the  central  chandelier  ;  perhaps  to 
typify  how,  under  the  Gospel  Dispensation,  the 
Church  would  lose  the  form  of  visible  unity 
that  it  had  possessed  under  the  Jewish,  and  be 
scattered  in  its  different  branches  over  the 
world.  (2.)  Law,  on  the  other  liand,  says 
that  Christ  is  the  seren-Iamped  candlestick. 


and  that  the  holy  place  wherein  it  shone, 
symbolises  that  heavenly  home  in  which  Christ 
is  the  full  light.  "  The  Lamb  is  the  light 
thereof"  (Rev.  xxi.  23).  The  branches  shina 
as  clustered  trees  of  fruit  and  flowers,  to  indi« 
cate  the  exquisite  loveliness  and  surpassing 
fruitfulness  of  Christ.  (3.)  Trench  says  that 
the  Jewish  tabernacle  lamp  was  symbolic  of 
the  Church  of  God  in  its  relation  to  the  king- 
dom and  economy  of  Israel.  That  ancient 
Church  forages  stood  alone  in  the  earth  as  the 
Divine  "lightgiver."  But  no  sooner  did  the 
Jewish  Dispensation  cease,  than  the  tabernacle 
lamp-branches  were  separated  into  lamps,  to 
signify  the  essential  unity,  though  external 
diversity  of  the  Church. 

**  And  80  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ, 
The  blessed  Banyan  of  our  God, 
Past  rooted  upon  Zion's  mount. 

Has  sent  its  sheltering  arms  abroad; 
And  every  branch  that  from  it  springs. 

In  sacred  beauty  spreading  wide 

As  low  it  bends  to  bless  the  earth. 

Still  plants  another  by  its  side." 

— Antm. 

Candlestick -Beam  I      Ver.    37.     (1.)  The 

sevenfold  branches  support  sevenfold  lamps. 
Each  summit  is  a  coronet  of  fire.  Little 
would  be  the  profit  of  the  costly  frame  unless 
light  sparkled  from  it.  But  its  special  pur- 
pose is  to  burn — to  lighten  the  darkness  that 
otherwise  would  shroud  the  holy  place  of  the 
Church.  And  the  mystic  number,  as  well  as 
the  constant  blaze,  speak  to  the  Church  that 
her  "  light  should  ever  shine  a  perfect  light." 
(2.)  The  ancient  insignia  of  the  Waldensian 
Church  was  a  candlestick,  with  a  light  shedding 
its  rays  across  the  surrounding  darkness,  and 
encircled  with  seven  stars  and  the  motto, 
"  Lux  lucet  in  tenebris.  As  the  light  of  Christ 
shines  in  the  darkness  of  the  Church,  so  the 
Church  thus  enlightened  shines  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  world.  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world."  (3.)  Every  believer  shines  in  a  world 
lying  in  darkness  ;  therefore  he  should  guard 
and  tend  his  light,  not  only  to  lead  himself, 
but  all  whom  he  can  influence  from  the  outer 
darkness  of  the  world  to  the  marvellous  light 
of  heaven.  "  If  the  light  in  thee  be  darkness, 
how  great  is  that  darkness!"  It  is  a  total 
eclipse  within  and  without — a  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever. 

"  He  that  hides  a  dark  soul,  and  foul  thoughts, 
Benighted  walks  under  the  mid-day  sun; 
Himself  is  his  own  dungeon."— Jfi^to*. 


CHAPTER  XXVL 


CkitioaIj  Notes. — 1.  Of  cunning  work]  =  Ma^sey  chosheb  represents  workmanship  of  a  more 
skilful  and  costly  kind,  such  as  was  used  in  the  iuworking  of  the  figures  of  the  cherubim  upon  the 
inner  covering  of  the  roof  of  the  tabernacle,  the  vail  before  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  upon 
tiie  ephod  and  the  breast-plate  of  the  High  priest.      Another  peculiarity  of  this  covermg 

451 


OHAP.  XXVI.  HOMlLtfIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


of  this  cunning  work  wa?,  tliat  its  texture  exhibited  figures  on  hotk  sides,  while  the  needie-worle^ 
niMsey  rokcm — was  without  figures  of  the  cherubim,  and  exhibited  the  pattern  only  on  one  side. 
Tlie  workmanship  of  the  former,  maasey  chosheb  =  cunning  work,  being  employed  for  decora- 
tions of  the  interior  of  the  tabernacle  only,  may  be  taken  as  Bymbolising  the  presence  of  God 
in  the  tabernacle. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH,— Verses  1-15. 

The  Curtains  of  the  Tabernacle. 

In  its  highest  meaning  the  Tabernacle  is  the  symbol  of  Christ,  in  whom  God 
is  revealed  to  His  people.  What  practical  truths,  then,  do  these  curtains 
suggest  ? 

I.  That  the  glory  of  God  is  hidden  to  all  who  stand  outside  Jesus  Christ. 
These  elaborate  curtains  were  to  veil  the  sacred  furniture  and  services  of  the 
sanctuary  from  the  vulgar  or  profane  eye.  Only  such  as  entered  the  Tabernacle 
saw  the  glory ;  those  who  remained  outside  knew  it  not.  God  is  only  known 
in  Christ.  The  people  of  Israel  were  face  to  face  with  nature  ;  as  they  gazed  on 
the  pillar  of  fire  and  cloud,  they  were  face  to  face  with  Providence  ;  but  it  was 
only  as  they  penetrated  the  Tabernacle  that  they  felt  themselves  in  the  peculiar 
presence  of  God.  The  lights  of  the  candlestick,  the  table  of  shewbread,  the 
ark  speaking  of  reconciling  truth,  the  mercy-seat  and  the  glory  which  lighted  it, 
declaring  the  love  and  friendship  of  God, — all  these  were  hidden  from  the 
careless  and  unbelieving  outside  the  Tabernacle.  The  truth  for  us  is,  tliat  the 
knowledge  of  God,  the  righteousness  of  God,  the  love  of  God,  the  beauty  of 
God,  are  hidden  from  all  who  stand  outside  Christ.  The  bright  stars  are  clouds 
which  Goil  has  spread  on  His  throne  ;  the  heavens  He  has  spread  out  as  a 
curtain  ;  the  course  of  history  is  full  of  mysteries,  that  is  to  say,  God  hides 
Himself  in  darkness  ;  the  nature  of  man  is  a  darkened  glass,  through  which 
filter  perplexing  gleams  of  the  great  Creator.  "  The  world  by  wisdom  knew 
not  God."  In  the  ancient  world  man  felt  that  God  had  hidden  Himself  in 
nature  and  the  world's  government,  and  in  the  modern  world  all  who  reject 
Christ  find  the  curtains  between  man  and  God,  heaven  and  earth,  denser  than 
the  ancients  found  them  to  be.  There  "were  many  curtains  ;  the  curtains  were 
closely  linked  to  each  other ;  they  were  fastened  to  the  pillars  by  nails ;  there 
was  curtain  behind  curtain.  There  was  no  possibility  of  any  of  the  interior 
glories  being  witnessed  by  any  outside  the  tent.  Man  cannot  surprise  God  and 
penetrate  His  secrets. 

II.  That  in  Christ  the  glory  of  God  is  most  brightly  revealed.  The  inner- 
most curtains  were  very  beautiful  "  Of  fine  twined  linen,  and  blue,  and  purple, 
and  scarlet,"  and  the  cherubim  worked  in  with  golden  thread  These  curtains 
were  hooked  with  golden  hooks.  Then  came  the  second  curtains,  of  goats' 
hair,  hooked  with  brass.  Then  the  outermost  curtains,  of  rams'  skins  and 
badgers'  skins.  1.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  regarding  Christ  from  the  outside  ; 
and  then,  as  the  Jews,  we  see  no  beauty  in  Him.  2.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
knowing  Christ  as  a  great  Teacher,  a  great  Example  ;  "  the  goats'  hair  curtains 
hooked  with  brass."  3.  But  it  is  only  when  we  believe  in  Christ  as  the  Son  of 
God,  and  rest  in  Him  as  such,  that  we  behold  the  fulness  of  His  glory.  "The 
colours  are  the  symbols  of  the  difterent  names  of  God  ;  blue  signifies  the  special 
revelation  of  God,  being  the  colour  of  heaven  and  ether  ;  red  denotes  the  highest 
dignity,  majesty,  and  royal  power ;  aimson  is  that  which  fire  and  blood  h.^ve  in 
common,  and  symbolises,  therefore,  life  in  its  full  extent." — Kalisch.  In  Christ, 
the  love,  the  life,  the  beauty,  the  majesty  of  God  are  most  brightly  expressed. 
The  Tabernacle  was  a  very  diff'erent  jthice  seen  from  the  outside,  with  its  badgers' 
skins,  and  seen  within,  where  the  richJy-coicured  curtains  shone  with  their 

452 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxvi. 


golden  broideries ;  and  it  is  only  when  we  are  "  in  "  Christ  that  we  behold  the 
glory  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth.  Let  us  pene- 
trate to  the  heart  of  the  Gospel ;  let  us  go  beyond  the  curtains  of  goats'  hair, 
and  of  rams'  skins,  and  badgers'  skins  — the  letter  and  circumstance  of 
Christianity — to  gaze  with  open  face  on  the  glory  of  the  spiritual  and  redeem- 
ing Jesus. 

III.  That  in  Christ  is  everlasting  security  and  blessedness.  These  are 
sheltering  curtains — safety  within  the  tent  of  the  King.  "  One  thing  have  I 
desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after  :  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life ;  to  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to 
inquire  in.  His  temple.  For  in  the  time  of  trouble  He  shall  hide  me  in  His 
pavilion  :  in  the  secret  of  His  Tabernacle  shall  He  hide  me."  And  everlasting 
blessedness:  "And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  saying,"  &c.  (Rev.  xxi. 
3,  4).      Here  we  are  secure  beyond  all  the  tempests  of  life  or  death. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

The  curtains  on  which  we  have  been  earth,    how   few    really   knew   Him  ! 

dwelling  were  covered  with  other "  cur-  How    few    had    eyes    anointed    with 

tains  of  goats' hair,"  vers.  7-14.    Their  heavenly  eye-salve   to   penetrate   and 

beauty  was  hidden  from  those  witliout  appreciate  the   deep   mystery  of  His 

by  that  which  bespoke  roughness  and  character !     How  few  saw  "  the  blue, 

severity.     This   latter   did    not   meet  the  purple,  the  scarlet,  and  fine  twined 

the  view  of  those  within.     To  all  who  linen  ! "      It    was    only    when     faith 

were  privileged  to  enter  the  hallowed  brought  man  into  His  presence  that 

enclosure  nothing  was  visible  save  "  the  He  ever  allowed  the  brightness  of  what 

blue,  the  purple,  the  scarlet,  and  fine  He  was  to  shine  forth — ever  allowed 

twined  linen,"  tlie  varied  yet  combined  the  glory  to  break  through  the  cloud, 

exhibition   of  the  virtues   and   excel-  To  nature's  eye  there  would  seem  to 

lencies  of  that   divine  Tabernacle  in  have  been   a   reserve   and  a  severity 

which  God    dwelt   within   the  vail —  about  Him  which  were  aptly  prefigured 

that  is,  of  Christ,  through  wliose  flesh,  by  the  *'  covering  of  goats'  hair.''     All 

the  antitype  of  all  these,  the  beams  of  tliis  was  the  result   of  His  profound 

the  divine  nature  shone  so  delicately,  separation     and      estrangement,     not 

that  the  sinner  could  behold  without  from  sinners  personally,  but  from  the 

being  overwhelmed  by  their  dazzling  thoughts  and  maxims  of  men, 
brightness.  — C.  H.  M. 

As  the  Lord  Jesus  passed  along  this 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  U-ZQ, 

The  Boards  and  Bars  of  the  Tabernacle. 

Christ  is  the  true  Tabernacle,  the  ground  of  the  world's  reconciliation,  and 
refuge,  and  hope.  What  living  tiuths  are  suggested  to  us  by  this  passage 
concerning  the  Saviour  and  His  great  salvation  ? 

I.  That  invincible  strength  underlies  the  apparent  weakness  of  the  Grospel. 

When  we  regard  the  vails  and  curtains  of  the  Tabernacle,  we  might  think  it  a 
frail  structure  to  be  swept  away  by  the  winds ;  but  under  these  draperies  are 
solid  boards  fixed  in  solid  sockets,  and  strong  bars,  giving  to  tlie  whole  frame- 
work of  the  building  the  greatest  consistency  and  compactness.  In  the  days  of 
His  flesh  how  weak  Christ  appeared,  and  yet  what  power  dwelt  in  His  word 
and  spirit !  "He  was  crucified  through  weakness,  yet  He  liveth  by  the  power 
of  God."     How  contemptible  the  Gospel  in  the  eyes  of  worldly  wisdom,  and 

453 


OBAT.  xxTl.  EOMILETIC  COStMENTART:  EXODUS. 


yet  how  powerful  and  invincible  1  How  feeble  the  Church  of  Christ  often 
appears,  and  yet  the  mightiest  storms  of  persecution  have  failed  to  sweep  it 
away  !     We  learn — 

II  That  the  Gospel,  despite  all  its  natural  and  human  aspects,  has  a  Divine 
character  and  basis.  "  The  tenons  were  not  fixed  directly  in  the  ground  ;"  for 
the  habitation  of  God  should  have  no  connection  with  earth  ;  but  they  are 
fitted  into  sockets  ;  and  these  are  inserted  in  the  ground,  so  that  one  socket 
always  corresponded  with  one  tenon." — Kalisch.  Christ  is  not  of  the  earth  : 
before  He  ascended  into  heaven,  He  first  descended.  Tlie  whole  scheme  of 
salvation  is  a  Divine  and  supernatural  work.  This  Tabernacle  "  descended  out 
of  heaven  from  God."  Our  faith  rests  in  the  power  of  God.  The  sockets  of 
silver  supporting  the  Tabernacle,  and  disconnecting  it  from  the  earth,  symbo- 
lises the  great  truth  that  the  Church  of  Jesus  rests,  not  on  human  wisdom,  or 
strength,  or  love,  but,  whilst  it  touches  earth,  it  belongs  altogether  to  heaven. 
The  solid  silver,  and  not  the  shifting  sand,  reminds  us  that  faith  in  Christ  rests 
on  a  Divine  and  firm  foundation,  and  not  on  the  yielding  opinions  of  men,  and 
the  changing  fashions  of  the  world 

m.  That  out  of  the  strength  of  Christ  spring  the  highest  glory  and  joy. 

"  And  thou  shalt  overlay  the  boards  with  gold  :  and  thou  shalt  overlay  the 
bars  With  gold,"  ver.  29.  The  salvation  of  Christ  is  not  a  bare  salvation,  but 
it  brings  with  it  also  beauty  of  character,  joy  of  heart,  and  a  hope  full  of  glory. 
Let  the  world  know  their  mistake  in  attempting  to  realize  beauty  and  blessed- 
ness without  the  strength  of  God — the  strength  of  righteousness.  It  cannot  be. 
Beauty  of  life  and  joy  of  heart  can  never  be  real  and  lasting  if  not  based  on  the 
immortal  love  and  strength  of  God.  "  Strength  and  beauty  are  in  the  sanc- 
tuary." And  let  the  Church  seek  to  realize  its  full  privilege  in  Christ.  In 
character,  we  are  often  satisfied  with  the  bare  boards  of  mere  honesty  and 
uprightness ;  in  experience,  we  are  content  with  the  boards  and  bars,  a  mere 
sense  of  safety  :  in  hope,  we  rest  content  with  the  bare  expectation  of  pulling 
through  in  the  judgment.  The  gilded  boards  of  the  Tabernacle  are  eloquent 
illustrations  of  the  New  Testament  doctrine,  that  in  Christ  we  must  rise  to 
beauty,  to  brightness,  to  bliss. 

IV.  That  Christ  is  an  everlasting  dwelling-place  to  His  people.  The  Taber- 
nacle was  built  of  boards  of  acacia-wood.  The  wood  of  the  acacia  is  so  durable, 
that  it  is  said  even  not  to  rot  in  water.  The  strength  of  Christ  is  everlasting. 
"We  are  born  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible;  by  the  word  of 
God  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever." 

Let  us  hide  in  Christ,  forsaking  all  refuges  of  lies. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Vena  Z\-t1, 

The  Tabernacle  Vails. 

What  does  this  vail  between  the  Tabernacle  and  the  court,  and  this  vail  which 
divides  the  Holy  Place  from  the  Holiest  Place,  signify  ?  and  what  relation  have 
they  to  Christianity  ? 

1.  They  signify  that  the  highest  vision  and  fellowship  of  God  are  as  yet 
denied  to  man.  Whilst  the  Tabernacle  was  standing,  these  vails  signified  the 
distance  of  God  from  man, — His  inaccessibility.  God  withdrew  Himself  behind 
impenetrable  vails.  This  is  the  teaching  of  the  Apostle :  "  Into  the  second 
Tabernacle  went  the  high  priest  alone  once  every  year,  not  without  blood,  which 
He  offered  for  himself,  and  for  the  errors  of  the  people :  the  Holy  Ghost  this 
signifying,  that  the  M-ay  into  the  holiest  of  all  was  not  yet  made  manifest,  while 
454 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxvi. 


as  the  first  Tabernacle  was  not  standing :  which  was  a  figure  for  the  time  then 
present"  (Heb.  ix.  7-9).  God's  presence  is  fenced  about  from  sinful  man.  Be- 
cause of  our  sin  Paradise  is  closed  to  us :  because  of  our  sin  God  has  hid  His 
face  from  us.  Tliere  are  two  vails,  and  Jewioh  authorities  say  that  the  vail  be- 
tween the  Holy  and  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  four  fingers  thick,  to  pi*event  any 
person  penetrating  with  his  eyes  into  the  Holiest.  Does  not  this  powerfully 
remind  us  how  the  holy  God  has  hidden  Himself  from  unholy  man? 

n.  Whilst  these  vails  remove  God  from  the  approach  of  man,  they  give  the 
promise  of  a  fuller  revelation.  Look  at  the  hanging  for  the  door  of  the  tent : 
"  Blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine  twined  linen,  wrought  with  needlework," 
ver.  36.  Here,  at  the  threshold  of  the  Tabernacle,  the  bright  colours  of  the  vail 
are  full  of  promise.  The  God  of  mercy,  and  love,  and  life  shines  through  the 
obscuration.  The  cloud  that  God  has  spread  on  His  throne  has  a  rainbow  in 
it :  the  curtains  by  which  God  hides  Himself  from  man  are  burnished  with  colours 
of  hope.  And  then,  as  you  draw  near  to  the  Holiest,  the  vail  is  still  more 
glorious.  In  addition  to  the  rich  colours  of  the  vail  of  the  door,  the  vail  of  the 
Holy  of  Holies  has  cherubim  made  upon  it,  and  other  associations  of  brightness 
and  beauty.  The  vail  that  God  has  drawn  about  Himself  is  not  of  forbidding, 
hopeless  blackness  ;  but  it  promises  whilst  it  prevents,  it  allures  whilst  it  forbids. 
Is  there  not  something  of  this  in  nature  1  Whilst  the  creation  is  a  dense  cur- 
tain to  hide  God,  does  not  the  beauty  of  the  curtain  declare  the  grace  of  Him 
who  is  behind  it,  and  give  us  the  promise  of  some  day  knowing  Him  better? 
The  Jewish  dispensation  is  full  of  the  same  idea — the  golden  thread,  the  rainbow 
colours,  give  the  promise  of  a  fuller  vision,  a  richer  fellowship  when  the  fulness 
of  time  shall  come. 

nL  That  these  vails  are  taken  away  in  Christ.  "  And  the  vail  of  the  Temple 
was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  "  (Mark  xv.  38).  The  rent  was 
complete.  See  Heb.  ix.  11,  12.  In  Christ  we  stand  "within  the  vail."  In 
Him  we  realize  the  presence  and  joy  of  God.  In  Him  we  realize  highest  fellow- 
ship with  God.  "  There  I  will  meet  with  thee,  and  commune  with  thee."  In 
Him  we  realize  the  everlasting  vision  and  felicity  of  God.  Sin  wove  the  vail 
between  us  and  the  heaven  above  us,  but  in  Christ's  atonement  and  priesthood 
that  vail  is  taken  away.     If  there  are  any  vails  now,  they  are  upon  oilt  heart. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

Blue. — If  the  gold  was  a   type  of  is  ''His  strange  work,"  for  "He  de- 

the  glory,  majesty,  and  eternity  of  the  lighteth  in  mercy." — H.  S.  Soltaw. 
Son  of  God,  blue  will  fitly  represent  The  Scarlet. — As  blue  is  peculiarly 

the  grace  and  love  He  manifested  as  the  colour  of  the  heavens,  so  scarlet 

declaring  the  character  of  God.     "God  is   the  gorgeous   colour  belonging  to 

is  love."     So   inseparably  and  exclu-  earth.     The   flowers,  the   produce   of 

sively  is  this  blessed  attribute  descrip-  the  soil,  display  its  brilliant  tints.     We 

tive  of  Him,  that  He  affirms  it  to  be  do  not  look  above  to  find  it :  but  it 

His  very  nature.     It  is  not  of  earth.  meets  our  eye  when  we  contemplate 

As  the  blue  vault  of  heaven,  with  its  the  flowers  of  the  field.     The  Word  of 

vast  dimensions,  defies  our  puny  mea-  God  also  employs   this  colour  as  an 

surements,  so  the  breadth,  and  length,  emblem  of  royalty.     The  beast,  and 

and  depth,  and  height  of  the  love  of  the  woman  in  the  Revelation,  are  both 

Christ  passeth  knowledge.     The  thun-  represented  as  scarlet.     Not  that  the 

ders  of  God's  wrath  and  holy  indigna-  scarlet  of  itself  denotes  evil ;  but  be- 

tion  against  sin  may  for  a  time  seem  cause  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  were 

to  obscure  His  love.     But  "  His  anger  held  under   their    regal  sway.     And, 

endureth  but  a  moment."     Judgment  when  the  Lord  Jesus  was,  in  mockery, 

455 


CHAP.  XZYI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


hailed  as  king,  the  soldiers  of  imperial 
Rome  cloLlied  Hiiu  with  a  scarlet  robe. 
(Matt  xxvii.  28).— Ibid. 

Purple. — If  we  were  to  place  the 
blue  and  the  scarlet  side  by  side,  with- 
out the  intervention  of  some  other 
colour,  the  eye  would  be  offeiuled  with 
the  violent  contrast;  for,  though  each 
is  beautiful  in  itself,  and  suitable  to  its 
own  sphere,  yet  there  is  such  a  dis- 
tinction— we  ndght  almost  say  opposi- 
tion— in  their  hues,  as  to  render  them 
inharmonious  if  seen  in  immediate 
contact.  The  purple  interposed,  reme- 
dies this  unpleasing  effect :  the  eye 
passes  with  ease  from  the  blue  to  the 
scarlet,  and  vice  versa,  by  the  aid  of 
this  blended  colour,  the  purple.  The 
blue  gradually  shades  off  into  its 
opposite,  the  scarlet,  and  the  gorgeous- 
ness  of  the  latter  is  softened  by  imper- 
ceptible degrees  into  the  blue.  The 
purple  is  a  new  colour,  formed  by 
mingling  the  two :  it  owes  its  peculiar 
beauty  alike  to  both  :  and  were  the 
due  proportion  of  either  absent,  its 
especial  character  would  be  lost. 

The  order  of  the  colours,  blue,  purple, 
scarlet,  repeated  at  least  twenty-four 
times  in  Exodus,  is  never  varied.  The 
scarlet  and"  the  blue  are  never  placed 
in  juxta-position  throughout  the  fabrics 
of  the  Tabernacle.  Does  not  this  inti- 
mate a  truth  of  an  important  character  ] 
Would  the  Spirit  of  God  have  so  con- 
stantly adhered  to  this  arrangement 
had  there  not  been  some  significant 
reason  for  it?  Are  we  not  hereby 
taucrht  a  very  precious  fact  respecting 
the  Lord  Jesus  ]    He  is  God  and  Man  : 


and  we  can  trace  in  the  Gospels  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead,  as  well  as 
the  dignity  and  sympathy  of  the  per- 
fect Man.  But,  besides  tliis,  in  His 
thoughts,  feelings,  words,  ways,  and 
actions,  there  is  an  invariable  blending 
of  the  two.  Many  mistakes  and  errors 
would  have  been  avoided  in  the  Church 
of  God,  if  those,  who  have  undertaken 
to  write  or  speak  on  this  subject,  had 
been  subject  to  the  definite  words  of 
Scripture,  instead  of  adopting  abstract 
reasonings  upon  the  divinity  and 
humanity  of  the  Son  of  God.  The 
Christ  of  God  is  the  object  of  our 
faith ;  not  a  nature,  or  natures,  but 
Himself — Ibid. 

The  linen  composing  the  mystic  vail 
was  required  to  be  fine;  pure  and 
faultless  as  the  material  could  be  pro- 
duced: indicating  that  although  Messiah 
should  be  found  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
He  should  be  clearly  exempt  from  the 
merest  stain  of  defilement  through  con- 
tact with  humanity.  What  a  dignified 
and  courageous  appeal  was  that  of 
Christ  to  His  enemies  and  accusers  ! 
"  Which  of  you,"  said  He,  "  convinceth 
Me  of  sin  1  "  (John  viii.  46) ;  and  how 
altogether  extenuating  was  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Judge  at  whose  bar  envy 
and  maliciousness  had  arraigned  the 
Son  of  Man  as  a  malefactor  and  a  cri- 
mina'  -"I  find  in  Him," said  Pilate, 
"  no  fault  at  all "  (John  xviii.  38).  Even 
Satan  found  nothing  in  Him  where- 
with to  work  the  commission  of  the 
smallest  inconsistency  in  the  character 
of  Jesus. — Mudge. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXVJ, 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Tabemacle-ThoTights !  Vers.  1-30.  1. 
RoseuiiiuUer  say.s  that  the  portable  temple  of 
the  Israelites  had  in  its  whole  arnuigfinent 
a  reeemlilance  with  the  temples  of  antiquity. 
Lachemacher  states  that  in  many  of  the 
Greciaa  temples  the  back  part  was  not  to  be 
entered  by  anybody  ;  and  here  the  statue  of 
the  deity  was  placed.  Spencer  shows  that  in 
the  l""-gyptiaii  temples  the  inner  or  sacred  part 
was  slironded  iu  darkness,  aiid  divided  from 

456 


the  front  or  outer  portion  by  a  curtain  em- 
broidered with  gold.  2.  Law  sees  in  the 
Tabernacle  a  type  of  Christ — a  sketch  of  that 
fair  frame  of  Christ,  which  God  the  Holy 
Spirit  wrouglit  and  pl.autefi  in  this  earth.  He 
ia  the  true  Tabernacle  of  Heb.  viii.  2,  the 
greater  and  more  perfect  Tabernacle  of  Heb. 
ix.  11.  It  points  to  a  mystic  fabric  which 
human  hands  pioduce  not — which  human  skill 
erects  not— which  human  imperfection  taiuti 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXVL 


not.  Cbrist  is  discerned,  tbe  end  and  excel- 
lence of  the  predictive  liouse.  3.  Macmillan 
suggests  that  it  is  an  emblem  of  man  indwelt 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Man's  body  is  a  taber- 
nacle sojourning  in  the  wilderness  of  the 
world.  Jn  his  constitution  God  has  wrought 
out  in  higher  form  the  great  truths  which 
were  symbolised  in  the  Jewish  tabernacle. 
But  what  constituted  its  glory  ?  The  Shekinah 
— the  token  and  symbol  of  God's  Presence. 
Without  this,  its  golden  furniture  and  price- 
less jewels  were  meaningless,  as  our  world 
without  the  shining  of  the  sun.  So  what  con- 
stitutes the  glory  of  man  is  Christ  dwelling 
in  the  heart. 
"  As  some  rare  perfume  in  a  vase  of  clay 

Pervades  it  with  a  fragrance  not  its  own, 
So  when  Thou  dwellest  in  a  mortal  soul, 

All  heaven's  own  sweetness  seems  around 
it  thrown."  — Stowe. 

Divine  JEstheticism  I  Vers.  1-37.  (1.) 
Henry  Martyn  wrote,  "Since  I  have  known 
God  ill  a  saving  manner,  painting,  poetry,  and 
music  have  liad  charms  unknown  to  me  before. 
I  have  received  what  I  suppose  is  a  taste  for 
them  ;  or  Religion  bas  refined  my  mind  and 
made  it  susceptible  of  impressions  from  the 
Bublime  and  beautiful.  Oh,  how  Religion 
secures  the  heightened  enjoyment  of  those 
pleasures  which  keep  so  many  from  God  by 
their  becoming  a  source  of  pride  !  "  (2.)  Win- 
slow  says  that  to  the  new  creature  in  Christ 
Jesus  even  the  world  of  nature  seems  as  a  new- 
bom  creation,  now  that  he  has  passed  from 
death  unto  life.  The  sun  shines  brighter — 
the  air  breathes  softer — the  flowers  smell 
Bweeter — the  landscape  is  clad  with  deeper 
verdure  and  richer  loveliness.  In  a  word,  the 
whole  creation  appears  in  newborn  beauty  and 
sublimity.  (3  )  Even  so  Christ  is  not  seen  to 
be  full  of  loveliness  outside.  Once  in  Him, 
the  soul  perceives  His  exquisite  beauty  ;  "  My 
Beloved  is  fair  and  ruddy,  the  chiefest  amongst 
ten  thousand;  yea,  He  is  altogether  lovely. " 
Once,  he  could  perceive  no  beauty  in  Him 
that  He  should  desire  Him;  now  he  exclaims, 
"  Thou  art  all  my  salvation,  and  all  my 
desire  1 " 

"  All  over  glorious  is  my  Lord, 
Must  be  beloved,  and  yet  ador'd ; 
His  worth  if  all  the  nations  knew. 
Sure  the  whole  earth  would  love  Him 
tTO."  — Erskine. 

Fair  Colours  i  Ver.  6.  They  shall  make 
the  ephod  of  gold,  bine,  and  purple.  "Thou 
shalt  make  the  breastplate  of  gold,  blue,  and 
purple."  Taches  of  gold  were  inserted  into 
loops  of  blue,  connecting  together  the  curtains 
of  the  tabernacle.  Laces  of  blue,  passing 
through  rings  of  gold,  fastened  the  ephod  to 
the  breastplate  ;  and  a  lace  of  blue  bound 
the  golden  plate  to  the  mitre  of  the  high 
priest.  The  golden  vessels  of  the  sanctuary — 
with  the  exception  of  the  ark — were  all 
covered  with  a  cloth  of  blue.  A  veil  of  blue 
separated  the  holy  place  from  the  Holy  of 
Holies,     Eveiy  Israelite  wore  a  fringe  of  blue 


ribbon  to  hia  garments  to  remind  him  of  the 
commandments  of  the  Lord.  These  the 
Pharisees  afterwards  enlarged  in  order  that 
men  might  praise  their  scrupulous  adherence 
to  the  letter  of  the  law.  Jesus  Himself 
carried  this  blue  hem  to  His  raiment  ;  and 
from  it,  on  one  memorable  occasion,  the 
touch  of  faith  drew  out  healmg  virtue. 

"  There's  nothine;  blue,  above,  below, 

From  flowers  that  bloom  to  stars  that  glow. 

But  in  its  hue  my  faith  can  see 

Some  feature  of  Thy  Sympathy." — Moore. 

Tabernacle-Unity  !  Ver.  6.  1,  It  was 
necessary  that  the  tabernacle  should  consist 
of  man^  parts,  on  account  of  its  (!)  Movable 
and  (2)  Mystical  character.  Yet  though  of 
many  parts,  particular  emphasis  is  laid  on  its 
essential  unity  :  "  It  shall  be  one  tabernacle." 
It  does  not  mean  that  only  one  tabernacle  was 
to  be  erected  to  His  name.  The  oneness 
spoken  of  here  is  not  singleness — 7wt  unique' 
ness — but  Unity.  2.  If,  as  some  say,  the 
tabernacle  is  a  type  of  the  Church  of  God, 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets,  we  see  the  importance  of  this 
typical  unity.  Jews  and  Gentiles — Barbar- 
ians and  Scythians — Britons  and  Red  Indiana 
— Germans  and  Japanese,  are  all  difi'erent 
nationalities,  and  the  Christian  converts  form 
themselvt  s  into  different  churches ;  but  all 
are  parts  of  one  whole,  and  are  builded  to- 
gether for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit  (Ephes.  ii.  22). 

"  Like  a  double  cherry,  seeming  parted, 
But  yet  a  union  in  partition. 
Two  lovely  berries  moulded  on  one  stem  ; 
So,     with    two    seeing    bodies,     but     ONE 
HEART."  — Shakespeare. 

Curtain-Weaving  !  Vers.  7-14.  According 
to  the  Greek  idea,  the  ancient  art  of  weav- 
ing curtains  was  gathered  from  the  web  of  the 
spider.  'I'he  myiholofjies  of  the  ancients  re- 
late how  the  goddess  Minerva  changed  Arachne 
into  a  spider,  because  she  surpassed  the  god- 
dess in  weaving;  and  hence  we  have  a  spider- 
species  called  "  Arachnida."  So  far  as  can  be 
traced,  weaving  first  assumed  the  form  of 
matting — i.e.,  simple  interlacings  of  shreds  of 
bark,  lacustrine  plants,  vegetable  stalks,  &o. 
By  and  by,  skill  employed  fibres,  such  as 
flax,  hemp,  and  silk.  These  were  in  turn 
auppleniented  by  the  introduction  of  wool  and 
hair,  if  we  credit  Homer.  These  wools  were 
dyed  all  colours,  as  here  described  by  Moses. 
Homer,  to  whom  we  have  already  referred, 
narrates  how  Alcandria,  the  Queen  of  Egypt, 
presented  Helen,  the  consort  of  Menelaus, 
with  such  gifts  on  their  return  from  the  siege 
of  Troy  :— 

"  And  that  rich  vase,  with  living  sculpture 
wrought. 
Which,   kenji'd   with    wool,    the    beauteous 

Phyle  brought ; 
The  silken  fleece,  envpurpled  for  the  loom, 
Rivall'd  the  hyacinth  in  vernal  bloom." 
—Homer's  Odyssey. 

467 


OHAP.  ZZVI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Curtain-Coupling!  Vers.  8-11.  (1.)  The 
tabernacle  had  two  divisions,  called  respec- 
tively the  holy  place  and  the  Holy  of  Holies, 
the  one  being  separated  from  the  other  by  a 
very  thick  veil.  But  the  utmost  care  is  taken 
to  couple  the  curtains  and  tenons  and  tachfs. 
Under  one  covering:,  overshadowed  by  the 
same  cloud,  nnd  filled  by  the  same  glory,  were 
these  two  compartments,  until  the  veil  that 
separated  them  was  rent  (Matt,  xxvii.  51). 
(2.)  This  curtain-coupling  signifies  the  essential 
oneness  of  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  Churches. 
The  Great  High  Priest  Himself  declared  that 
the  saints  of  the  Old  Testament  dispensatiim 
desired  to  penetrate  the  veil  which  concealed 
from  them  the  mysteries  within.  Yet  were 
they  one,  coupled  together  by  the  mystic 
bonds  of  faith  and  hope  and  love  ;  and  when 
the  veil  was  rent,  the  new  compartments  of 
Hebrew  and  Christian  became  one  in  Christ 
Jesus.  (3.)  In  Hebrews  ix.  St.  Paul  says 
further  that  the  outer  room  typified  not  only 
the  Hebrew  but  the  Visible  Church,  the 
"  world-sanctuary,"  and  that  the  inner  room 
Was  a  peculiar  type  of  lieMvou,  whither  the 
Forerunner  hath  for  us  eut^red  ;  and  if  so,  the 
twice-repeated  caution  to  couple  the  curtains, 
taches,  &c.,  plainly  indicates  the  essential 
unity  of  the  Cliurch  Militant  and  Cluirch 
Triumphant.  Over  both  is  the  covering  of 
God's  omnipresence.  Over  both  is  the  banner 
of  His  love  waving.  Between  them  and  us 
hangs  the  veil,  but  each  Christian  has  his  turn 
to  pass  within.  And  as  at  His  first  advent 
the  veil  was  rent,  so  in  His  second  advent  will 
the  other  veil  be  riven. 

"  One  family,  we  dwell  in  Him, 
One  Church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream, 
The  narrow  stream  of  death." 

— Weslej/. 

Woods  and  Forests!  Vers.  15-30.  (1.) 
Whence  did  Israel  obtain  the  wood,  as  trees 
are  now  small  and  scarce  ?  The  wilderness 
was  not  always  witiiout  forests.  No  doubt  the 
sepal,  the  tree  which  now  sparsely  occurs, 
grew  in  extensive  woods.  These  were  being 
cut  down  at  tiie  time  of  the  Exodus,  in  order 
to  serve  as  fuel  in  the  ancient  smelting  works, 
many  of  which  were  found  by  Holland  among 
the  Sinaitic  mountains.  These  vast  mines 
could  not  be  worked  when  the  supplies  of  fuel 
in  the  shape  of  the  acacia  forests  ceased  ;  but 
recently  Captain  Burton  has  resumed  their 
workings,  by  way  of  experiment,  in  behalf  of 
the  Khedive  of  Egypt.  He  has  brought 
specimens  of  the  metallic  ores,  as  enumerated 
in  this  chapter.  (2.)  Tiiis  denudation  of  the 
Arabian  Peninsula  would  8"rionsly  alter  the 
state  of  the  country,  as  all  «ho  know  the 
service  of  trees  in  the  economy  of  nature  can 
realise.  Greece  and  Italy  have  changed  for 
the  worse  since  their  forests  were  cut  down, 
and  no  doubt  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus,  when 
timber  covered  the  sides  of  the  hills,  streams 
washed  the  dry  ravines,  rains  attracted  by  the 
foliage  carpeted  the  soil,  afibrding  no  incon- 
siderable Misienaaco  for  cattle. 
458 


"  There,  interspersed  in  meads  and  opening 

glades. 
These   trees    arise   and  shun  each   other's 

shades ; 
There    in    full    light   the   verdant   plains 

extend, 
And,     wrapt    in    cloud,   the    granite    hills 

ascend  ; 
E'en    the   wild   heath   displays   its  purple 

dyes. 
And  'muist  the  desert  grassy  meads  arise," 

— Pope. 

Tabernacle-Base!  Ver.  15.  The  taber- 
nacle  in  the  wilderness  had  no  foundation. 
It  was  pitched  in  the  bare  and  sterile  desert. 
Its  floor  was  the  shifting  yellow  sand.  No 
marble  pavement  or  cedar  hoarding  separated 
the  golden  furniture  and  the  costly  curtains 
from  the  naked  ground.  Barefooted  priests 
in  splendid  vestments  paced  over  the  earth  in 
the  discharge  of  their  sacred  functions.  But 
it  is  not  so  with  the  spiritual  temple.  There 
is  no  combination  in  it  of  beauty  and  barren- 
ness—  preciousness  and  worthlessness  —  im- 
perishubleness  and  changealjleness — glory  and 
vanity.  It  is  all  fair,  all  glorious.  It  is  built 
upon  solid  and  enduring  bases — the  founda- 
tion of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone. 

"Ah  !  why  on  sands   like  these  thy  temple 

rear? 
How  shall  its  base  the  storms  and  billowr 

shun  ! 
Build  on  the  Eternal  Rock  of  sapphire  clear.' 

Art-Studies!  Ver.  19-25.  Lytton  savfc 
that  art  is  the  effort  of  man  to  express  tlie 
ideas  which  nature  suggests  to  him  of  a 
power  above  nature.  Hillard  says  that  many 
persons  feel  art,  some  understand  it,  but  few 
both  feel  and  understand  it.  Emerson  says 
that  the  study  of  art  is  of  high  value  to  the 
growth  of  the  intellect ;  in  other  words,  that 
the  refining  influence  is  the  study  of  art. 
Cousin  says  that  art  neither  belongs  to  re- 
ligion nor  ethics;  but  that,  like  these,  it 
brings  us  nearer  to  the  Infinite.  Hazlitt 
says  that  art  must  anchor  in  nature,  or  it  is 
the  sport  of  every  breath  of  folly.  Victor 
says  that  the  basis  of  true  beauty  is  moral, 
which,  however,  is  veiled  in  nature  ;  and  tiiat 
it  is  the  province  of  art  to  bring  out  this 
moral  beauty,  and  to  give  it  more  transparent 
forms. 

*'  Happy  who  walks  with  Him,  whom  what  ha 

finds 
Of  flavour,  or  of  scent  in  fruit  or  flower, 
Or  what  he  views  of  beautiful  and  grand 
In  nature,  from  the  broad  majestic  oak 
To  the  green  blade  that  twinkles  in  thesnn. 
Prompts  with  remembrance  of  a  Presbmt 

God."  — Cowper. 

Tabernacle-Materials  I  Ver.  19-25.  (1.) 
Some  sugg'  st  that  the  golden  ornaments  and 
vessels,  the  silver  sockets  and  brazen  utensils, 
and  the  jewels  on  the  high  priest's  breastplate, 


TIOMILETTC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    XXVI. 


represented  the  mineral  kingdom.  Law  re- 
marks tliat  tlie  gold  typifies  the  transcendent 
blaze  of  Deity  in  Clinsi,  the  silver  tlie  ran- 
Bome-price  paid  for  the  redemption  of  souls, 
and  the  brass  the  enduring  strength  of  the 
God-man.  (2.)  It  is  further  noticed  li)at  tiie 
boards  of  shitiimwood  or  acacia,  the  table  of 
shewbread,  the  linen  wrappings,  and  ihe  orna- 
mentation of  the  furniture,  represent  the  vege- 
table kingdom.  Law  says  that  the  wood 
symbolised  the  spoUess  purity  of  Christ's 
manhood,  the  white  linen  the  holy  life,  and 
the  furniture  the  various  adornments  of  re- 
demption's scheme.  (3.)  Tlie  coverings  of 
badgers'  and  goats'  skins,  and  the  crimson 
colours  of  its  curtains,  procured  from  the 
juice  of  a  shellfish  or  an  insect,  thus  represent 
the  animal  kingdom.  Law  suggests  that  the 
coverings  indicate  tlie  meek  and  lowly  guise 
in  wliich  Clirist  lived  on  earth  ;  and  the  crim- 
son colours  the  stream  of  precious  blood  tliat 
flowed  when  the  sword  of  divine  justice 
pierced  the  side  of  Christ. 

"  Thou  usest  all  Thy  works, 

The  meanest  things  that  be; 
Each  has  a  service  of  its  own, 
For  all  things  wait  on  Thee." 

—Bonar, 

Beauty's  Ministry!  Ver.  30.  (1.)  Mrs. 
Stowe  says  that  the  human  heart  yearns  for 
the  beautiful.  The  beautiful  things  which  God 
makes  are  free  to  all  ranks  in  life.  A  love  of 
the  beautiful  is  imphiuted  in  every  one  ;  but 
it  rusts  out  and  dies,  either  because  they  are 
too  hard  pressed  with  the  cares  of  life,  or 
because  they  are  too  much  engrossed  with  the 
pleasures  of  sin,  to  cultivate  it.  He  wiio  im- 
planted the  yearning  has  given  ample  oppor- 
tunity for  its  lawful  gratification.  (2.)  The  old 
parchments,  with  their  beautiful  thoughts, 
were  marred  by  minds  of  a  subsequent  genera- 
tion covering  them  over  with  puerile  repre- 
sentations ;  but  science  has  enabled  man  to 
destroy  or  erase  this  obliteration,  and  so  to 
restore  the  original  writings.  The  cares  of 
life  and  the  pleasures  of  sin  obscure  the  taste 
for  the  Beautiful  ;  but  Divine  Grace  removes 
this  defect,  and  disposes  the  renewed  mind  to 
appreciate  the  Ministry  of  Beauty.  (3.)  A 
gifted  writer  says  that  Beauty  was  the  angel 
of  deliverance  that  led  him  out  of  (iarkness 
into  light.  "My  nature  was  a  seething  cal- 
dron of  ungoverned  passions ;  but  I  loved 
nature.  The  beauty  of  twilight — the  sweet 
influence  of  a  summer  night — the  purity  and 
freshness  of  early  morning — would  soften  my 
most  wayward  mood."  Alas!  all  this  "light" 
was  not  the  light  of  life.  Beauty  cannot  lead 
the  soul  into  that  light.  As  tiie  iciest  within 
the  holy  place  could  not  see  its  Ministry  of 
Beauty  without  the  aid  of  the  oil,  type  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  as  the  high  priest  could  not 
when  within  the  Holiest  perceive  its  glories 
without  the  Shekinah — light  ;  so  the  soul 
cannot  enjuv  tlie  beauties  of  religion  without 
the  spirit  and  presence  of  Christ.  Spirit  of 
Beauty, 


"  What  is  thy  worship  but  a  vain  pretence, 
If  they  who  tend  thine  altars,  gathering 

thence 
No  strength,  no  purity,  may  still  remain 
Selfish    and    dark,  and   from   life's  sordid 

storm 
Find  in  their  ministrations  no  defence  ?" 

— Trench. 

Vail!  Ver.  31.  The  veil  of  the  holiest  was 
Broidered — Beautified  and  Borne  up.  (1.) 
Blue/  Brown  thinks  the  blue  was  emblematic 
of  God's  mercy,  wliile  Tanner  regards  it  as 
representing  heaven,  and  therefore  typically 
imparling  that  revelation  of  heavenly  tilings 
which  Ciirist  alone  can  give  us.  (2.)  Purj^lel 
Some  say  that  this  syml)olise<l  the  Divine 
Righteousness  of  Jehovaii  Jesus  ;  others  sug- 
gest it  as  portraying  rojaltj',  i.e.,  the  setting 
forth  of  Jesus  as  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords.  (3.)  Scarlet!  It  has  been  viewed  as 
emblematic  of  the  Justice  of  God  in  the  pre- 
cious bloodshedding  of  His  dear  Son  ;  wliile, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  described  as  typifying 
life,  and  the  blood  which  is  the  life.  (4.)  Fine 
Linen  J  This  some  take  to  symbolise,  as  in  the 
Apocalypse,  the  righteousness  of  the  saints, 
i.e.,  sanctifying  rigliteousness,  or  holiness  of 
heart  and  life  ;  while  others  consider  it  as 
indicative  of  the  perfect  righteousness  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Himself.  (5.)  Cherubim!  Brown 
thinks  tiiat  these  represent  the  redeemed 
themselves,  inwrought  upon  the  veil,  and  as 
rent  along  with  the  veil  at  the  Crucifixion  ; 
thus  signifying  both  the  dying  of  tlie  redeemed 
with  Christ  in  His  death,  and  their  union  with 
Him  by  the  Spirit  of  Faith, 

"  Where'er  we  turn,  Thy  glories  shine. 
And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  Thine." 

— Moore. 

Cherabic-Symbols !  Ver.  31.  (1.)  Were  the 
figures  of  the  cherubim  above  the  mercy-seat  in 
the  most  holy  place  compouiui  animal  forms, 
symbolic  of  creation  ?  And  were  those  em- 
broidered in  cunning  work  of  various  colours  on 
the  veil  between  the  holy  and  most  holy  de- 
signed to  indicate  that  the  material  creation 
is  the  veil  between  the  seen  and  the  unseen ; 
ie.,  like  shailows  on  a  window  blind?  (2.) 
Macmillan  says  that  just  as  on  the  outer 
side  of  the  separating  veil  of  the  tabernacle 
there  were  flat  cherubic  figures  woven  on 
another  material,  answerable  to  those  which 
stood  out  in  full  outline  and  relief  above  the 
mercy  -  seat ;  so  the  common  objects  and 
material  every-day  uses  of  the  natural  world 
around  us  are  the  screen  on  which  we  may 
perceive  the  figures  of  what  is  unseen  and 
spiritual.  (3.)  As  the  manna  spoke  of  the  True 
Bread  from  heavun — as  the  water  gushing 
from  the  rock  reminded  of  the  Water  of  Life, 
even  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Grace — as  the  pillar 
of  light  testified  of  Chriftt,  the  Light  of  Life 
in  tliis  dark  world-wihierness  of  siii  ;  so  the 
cherubim  were  emblems  of  spiritual  intelli- 
gences,  either  of  the  angels  of  God  around 
the  Throne  exploring  the  mystery  of  redemp- 


OHAP.  xxvir. 


HO  M I  LET  1 C  COM  MUST  A  R  Y :  EXOD  US. 


tion,  or  of  tlie  redeemed  themselves  fathoming 
the  deep  tilings  of  God, — 

"  In  calm  humility  musing  always 
Upon  those  mysteries  of  grace,  which  seem'd 
Vaster  in  lenglli  and  bre;idtli,and  dip:li  and 

height, 
The  measureless  dimensions  of  God's  love, 
As  still  the  bridal  of  the  Church  drew  near." 
— Bickerstetk. 

Coloar-Symbolism  I     Ver.  36-38.     (1.)  Ab 

the  gold  was  emblematic  of  the  glory  and 
majesty  of  God,  so  the  blue  comhined  with 
it  in  the  sacred  appointments  of  the  taber- 
nacle might  lie  aptly  employed  to  represent 
God's  love  and  grace.  The  gold  settinir,  as  it 
were,  with  the  blue  gems,  are  to  the  eye  an 
emblem  of  St.  John's  sentence  :  "  God  is 
Love."  (2.)  As  the  priest,  whenever  he  moved 
within  the  tent  of  Aaron,  was  surrounded  by 
gold  and  sapphire  ;  so,  wherever  the  Christian 
(who  is  a  priest  unto  God)  wanders,  he  finds 
himself  stjll  encircled  by  the  gold  and  blue  of 
Divine  Love.  Tlie  boundless  sky  of  Divine 
Love  bends  over  him — wreathes  him  round, 
aa  the  horizon  embraces  the  landscape. 

*'  And  the  mild  glories  of  Thy  grace 
Our  softer  passions  move ; 
Pity  Divine  in  Jesu's  face 
We  see,  adore,  and  love." 

—Watts. 

Veil-Embroidery!  Ver.  36.  (L)  Morier  re- 
lates that  in  passing  Lahar  he  found  several 
encampments  of  Eeiauts,  at  one  of  which  he 


stopped  to  examine  the  tent  of  a  chief,  ovef 
the  door  of  which  was  suspended  a  curtain 
curiously  worked  by  the  vvumen  with  coarse 
needlework  of  various  colours.  In  (he  Sliah 
of  Persia's  tents  magnificent  hangings  of 
needlework  are  suspended,  as  well  as  on  the 
doors  of  the  great  mosquts  in  Turkey.  (2.) 
The  Chinese  are  perhaps  the  most  laborious 
and  elaborate  embroiderers  of  modern  times. 
The  figures  are  eitlier  in  coloured  silk  alone, 
or  in  silk  combined  witli  gold  and  silver 
thread  ;  the  figures  of  men,  horses,  and 
drat'ons,  &c.,  Iieiiig  outlined  with  gold  cord, 
and  filled  up,  coloured,  an<l  shaded  with  silk. 
The  Persians,  Turks,  and  Hindoos  also  excel 
in  embroideiy.  They  use,  besides  silk  and 
gold  and  silver  thread,  beads,  spangles,  pearls, 
and  precious  stones.  (3.)  Allusion  is  made  to 
tliis  embroidery  in  Cant.  i.  5,  under  the  name 
of  the  curtains  of  Solomon,  These  were 
either  the  beautiful  embroidered  hangings  of 
Solomon's  palace  mentioned  in  Eccl.  ii.  4 ; 
or  else,  the  broidered  veil  or  hangings  of  the 
temple.  Some  think,  however,  that  tiie  word 
Solomon  is  not  a  name  here,  but  ilie  title 
"  i'*rince  of  Peace,''  and  that  the  curtains  are 
the  veils  which  adorned  the  tabernacle  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace  when  He  journeyed  through 
the  desert  with  His  people  (Pb.  xlv.;  Ezek. 
xvi,  14  ;  Matt.  xxii.  11). 

"  0  that  I  knew  how  all  these  lights  combine, 
And  tlie  configurations  of  their  glory  ; 
Seeing  not  only  how  each  verse  doth  shine, 
But  all  the  constellations  of  the  story  !  " 
—Herbert, 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  An  altar  of  Bhittim  wood.]  It  was  known  also  by  two  other  names  :  let, 
as  "  the  brass  altar,"  so  called  since  it  was  overlaid  with  brass  ;  2d,  the  "outer  altar,"  because 
of  its  position  without  the  tabernacle  in  the  court,  to  which  all  the  members  of  the  house  of 
Israel  had  free  access.  To  this  altar  great  importance  and  high  honour  was  attached,  as  being  the 
meeting-place  between  God  and  the  worshipper.  2.  IlBhoms.]  Kainoih  =  6ymb(>]ical  of  power, 
protection,  and  help,  as  well  as  of  glory  and  salvation,  and  designed  to  emphatically  signify  the 
whole  purpose  of  the  sacrificers. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAGRAPH.— Verse$  l-«. 
The  Altar  of  Burnt-Offering. 

I.  The  situation  of  this  altar  reminds  us  of  the  spirit  in  which  guilty  man 
should  draw  nigh  to  God.  Tins  aliar  of  burnt-oflering  was  placed  in  the  court 
of  ihe  Tabernacle  intimating  the  circumspection  with  whicli  man  should  draw 
nigh  unto  God.  Before  he  must  venture  into  tlie  Tal)einacle  he  must  recognise 
the  holiness  of  God,  and  his  own  sinfulness,  and  purify  himself  from  guilt  and 
sin.  Lamb,  or  ram,  or  goat,  or  bullock,  must  be  sacriRced  and  consumed.  In 
our  day  some  presume  to  worship  God,  to  serve  God,  without  any  deep  recog- 
nition of  sin,  or  any  deep  sorrow  on  its  account.  Let  us  come  betore  God  with 
a  living  soirow  for  sin,  and  a  burning  desire  for  purity.  Before  we  bring  thank- 
460 


ROM  I  LET  TO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxrn. 


oflferings  or  sacrifices  of  praise,  or  dare  to  mix  in  the  fellowship  of  saints,  let  us 
bring  the  sin-oliVring  and  the  burnt-uflFering.  Let  us  penitentlj^  trust  in  Christ 
the  Lamb  of  God,  "Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you.  Cleanse 
your  hands,  ye  sinners;  and  purify  your  hearts,  ye  double  minded"  (James 
iv.  8). 

II.  The  material  of  this  altar  reminds  us  of  the  fact  that  sin  dehases  every- 
thing, and  that  as  we  leave  sin  behind  the  glory  of  life  increases.  The  altar 
was  overlaid  with  brass,  and  all  the  vessels  were  of  bra.-s.  The  precious  metals 
so  freely  used  elsewhere  are  wanting  here.  This  altar  recognising  sin,  recog- 
nises also  the  debasing  dishonouring  power  of  sin  :  yes,  sin  makes  whatever  it 
touches  common  and  unclean.  It  debases  our  nature,  our  relationships,  our 
work,  our  pleasures.  As  we  pass,  through  tiie  grace  of  Jesus,  into  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God's  fellowship  and  presence,  everything  grows  more  precious  and 
beautiful.  At  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle  is  silver  and  embroidery,  and  within 
the  shrine  the  drapery  is  more  costly  still,  and  all  the  vessels  pure  gold.  As 
Christ  frees  us  from  sin,  all  becomes  fairer  and  rarer.  "For  brass  I  will  bring 
gold,  and  for  iron  1  will  bring  silver,  and  for  wood  brass,  and  for  stones  iron  " 
(Isa.  Ix.  17).  With  perfect  purity  we  find  ourselves  in  the  city  which  is  "pure 
gold  like  unto  transparent  glass." 

III.  The  uses  of  this  altar  reminds  us  of  the  thoroughness  with  which  we 
ought  to  dedicate  ourselves  to  God.  The  burnt-offering  symbolised  the  fact 
that  its  offerer  thus  yielded  his  life  unto  God.  Thus  must  we  die  unto  the 
world  and  to  sin,  that  we  may  live  unto  God. 

IV.  The  ornaments  of  this  altar  remind  us  of  the  perfect  security  of  those 
who  have  repented  and  believed.  There  was  a  horn  at  each  corner  of  the 
altar.  "  The  horns  are  a  symbol  of  power,  of  protection  and  help  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  of  glory  and  salvation." — Kalisch.  Let  us  fly  to  take  hold  of  the 
horns  of  the  altar. 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

We  observe,   1st.     The   incorrupti-  of  mercy? — See  from  this  particular 

bility  of  our  Saviour's  human  nature  the  pertinency  of  our  Saviour's  question 

being  seen   in   the  shittim-wood,   the  to  the  blinded  and  ignorant  teachers 

omnipotence  of  the  divine  nature  is  of  His  day.     "  Whether  is  greater,  the 

apparent  in  the  brass  of  the  altar.     Its  gift,  or  the  altar  that  sanctifieth  the 

characteristic  is  endurance.     The  fire  gift?"   (Matt,   xxiii.    19).      They  had 

of  a  justice  infinitely  pure  in  itself,  and  perverted  the  original  intention, 
altogether  uncompromising  in  its  re-  Hence,  4thly.     The  sacrifices  of  the 

quirements,  must  not  consume  it.  altar,  whether  daily,  weeklj^,  monthly, 

For,  2dly.     The  altar  of  burnt-offer-  or  annually  offered,  pointed  the  nation 

ing  being  four-square,  and  having  pro-  of  Israel  to  one  greater   sacrifice,  in 

jections  or  pinnacles  at  every  corner,  which  all  the  mystic  oidinances  of  the 

it  is  implied  thereby  that  the  media-  Tabernacle  should   finally  be  concen- 

torial  work  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  one  trated  and  embodied, 
day  be  efficacious  and  applicable  to  the  The  altar  was  a  very  cons{)icuous 

whole  world.  object  in  the  court.     It  stood  in  the 

3dly.  Did  the  altar  of  burnt-offer-  centre,  and  on  entering,  was  right  be- 
ing, under  the  seven-fold  sprinkling  of  fore  the  worshipper,  who  could  not 
the  oil  of  dedication,  become  tlie  Holi-  fail  to  be  impressed  with  its  square 
ness  of  holinesses  to  Jehovah]  the  most  and  massive  form,  its  bright  and  blood- 
sacred  of  all  the  furniture  that  graced  stained  exterior,  its  blazing  and  smok- 
the  Tabernacle  or  stood  before  the  seat  ing  fire,  and  its  white^robrd  and  min- 

461 


OHAP.  xxvn.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EJODUS. 


istering  priests.     If   the  type   of  the  tian  sanctuary,  and  around  which  the 

crucifixion  was  so  very  conspicuous  in  thoughts  and  afiFections  of  His  people 

the  court,  liow  much  more  so  should  cluster,  so  Christ  will  be  the  chief  at- 

the  crucified  Christ  Himself  be  in  the  traction  of  the  New  Jerusalem ;  and  if 

New  Testament  Church.     As  the  pious  we  are  among  the  number  of  His  saints, 

Hebrew  on  entering  the  gate  leading  its  gates  will  open  to  admit  us  when 

to  the  sacred  precincts  could  not  miss  we  die,  and  as  we  enter,  we  will  behold 

seeing  the   brazen   altar,  so   believers  right  before  us,  and  in  the  very  midst, 

when  visiting  the  house  of  God,  should  heaven's  greatest  and  grandest  sight, 

ever  behold  Jtsus  as  its  greatest  at-  for  the  first  scene  that  will  burst  upon 

traction.     The  minister  who  does  not  our  wondering  and  admiring  gaze  will 

make  the  Cross  the  grand  theme  of  his  be  "  the  Lamb  that  once  was  slain ;  " 

preaching,  need  not  expect  to  lead  sin-  and  the  first  wave  of  celestial  melody 

ners  to  the  Saviour.     As  the  altar  was  that  will  gieet  our  ears  and  transport 

the  most  prominent  of  the  holy  vessels  our  hearts,  will  be  that  of  praises  to 

in   the  Tabernacle  court,  and  as  the  Him  who  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from 

Cross  is  the  principal  object  held  up  by  our  sins  in  His  own  blood, 
faithful  servants  of  God  in  the  Chris-  — W.  Brovm. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Vertet  9-20. 

The  Court  of  the  Tabernacle. 

This  scene,  into  which  all  the  members  of  the  house  of  Israel  might  enter, 
reminds  us — 

L  Of  the  common  need.  It  was  the  court  of  the  congregation.  Every  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  Israel  needed  to  come  here — that  is,  every  member  needed 
forgiveness  and  purification.  No  matter  that  they  were  an  elected  and  peculiar 
people.  Whilst  nationally  they  were  elected  to  play  a  great  part  in  the  govern- 
ment of  God,  their  moral  weaknesses  remained,  and  they  needed  forgiveness 
and  cleansing.  No  election  ignores  moral  considerations.  No  matter  what  their 
age.  The  youth,  the  patriarch.  No  matter  what  their  rank.  Princes,  elders, 
common  people,  all  needed  alike  to  present  themselves  here.  No  matter  what 
their  office.  The  Priest,  the  people — the  sacred  and  secular  orders.  The  men 
of  all  Israel  came  here  to  be  reminded  of  their  imperfection,  sin  and  stain. 
We  are  all  guilty  before  God.  All  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory 
of  God ;  there  is  no  diff'ereuce.     "  K  any  man  say  that  he  hath  no  sin,"  &c. 

II.  Of  the  common  privilege.  It  was  the  court  of  the  congregation.  All 
needed  to  come,  all  were  'privileged  to  come.  The  hanging  at  the  entrance  was 
full  of  promise.  If  the  radiant  vail  encouraged  the  high  priest  to  enter  the 
holiest,  if  the  similar  vail  aave  assurance  to  the  priest  to  pass  into  the  holy 
place,  the  similar  vail,  at  the  entrance  to  the  court  of  the  congregation,  spoke 
hope  into  the  breast  of  all  Israel,  ver.  16.  The  embroidered,  richly  dyed  hang- 
ings on  the  very  threshold  of  the  sacred  tent,  inspired  all  guilty  and  sorrowful 
souls,  who  turned  their  faces  thitherward,  with  most  consolatory  expectations. 
Uliatever  might  be  the  sin,  the  altar  in  that  enclosure  might  be  approached. 
Whatever  migiit  be  the  uncleannesses  of  the  people,  tliere  it  might  be  atoned 
for  and  pnrtred.  (Notice  the  sins  and  stains  to  be  removed  as  given  in  Leviti- 
cus.) So  forgiveness  and  purity  in  Christ  is  a  common  privihge.  "The  com- 
mon salvation."  There  are  c<;^ec/a/ gifts  and  appointments  in  the  natural  sphere; 
special  gifts  and  callings  in  the  Church  ;  but  grace,  pardon,  purity  are  in  Christ 
for  the  whole  world.     "  There  is  no  difierence." 

III.  Of  the  common  hope.  The  Tabernacle  of  the  congregation  was  far  inferior 
to  the  holy  place  and  tlie  most  holy — in  the  one  brass  and  silver,  in  the  other 

462 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODt/S.  chap.  xxvn. 


fine  gold — but  the  places  were  connected  together,  and  the  priest  passing  into 
the  interior  of  the  holy  habitation  represented  the  whole  nation.  So  now  in 
Clirist  have  we  forgiveness  and  righteousness ;  our  high  priest  represents  us  in 
the  heavenly  place  ;  and  soon  shall  we  pass  from  the  more  imperfect  services 
»f  earth  to  the  highest  vision,  and  glory,  and  joy  of  the  celestial  world. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.— Versa  20-22. 

The  Oil  for  the  Lamps. 

Consider  the  provision  for  the  lamps  as  a  service.  The  children  of  Israel 
were  to  bring  oil  for  these  lamps  for  ever,  and  the  priests  were  to  trim  the 
lamps  and  keep  them  brightly  burning.     Notice  : — 

I.  The  service  of  the  people.  Is  not  the  duty  of  the  people  in  relation  to 
this  service  most  suggestive?  a  pattern  of  service  to  all  after-times  ?  1.  They 
were  to  bring  t\\e\Y  fiist.  "  The  olive  berry  is  first  green,  and  assumes,  later,  a 
purple  and  black  colour.  The  best  kind  of  oil  is  obtained  Irom  the  unripe 
green  olives."  We  are  not  to  give  God  the  gleanings  of  our  power,  or  time, 
or  influence,  or  life,  but  the  first-fruits.  2.  They  were  to  bring  their  best.  It 
was  the  purest  and  costliest  oil  We  are  not  to  give  to  the  cause  of  God  any- 
thing that  is  inferior.  We  are  to  hold  our  best  for  God,  and  for  His  service. 
3.  Tliey  were  to  give  freely  their  first  and  best.  "  Beaten  oil.  That  is  such  oil 
as  could  easily  be  expressed  from  the  olives  after  they  had  been  bruised  in  a 
mortar ;  the  mother-drop,  as  it  is  called,  which  drops  out  of  itself,  as  soon  as  the 
olives  are  a  little  broken,  and  which  is  much  purer  than  that  which  is  obtained 
after  the  olives  are  put  under  the  press." — Clarke.  Does  not  this  signify  that 
our  service  for  God  should  flow  freely  from  a  loving  heart?  "God  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver." 

II.  The  service  of  the  priests.  The  priests  were  to  feed  the  lamps.  "Aaron 
and  his  sons  shall  arrange  it  from  evening  to  morning  before  the  Lord,"  &c., 
ver.  21.  A  daily  constant  service.  And  thus  it  must  be  in  this  dispensation, 
if  the  Church  is  to  be  a  briglitly  burning  lamp.  Every  morning  the  priests 
cleansed  the  lamps  and  replenished  the  oil :  and  the  Christian  ministry  must 
keep  the  Church  pure,  and  preserve  all  its  ordinances  in  vigour  and  brightness. 
As  the  lighthouse-keeper  preserves  all  his  lamps  in  cleanliness,  and  each  evening 
sends  for  the  guiding  light,  constant  as  the  stars  ;  so  must  the  ministers  of 
Christ's  Church  see  to  it  that  no  impurities  dim  the  glory  of  the  Church  or 
impair  its  efficiency. 

III.  The  glorious  result  when  ministers  and  people  are  faithful  in  their  ser- 
vice. The  Church  then  stands  forth  with  a  guiding,  warning,  cheering  light. 
If  the  people  are  unfaithful,  it  caniiot  be  so.  Tliey  are  to  bring  the  oil,  and  if 
that  oil  be  wanting  in  quantity,  or  inferior  in  quality,  the  light  is  defective ; 
and  s-o  if  the  members  of  the  Christian  Church  do  not  bring  the  pure  oil  of  a 
loving,  generous,  spiritual  service,  the  lustre  of  the  Church  is  dimmed.  And 
if  the  ministers  be  slothful,  or  selfish,  orunspiritual,  the  lamps  are  tarnished 
and  the  flame  flickers.  When  ministers  and  people  are  faithful,  the  Church  is 
the  light  of  the  world,  the  day-star  of  a  grander  world. 

The  Lamps  of  the  Tabernaclk 

Consider  these  lighted  lamps  as  a  symbol  The  golden  candlestick,  lighted 
as  in  the  text,  may  justly  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  Christ — the  light  of  the 
world.     Observe — 

4G3 


eBAp.  xxva.  BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


I.  The  purity  of  the  light.  "  The  oil  prescribed  for  tlie  holy  service  is  of  a 
white  colour;  it  gives  a  better  light  and  little  smoke.  The  holy  oil  was  i)Ui-e, 
and  unmixed  Mitli  oil  of  any  other  quality."  Was  not  this  significant  of  the 
light  which  God  has  given  us  in  Jesus  Christ  ?  In  our  philosophies  we  have 
truth  mixed  with  error,  as  much  smoke  as  light ;  in  the  various  religions  of  the 
heathen  world  we  have  the  true  and  the  false  strangely  blended,  and  giving 
forth  a  most  uncertain  ray  ;  in  Christ  \VQ  have  the  true  unclouded  illumination. 
"God  is  light  and  in  Him  there  is  no  darkness  at  all."  *'  For  with  Thee  is  the 
fountain  of  life  :  in  Thy  light  shall  we  see  light "  (Ps.  xxvL  9).  In  that  pure 
light  it  is  our  privilege  to  walk. 

n.  The  perfection  of  the  light.  On  each  of  the  seven  arms  of  the  cande- 
labrum rested  a  burning  lamp.  Seven,  the  note  of  perfection.  On  all  the  great 
questions  touching  our  salvation  from  sin,  our  moral  discipline  and  development, 
our  duty  to  God  and  man,  our  preparation  for  the  life  beyond,  we  have  suffi- 
cient light  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  We  have  no  need  to  resort  to  the  philosophies  of 
man.  The  speculations  of  the  natural  reason.  No  need  to  resort  to  ecclesias- 
iical  traditions.  Opinions  of  the  Fathers,  &c.,  as  in  Catholicism  ;  as  if  the  New 
Testament  did  not  contain  all  that  was  necessary  for  salvation,  character,  and 
destiny.  All  spiritual  light  is  in  Christ,  as  all  natural  light  is  in  the  sun. 
The  light  in  Christ  brings  conviction  to  the  understanding,  assurance  to  the 
heart.  Don't  add  to  the  lamps  ;  don't  take  any  away.  The  doctrines  of  Christ 
are  all  necessary ;  they  are  all  that  are  necessary. 

m.  The  perpetuity  of  the  light.  That  light  on  the  candlestick  was  to  burn 
on  for  ever.  The  light  we  have  in  Christ  is  not  an  artificial  light  to  guide  us 
through  some  passing  perplexity,  it  is  the  essential  and  everlasting  truth.  It 
is  not  a  light  to  he  superseded  in  this  world.  Some  tell  us  that  Christ  is  destined 
to  be  eclipsed  by  greater  teachers,  that  His  Gospel  is  destined  to  be  eclipsed  by 
systems  of  moral  and  spiritual  truth  far  more  full  and  reliable  than  His  own. 
The  greater  teacher,  the  grander  gospel,  has  not  yet  ajipeared,  and  gives  no  sign 
of  appearing.  We  need  expect  no  grander  light.  The  seven-branched  golden 
candlestick  of  the  Jewish  Temple  is  buried,  if  we  believe  tradition,  in  the  bed 
of  the  Tiber ;  but  the  Light  of  the  world  shall  shine  through  all  time,  the  master 
light  of  all  our  seeing. 

**  Our  little  systems  have  their  day  } 
They  have  their  day  and  cease  to  be : 
They  are  but  broken  lights  of  Thee, 

And  Thou,  0  Lord,  art  more  than  they." 

It  is  not  a  light  to  be  superseded  in  the  world  to  come.  "  The  Lord  God  and  the 
lamb  are  an  everlasting  light."  In  Christ  we  have  the  light  of  eternal  truth, 
love,  righteousness,  felicity.     "  All  flesh  is  grass,"  &c. 

"  0  house  of  Jacob,  come  ye,  and  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord." 
(Isa.  ii.  5). 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

You  will  observe,  1.  Tlie  requirement  windows  ;  whence  the  necessity  for  an 

of  oil  to  cause  the  lamp  of  the  sanctu-  ever-burning  lamp.     A  lamp,  however, 

ary  to  burn.    "  Truly  the  light  is  sweet,  althoughcostlyin  material  and  exquisite 

and  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  for  the  eyes  in  form,  can  emit  no  radi;'nce  of  itself; 

to  behold  the  sun,"     (Ecc.  xi.  7.)     In  oil,  therefore,  must  be  furnished  for  its 

the  absence  of  that  glorious  luminary,  use.     In  like  manner,  the  Church  of 

artificial  light  becomes  a  great  conve-  Christ  must  be  illuminated  by  extran- 

nience.     The  Tabernacle  possessed  no  eous  aid.     It  is  not  in  mere  human  in- 
464 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXVIT. 


tellect,  how  rich  soever  in  resources 
and  attaitimetits  ot  a  worldly  kind  it 
may  be,  to  discover  the  way  of  life  :  it 
must  consequently  be  taught  of  God 
and  replenished  with  wisdom  of  a 
heavenly  kind.     It  is  the  inspiration  of 


the  Almighty  which  alone  giveth  true 
and  saving  light  unto  mankind ;  and 
the  oil  that  must  burn  in  the  lamp 
of  our  understanding  is,  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

— Mudge. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XX7IL 


EEV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Mosaic-Ritual!  Ver.  1-21.  (1.)  Beautiful 
and  rich  as  were  the  materials  employed, 
there  was  a  remarkable  simplicity  about  the 
tabernacle  and  its  adjuncts.  And  why?  Glance 
at  the  books  desierned  for  the  instruction  of 
cliildren.  They  may  be  rich  in  desii;n  and 
ornate  in  execution,  but  how  mono-syllabic 
they  are!  What  pictures  of  simplicity  they  con- 
tain !  When  the  child  develops  in  body  and 
mind,  the  tlioui^htsand  words  are  also  propor- 
tionately developed.  We  do  not  dream  of  in- 
structing tlie  babe-mind  in  the  mysteries  of 
algebra,  or  the  intricacies  of  science.  (2.)  God 
speaks,  by  the  mouth  of  a  later  prophet,  as  of 
Israel  as  His  cliild  at  this  time.  As  a  child, 
Israel's  host  could  but  receive  milk  of  truth — 
the  elementary  truihs  of  Divine  wisdom. 
Pictures  interleave  the  Divine  manual  of  sav- 
ing instruction — pictures  such  as  the  taber- 
nacle, the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  the  outer 
court  with  its  brazi'U  laver,  and  encircling 
curtains,  and  solitary  gateway.  (3.)  And  as 
Israel  grew,  so  the  instruction  was  raised. 
The  theocratic  nation  was  schooled  in  the 
deep  things  of  God,  while  its  saints  and 
seers  were  permitted  to  drink  deeply  at  the 
Fount  of  Divine  Wisdom,  searching  diligently 
into  the  mystery  of  redemption,  until  the 
Teacher  Himself  became  Incarnate.  Thus  the 
Law  was  alike  tlie  pedagogue  leading  to,  and 
the  schoolmaster  instructing  as  to,  Christ — the 
End  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  believeth. 

*'  And   when    the   last   trumpet   shall   sound 

through  tlie  skies, 
When  the  dead  from  the  dust  of  the  earth 

shall  arise, 
With   bright  millions   I'll   rise   far  above 

yonder  sky, 
To  wear  Christ's  Righteousness  for  ever  on 

high." 

Altars  !  Ver.  1.  (l.>  Appealing  to  the  senses 
of  a  people  whose  spiritual  discernment  was 
undeveloped,  Jehovah,  on  the  very  niglit  in 
which  they  l)egan  their  march  from  Egypt, 
went  before  them  in  the  Shckinah,  or  pillar 
of  fire  by  night  and  of  a  cloud  by  day,  the  ad- 
vance or  halt  of  which  was  the  signal  for  their 
Uiarch  or  rest.  Sacuifice  was  contemplated 
as  the  very  object  of  their  journey  ;  and  we 
read  of  its  being  offered  by  Jetliro  and  Aaron 
2  M 


before  Sinai.  But  of  its  place  wo  have  no 
other  notice  than  the  command  given  in  the 
first  series  of  precepts,  to  make  an  altar  of 
earth,  or  unhewn  stone.  Subsequently  came 
this  ordinance  of  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offering. 
(2.)  It  was  known  as  the  brazen  altar,  and  was 
80  arranged  in  front  of  the  single  gateway, 
that  every  worshipper  as  he  approached  the 
hallowed  tabernacle  would  be  reminded  of  his 
need  of  sacrifice.  All  heaven-taught  souls 
reco.'nise  in  this  arrangement  a  type  of  man's 
need  of  tlie  propitiatory  of  Jesus  Christ.  Its 
twofold  substance  of  wood  and  brass  signifies 
the  complex  character  of  Christ — His  human 
nature  overlaid  witli  Divine  strength. 

"  The  outward  form  is  not  the  whole, 
But  every  part  is  moulded 
To  imaue  forth  an  inward  soul 
Tliat  dimly  is  unfolded." 

Exodus-Christology !  Ver.  2.  (1.)  It  has 
been  said  that  Christ  is  everywhere  in  the 
Bilile,  as  oxygen  is  everywhere  in  the  atmos' 
phere,  its  all  and  in  all  of  vitality.  So  of  its 
individual  parts,  and  none  the  less  of  these 
apparently  dry  details  and  reiterations  of 
Exodus.  These  make  Him,  as  do  all  other 
portions  of  Scripture,  their  grand  central 
Sun  ;  while  all  the  ritual  observances  and  Levi- 
tical  requirements  are  so  many  pointers  call- 
ing attention  to  His  glory — so  many  satellites 
revolving  round  Him  in  harmonious  moral 
rhythm — so  many  beams  or  shafts  of  light 
culminating  in  Him.  He  gives  the  meaning 
to  this  Exodus  ceremonialism,  the  direction 
to  all  this  Exodus  worship,  the  warmth  to  all 
this  Exodus  ordinance.  (2.)  There  is,  there- 
fore, no  typical  overstrain  when  we  repi'esent 
the  four-square  altar  as  indicating  the  per- 
fect stability  of  Clirist's  atonement,  or  the 
horns  as  symbolisinsj  His  all-siibduin>r  might, 
to  which  despairing  sinners  may  fearlessly 
cling.  It  is  the  horn  of  Jesus  which  prevails, 
s:iys  Law.  Nay,  more,  the  horns  of  salvation 
are  the  realities  of  refuse ;  so  that,  adhering 
to  Christ,  holdinir  fast  by  Jehovah's  strength, 
there  is  no  need  to  fear. 

"Man's  wisdom  is  to  seek 

His  strength  in  God  alone; 
And  e'en  an  angel  would  be  weak 
Who  trusted  in  his  own." 

— Cojoper. 
465 


OHAT.  XXYU. 


nOMlLETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Atonement  I  Ver.  8.  The  main  design  of 
the  altar  was  to  receive  burnt-offerings.  At 
early  morn,  throu;;hout  the  day,  aud  at  earth's 
eventide,  the  flames  were  brii^ht  of  sacrifice. 
Eacli  fire-made  offering,  says  Law,  typified 
Ciirist's  deiith.  The  reciirrLiice  of  this  idea 
of  Messianic  atonement  everywhere  in  the 
Pentateuch  shows  its  paramount  importance 
to  man.  If  frequent  types  set  forth  tliis 
truth,  it  is  that  man's  thoughts  may  cluster 
round  it  more  constantly,  if  this  sweet  pas- 
■ion-flower  blooms  and  floats  its  heavenly 
fragrance  over  every  part  of  the  Mosaic 
meadows  and  mountains,  it  is  that  human 
hearts  may  exult,  in  its  everlasting  beauty. 
On  the  accursed  tree  we  have  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  not  only  fulfilling  all  the  analogies  of 
nature,  but  concentrating  all  the  tvpal  beams 
of  the  Law  in  one  glorious,  ruddy  orb  of 
atonement. 

"  Whoever  yearns  to  see  aright, 
Because  his  heart  is  tender, 
Shall  catch  this  Truth  of  Heavenly  Light 
In  every  typal  splendour." 

Divine  Order !  Ver.  6.  (1.)  These  commands 
may  seem  puerile,  but  they  are  not  so.  Ruskin 
rightly  says  that "  Whatever  may  be  the  means, 
or  whatever  the  more  immediate  end  of  any 
kind  of  art,  all  of  it  that  is  good  agrees  in 
this,  that  it  is  the  exiiression  of  one  soul  talk- 
ing to  another."  And  it  is  [irecious  according 
to  the  greatness  of  the  soul  that  utters  it.  (2.) 
If  eucli  be  true  where  man  is  concerned,  how 
much  more  when  God  is  the  speaker  !  How 
precious  should  be  the  art-words  of  God  in 
this  chapter!  How  beautiful  the  designs  and 
arrangements  !  What  lessons  must  be  hidden 
underneath  ;  lessons,  too,  which  have  umlying 
issues  in  their  bosom  I  These  Exodus  chapters 
are — 

"  The  modifying  medium  through  which 
Grace-glories  are  exhibited  to  man — 
The  grand  repository  where  God  hides 
Hia  mighty  thoughts,  to  be  dug  out  like 
diamonds." 

Order-Importance  !  Ver.  8.  Guthrie  saya 
that  the  mcist  important  results  may  depend 
on  the  right  place  and  position  of  things. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  God  lays  so  much  and 
impressive  stress  upon  the  Mosaic  conformity 
to  the  Sinaitic  model.  God  teaches  us  this  in 
every-day  life  and  experience.  (1.)  If  things 
are  out  of  place  in  Nature,  what  serious  issues 
are  at  stake  1  Who  does  not  know  that  the 
fruitfulncss  and  beauty,  yea,  the  very  life  of  a 
tree  depends  not  only  on  its  having  both  root 
and  branche>,  but  on  these  members  being 
placed  in  their  natural  order?  (2.)  In  art  the 
same  law  holds  i;ooii.  Tiie  builder  must  not 
»nly  erect  the  stately  fabric,  but  he  must  so 
construct  it  with  the  proper  base  to  rest  on, 
lest  the  agitation  of  some  earthquake  or  the 
aggression  of  some  stormy  wind  should  over- 
turn it.  (3.)  So  with  the  tabernacle  arrange- 
ments; order  of  arrangement  was  of  the  most 
466 


vital  importance,  seeing  all,  in  whole  and  in 
each  individual  part,  was  desiirned  to  typify 
things  under  the  Gospel  Economy.  Thus  was 
it  in  the  Mosaic  Dispensation  as  in  Nature. 
Each  moss — 

"  Each  shell,  each  crawling  insect,  holds  a 
rank 
Important  in  the  plan  of  Him  who  framed 
This  scale  of  beings  ;  holds  a  rank  which, 

lost. 
Would  break  the  chain,  and  leave  behind  ft 

gap 
Which  Nature's  self  would  rue." 

— Thomson. 

Divine-Design  I  Ver.  9-19.  (1.)  If  onshak- 
ing  a  quantity  of  printer's  type  in  a  basket, 
it  should  appear  that  some  of  the  pieces  stuck 
together,  when  they  fell,  in  such  order  as  to 
compose  the  narrative  of  these  Mosaic  ordin- 
ances, could  we  resist  the  conclusion  that  these 
particular  types  were  loaded  with  the  design 
of  composing  that  story  ?  We  read  the  de- 
sign in  the  complicated  and  intelligible  adap- 
tation of  the  final  result.  So,  when  we  find 
these  various  and  varied  ordinances,  altars, 
lamps,  courts,  and  curtains  thus  arranged  by 
Moses,  we  cannot  but  believe  that  He  who 
gave  them  to  him  loaded  them  with  the  de- 
signed method  and  arrangement  in  which  we 
find  them.  (2)  There  are  few  subjects  that 
confuse  the  mind  more  thoroughly  than  the 
numerous  and  diverse  mineral  substances 
wliich  form  the  great  mass  of  the  earth'i 
crust  ;  and  it  was  not  till  Abb^  Haiiy 
dropped  his  beautiful  specimen  of  calcareous 
spar,  and  noted  that  all  the  shivered  frag- 
ments of  the  original  prism  had  the  same 
rhomboidal  form,  that  men  dreamt  of  any 
regularity  among  inorganic  objects.  God 
formed  His  manual  of  religious  instruction 
after  this  analogy  of  nature.  Its  unity  does 
not  stand  out  upon  the  surface,  neither  does 
its  unity  of  design.  We  have  to  make  due, 
devout,  and  diligent  search  to  find  the  Divine 
design  in  these  Exodus  unveilings. 

«  Thy  Word  is  like  a  deep,  deep  mine, 
And  jewels  rich  and  rare 
Are  hidden  in  its  mighty  depths, 
For  every  searcher  there." — Hodder. 

Court-Orderl  Ver.  12-15.  (1.)  Johnson 
Bays,  Order  is  a  lovely  nymph — the  child  of 
lieauty  and  Wisdom.  Her  attendants  are 
Comfort,  Neatness,  and  Activity.  Her  abode 
is  the  Valley  of  Happiness.  She  is  always  to 
be  found  when  80u>:lit  for;  and  she  never 
appears  so  lovely  as  when  contrasted  with  her 
opponent,  Disorder.  (2.)  Southey  says,  as  the 
beams  to  a  house,  as  the  bones  to  the  micro- 
cosm of  man,  so  is  order  to  all  things.  Not 
only  is  order  beautiful;  its  existence  is  a 
necessity.  Addison  says  wrongly  that  its 
non-existence  is  excusable  in  men  of  great 
learning,  who  are  often  too  lull  to  be  exact, 
and  wiio  may  therefore  throw  down  their 
pearls  in   heaps  instead  of  stringing  themt 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.    XXVU. 


(8.)  Shaftesbury  says,  In  nature  is  no  confusion, 
but  all  is  managed  for  the  best  with  perfect 
frugality  and  just  reserve.  Bigg  says  that 
nature  is  still,  as  ever,  the  thin  veil  which 
half  conceals  and  half  reveals  the  design  of 
God  in  grace.  The  order  which  we  perceive 
in  nature,  from  the  setting  and  sweeping  of 
Btar-worldsin  space  to  the  forming  and  flitting 
of  fire-flies  amid  the  palm  fronds,  is  designed 
to  instruct  us  in  tlie  order  of  Revelation. 

"  So  work  the  honey-bees, 
Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

— Shakespeare, 

Linen!  Ver.  16.  (1.)  Weaving  was  exten- 
Bively  carried  on  in  ancient  Egypt.  On  the 
tombs  are  found  various  representations  of 
the  mode  of  carrying  on  this  art.  Pharaoh 
arrayed  Joseph  in  vestures  of  fine  linen. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  during  the  cap- 
tivity in  Egypt  the  Israelitish  women  were 
thus  employed.  It  was  as  bond-slaves  in  the 
houses  of  the  princes  of  Egypt  that  tliey 
acquired  the  arts  which  were  afterwards  used 
in  the  service  of  the  Lord.  Thus  liie  dis- 
ciplines of  life  are  often  enlisted  by  God  to 
enable  His  chosen  ones  to  render  to  Him 
agreeable  .service.  (2. )  The  fine  tvdned  linen 
probably  alludes  to  the  great  pains  taken  in 
the  bleaching  of  linen  in  ancient  Egypt. 
Osburn  says  that,  after  being  marked,  the 
piece  of  wet  linen  was  probably  wrapped  in 
strong  sacking  made  for  the  purpose,  one  end 
of  whicli  was  fastened  to  a  post,  and  a  staff 
was  inserted  in  a  loop  in  the  other.  It  was 
then  wrung  by  the  united  strength  of  two 
men,  so  as  to  force  out  as  much  of  the  water 
as  possilile,  and  thus  prevent  any  impurity 
that  miirht  be  in  the  water  or  in  the  cloth 
from  drying  in.  It  may,  therefore,  be  called 
fine  twined,  or  twisted,  or  wrung  linen.  (3.) 
Such  was  the  righteousness  of  God,  wrought 
out  by  the  Lord  Jesus  on  the  plains  of  earth  ; 
that  fine  linen,  clean  and  white,  which  is  the 
righteousness  of  the  saints.  Through  the 
ordeal  of  trial  the  Lord  Jesus  wrought  it ; 
and  through  much  tribulation  the  saints  enter 
the  kingdom  to  wear  it. 

*'  Lo  !  his  clothing  is  the  sun, 

The  bright  Sun  of  Righteousness; 
He  hath  put  salvation  on, 

Jesus  IS  his  beauteous  dress." 

—  Wesley. 

Court-Entrance  1  Ver,  16.  There  was  ad- 
mittance by  one  only  gate.  All  worshippers 
must  pass  the  door.  In  a  town  in  the  north 
of  Scotland  some  boys  were  in  the  habit  of 
meeting  together  for  prayer.  A  little  girl 
was  passing,  and  heard  them  sing.  She 
stepped  to  listen,  and  thinking  that  it  was 
just  an  ordinary  prayer -meeting,  she  felt 
anxious  to  get  in.  Putting  up  her  hand,  she 
pulled  the  latch,  but  it  would  not  open.  It 
was  fastened  inside.  She  became  very  uneasy, 
and  the  thought  arose  in  her  miud  :  "What 


if  this  were  the  door  of  heaven,  and  me  ont< 
side  ?"  She  went  home,  but  could  not  sleep. 
Day  after  day,  she  became  more  troubled  at 
the  thought  of  being  shut  out  of  heaven.  She 
went  from  one  prayer-meeting  to  another, 
still  finding  no  rest.  At  length,  one  day 
readiug  the  tenth  chapter  of  John,  she  came 
to  the  words,  "I  am  the  Door."  Shepausedl 
Here  was  the  very  door  slie  was  seeking;  it 
was  wide  open.     She  entered. 

*' '  I  am  the  door,'  those  words  begin  ; 
I  press  towards  that  Voice, 
And,  ere  I  know  it,  am  within. 
And  all  within  rejoice." 

Thoroughness  I  Ver.  17.  In  all  these 
minute  arrangements  God  teaches  the  art 
and  duty  of  thoroughness.  A  friend  called 
on  Michael  Angelo,  who  was  finishing  a 
statue.  Some  time  afterwards  he  called 
again ;  the  sculptor  was  still  at  his  work. 
His  friend,  looking  at  the  figure,  exclaimed, 
"  You  have  been  idle  since  1  saw  you  last!" 
"  By  no  means,"  replied  tlie  sculptor,  "  I  have 
retouched  this  part,  and  polished  that ;  I  have 
softened  this  feature,  and  brought  out  this 
muscle  ;  I  have  given  more  expression  to  this 
lip,  and  more  energy  to  this  limb."  To  this 
his  friend  replied  that  all  these  were  "trifles." 
"  It  may  be  so,"  replied  Angelo,  "  but  recollect 
that  trifles  make  perfection,  and  i  at  perfec- 
tion is  no  trifle."  ButAngelo's  perfect  works, 
when  viewed  through  the  microscope,  dis- 
closed rough  outlines.  Not  so  God's.  His 
works  are  thoroughly  perfect — even  to  the 
"filleting"  and  "sockets."  And  so  are  His 
words. 

"  How  longed  the  holy  men  and  prophets  old 
God's  Truth  to  see!     How  blessed,  whom 

He  hath  willed 
To  see  His  Truth  in  His  own  book  enrolled." 

— Mant. 

Little    Things!     Ver.  19.     It  is  but  the 

littleness  of  man  that  sees  no  greatness  in 
a  trifle.  And  indeed  there  is  nothing  little 
in  truth  which  can  be  connected  with  eternity 
and  God.  Little  pins  held  together  that 
tabernacle,  which  was  the  glory  of  God.  As 
Dryden  says,  God  never  made  His  work  for 
man  to  mend.  (1.)  This  is  true  of  nature, 
which  Goethe  calls  the  living  visible  garment 
of  God,  and  which  Carlyle  terms  the  time 
vesture  of  Ood  that  reveals  Him  to  the  wise, 
and  hides  Him  from  the  foolish.  A  micro. 
scopic  examination  of  the  smallest  flower  or 
animalcule  shows  that  He  has  cared  for  the 
little  things — that  every  part  is  perfect  of  its 
kind — and  that  with  Him  nothing  is  too  in- 
significant to  be  done  thoroughly.  (2.)  This 
is  true  of  the  Mosaic  law,  which  has  been 
rightly  called  the  gospel  in  bud.  How  careful 
God  was  that  the  little  things  of  the  taber- 
nacle should  all  be  wrought  out  after  His  plan. 
Even  the  pins  were  to  be  made  perfectly, 
and  after  the  fashion  shown  to  Moses  in  the 
Mount. 

467 


CHAP.  SXVIII. 


EOMILETIC  COMMEXTARY:  EXODUS. 


"  Nfiu'jlit  that  is  right  think  little ;  well  aware 
Wiiat  reason  bids,  God  bids;  by  His  com- 
mand 
How  aggrandised  the  smallest  thing:  we  do ! " 

—  Young. 

Olive-Oil  1  Ver.  20.  (1.)  Dr.  Burden  ob- 
lerves  that  by  the  expression  "oil-olive  "  thig 
oil  is  distinguished  from  other  kinds.  The 
addition  "  beaten  "  indicates  that  it  is  that  oil 
obtained  from  olives  pounded  in  a  mortar,  and 
not  pressed  from  olives  in  the  oil-mill.  The 
oil  obtained  from  pounded  olives  is,  ac- 
cording to  Columela's  observations,  much 
purer  and  better  tasted,  does  not  emit  much 
smoke,  and  has  no  offensive  smell.  From 
passa'res  in  the  books  of  Joel  and  Micah,  it 
wonlii  seem  that  the  olives  were  usually 
crushed  in  the  mill  by  men's  feet,  just  as  in 
the  vintage  operation.  2.  In  tlie  museum  of 
Naples  is  a  graceful  olive  in  bronze,  on  whose 
spreading  branches  the  various  menjbers  of 
Bome  old  Pompeian  household  used  to  hang  up 
their  little  lamps  when  they  came  from  their 
different  employments,  and  mustered  in  the 
family  apartment  around  the  symbolic  family 
tree.  Figure  of  eacli  member  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  each  of  whom  should  contribute 
the  small  lamp  of  a  t'hristian  life,  fed  with 
the  pure  oil-olive  of  Divine  Grace,  to  be  sus- 
pended on  the  fair  olive-tree  of  the  Church 
(Ps.  lii.  8). 

*'  God's  saints  are  shining  lights  ;  who  stays 
Here  long,  must  pass 
O'er  dark  hills,  switt  streams,  and  steep  ways 
As  smooth  as  glass. 
But  these  all  night, 
Like  candles,  shed 
Their  beams,  and  light 
Us  into  bed."  — Vaughan. 

Olive -Symbolism  !  Ver  20.  The  word 
"tree,"  as  pointed  out  by  Grindon,  actually 
means  "intellect  "  in  bolli  luiglish  and  He- 
brew. It  is  even  "intellect"  in  its  widest 
Bense  amongst  the  Hebrews.     The  personifi- 


cations of  Scripture  aie  not  like  those  of 
merely  human  poetry,  which  are  aiidressed 
simply  to  the  object.  On  the  contrary,  they 
always  involve  a  direct  reference  to  the  mental, 
the  moral,  or  the  spiritual.  "Tlie  trees  of 
tile  forest  cl:>p  their  liands."  Here  the  tigure 
is  borrowed  irom  the  waving  of  the  branciies; 
but  the  figure  is  itself  tii^urative.  The  idea  ia 
that  of  the  joys  of  the  redeemed  being  ex- 
pressed to  God.  When,  therefore,  particular 
kinds  of  trees  aie  mentioned  in  Scripture,  it  is 
in  reference  to  specific  mental  gifts,  moral 
virtues,  or  spiritual  graces.  It  is  the  "  tree 
department "  of  the  language  of  flowers  in  its 
highest  and  noblest  use.  The  olive  has  from 
time  immemorial  been  identified  with  peace, 
forgiveness,  charity,  reconciliation,  and  simi- 
lar higli  attitudes  of  virtue.  In  the  sphere  of 
Revelation  and  Grace,  its  oil  thus  symbolises 
"  the  Graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

•*  For  Nature  dwells  within  our  reach  ; 
Yet  though  we  stand  so  near  her, 
We  still  interpret  half  her  speech 
With  ears  too  dull  to  hear  her." 

— Anon. 

Olive-Oil  Objects!  Ver.  20-22.  Thomas 
calls  attention  to,  1.  The  Plant,  whence  the 
oil  came,  as  an  emblem  of  Jesns,  the  Plant  of 
renown,  full  of  grace  and  trnih;  to,  2.  The 
Properties  of  the  oil,  as  expressive  of  the  purity 
of  the  Spirit  of  Clirist ;  3.  The  Process  of  its 
manufacture,  as  predicting  the  suflferings  of 
Jesus  ere  the  Holy  Spirit's  full  descent  at  Pente- 
cost;  4.  The  PersoJiS  receiving  and  dispensing, 
as  types  of  the  true  Israel  of  God,  who  receive 
of  Christ's  fulness,  and  gi-ace  for  grace  ;  and, 
6.  The  Purposes  to  which  the  oil  was  put,  as 
symbolic  of  the  Divine  Light  ever  shining  in 
the  holy  place  of  the  Church,  and  of  the 
temple  of  the  Christian  heart. 

"  The  Rites  of  God  are  fair  for  nought. 
Unless  our  eyes,  in  seeing, 
See  hidden  in  the  type  the  thought 
That  animates  its  being."      — Anon, 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

Critical  Notes. — 5.  And  they  (the  ■workmen)  shall  take]  =  Vehem  yikchuh.  These  words 
imply  thiit  the  workmen  neeived  all  the  costlj'  materials  foi-  the  priestly  robesdirectly  from  the 
people.  'I'lius  those  filli'd  witli  the  "  spirit  of  wisdom  "  (ver.  3)  were  eminently  trustwortliy  as 
men  of  Gud,  and  as  sucli  possessed  the  unlimited  confidence  of  the  people.  15.  The  breast-plate] 
=  Ciioslien  was  of  the  srime  "cunning  work,"  mftSsey  cliosheb,  as  the  ephod,  and  of  like  costly 
materials;  being  smaller  than  the  ephod,  and  intended  only  to  cover  a  span  square  "on  the 
heart."  It  was  also  doubled  in  order  to  bear  the  weight  of  tlie  twelve  inserted  precious  stones 
arranged  in  four  equal  rows,  and  on  each  of  which  was  engraven  one  of  the  names  oi  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  precious  stones  were  types  of  the  cliaracter 
and  di'stiny  of  the  individual  tribes  respectively,  the  interpretation,  however,  of  which  has  been 
kept  from  human  scrutiny.  We  find  the  same  precious  stones  enumerated  in  the  Apocalypse 
on  "the  foundation  of  the  walls"  of  the  celestial  city  (Rev.  xxi.  19).  This  correspondence  is 
deseYving  of  attention,  and  shows  how  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  unite  in  their  teaching 
respecting  the  glorious  and  encouraging  fact  of  God  holding  His  people  in  high  honour,  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  He  will  beautify  them. 

468 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xxvni. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPE.-^Vertea  6-15. 

The  Ephod  :  The  Intercessorship  of  the  High  Priest. 

Tlie  Lord  Jesus  is  the  Great  High  Priest,  and  this  portion  of  the  raiment  of 
the  Levitical  higli  priest  is  full  of  suggestion  concerning  the  Divine  Mediator. 
It  suggests — 

I.  The  immediateness  of  His  advocacy.  "  The  ephod  was  made  of  the  work  of 
the  sliillul  weaver,  and  is  thus,  at  once,  discernible  as  appertaining  to  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  the  vail  of  which  was  of  the  same  distinguished  workmanship.  The  high 
priest  alone  was  allowed  to  enter  into  the  immediate  presence  of  ihe  Ark  of  the 
Testimony  ;  to  the  representative  of  the  theocratical  community  alone  could  the 
privilege  be  granted  of  communing  with  the  invisible  King," — Kalisch.  So 
Christ  has  "  entered  into  the  presence  of  God  for  us,"  Our  great  representative 
is  in  the  Eternal  presence.  The  vast  distance  between  God  and  sinful  man, 
exists  no  more  between  God  and  the  Perfect  Man  who  represents  humanity. 
The  mt>ral  perfection,  the  essential  dignity  of  Christ,  qualifies  Him  to  sit  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  High.  Christ  brings  us  into  the  immediate 
presence.  In  the  Aaronic  high  priest  all  Israel  was  brought  into  the  presence 
of  the  Holy  One,  and  Christ  brings  us  into  the  heavenly  place.  In  jprmjer  it  is 
so :  we  need  no  human  priest ;  He  brings  us  to  God.  In  the  whole  Christian 
life  it  is  so.  "  Our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."  In  death  it  is  so.  We  see 
God's  face  through  Christ  for  ever. 

II.  The  comprehensiveness  of  His  advocacy.  "  And  thou  shalt  take  two  onyx 
stones,  and  grave  on  them  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel  :  six  of  their 
names  on  one  stone,  and  the  other  six  names  of  the  rest  on  the  other  stone, 
according  to  their  birth,"  vers.  9,  10.  The  whole  of  the  tribes  were  thus 
brought  before  God.  And  Christ  the  great  High  Priest  represents  the  whole 
race — not  Israel  only,  but  all  nations,  tribes  and  people,  and  tongues.  What  a 
consolation  to  think,  that  for  ignorant  ages  and  generations  He  is  pleading: 
"  Father,  forgive  them  ;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  What  a  consolation 
to  know  that  we  who  have  transgressed  against  clearer  light  have  an  interest  in 
His  intercession!  '^  If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  :  and  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  :  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world"  (1  John  ii.  1,  2).  None  of 
us  need  hesitate  to  come  before  God  with  our  sins  and  our  sorrows,  "  My  name 
is  written  on  His  hands," 

III.  The  power  of  His  advocacy.  *'  And  thou  shalt  put  the  two  stones  upon 
the  shoulders  of  the  ephod  for  stones  of  memorial  unto  the  children  of  Israel : 
and  Aaron  shall  bear  their  names  before  the  L<jrd  upon  his  two  shoulders  for  a 
memorial,"  ver.  12,  Is  there  not  the  idea  here  of  the  priestly  power  carrying 
Israel  and  Israel's  cause  ?  This  representation  is  full  of  the  idea  of  the  strength 
and  sovereignty  of  the  priest.  "  Besides  the  materials  used  for  the  vail  of  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  gold  threads  were  applied  in  the  ephod,  which,  like  the  golden 
plate  on  the  mitre,  point  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  high  priest,  who  was  the 
spiritual  king  of  the  nation  ;  for  gold  is  generally  the  emblem  of  regal  power. 
The  garments  of  the  hiyh  priest  in  general  are  called  the  "  golden  garments  ;" 
and,  indeed,  no  part  of  them  was  without  this  metal." — Kalisch.  Christ  is  a 
King  as  well  as  a  Priest,  His  Priesthood  is  full  of  power  and  efficacy.  Full 
of  power  as  it  is  related  to  God  ;  full  of  power  as  it  stands  related  to  the  Church 
and  the  world,  "  He  shall  build  the  Temple  of  the  Lord  .  ,  ,  and  He  shall  be  a 
Priest  upon  His  throne"  (Zeck.  vi.  13).  The  whole  of  His  Divine  strength  and 
niaji  sty  are  engaged  in  the  task  of  reconciling  the  world  to  God. 

469 


CHAP,  xivin.  EOMILETIO  COMMENT  ART:  EXODUS. 


The  Breastplatk — Verses  15-30. 

That  the  ephod  and  the  breastplate  were  intended  to  form  one  whole,  is 
evident  by  the  chains  and  ribbon  which  connected  them,  but  tlie  breastplate 
has  its  peculiar  teachings.  It  has  a  two-fold  relation — to  God  and  to  Israel 
Let  us  consider  the  suggestions  of  this  prominent  portion  of  the  high  priestly 
vestments. 

L  As  towards  God  the  breastplate  conveys  the  idea  of  representation. 

1.  Tiie  righteousness  of  this  repreisentation.  T'he  breastplate  was  to  be  the 
work  of  the  skilful  weaver;  and  it  was  to  be  made  "of  gold,  of  blue,  of  purple, 
of  scarlet,  and  of  fine  twined  linen,"  ver.  15.  Is  not  the  idea  here,  that  the 
intercession  of  the  piiest  rested  on  jnirity  and  righteousness  %  The  breastplate 
that  met  the  eye  of  God,  and  on  which  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel  were 
written,  was  of  white,  and  gold  and  beauty.  The  intercession  of  Christ  is  based 
in  wisdom  and  righteousness.  The  holiness  of  God,  the  holiness  of  the  law,  the 
holiness  of  Heaven,  are  fully  recognised  and  guaranteed. 

2.  The  individuality  of  this  representation.  "  And  the  stones  shall  be  accord- 
ing to  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel,  twelve,"  ver.  21.  Each  tribe  particu- 
larised. And  must  we  not  conclude  that  the  individual  jewels  for  the  different 
tribes  bad  a  specific  meaning]  Our  great  High  Priest  knows  our  particular 
nature,  infirmities,  temptations,  sins,  sorrows.  He  brings  us  before  God  in  our 
individual  character  and  need. 

3.  The  design  of  tins  representation.  Did  not  these  sparkling  jewels  on  the 
priest's  breast  symbolise  the  fact  that  the  end  of  his  intercession  was,  the  res- 
toration of  Israel  to  purity  and  glory  1  Thus  Christ  recognises  the  intrinsic 
preciousness  of  human  nature,  and  ever  pleads  and  acts,  so  that  we  may  be 
cleansed  from  every  defilement,  and  shine  as  a  bride's  jewels. 

4.  The  sympathy  of  this  representation.  "  And  Aaron  shall  bear  the  names 
upon  his  heart,"  ver.  29.  Christ  bears  us  on  His  heart :  His  Priesthood  is  full 
of  tenderness  and  sympathy. 

IL  As  toward  man  the  breastplate  conveys  the  idea  of  illumination,  ver. 
30.  "  The  Urim  and  Thummim  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  certain  medium,  given 
by  the  Lord  to  His  people,  through  which,  M-benever  the  congregation  required 
divine  illumination  to  guide  its  actions,  that  illumination  was  guaranteed,  and 
by  means  of  which  the  rights  of  Israel,  when  called  in  question  or  endangered, 
were  to  be  restored,  and  that  this  medium  was  bound  up  with  the  official  dress 
of  the  high  priest,  though  its  precise  character  can  no  longer  be  determined. — 
Delitzsch.  Kalisch  considers  the  Urim  and  Thummim  to  be  identical  with  the 
precious  stones,  which  is  very  probable.  This  oracle  represents  the  Divine  and 
saving  light  which  Christ  gives  to  His  Church.  The  divine  doctrines  of  the 
New  Testament  are  the  oracular  gems  to  guide  us  into  all  truth.  The  Jewish 
legend  declares,  that  during  the  flood  the  ark  was  lighted  by  the  lustre  of  jewels ; 
the  Ark,  the  Church,  is  lighted  by  the  clear  shining  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ. 
In  Christ  we  have  saving  light ;  not  for  curiosity  or  earthly  interest,  but  for  the 
salvation  of  our  highest  nature.  Sufficient  light :  the  twelve  gems  indicate  a 
fulness  of  illumination.  Infallible  light :  it  never  leads  astray.  These  precious 
stones  indicate,  then,  precious  truths  (Isa.  liv.  11-13).  Let  us  be  like  unto 
"the  merchant  man  seeking  goodly  pearls,  who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of 
great  price,  went  and  sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it"  (Matt.  xiii.  45,  46). 

SUGGESTIVE  COMMENTS  ON  THE  VERSES. 

But  the  children  of  Israel  were  re-      and  after  a  different  manner,  on  the 
presented  in  an  entirely  different  order,      breastplate  of  the   high   priest.     Each 
470 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxvm. 


ihere  had  his   own   peculiar  precious  each  differed  from,  without  rivalling 

stone,   and    his   own   peculiar    place,  the  other;  and  each  filled  his  appointed 

Judah  was  the  head  of  the  first  row ;  place   in   the   order   of  God.     There 

and  Dan   took  the  lead  in  the  last,  was  unity,   combined  with    diversity. 

The  gorgeous  colour  of  the  ruby  shone  God  is  able  to  create  variety,  without 

out  from  one  ;  the  soft  refreshing  green  that  variety  involving  inferiority.    And 

of  the  emerald  was  visible  in  another;  so  it  is  with  the  individuals  that  coni- 

the   brilliant    light    of    the   diamond  pose  the  Church  of  God.     Each  reflects 

flashed   out   from   a   third ;    and   the  Christ :  and  yet  Christ  is  seen  in  each, 

heavenly  azure   of  the   sapphire   was  with  a  peculiar  beauty  and  glory,  into 

displayed  in  a  fourth.    Thus,  each  had  which  another  does  not  intrude, 
his  own  peculiar   glory  and  beauty  :  — Soliau. 

The  Priest's  Eobe. — Ferses  31-35. 

A  robe  is  the  badge  of  office,  and  the  robe  here  described  marts  out  the 
high  priest  as  one  whose  function  it  was  to  preserve  and  declare  divine  truth. 
And  Christ,  the  great  High  Priest,  is  also  the  Apostle  of  our  confession.  Consider 
what  this  robe  suggests  concerning  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

I.  The  colour  of  the  robe  suggests,  that  our  great  High  Priest  is  the  source 
and  guardian  of  trutL  The  robe  was  to  be  entirely  of  blue.  "  That  this  is  sig- 
nificant cannot  be  doubted,  if  we  consider,  that  (Numbers  xv.  38)  the  Israelites 
are  commanded  to  wear  on  the  borders  of  their  garments  fringes  with  a  thread  of 
blue,  '  that  they  might  see  it  and  remember  all  the  precepts  of  the  Lord ; '  we 
may,  therefore,  safely  infer  that  the  robe,  with  its  only  blue  colour,  represented 
the  high  priest  as  perfectly  and  entirely  under  the  command  of  God,  as  the  in- 
strument and  guardian  of  His  laws." — Kalisch.  Christ  is  the  grand  source  of 
spiritual  and  divine  truth.  He  declares  the  laws  of  God  to  mankind.  It  is  the 
highest  truth  :  blue,  the  colour  of  the  lofty  firmament.  It  is  the  purest  truth  : 
the  deep  blue  sky  is  an  image  of  purity — free  from  all  stains  and  defilements. 
It  is  the  infinite,  eternal,  truth :  the  blue  unchanging  sky  is  the  image  of 
eternity. 

n.  The  integrity  of  the  robe  suggests  the  integrity  of  the  law  and  truth  of 
Christ.  The  robe  was  of  one  piece,  it  was  entirely  woven  without  the  use  of 
the  needle ;  and  the  robe  was  of  one  colour,  all  of  blue.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  is 
no  patchwork,  as  some  would  assume,  partly  true  and  partly  false,  partly  human 
and  partly  divine,  partly  obligatory  and  partly  obsolete,  partly  beautiful  and 
partly  unseemly.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  is  not  a  thing  made  from  scraps  and 
shreds  gathered  from  various  sources,  Jewish  and  Pagan, — it  is  of  one  spirit, 
one  beauty,  one  authority  throughout.  Let  us  not  attempt  to  tear  it  asunder. 
"  There  was  to  be  a  binding  of  woven  work  round  about  the  hole  for  the  neck, 
like  the  opening  of  an  armour,  that  it  be  not  rent,"  ver.  32.  Let  us  make 
no  schism  in  it.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  is  the  unfolding  of  God's  heart  and 
God's  mind,  and  let  us  be  careful  and  preserve  the  whole  counsel  of  God. 

in.  The  ornaments  of  the  robe  suggest  the  sweetness  and  virtue  of  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  vers.  33,  34,  35.  "  We  find  allusions  to  the  Word  and  Testi- 
mony of  God  in  the  pendant  of  pomegranates  and  bells  attached  to  the  fringe 
of  the  high  priest's  robe.  The  simile  in  Proverbs  xxv.  11,  where  the  word  is 
compared  to  an  apple,  suggests  the  idea  that  the  pomegranates,  with  their 
pleasant  odour,  their  sweef  and  refreshing  juice,  and  the  richness  of  their  deli- 
cious kernel,  were  symbols  of  the  Word  and  Testimony  of  God,  as  a  sweet  and 
pleasant  spiritual  food  that  enlivens  the  soul  and  refreshes  the  lieart" — Delitzsch. 
The  music  of  the  golden  bells  v*-  may  also  regard  as  the  delightfid  haimony  of 

471 


CHAP,  xxviii.  nOMILETIC  COMMENT AkY:  EXODUS, 

Gospel  truth — sweet  alike  to  God  and  man.     The  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  is  full 
of  richness  and  beauty — it  speaks  of  pardon,  reconciliation,  and  immortality. 

"  0  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good;  blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
Him." 

The  Diadem  of  the  Priest. — Verses  36-38. 

The  words  on  the  priest's  mitre,  Holiness  to  the  Lord,  signify  that  he  who 
wore  it  was  entirely  devoted  to  God,  and  that  it  was  his  mission  to  elevate  the 
people  to  the  same  sanctity.  Thus  is  Christ  pure,  and  thus  does  He  seek  to 
sanctify  all  who  seek  His  aid.     Consider  the  sanctity  of  the  priest — 

I.  As  personal.  The  inscription  on  the  priestly  diadem  signified: — 1.  That 
the  priest  was  altogether  sepaiated  to  God.  The  inscription  ^as  on  his  brow^ 
declaring  the  giving  up  to  God  of  his  whole  personality.  2.  The  priest  was 
aZz^'ays  separated  to  God.  "It  shall  be  always  upon  his  forehead."  Thus  the 
Israelites  saw  in  their  high  priest  the  ideal  of  a  true  humanity — life  altogether 
and  always  given  up  to  God.  In  Christ  we  see  the  glorious  actuality — an 
absolutely  pure  humanity.  See  Heb.  vii.  25-27.  All  other  men,  even  the 
greatest,  the  wisest,  the  best,  have  been  marked  by  imperfection  and  sin,  but  in 
Christ  we  have  a  great  High  Priest  of  absolute  sinlessness,  and  in  Him  we  may 
safely  and  fully  trust. 

II.  As  official.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  high  priest  to  raise  others  to  his  own 
sanctity,  ver.  38.  He  had  to  bear  away  the  iniquity  of  the  sacred  things.  The 
high  priest  was  an  atoning  mediator  of  the  whole  nation,  and  in  his  intercession 
the  sin  of  the  people  was  blotted  out.  Thus  Christ  is  a  High  Priest  to  take 
upon  Himself  and  to  bear  away  the  condemnation  of  all  sinful  but  penitent  men. 
Christ  declares  in  His  teaching  the  holiness  of  God  ;  in  His  own  life  He  gives  us 
the  grandest  illustration  of  tliat  holiness ;  and  in  His  ever-living  advocacy,  He 
seeks  to  elevate  all  His  people  to  share  His  glory. 

Lessons  : — 1.  Man  at  his  best  is  a  sinful  creature.  "The  iniquity  of  the  holy 
things."  Our  best  works,  feelings,  hours,  are  tainted,  and  mixed  and  imperfect. 
What  of  our  ordinary  works,  feelings,  hours?  What  of  our  worst?  2.  That 
God  will  only  accept  us  and  our  gifts  when  we  and  they  are  pure.  The  priest 
had  to  purify  the  givers  and  the  gifts  ;  for  so  long  ns  these  were  infected  by 
iniquity  they  were  unacceptable  to  God.  Here  we  see  the  need  of  a  mediator. 
How  presumptuous  are  those  who  venture  to  go  into  the  presetice  of  God  on  merely 
natural  grounds,  and  offer  Him  their  spotted  selves,  and  spotted  lives,  gifts, 
prayers,  services  !  All  sacrifices,  prayers,  oblations,  services,  are  an  abomination 
to  God  if  they  are  not  perfectly  sincere  and  pure  ;  and  how  can  these  clean  things 
come  out  of  our  erring,  passionate,  perverse  nature  ?  3.  That  in  Christ  we  have 
full  redemption  and  sanctification.  He  can  make  us  pure  and  our  offerings.  He 
can  purge  the  iniquity  of  our  holy  things  and  our  unholy.  We  need  seek  no 
other  priest;  we  need  add  to  Him  no  other  priest;  His  royal  power  and  elo- 
quent advocacy  save  to  the  uttermost  all  who  come  unto  God  through  Him. 


The  Kingdom  of  Priests. —  Verses  39-43. 

Aaron  was  the  high  priest,  but  all  his  sons  were  priests  also,  and  in  the  text 
we  have  given  more  particularly  the  garments  of  the  common  priests.  Let  us 
notice  these  as  suggestive  of  the  character  of  the  kingdom  of  priests  created  by 
Christ  Jesus, 

L  The  holiness  of  the  garments.    Not  only  are  Aaron's  garments  called 
"holy,"  ver.   2;  but  the  garments  for  his  sons  are  called  "  holy  "  also,  ver.  4. 
472 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY i  EXODUS.  chap,  xxvin. 


He  \rho  wore  these  garments  was  separated  to  God,  doing  God's  service.  The 
sons  of  Christ  are  thus  holy  unto  God.  These  garments  indicate  the  completeness 
of  their  sanctification.  The  garments  of  the  priest  in  several  parts  indicate 
tliat  he  is  entirely  clothed  in  holiness.  Does  not  the*  coat  of  fine  linen  or  the 
tunic,  ver.  39,  indicate  the  sanctification  of  the  heart  which  beats  beneath  it? 
Does  not  the  girdle,  ver.  39,  wliich  is  a  symbol  of  readiness  and  service,  indi- 
cate the  sanctification  of  the  active  life  1  Does  not  the  bonnet  or  turban,  ver.  4, 
indicate  the  hallowing  of  the  intellect?  Do  not  the  linen  drawers,  ver.  42,' 
indicate  the  sanctification  of  the  flesh  '?  The  whole  nature  and  life  for  God. 
These  garments  indicate  the  thoroughness  of  their  sanctification.  The  tunic  above 
the  drawers,  the  girdle  around  the  tunic.  Oar  purity  must  be  deep  and  thorough. 
"Thou  desirest  truth  in  the  inward  parts."     Are  we  thus  sanctified  to  God? 

n.  "I'lie  beauty  of  the  garments.  The  workmen  were  to  "take  the  gold,  and  the 
blue,  and  the  red,  and  the  crimson,  and  the  fine  linen,"  ver.  5.  The  tunic  was 
of  fine  linen,  the  girdle  was  the  work  of  the  embroiderer,  and  the  turban  was 
for  glory  and  beauty.  Holiness  is  beauty.  Is  not  this  the  grand  idea  of  the 
priest's  gorgeous  apparel?  Purity  causes  the  whole  man  to  shine,  and  touches 
his  whole  life  into  beauty.  Many  aim  to  make  themselves  beautiful,  but  it  is 
a  mistake  to  aim  at  beauty ;  we  must  aim  at  purity,  and  purity  transfigures 
all.  What  beauty  about  a  true  heart !  A  noble  mind  !  A  chaste  body  1  A 
sincere  and  transparent  life  !  Holiness  is  the  highest  beauty.  Gold,  blue,  crim- 
son, red,  fine  linen — here  you  have  the  richest  material,  the  finest  fabric,  the 
highest  colours.  Holiness  of  heart  and  life  reveal  the  highest  beauty.  Physical, 
intellectual  beauty  are  alike  inferior  to  the  beauty  of  holiness.  "I  will  greatly 
rejoice  in  the  Lord,  my  soul  shall  be  joyful  in  my  God  :  for  He  hath  clothed  me 
with  the  garments  of  salvation  ;  He  hath  covered  me  with  the  robe  of  righteous- 
ness "(Isa.  Ixi.  lOj.     Notice — 

m.  The  indispensability  of  these  garments,  ver.  43.  "Without  holiness 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."  Without  this  holiness  our  worship  will  not  be 
acceptable  ;  our  services  for  society  not  be  efficacious  ;  our  spirit  shall  not  stand 
acquitted  in  the  judgment.     It  is  the  wedding-garment  of  the  Gospel 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

BY 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 

Scripture  -  Secrets !  Ver.  1-43.  •'  The  aud  cheered  our  heart — from  the  harps  of  the 
Bible  can  never  be  exhausted.  The  most  Hebrew  bards  they  will  hear  a  more  elevating 
learned  commentators  and  eloquent  preachers  melody  than  ever  charmed  our  spirits,  and  in 
have  but  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  m;igni-  the  living  words  of  the  Divine  Man  perceive  a 
ficent  temple.  As  in  Nature,  so  in  Revela-  depth,  a  gnmdeur,  and  a  significance  of  which 
tion  :  the  materials  of  every  steam-engine,  no  conception  can  be  formed.  'I'he  ancient 
tele<;raph,  microscope,  aud  other  mechanical  prophets  have  yet  more  to  relate.  Isaiah  will 
and  scientific  contrivances,  have  been  lying  for  reveal  glories  surpassing  imagination,  and 
countless  ages  under  the  dust  of  the  earth  un-  Ezekiel  unfold  splendours  which  would  over- 
disturbed  until  a  comparatively  recent  date.  power  our  visual  organs.  Intellectual  percep- 
.  .  .  And  what  yet  may  be  fashioned  out  of  tion  will  be  quickened  so  as  to  penetrate  the 
the  materials  of  nature  no  sagacity  can  prog-  clouds  which  intercept  man's  vision  of  the 
nosticate.  Our  present  conquests  form  the  truth.  No  NEW  Revelation,  however,  will  be 
Btarting-pointsof  more  dazzling  victories.  So,  granted;  but  from  the  present  Bible  will 
in  reference  to  Revelation  :  generations  yet  stream  '  a  light  above  the  brightness  of  the 
unborn  will  group  around  its  pages,  and  gatlier  sun.'  Never  need  we  fear  an  exhaustion  of 
from  them  more  sublime  and  radiaut  truths  the  truth.  It  is  sempiternal  as  God,  and 
than  those  which  have  flashed  on  our  intellect  perennial  as  the  springs  of  immortality." 

473 


CHAP,  zxvni. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


'*  The  Book  of  God  !  a  well  of  streams  divine  I 
But  who  would  wish  the  riches  of  that  mine 
To  make  his  own,  his  thirst  to  satisfy 
From  that  pure  well,   mu§t  ear,  eye,   soul 
apply."  — Mant. 

Priest  -  Preflgurings !  Ver.  1.  (1.)  The 
Mosaic  Ritual  was  figurative  throughout  of 
the  Gospel  Dispen.sation  yet  to  come.  It 
typified,  more  or  less  directly,  in  all  its  parts, 
the  person  and  the  work  of  the  Great  High 
Priest  of  our  profession.  (2.)  This  was  especially 
true  of  the  Jewish  High  Priest,  who  in  his,  1, 
Person,  2,  Priestly  robes,  and,  3,  Priesthood 
functions,  stood  to  all  the  other  officials  and 
offerings  of  the  tabernacle  as  the  Holy  of 
Holies  stood  to  all  other  portions  of  the  mate- 
rial fabric.  (3.)  In  his  duties  and  official  dress 
Aaron  and  his  successors  pictured  to  the  eye 
of  faith  the  Redeemer  Christ.  He  was  to  the 
Jewish  devout  worshipper  a  picture  of  One 
whom  they  might  one  day  see,  just  as  a  por- 
trait of  the  Queen  or  archbishop  to  an  Indian 
subject  or  New  Zealand  Christian. 

**  See  Aaron,  God's  anointed  priest, 
Within  the  veil  appear, 
In  robes  of  mystic  meaning  dressed, 
Presenting  Israel's  prayer." — Newton. 

Holy  Garments !  Ver.  2.  Griffin  notes  that 
these  were  three  in  number,  and  symbolised 
the  excellencies,  merits,  and  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  (I.)  Snow-white  !  a  vestment  of  fine 
linen,  emblematic  of  Christ's  purity.  Some 
think  that  it  also  indicated  penitence  as  well 
as  purity,  at  least  apparently  so,  when  worn 
alone  on  the  Day  of  Atonement.  (2. )  Sajiphiret 
an  ephod  of  a  light  azure  hue,  reaching  only  to 
the  knees,  and  adorned  with  bells  and  fruits — 
especially  was  it  incumbent  to  wear  this  in  the 
Holy  Place.  (3.)  Scarlet  !  This  was  a  robe  of 
magnificence,  embroidered  with  gold  and 
purple,  and  blue  and  scarlet,  and  fine  twined 
linen.  It  was  the  garment  of  (a)  Gladness 
and  (6)  Greatness.  It  prefigured  the  excel- 
lency and  unequalled  beauty  of  the  Lord  our 
Righteousness  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah.  Farr 
remarks  that  "  If  ever  eyes  beheld  an  object 
in  which  splendour  shone,  it  was  Aaron  thus 
arrayed."  God  planned  each  part  for  glory 
and  for  beauty.  Every  brilliant  colour 
pparkled,  richest  jewels  cast  back  their  daz- 
zling rays,  and  the  varied  hues  of  the  rainbow 
blended  with  the  sun's  meridian  light. 

"  Lord  of  all  that's  fair  to  see. 
Come,  reveal  Thyself  to  me ; 
Let  me,  'mid  Thy  radiant  light, 
See  Thine  unveiled  glories  bright." 

— Silesius. 

Art-Inspiration !  Ver.  3.  In  the  Pacific 
Ocean  there  are  lovely  islands  built  entirely 
by  coral  zoophytes  out  of  the  profound  depths 
of  the  ocean.  Raised  above  the  waves,  float- 
ing germs  of  vegetation  light  on  them,  and 
■peedily  c<>ver   them   witli    a  fair  clothing  of 

47i 


verdure.  Man  comes  and  takes  up  his  abode 
on  these  Edens,  and  makes  their  resources 
subservient  to  the  purposes  of  human  life. 
By  and  by  the  missionary  appears,  and  by 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  changes  the  moral 
wilderness  into  a  garden  of  the  Lord.  The  last 
great  result  is  thus  but  the  completion  of  a 
process  begun  by  a  tiny  creature  in  the  depths 
of  ocean.  Evt-n  so  here  are  we  told  that 
Jehovah  infliienct^d  certain  to  make  Aaron's 
robes.  Tlu  n  followed  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel,  proclaiming  those  truths  symbolised 
by  the  Sjtii  it-inspired  garments  for  the  moral 
regeneration  of  humanity.  The  final  issue  is 
the  accomplishment  of  a  work  begun  in  sym- 
bolic-raiment. 

*'  Man  hath  his  daily  work  of  body  or  mind. 
Appointed,  which  declares  his  dignity, 
And  the  regard  of  Heaven  on  all  his  ways." 
— Milton, 

Art-Aim !  Ver.  3.  Most  men  look  upon 
their  work  merely  as  the  means  by  which  they 
may  earn  money  to  buy  the  necessaries  or 
luxuries  of  life.  A  day's  labour  is  given  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  day's  pay.  Men 
value  their  work  exclusively  at  its  money- 
worth.  Did  these  men  so  work  ?  or  was  it  to 
glorify  God  ?  When,  asks  a  writer,  shall  men 
learn  the  great  truth  that  the  money  which 
their  labours  earn  is  not  the  true  reward  of  it  ? 
No  workman  can  be  paid  by  mere  money.  The 
money  that  is  paid  is  only  the  means  of  living. 
The  reward  of  the  work  lies  in  the  moral  good 
that  it  does  to  us  and  to  others  around.  Wo 
need  the  inspiration  of  God's  Spirit  to  rescue 
our  work  from  the  degradation  into  which  it 
so  easily  slides,  and  make  it  what  God  meant 
it  to  be — conducive  to  His  glory  and  human 
good.  The  motto  which  these  labourers  of 
God  placed  on  the  High  Priest's  mitre  was  only 
the  reflection  of  the  motive  in  their  own  hearts 
which  prompted  the  labour.  So  should  we 
work  as  lal)Ourers  or  lawyers,  fishermen  or 
farmers,  engravers  or  engineers,  ministers  or 
miners — for  GOD. 

"  Their  bright  example  I  pursue  ; 
To  Thee  in  all  things  rise ; 
And  all  1  think,  or  speak,  or  do, 
Is  one  great  sacrifice." — Wesley. 

Girdle-Glory!  Ver.  4.  St.  John  tells  us 
that  on  the  day  commemorative  of  his  Lord's 
resurrection  he  was  startled  with  a  great  voice 
as  of  a  trumpet.  He  turned  round,  awestruck 
and  astonished.  It  was  no  phantasy,  no  ideal 
voice,  but  the  Living  Prefeeuce  of  one  clothed 
with  a  garment  down  t/>  the  foot.  Macduflf 
points  out  that  the  long  flowing  robe — partly 
sacerdotal,  partly  regal — suggests  the  first  of 
many  resemblances  to  the  visions  of  Daniel, 
when  on  the  banks  of  the  Hiddekel  he  saw  the 
man  clothed  in  the  long  linen  robe.  In  both 
cases  they  pointed  to  the  Royal  Priest — the 
Priest  upon  His  throne,  the  God-man  Inter- 
cescor — and  He  was  girt  with  a  goldeu  girdle. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  XXTni. 


This  was  the  symbol  alike  of  His  Truth,  His 
Unchangeableness,  and  His  Love.  Righteous- 
ness shall  be  the  girdle  of  His  loins,  and  Faith> 
fulness  the  girdle  of  His  reins. 

"  Majesty  combined  with  meekness, 
Righteousness  and  peace  unite 
To  insure  Thy  blessed  conquests. 
Take  possession  of  the  right ; 

Reign  triumphant, 
Decked  in  robes  of  perfect  white." 

Golden  Girdles  I  Ver.  8.  (1.)  After  the 
Vision  of  the  Sea  of  Glass  mingled  with  fire 
in  Rev.  XV. — a  vision  which  has  most  remark- 
able resemblances  to  the  Morning  Scene,  when 
Israel's  redeemed  host  stood  on  the  borders  of 
the  Red  Sea  shore,  in  Exod.  xiv. — the  apo- 
c.ilyptic  seer  beholds  the  Holy  of  Holies 
opened,  wherein,  enshrined  between  the  cheru- 
bim above  the  mercy-seat  and  ark  of  the 
covenant,  was  the  Shekinah  Pillar-Presence 
of  God.  Seven  angels  come  forth.  Like 
priests  of  the  Most  High,  they  were  all  clad 
in  linen  pure  and  white,  and  they  had  also 
(golden  girdles  like  that  of  their  Lord.  (2.) 
The  period  just  before  1792  was  remarkable. 
The  mighty  spiritual  movement  of  the  Refor- 
mation (as  depicted  in  the  Vision  of  the  Glassy 
Sea)  appeared  to  have  spent  its  force.  The 
great  lights  which  had  irradiated  the  seven- 
teenth century  had  sunk  beneath  the  horizon. 
The  eighteenth  century  rose,  and  passed  on 
comparatively  starless.  Meteor  lights  of  in- 
fidelity gleamed  luridly.  Over  Cliristendom 
hung  damp,  chill  November  fogs.  Everything 
living  was  dying,  and  every  ray  of  light  was 
fading.  The  Church  herself  was  locked  in 
slumbers  deep,  when 

"  The    seven  last   angels   seen   by  John   in 

Patmos, 
From  heaven's  sanctuary  came  forth 
Arrayed  in  priestly  robes  of  white,  girdled 

with  gold, 
And  bearing  in  their  hands  the  Mystic  Vials 
Of  the  wrath  of  God." — Bickersteth. 

Shoulder  -  Sardonyx  I  Ver.  12.  (1.)  The 
shoulders  were  the  strongest  part  of  the  body. 
1.  Strictly  I  Aaron,  as  the  representative  of  the 
Israelites,  was  to  bear  up  the  host  before  God 
mightily.  2.  Symbolically  !  The  True  Aaron, 
as  the  forerunner  of  His  redeemed  Church, 
bears  up  with  His  mighty  strength  all  who 
are  His  people.  (2.)  If  the  onyx  is  really  the 
sardonyx,  it  is  a  dark  stone,  variegated  with 
bluish  white,  black,  and  red,  lying  in  circles, 
as  if  inlaid  by  art.  It  appears  in  Rev.  xxi.  20 
as  the  fifth  row  of  stones  on  which  the  apo- 
calyptic city  was  seen  to  rest.  (3.)  Thus,  in 
mineral  meaning,  its  use  here  for  the  shonlders, 
with  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes,  would  in- 
dicate the  heavenly  and  earthly  natures  of 
God's  people — the  admixture  of  the  pure  and 
impure ;  i.e.,  of  the  new  man  and  old  man,  as 
in  Rom.  vii.  Though  weak  and  im worthy, 
the  offspring  of  clay,  yet,  borne  up  by  Christ, 


believers  soar  above  all  peril,  and  sit  as  mora 
than  conquerors  on  eminence  of  almightinesB. 

"  0  Holy  Saviour,  Friend  unseen, 

Since  on  Thy  arm  Thou  bidst  me  lean, 
Help  me  through  life's  varying  scene. 
By  faith  to  rest  on  Thee." — Elliott, 

Stones  and  Symbols!  Ver.  17-22.  The 
breastplate  here  means  literally  the  "orna- 
ment." Jewels  formed  its  prominent  charac- 
teristics. Students  may  observe : — I.  Symbol- 
Stones  !  Tiie  ancients  attached  special  viriues 
to  these  gems.  But  notice  here  : — 1.  Their 
Shining,  as  indicating  their  (1)  purity,  and  (2) 
precioiisness.  2.  Their  Setting,  as  directed  in 
the  pectoral,  and  over  the  heart.  3  Their  Sta- 
bility, as  implied  in  the  four-square  and  solid 
forms.  4.  Their  Service,  ashe&ring  the  na.me» 
of  the  twelve  irihes.  11.  Stone-Stmbols  !  A 
prophecy  of  the  infinite  grace  of  the  Great 
Mediator,  bearmg  on  His  very  heart  all  His 
own.  So  notice  here  : — 1.  2'heir  Shining,  as 
speaking  of  the  (1)  purity,  and  (2)  precious- 
ness  of  the  saints.  2.  2'heir  Setting,  as  signi- 
fjing  that  Christ  lets  out  His  precious  blood 
to  make  room  for  them  in  His  heart.  3.  Their 
Stability,  as  suggesting  the  strength  of  Hij 
Church,  and  that  He  gathers  together  in  ona 
all  H  is  people  far  and  near.  4.  Their  Service, 
as  symbolising  His  fervent  love  for  all  who 
hope  in  Him.  "And  they  shall  be  Mine, 
saith  the  Lord,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up 
My  jewels."     And  then, 

"  A  perfect  satisfaction, 
A  fulness  of  delight, 
A  sense  of  gliding  onward 

Through  regions  ever  bright." 
— Adams. 

Gem-Formation!     Ver,  17.     (1.)  In  nature 

there  is  hardly  a  stone  that  is  not  capable  of 
crystallising  into  something  purer  and  brighter 
than  its  normal  state.  Coal,  by  a  slightly 
diflFerent  arrangement  of  its  particles,  is 
capable  of  becoming  the  radiant  diamond. 
The  slag  cast  out  from  tlie  furnace  as  useless 
waste,  forms  into  globular  masses  of  radiating 
crystals.  The  very  mud  on  the  road,  trampled 
under  foot  as  the  type  of  all  impurity,  can  be 
changed  by  chemical  art  into  metals  and  gems 
of  surpassing  beauty.  (2.)  God  can  make 
jewels  out  of  the  most  worthless  moral  rubliish. 
Let  the  cases  of  John  Newton,  of  the  woman 
tliat  was  a  sinner,  of  the  thief  upon  the  cross, 
of  Augustine,  of  John  Bunyan,  of  Colonel 
Gardiner,  and  of  thousands  more,  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  almighty  power  of  the  Alchemy  of 
Divine  Grace.  It  only  requires  a  supreme 
surrender  of  ourselves  into  the  hands  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  ensure  the  Scripture  assurance, 
"  They  shall  be  Mine  in  that  day  when  I 
make  up  ily  jewels." 

'*  Creator!  let  Thy  Spirit  shine 

The  darkness  of  my  soul  within. 
And  lead  me  by  Thy  Grace  Divine 
From  the  forbidden  paths  of  sin." 
—  Burleigh, 
475 


OBAF.  ZXVUI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Breastplate-Symbolism !  Ver.  18-20.  (1.) 
Each  jewel  in  iho  four  rows  of  precious  stones 
iiione  by  its  o»ii  coloured  light,  and  yet  cou- 
iributed  to  uie  brilliancy  of  ihe  whole.  So  in 
the  Christian  character  all  the  jrr.ices  should 
blend  in  such  a  w.i.y  that  the  effect  of  the 
whole  may  be  to  the  eye  what  melody  is  lo  the 
ear.  (2.)  There  is,  s^ys  Macmillaii,  harmony 
in  colours  as  well  as  in  sounds ;  and  when  the 
{jroper  hues  are  associated  together,  the  com- 
plementary ones  harmonising  and  contrasting 
with  one  anoiher,  the  effect  is  exceedingly 
pleasing.  Ever}' one  who  has  obs  rved  nature 
at  all  must  have  been  struck  by  tliis  dis- 
tinguishing fe:iiure.  (3.)  Such  a  symmetry  of 
graces  is  rarely  observed  in  the  Christian 
character ;  for  only  too  often  graces  tliat 
charm  us  by  iheir  beaut.v  lie  close  by  the  side 
of  defects  that  repel.  The  sapphire  of  love 
may  be  placed  side  by  side  with  the  sickly 
green  of  envy  and  jealousy ;  and  the  purple 
of  humility  with  the  red  and  angry  glare  of 
passion.  As  Jesus  says,  "Nevertheless,  I 
have  somewhat  against  thee." 

"  My  God  !  how  fearful  is  the  fight 

Within  my  heart  two  spirits  wage; 
One  seeks  alone  Thy  heavenly  light. 
And  every  thought  with  thee  t'engage  ; 
The  other  scorns  Thy  sovereign  will, 
And  dares  revolt  against  it  still  " 

— Racine. 

Precious  Stones!  Ver.  21.  TheNewJera- 
galem  above  will  be  a  glorious  city,  because 
there  shall  be  gathered  together,  in  varied  but 
harmonious  splendour,  the  brightness  of  the 
diamond,  the  ruddy  alare  of  the  topaz,  the 
deep  green  of  the  emerald,  the  shining  gold 
of  the  jasper,  the  milk-white  tilmiuess  of  the 
onyx,  the  heavenly  blue  of  the  sapphire,  the 
lovely  violet  of  the  amethyst,  the  burning 
changes  of  the  opal,  and  the  soft  beauty  of 
the  pearl  1 

"  The  city  had  no  temple,  for  itself 
From  wall  to  wall,  from  base  to  pinnacle. 
Was  one  harmonious  vcilless  sanctuary, 
One  Holiest  of  all.  — Bicktrsieth. 

Urim  and  Thummim  I  Ver.  30.  (1.) 
Gesenius  and  others  imiigine  that  these  were 
small  oracul.ir  images,  like  the  teraphim,  by 
which  revelation  and  truth  were  per.-onified, 
and  which  were  placed  in  the  inner  cavity  of 
the  breastplate.  (2.)  Spencer  and  others  fancy 
that  the  ornaui.tit  was  derived  from  the  Egyp- 
tians, whose  chief  priest,  being  also  supreme 
civil  judge,  wore  such  suspendeil  from  a  golden 
chain  round  his  neek.  But  this  jewel  was 
wholly  judicial.  (3.)  Kitto  says  that  the 
Urim  anil  Thnmmini  were  not  so  much  judicial 
as  sacerdotal  and  oracular;  and  that  there  is 
really  no  resemblance  to  the  Eiryptian  prac- 
tice, except  in  the  substance,  a  jewel.  (4.)  In 
verse  29  Aaron  is  directed  to  wetii,  the  names 
npon  liis  heart  before  the  Lord  ;  and  here  lie 
is  directeil  to  wear  the  Urim  and  Thummim 
npou  the  same  place,  and  beiore  the  saiMc 
476 


Being.  They  are  thus  identical ;  at  least 
such  is  a  reasonable  presumption.  (5.)  Some 
think  that  they  were  the  two  tables  of  the 
law  inscribed  in  some  way  on  the  breastplate, 
while  others  consider  them  to  have  been  the 
precious  stones.  It  is  impossible  to  say  with 
Certainty. 

*'  Urim  and  Thummim  near  his  heart 
In  rich  eiiehasiiigs  worn, 
The  sacred  light  of  truth  impart, 
To  teach  and  to  adorn." 

Light  and  Perfection  !    Ver.  30.    {I. )  Urim 

means  liglit ;  2/i«;H»i*?»(.  means  perfection.  13y 
means  of  these  the  Lord  reve-iled  His  will  and 
gave  responses  lo  His  consulting  people,  in 
what  way  they  were  consulted  is  quite  uncer- 
tain. (2.)  Josephus  says  that  probably  the 
Stones  gave  out  an  oracular  answer  by  preter- 
natural illumination.  But  it  seems  to  be  more 
natural  lo  suppose  that  the  answer  was  given 
simply  by  the  word  of  the  Lord.  (3.)  Law 
says  ihat  the  gospel  significance  of  these  ia 
clear;  that  they  tell  us  Christ  is  our  light  and 
our  perfection,  and  that  He  is  made  unto  U8 
the  lii;ht  of  wisdom  and  the  perfection  of 
righteousness.  (4.)  Dr.  Smith  points  out 
the  idea  of  justification,  which  is  often  ex- 
pressed in  actual  Oriental  life  by  the  nature  of 
the  robe  worn.  He  directs  attention  to  Isa. 
Ixi.  10  as  a  good  illustration  of  this. 

**  In  Him  a  holiness  complete. 
Light  and  periection  shine; 
And  wisdom,  irrace,  and  glory  meet, 
A  Saviour  all  Divine." 

Kevelation!  Ver.  30.  In  the  fabulous 
records  of  Pagan  antiquity  we  read  of  a 
mirror  endowed  with  properties  so  rare  that, 
by  looking  into  it,  its  po-sessor  could  discover 
any  object  which  he  wished  to  see,  however 
remote,  and  discover  with  equal  ease  persons 
and  things  above,  below,  behind,  and  before 
him.  Such  a  minor,  but  infinitely  more  valu- 
able, do  we  possess  in  the  breastplate  of  the 
Bible.  Here,  on  its  very  forefront,  are  the 
Urim  and  Thuinmiin  of  the  Eternal  Diviue 
Mind.  Yet,  as  Revelation  is  a  communication 
from  an  Infinite  Mind  to  a  finite  capacity,  it 
may  be  expected  to  mingle  shadow  with  its 
splendour  ;  for  what  finite  conipiehension  can 
grasp  Infinity  ? 

"  Therefore  the  sacred  page 
With  deep  attention  scan  !      If  on  thy  soul. 
As  tl'Ott  do>t  read,  a  I'ay  of  purer  light 
Break  in,  oh  check  it  not,  give  it  full  scope." 

— llayes. 

Pomegranates  I  Ver.  33.  (1.)  The  tree, 
or  rather  shrub,  which  bears  this  beautiful 
and  delicious  fruit,  has  its  habitat  in  Asia  and 
North  Africa.  Its  leaves  are  dark  green,  in 
shape  of  those  of  the  myrtle.  The  flower  is  a 
rich,  brilliant  red,  and  the  fruit  like  an  orange 
in  shape,  somewhat  darker  red  in  colour.  The 
Si^vour  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  a  mao 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXVIII. 


darin  ornnge.  The  pomegranate  was  exhibited 
by  the  Israelite  spies  at  Eshcol.  When  cut 
open,  it  reveals  juicy  red  si  e(is,  arranged 
eymmetrically  in  rows  parallel  to  the  core. 
Hence  in  Cant.  iv.  3,  the  Church  of  Christ, 
at  the  time  of  the  Death  and  Resurrection  of 
Christ,  is  likened  to  an  open  pomegranate. 
(2.)  Is  it  more  than  a  mere  coincidence  that 
in  Cant.  iv.  12,  vi.  11,  and  viL  12,  allusions  aie 
made  to  this  fruit?  The  first  of  these  allego- 
rical prophecies  refers  to  the  closing  scenes 
in  the  life  of  Christ  during  the  Last  Supi)er  ; 
the  second  is  inseparably  connected  with  the 
Descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  Pentecost  ; 
while  the  third  links  itself  with  the  subse- 
quent Evangelisation  of  the  Samaritans  and 
other  Gentiles.  It  was  then  that  our  Lord 
passed  within  the  veil  after  "His  Exodus" 
accomplished  at  Jerusalem,  and  when  arrayed 
in  the  gorgeous  high -priestly  apparel  He  pre- 
sented His  fragrant  and  fruitful  intercessions 
before  the  Throne  of  Mei-cy  and  Grace  above. 

*'  And  He  gathers  the  prayers  as  He  stands, 
And  they  change  into  fruits  in  His  hands, 
Pomegranates  of  purple  and  red  ; 
And  beneath  the  great  arch  of  the  portal, 
Through  the  streets  of  the  City  Immortal, 
Is  wafted  the  fragrance  they  shed." 
^-Long'fellow. 

Golden -Bells  I  Ver.  34.  The  eound  of 
these  bells  was  very  pleasant  to  the  worship- 
pers in  the  court  of  the  tabernacle — telling,  as 
they  did,  of  the  Advocate  within  the  veil  who 
was  acting  for  them,  and  prevailing  according 
to  the  will  of  God.  We  have  a  better  High 
Priest,  One  who  can  never  die,  and  who,  having 
entered  into  heaven  itself,  now  appears  in 
the  presence  of  God  for  us.  May  we  not  well 
believe,  suggests  Wood,  that  the  golden  bells 
on  His  robe  are  those  melodious  declarations 
of  love — those  alluring  promises  which  give 
life  and  gladness  to  the  soul,  and  which  have 
all  their  value  and  significance  only  as  they 
are  connected  with  Him  who  is  the  Substitute 
and  Surety  of  sinners  ?  Trapp,  however,  says 
that  they  shadow  out  the  prophetical  office  of 
Christ  here  and  His  perpetual  intercession  in 
heaven, 

*'  Hark  to  the   bells  among  the  fruits,  low, 

surging  deep, 
Falling  in  tender  minors,  now  once  more 
Blending  in  heavenly  harmonies,  as  cieep 
The    rippling    wavelets    on    the    shelvmg 

shore."  — Shipton. 

Conscience-Cliimes  I  Ver.  34.  Years  ago, 
one  lovely  Sabbath  morning,  eight  young  law 
students  were  strolling  along  the  bank  of  one 
of  the  tributaries  of  the  Potomac  River.  They 
were  going  to  a  sechided  spot  in  a  grove  to 
murder  the  precious  hours  of  that  holy  day  by 
playing  whist  and  drinking  wine.  Each  of 
them  was  the  son  of  a  praying  mother.  As 
they  were  sauntering  along,  and  amusing  each 
other  with  idle  jests,  the  court-house  bells — 


used  for  calling  the  people  to  their  house  of 
worship — coniuienced  to  ring.  Suddenly  one 
of  them  stopped,  told  how  the  bells  recalled 
his  mother's  farewell  assurance  that  every 
Sunday  morning,  wlien  the  church  bells  rang, 
she  would  pray  for  him,  and  expressed  his  de- 
termination to  go  back  to  church.  "Silently," 
says  the  ringleader,  ''  we  all  followed.  Each 
of  us  managed  to  throw  our  cards  and  flasks 
into  the  stream,  and  not  one  of  us  now  lives 
without  a  new  heart  " — each  a  monument  to  a 
mother's  prayers. 

"  How  soft  the  cadence  of  those  village  bells 
Falling  at  intervals  upon  the  ear 
In  cadence  sweet  !'  — Cowper. 


Pomegranate-Prefigurations  I  Ver.  34.  If 
the  joyful  sounds  of  giace  to  sinners  were  pre- 
fif^ured  by  the  golden  bells  on  the  robe  of  the 
ephod,  it  has  been  i^uggested  ihatwe  shall  not 
be  far  wrong  in  supposing  that  these  fruits  were 
types  of  the  results  which  always  follow  aright 
hearing  of  the  sweet  melody.  As  every  golden 
bell  was  followed  by  its  pomegranate,  so  every 
Gospel  message  is,  when  welcomed,  succeeded 
by  its  appropriate  fruit.  The  pomegranate  ia 
not  only  (1)  beautiful  to  the  eye,  but  (2) 
richly  luscious  to  the  taste.  It  is  also  (3)  full 
of  seed,  to  extend  the  blessings  already  pos- 
sessed by  itself.  So,  says  a  Glasgow  merchant, 
is  it  with  the  fruits  of  grace.  Not  one  of  them 
but  is  lovely  to  the  sight  of  God  and  man.  In 
themselves  refreshing  and  delightful,  they 
carry  spiritual  seeds  for  the  propagation  of 
the  same  rich  joy  which  they  enwrap.  Blessed 
in  themselves,  they  give  forth  blessing  to 
others.  These  are  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
detailed  by  St.  Paul.  It  is  hinted  by  Trapp 
that  these  pomegranates  shadow  out  the  duty 
of  ministers,  which  is  to  live  sermons — to  be 
fruitful  as  well  as  painful  teachers. 

"  Oh  !  then  sustain  me,  Holiest !    I  am  vowed 
To  solemn  service  high  ; 
And  shall  the  spirit,  for  Thy  tasks  endowed. 
Sink  on  the  threshold  of  the  sanctuary  ?  " 

Aaronic-Bells  I  Ver.  35.  (1.)  This  verse 
shows  their  use  and  intent.  The  sound  of  the 
numerous  bells  that  covered  Aaron's  robe, 
gave  notice  to  the  assembled  people  that  the 
most  awful  ceremony  of  their  religion  had 
commenced.  When  arrayed  in  this  garb,  he 
bore  into  the  sanctuary  the  vessel  of  incense. 
This  was  the  signal  to  prostrate  themselvea 
before  God,  and  to  commence  those  fervent 
ejaculations  which  were  to  ascend  with  the 
column  of  incense  to  the  Throne  of  Heaven. 
The  music  of  the  bells  was  here,  then,  a  signal 
to  wrestle  with  Jehovah  to  bless  the  interces- 
sion of  Aaron.  (2.)  Talmage  sugojests  that 
the  Gospel  has  many  bells  :  (1)  Golden  Bells, 
signifying  the  preciousness  of  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation  ;  (2)  Inviting  Bells,  summoning 
the  servants  of  God  to  worship  Him  in  His 
holy  temple  ;   (3)  Warning  Bdls,  saying  that 

477 


CHAP.  ZXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARI :  EXODUS. 


delay  in  serving  God  is  attended  with  danger  ; 
(4)  Cheering  Bells,  setting  forth  the  possil)ility 
of  pardon  to  all  anxious  sinners  ;  and  (5) 
Triumphant  Bells,  singing,  "0  death,  where 
is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? " 
(3.)  Wood  says  that  the  sound  of  the  bells 
outside  attested  Aaron's  being  alive  and  active, 
and  accepted  in  the  intercessory  work  to  which 
he  was  appointed.  When  the  worshippers 
learned  from  the  ringitig  of  the  bells  that  their 
advocate  within  the  veil  was  prospering  in  his 
appeal  on  their  behalf,  they  were  emboldened 
to  blend  their  supplications  with  those  of 
Aarou. 

"  Church-bells  beyond  the  stars  heard,  the 
soul's  blo<id, 
The  land  of  spices,  something  understood." 
— Herbert. 

Mitre-Medallion!  Ver.  36.  (1.)  Dr.  Kitto 
Bays  that  the  mitre  was  a  turban  of  fine 
linen,  furnished  in  front  with  a  plate  of  pure 
gold,  ou  which  were  insciibed  the  words, 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord,"  and  which  was 
attaclied  to  the  turi)an  by  a  blue  lace.  The 
word  translated,  "  plate,"  signifies  a  flower, 
and  is  rendered  petalon,  i.e.,  a  petal,  by  the 
Septuagiut.  This  seems  to  show  that  the 
plate  was  wrought  with  flowered  work,  or  was 
itself  in  the  form  of  a  flower  or  petal.  (2.) 
In  the  prophecies  of  Zechariah  (xiv.  20)  it  is 
foretold  that  in  the  coming  millennial  days 
there  is  to  be  inscribed  upon  tlie  bells  of  the 
horses,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord."  Until  the 
recent  introduction  of  tr.im-cars  there  was 
little  of  such  a  cnstom  in  England,  though  in 
Bome  continental  cities  almost  every  hoise 
employed  for  draught  purposes  bears  a  bell 
round  its  neck.  Russian  and  Canadian  sleighs 
are  always  furnished  with  these  bells.  (3.) 
Contrast  the  one  insciiption  on  the  Messiah's 
frontlet  with  this  inscription  everywhere 
visiV)le  in  the  latter  days.  It  tells  us  that  so 
efficacious  will  the  intercessions  of  our  Great 
High  Priest  in  heaven  for  2000  yeais  prove, 
that  every  kind  of  traffic  shall  be  carried  oti 
in  a  manner  becoming  the  Gospel,  and  that, 
whatsoever  men  do,  each  and  all  of  their  works 
shall  be  done  with  a  single  eye  to  God's  glory, 
i.e,,  shall  be  "  Holiness  to  the  Loud." 

"  And  all  the  holy  race  of  AV)rah:im 

Be    clothed    in    priestly   robes,   spotless   as 
snow."  — Bickcrsleth, 

Mitre-Moral !  Ver.  38.  During  Alexander 
the  Great's  career  of  conquest,  he  was  opposed 
by  the  Jews,  who  remained  faithful  in  their 


allegiance  to  Darius  the  Persian.  Having 
wreaked  his  vengeance  on  Tyre  by  giving  it  to 
the  fl.imes,  and  crucifyins,'  2000  of  its  citizena 
along  the  seasluire,  he  marched  against  Jeru- 
salem, llollin  gives  an  interesting  account  of 
the  event.  Jaddus,  the  high  priest,  inter- 
ceded with  God  to  aid  His  people,  and  was 
answered  in  a  dream  that  he  must  cause 
flowers  to  V>e  strewn  about  the  citj',  set  open 
the  city  gales,  and  go  forth  with  the  priests 
in  festal  procession,  wearing  his  pontifical 
robes.  He  accordingly  arrayed  himself,  and 
leading  the  procession,  marched  forth  to  meet 
the  "fiery  scourge  of  God."  Alexander, 
struck  by  the  sight  of  the  high  priest,  on 
whose  mitre  and  forehead  a  gold  plate  was 
fixed  bearing  the  name  of  God,  bowed  low 
before  the  august  name  of  Jehovah.  All  were 
surprised,  and  one  of  the  conqueror's  favourite 
generals  asked  for  an  explanation.  The  con- 
queror having  given  it,  entered  Jerusalem,  and 
offered  up  sacrifices  to  the  God  of  the  Hebrews. 
Thus  the  proud  head  of  earth's  mightiest 
warrior  bent  before  the  mitre-motto,  "  Holi- 
ness to  Jehovah."  And  before  Jesus,  the 
great  High  Priest,  on  the  forefront  of  whose 
earth  and  heaven  life  is  inscribed  this  title, 
shall  all  the  mighty  ones  of  the  world  be  at 
last  constrained  to  bow. 

"  Exalted  high  at  God's  right  hand. 
And  Loid  of  all  below  ; 
Througli  Him  is  pardoning  love  dispensed, 
And  boundless  blessings  flow." 

— Barbauld. 

Holy  Wholly  !  Vers.  40-43.  In  the  rai- 
ment of  Aaron,  as  in  all  the  tabernacle  appur- 
tenances, every  part  was  holy  throughout. 
Not  a  carven  pomegnjnate — not  a  bell,  silver 
or  golden,  but  was  holy  wholly.  Tlie  table 
and  its  lamps,  with  flowers  of  silver  light, 
tent  and  stones,  fluttering  curtains  and  ascend- 
ing incense,  altar  and  sacrifice,  breastplate 
and  ephod,  mitre  and  gem-clasped  girdle, 
wreathen  chains  and  jewelled  hangings,  were 
holy.  'I'his  signified  not  only  (1)  the  entire 
holiness  of  God,  with  whom  we  have  to  do, 
but  also  (2)  the  at  solute  necessity  for  thorough 
sanctifieation  of  heart  and  life  in  ourselves. 
This  is  the  will  of  (Jod  ;  and  to  accompl  sh 
this  He  sets  His  jewels  in  ihe  fires  that  they 
may  be  purifie<l,  and  like  Himself  in  holiuess. 

•'  No  spot  or  wrinkle  on  their  holy  brow. 
No  film  upon  their  robes  of  dazzling  white, 
Most  beautiful,  most  glorious  ;  every  saint 
Holy  in  individual  Holiness." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Critical   Notks.  —  8.  Thou  shalt  pour  it]  =  vcyntsakta   from   the   verb  yntsak,  to  pro- 
fusely aiu>int,    is  the   word  «;mployed   in   regard  to  the  anointing  of  Aaron  ;  hwt  M a sharh '=  to 
simply  anoint  is  the  word   used  in  the  case  of  his  sons.     Thus  the  difi'ereiK'e   in  the  terms 
employed  indicate  that  God  regarded  the  High  priest  v****  niore  honour  than  the  other  priests. 
478 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxix. 


And,  as  oil  is  the  acknowledged  symbol  of  health,  strength,  and  beauty  or  purity,  we  have 
here  an  indication  of  the  qualifications  and  graces  which  siiould  distinguish  the  priesthood 
generally  and  tlie  Higii  Priest  in  particular.  9.  And  thou  shalt  consecrate  Aaron  and  Ms 
Bons]  is  a  free  rendering  of  the  words  of  the  text  :  Umilttha  yad  Ahron  reyad  banav,  literally, 
"  Thou  shalt  fill  the  hand  of  Aaron  and  the  hand  of  his  sons,"  with  a  reference,  no  doubt,  to 
(verses  22-24).  The  things  there  enumerated  are  the  various  parts  of  the  ram  of  consecration, 
besides  several  other  accompaniments  which  Moses  was  commanded  to  place  on  the  hands  of 
Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  by  which  evidently  the  propitiatory  character  of  the  priest's  office  was 
indicated,  as  they  were  burnt  before  the  Lord  as  an  acceptable  offering  (ver.  25).  And,  as  in 
the  act  of  consecration  of  the  priests,  they  placed  the  gifts  given  to  them  by  Moses  upon  the 
altar  of  the  Lord,  these  may  be  regarded  as  characteristic  of  their  office,  and  typified  humility 
and  devotedness. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-38. 

Thb  Consecration  of  Aaron  as  Typical  of  the  Priestly  Calling  op 

Christ. 

We  have  shadowed  forth  here  in  the  public  appointment  of  Aaron  some 
great  truths  concerning  the  Great  High  Priest,  who  has  passed  through  the 
heavens. 

I.  The  authority  of  His  calling.     "  No  man  taketh  this  honour  unto  himself, 

but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron  "  (Heb.  v.  4).  Aaron  does  not  invest 
himself  with  the  pontifical  attire,  and  himself  assume  the  priestly  functions, 
but  he  receives  these  from  the  hands  of  Moses  as  the  representative  of  God. 
"So  also  Christ  glorified  not  Himself  to  be  made  an  high  priest ;  but  He  that 
said  unto  Him,  Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten  Thee  "  (Heb.  v.  5). 
Christ  is  ever  careful  to  keep  before  us  the  Divine  authority  of  His  character, 
teachings,  and  priesthood.  Thus  with  His  character  (John  xiv.  6-9).  Thus 
with  His  wm-lcs  (John  xiv.  10,  11).  Thus  with  His  doctrines  (John  vii  16-18). 
Thus  with  His  atonement  (Rom.  iii.  25).  There  is  Divine  authority  in  the  whole 
work  of  Jesus  Christ ;  we  see  "  God  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Him- 
self." 

II.  The  glory  of  His  character.  In  the  first  ceremony  of  the  washing  we 
have  an  anticipation  of  the  purity  of  Christ's  nature,  and  in  the  robing  and 
crowning  of  Aaron  we  behold,  as  in  a  glass,  the  moral  loveliness  and  glory  of 
the  world's  everlasting  Priest.  Christ's  life  was  destitute  of  all  the  empty 
pomps  of  royalty.  They  that  wear  soft  raiment  are  in  king's  houses  :  but  how 
irresistible  the  moral  glory  of  His  spirit  and  work  !  "  What  could  I  do  more 
in  royal  robes,  father,  than  in  this  plain  garment?"  said  Edward  I.  to  a  bishop 
who  remonstrated  with  him  on  his  attire  as  unkingly.  The  Jews  saw  Messiah 
destitute  of  all  material,  social,  and  political  glory,  and  thus  when  they  saw 
Him,  there  was  no  beauty  that  they  should  desire  Him  ;  but  if  they  had  regarded 
the  moral  grandeur  of  His  spirit  and  work  and  doctrine,  they  would  have  felt 
that  He  needed  no  angel's  face,  or  transfigured  robe,  or  golden  crown.  He 
was  without  sin,  His  holiness  was  intense  and  perpetual,  and  He  is  the  most 
glorious  Being  in  earth  or  heaven. 

III.  The  fulness  of  His  grace,  ver.  7.  Oil  was  a  type  of  reconciliation  and 
peace,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  poured  on  the  head  of  the  priest  indicates  the 
fulness  of  the  grace  imparted  to  the  priest,  and  through  him  to  Israel.  This 
attains  its  highest  meaning  in  Jesus  Christ  (Heb.  i.  9.)  Christ  is  full  of  truth 
and  grace.  In  His  reconciling  character  He  can  fill  the  individual  soul  with 
peace;  and  He  can  harmonise  all  the  conflicting  elements  of  the  world,  and 
fill  the  earth  with  peace.     "  He  giveth  more  grace." 

IV.  The  efficacy  of  His  atonement,  vers.  11-38.  All  that  is  said  here  of  the 
pui'ification  ui"  the  priests,  by  blood  and  fire,  is  most  significant  of  the  fact  that, 

479 


OHAP.  xxix.  HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


through  the  atonement  and  spirit  of  Christ,  iiunianity  is  fitted  for  intercourse 
with  God.  It  was  only  when  the  animals  had  borne  away  the  sin  of  the  priests, 
and  when  their  members  and  raiment  had  been  purified  by  tlie  sprmkled  blood, 
tliat  they  are  fitted  to  enter  into  the  presence  of  God  ;  and  it  is  only  as  Christ 
atones  for  us  by  His  death  and  purifies  us  by  His  Spirit,  that  we  are  worthy 
to  see  the  face  of  God  (Heb.  ix.  18-28). 


Holiness  and  Service. — Verses  1-38. 

All  these  ceremonies  attending  the  consecration  of  the  priests  are  intended 
to  teach  the  great  lesson,  that  all  who  minister  before  God,  that  all 
who  minister  to  God,  must  be  holy.  These  ceremonies  are  not  so  many 
empty  forms,  intended  merely  to  impress  the  people,  but  full  of  moral 
meaning. 

I.  The  necessity  of  holiness  in  the  service  of  God.  Before  the  priests  can 
minister  before  God  there  must  be  the  washing,  anointing,  robing — all  signifi- 
cant of  purification  from  sin  and  of  the  attainment  of  the  beauty  of  holiness. 
The  services  of  a  priest  not  thus  consecrated  would  have  been  rejected.  All 
must  be  thus  washed  and  beautified  who  would  serve  God  in  all  generations. 
Without  holiness  of  heart — for  this  is  what  the  ceremonial  lioliness  typifies — 
our  virtues  are  unacceptable.  Our  righteousness  is  filthy  rags.  The  patchwork 
garment  of  human  fabrication  will  never  do  in  place  of  that  wedding  robe  of 
spiritual  righteousness  wliich  God  gives.  Our  work  is  unacceptable.  No  matter 
what  our  work  may  be,  if  it  is  not  pure,  it  is  rejected.  It  may  be  high  work 
in  the  world,  solemn  work  in  the  Church,  but  if  it  lack  love  and  holiness  it  is 
vain.  Our  worship  is  (Isa.  i.  10-16).  Our  gifts  are  (Isa.  i.  10-16  ;  1  Cor.  xiiL 
1-4).  Our  services  for  others  are.  Holiness  must  be  possessed  by  the  priest 
before  he  can  pray  and  ofi'er  for  the  people.  Our  virtues  may  be  many,  our  work 
useful,  our  prayers  eloquent,  our  gifts  munificent,  our  services  to  our  times 
liberal  and  salutary  ;  but  if  in  our  heart  there  is  selfishness,  sensuality,  sin,  God 
will  reject  us.  "  Be  ye  holy  that  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord."  We  must  be 
washed  in  the  laver  of  regeneration,  beautified  by  God's  righteousness,  anointed 
by  God's  grace,  and  then  shall  God  be  well  pleased  in  us,  and  our  ministrations 
for  others  shall  be  blessed.  And  this  holiness  must  be  complete  and  thorough. 
We  feel  this  if  we  regard  the  blood-sprinkling  upon  the  person  and  garments 
of  the  priests,  vers.  19-21.  "  A  part  of  the  blood  of  the  ram  of  consecration 
was  sprinkled  upon  the  ears  of  Aaron  and  his  sons,  to  remind  them  always  to 
listen  to  the  commands  of  God  ;  upon  their  hands,  to  enjoin  the  duty  of  activity 
and  zeal  in  the  service  of  God ;  and  upon  their  feet,  to  symbolise  their  walking 
in  the  ways  of  the  law." — Kalisch.  The  hallowing  of  the  whole  personality 
and  life.  And  we  feel  how  necessary  holiness  is  in  the  servants  of  God,  and 
how  thorough  that  holiness  must  be,  when  we  read  verse  35,  that  the  cere- 
monies of  consecration  are  to  be  repeated  during  seven  days. 

n.  The  source  of  this  holiness.  The  whole  ceremony  attending  the  conse- 
cration of  the  priests  teaches  that  the  highest  holiness  is  only  realised  in  Christ. 
The  sprinkling  of  the  blood  on  the  priest  and  on  all  his  attire  typifies  this. 
Christ  crucified  alone  creates  in  us  a  horror  of  sin  ;  Christ  alone  bears  our  sin 
away  ;  Christ's  grace  alone  cleanses  us  from  the  crimson  stain  (lleb.  ix.  11-15; 
1  John  L  7).  If  we  are  to  become  a  holy  priesthood  unto  God,  offeriug  here 
the  living  sacrifices  of  an  acceptable  service,  and  at  death  entering  into  the 
Eternal  presence,  the  dying  love  of  Christ  must  kindle  our  love,  and  the  right- 
eousness which  Christ  died  to  maintain  must  adorn  our  nature  and  life.  The 
theologv  cf  the  Jewish  Temple  is  full  of  purity  by  atonement ;  so  is  the 
480 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chaf.  xxix. 

theology  of  the  iirimitive   Christian  Church  ;  so  is  the  theology  of  Heaven 
(Rev.  vii.  9-17). 

The  Divine  Presence  in  the  Church. —  Verses  38-46. 
We  are  instructed  here  concerning — 

I.  The  condition  of  the  Divine  Presence.  God  promises  to  dwell  with  Israel, 
and  the  stipulations  which  accompany  this  promise  are  full  of  instruction. 
God  is  not  to  dwell  with  Israel  on  the  ground  of  their  election.  God  had  elected 
Israel  to  be  the  guardian  of  His  Truth,  and  to  accomplish  certain  great  ends  in 
the  drama  of  history,  but  the  presence  of  God  with  Israel  is  neither  here  nor 
anywhere  else  made  to  rest  on  the  ground  of  this  election,  Tlie  continued 
presence  of  God  with  Israel  is  not  guaranteed  by  the  magnificence  of  the  Taber- 
nacle. God  did  not  dwell  in  the  Tabernacle  because  of  its  gold  and  scarlet, 
because  of  its  rich  draperies  and  gorgeous  furniture.  God  will  never  dwell 
among  us  because  of  the  richness  or  grandeur  of  a  worldly  sanctuary.  The  pre- 
sence of  God  is  not  secured  to  Israel  on  the  ground  of  their  ecclesiastical  polity. 
"  See  that  thou  make  it  according  to  the  pattern  I  showed  thee  in  the  mount." 
So  Moses  did  :  the  whole  Tabernacle  and  its  furniture  was  according  to  the 
celestial  pattern  shown  to  the  great  lawgiver.  But  not  on  this  ground  was 
God  to  dwell  with  Israel.  We  may  have  our  churches  constructed  on  what 
we  consider  to  be  the  scriptural  pattern,  on  what  may  be  a  scriptural  pattern, 
and  yet  God  may  deny  us  His  presence.  The  grand  condition  is  moral 
and  spiritual.  Everything  must  be  holy.  The  priests  must  be  holy,  as  we  have 
already  seen ;  and  here  again  the  demand  is  reiterated.  "  Whosoever  toucheth 
the  altar  must  be  holy,"  ver.  37.  No  unclean  individual  was  allowed  to 
approach  the  altar ;  it  does  not  mean,  whatever  has  once  touched  the  altar  must 
be  considered  holy.  And  the  altar,  too,  was  to  be  most  holy,  ver.  37.  God 
dwelt  with  Israel  on  the  ground  of  their  moral  purity,  and  for  their  lack  of 
righteousness  He  deserted  them.  God's  presence  is  given  still  to  such  as  seek 
Him  with  pure  and  penitent  hearts.  The  sacrifices  here  mentioned  symbolised 
the  constant  consecration  of  Israel's  life  unto  God,  and  only  on  this  ground 
will  God  meet  with  and  bless  mankind.  Purity  is  the  sign  of  the  true  Church, 
Entirely,  daily,  permanently,  must  we  yield  ourselves  to  God,  and  then  God's 
face  shall  shine  upon  us  as  an  unsetting  sun. 

II.  The  blessedness  of  the  Divine  Presence.  1.  It  is  an  enlightening  Pre- 
sence. "  ^Yhere  I  will  meet  you,  to  speak  there  to  thee,"  ver.  42.  How  truly 
blessed  to  have  this  communion  with  God  !  to  have  a  certain  spot  where  we  are 
sure  of  special  revelations  of  God's  heart  and  will !  Not  to  have  our  imagination 
wandering  through  infinity,  bafiled  by  the  vastness,  but  to  be  able  to  enter  into 
our  closet,  and  talk  with  God.  God  comes  to  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle  to 
enlighten  and  bless  the  people — He  will  not  hide  Himself  in  the  Holiest.  If  we 
come  to  God  with  pure  and  penitent  hearts  He  will  not  hide  Himself  from  us, 
but  we  shall  see  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ.  2.  It  is  a  glorifying  Presence.  "  That  it  be  hallowed  by  My 
glory,"  vers.  43,  44.  The  glory  of  gold  and  crimson  was  nothing,  without  the 
glory  of  the  Divine  Presence.  Where  God  dwells  He  creates  that  fulness  of 
purity  and  gladness  which  we  call  glory.  3.  It  is  a  redeeming  Presence.  "  Which 
brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,"  ver.  46.  And  which,  therefore,  would 
deliver  tliem  from  all  other  evils.  God's  presence  is  a  wall  of  fire.  4.  It  is  an 
abiding  Presence.  "  That  I  may  dwell  among  them,"  vers.  45,  46.  Not  only 
■'meet"  them,  but  "dwell"  among  them.  "Pleasures  for  evermore"  (Rev. 
vii.  15-17). 

2n  481 


<ttur.  XXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXIX, 

BY 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Speech-Symbolism  I  Vers.  1-44.  (1.)  An 
emiuent  author  s.iys  that  laimuatre  is  the 
amber  in  wliicli  a  thousand  precious  and 
subtile  thoughts  have  been  safely  embedded 
and  preserved.  It  has  arrested  ten  thousand 
lightning  flashes  of  genius,  wliich,  unless 
thus  arrested  and  fixed,  miglit  have  been  as 
bright,  but  would  have  also  been  as  quickly 
passing  and  perishing  as  the  lightning.  (2.) 
Trench  adds  to  this,  that  words  convey  the 
mental  treasures  of  one  period  to  the  genera- 
tions that  follow  ;  and,  laden  with  their  pre- 
cious flight,  they  sail  safdy  across  the  gulfs  of 
time  in  which  empires  have  suffered  shipwreck, 
and  the  languages  of  common  life  have  sunk 
into  oblivion.  (3.)  Wiiat,  then,  shall  be  said 
of  speech  which  is  not  man's  but  God's? 
What,  then,  shall  be  said  of  words  in  which  the 
thoughts  of  God  are  embalmed?  Sent  safely 
across  the  yawning,  surging  gulfs  of  time,  do 
they  not  invite  our  most  searching  investiga- 
tion for  our  learning  and  comfort  in  matters 
of  infinite  importance  and  everlasting  en- 
durance ? 

"  Then  be  not  like  the  hog  that  hath 
A  pearl  at  his  desire. 
And  takes  more  pleasure  in  the  trough 
And  wallowing  in  the  mire." 

—Barker,  1694. 

Priesthood- Consecration  1  Ver.  1.  Ed- 
wards well  says  that  man's  redemption  was  a 
purpose  before  it  was  a  fact.  Hence  the  Son 
of  God  anticipated  man's  fall,  and  imme- 
diately on  its  occurrence,  putting  aside  the 
gorgeous  veil  of  His  dwelling-place,  descended 
to  earth  to  promise  deliverance.  As  Wallis 
remarks,  from  that  time  His  atonement  was 
prefigured  by  slaughtered  victims,  exhibited 
in  prophetic  types.  The  Redeemer's  sacrifice, 
therefore,  has  a  retrospective  as  well  as  pros- 
pective value.  He  planted  His  cross  between 
the  two  dispensations,  throwing  a  radiance 
over  the  past  and  a  splendour  over  the  future. 
Thus  He  made  its  glory  to  glance  on  the  two 
extremities  of  time,  and  set  it  forth  as  the 
centre  of  associated  interest  to  the  good  both 
of  heaven  and  earth. 

"  The  balm  of  life,  the  cure  of  woe, 

The  measure  and  the  pledge  of  love, 
The  sinner's  refuge  here  below. 

The  angel's  theme  in  heaven  above." 
— KeUey. 

Ablations  and  Oblations  1    Verg.  3,  4.     (1.) 

The  tabernacle,  as  .Vtwater  remarks,  is  to  be 

considered   as   the    residence   of    the   Divine 

King  of  Israel.     The   remembrance  of   Ihig 

482 


will  aid  in  understanding  some  parts  of  the 
Jewish  ritual  that  might  otherwise  be  com- 
paratively unintelligible.  This  explains  the 
great  importance  attached  to  personal  cleanli- 
ness and  freedom  from  corporeal  blemishes  on 
the  part  of  all  the  attendants  of  the  sanctuary. 
Some  of  the  sacrifices,  such  as  the  burnt- 
ofi'erings,  were  forms  of  consecration  to  the 
service  of  the  sovereign  —  what  in  modern 
phraseology  would  be  called  homage.  (2.) 
Such  purification  we  have  in  the  case  of  Joseph 
entering  Pharaoh's  presence,  of  Esther  ap- 
pearing before  Ahasuerus,  and  of  Daniel  being 
presented  to  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  homage 
of  offerings,  when  persons  acknowledged  them- 
selves subjects  to  a  king,  is  as  common  to-day 
in  eastern  countries  as  it  has  ever  been  from 
the  most  remote  of  historical  periods.  Hence 
the  ideas  were  familiar  to  the  Israelites  who 
had  just  left  Egypt.  (3.)  But  these  priestly 
ablutions  and  oblations  were  deeply  symboli- 
cal; not  only  as  implying  man's  moral  unfit- 
ness to  serve  Jehovah-King,  but  also  as  in- 
volving the  prayer  for  Divine  Grace,  "  Wash 
me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow."  The 
offerings  are  indicated  in  the  Pauline  entreaty : 
"  We  beseech  you,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that 
ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy, 
acceptable  unto  Qod,  which  is  your  reasonable 
service." 

"  Oh  !  cleanse  my  sordid  soul  within 
By  Thy  Christ's  blood— the  bath  of  sin." 
—Wotton. 

Aaronio  Washing !  Ver.  4.  (1.)  Does  this 
typify  the  Baptism  of  the  Lord  Jesus  f  Baptism 
was  usually  connected  with  confession  of  sin, 
both  amongst  the  heathen  and  Hebrews.  The 
washing  was  in  itself  a  symbol  of  the  desire 
to  wash  away  the  defilement  of  the  soul.  But 
Jesus  knew  no  sin,  thouL'h  Aaron  did.  Never- 
theless He  offered  Himself  to  God.  His 
Baptism,  symbolised  by  the  Aaronic  purifica- 
tion, was  the  purifyingof  Himself  as  the  Priest 
and  Victim.  (2.)  In  the  upper  room  when 
He  offered  up  His  intercessory  prayer,  that 
God  would  accept  Him  in  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  His  people.  He  says,  "For  their  sakes 
I  sanctify  Myself."  What  Jesus  spoke  of  the 
sanctifying  of  Himself,  to  be  a  holy  priest  and 
holy  sacrifice,  is  amplified,  says  Geso  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  to  the  effect  that 
Jesus  was  both  the  offerer  and  offering.  (3.) 
The  Baptismal  rite  was  linked  with  the  de- 
scent of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  was  through  the 
Eternal  Spirit  that  He  offered  Himself  with- 
out spot  to  God.  Thus  both  priest  and  animal 
were  washed  to  shadow  forth  the  Baptism  not 
only  in   Jordan   waters   but   with   the   Holj 


nOMlLETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXIX. 


Spirit.  Hjivini;  knelt  in  prayer  on  the  bank 
to  which  He  had  returned  from  the  shallow 
ford, — 

"  Lo  !  on  a  sudden  the  hlue  heavens  were  rent, 
The  Spirit  descending  in  corporeal  stiape, 
Dove-like,  alighted  on  His  sacred  head, 
A  Dove  of  plumage  whiter  than  the  light." 
— Bickcrsteth. 

Aaronic  Associations  !  Vers.  5,  6.  (1.) 
The  Aaronic  priesthood,  as  established  and 
perpetuated  for  long  ages  in  Israel,  was  in  all 
its  aspects  and  relations  eminently  symbolic 
and  typical.  The  selection  and  consecration 
of  the  high  priest,  the  manifold  duties  and 
functions  of  the  high  office,  were  all  pene- 
trated with  spiritual  significance.  Not  more 
saturated  is  our  atmosphere  with  ozone,  our 
ocean  with  salts,  our  flow  rs  with  street  odours/ 
than  are  the  Aaronic  associations  with  spiritual 
significations.  (2.)  As  a  natural  and  inevitable 
result,  names,  titles,  fignres,  and  symbolic 
phrases  derived  therefrom,  have  been  sown 
broadcast,  over  the  entire  area  of  our  religious 
literature.  As  Thompson  observes,  the  most 
precious  and  significant  names  and  official 
titles  bestowed  upon  our  blessed  Lord  come  to 
us  without  modification  from  this  source. 
This  we  learn  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

*•  Where  high  the  heavenly  temple  stands, 
The  house  of  God  not  made  with  hands, 
A  great  High  Priest  our  nature  wears — 
The  Saviour  of  mankind  appears." 

— Logan. 

Priest- Anointing  I  Ver.  8.  (1.)  Jenkyn 
Bays  that  the  Agonistes  in  the  Grecian  Games 
anointed  themselves  with  ointments  in  order 
to  attain  quickness,  agility,  and  nimbleness  of 
action ;  and  this  gave  a  grace  and  beauty  to 
their  various  movements.  Before  they  could 
attain  this  the  ointment  must  have  pervaded 
their  frame  and  not  glistened  in  superficial 
application.  (2.)  In  like  manner,  before  the 
Church  can  acquire  a  grace  in  doing  good, 
and  in  acting  after  the  Spirit,  the  unction 
from  the  Holy  One  must  penetrate  all  the 
muscles  of  its  frame  and  all  the  members  of 
its  body.  Thus  the  Spirit  of  Holiness  gives 
to  the  Church  an  aptness  and  a  grace  in  all 
its  movements  and  eflbrts  for  the  conversion 
of  the  world. 

*•  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire, 
And  lighten  with  celestial  fire  ; 
Thou  the  Anointing  Spirit  art. 
Thou  dost  Thy  sevenfold  gifts  impart. 
—1662. 


Priesthood!  Vers.  8,  9.  (1.)  The  priests 
were  types  of  Christ  in  reference  to  tiie  free- 
dom of  access  to  God,  which  was  allowed  to 
them.  They  alone  were  permitted  to  enter 
tilt  Tabernacle.  Only  to  the  HiLrh  Priest  was 
it  lawful  to  go  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  just  as 
Christ  our  Mediator  enters  into  the  immediate 


presence  of  God.  (2.)  The  whole  body  of  the 
people  were  required  to  keep  themselves  cere- 
menially  pure.  But  in  the  case  of  the  priest- 
hood this  was  enjoined  with  special  urgency, 
on  the  ground  that  Christ  was  literally  with- 
out sin. 

•'  Holy  Saviour,  wash  us  hourly. 
Sanctify  us  day  by  day  ; 
Sorely  we  have  need  of  cleansing, 
Purge  each  stain  of  sin  away." 

— Murray. 

Sln-Offerirg  I  Vers.  10-14.  There  were 
three  gateways  which  the  Aaronic  priesthood 
had  to  penetrate  before  they  could  minister  in 
the  presence  of  God.  One  was  that  of  the 
Sin-offering,  the  gateway  of  confession  of  sin. 
Anotlier  was  that  of  the  Burnt-ofTenng  (vers. 
15-18),  the  gateway  of  profession  of  faith  in 
Christ.  The  third  was  that  of  the  Peace- 
offering  (vers.  19-21),  the  gateway  of  consecra- 
tion, i.e.,  of  eelf-dedication  to  God.  These 
were  the  stepping-stones  to  acceptable  ministry 
in  the  priesthood.  When  these  steps  had 
been  ascended — when  these  gateways  had  been 
passed,  the  Meat-ofFering  had  then  to  be  eaten, 
to  signify  (1)  a  state  of  fellowship  with  God, 
and  (2)  a  resolution  to  bring  forth  fruit  to 
God.  Not  less  essential  are  these  gateways  to 
the  Christian  ministry,  and  to  that  universal 
ministry  of  Christians  who  are  designated  aa 
kings  and  priests  unto  God. 

•*  Through  death  the  world  is  raised  above 
Its  alien  curse  and  kindred  dust; 
We  on  the  Cross  read,  *'  God  is  just," 
But  in  the  offering,  "  God  is  Love." 

— Punshon. 


Midriff-Mystery  !     Ver.   13.     (1.)   One  of 

nature's  most  painful  and  deadly  maladies  is 
cancer.  If  within  reach  of  the  surgeon's 
knife  and  skill,  an  operation  is  performed  for 
its  excision.  Often  the  physician  fails  to 
extract  all  the  fibres ;  and  to  eradicate  the 
roots  left  behind,  he  applies  lunar  caustic. 
But  how  many  uncertainties  surround  this 
operation.  The  cancer  may  be  beyond  reach 
of  his  knife.  It  may  be  within  reach,  and 
yet  the  operation  produce  fatal  results.  The 
operation  may  only  be  partially  successful  and 
require  burning.  The  application  of  caustic 
may  not  be  successful  in  eliminating  the  re- 
sidue. (2.)  The  Divine  Physician  extracts 
the  cancer  in  the  human  nature.  Yet  is  He 
pleased  to  allow,  for  wise  and  loving  purposes, 
part  of  it  more  or  less  to  remain  ;  and  by  suc- 
cessive operations  of  "  burning  affliction  and 
sorrow  "  to  eradicate  it  entirely.  There  are  no 
possibilities  of  failure  in  His  hands.  He  can 
reach  every  sin-cancer.  Its  excision  is  cer- 
tain to  be  successful.  The  application  of 
"  moral  caustic  "  never  fails  to  achieve  the 
desired  results.  The  Christian  is  made  whole 
— meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  sainta  in 
light. 

483 


CHAP.    XXIX. 


UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


**  Pain's  funiaec-lie;it  witliin  me  quivers, 
God's  liroatli  upon  ihe  fire  doili  blow, 
And  all  my  heari  in  anj;ui3l)  shivers 

And  trembles  at  tiie  fier}'  glow  ; 
And  yet  I  whisper,  '*  As  God  will !" 
And  in  His  hottest  fire  hold  still." 

— Sturm. 

Burnt  -  Offering  !  Vers.  15-18.  (1.)  In 
nature,  both  wiih  animals  and  plants,  there 
are  special  characteristics  for  eacli  species  or 
form  ;  and  vet,  ihe  special  characteristic  of 
one  sjiecies  or  form  may  be  fonnd  ni'ire  or 
less  prominent  in  another  species  or  form. 
The  sea-anemone  has  its  own  peculiar  feature 
of  existence  ;  nevertheless,  that  feature  ap- 
pears in  otiier  and  more  common  existence, 
'i'he  Indian  banyan  has  likewise  its  particular 
characteristic,  which,  however,  presents  itself 
in  less  prominence  in  another  African  tree, 
(•i.)  In  the  Levitical  sacrifices,  substitution  was 
tiie  special  idea  implied  in  the  sin-offering. 
Substitution  was  most  fully  shadowed  forth  in 
this  sacrifice.  Nevertheless,  though  dedica- 
tion rose  prominently  to  view  in  the  burnt- 
offerinsr,  yet  the  substitution  element  ex- 
isted largely  in  it.  This  element  presents 
itself  more  clearly  in  the  daily  sacrifice  of 
vers.  38-42. 

*•  The  blood  which,  as  a  priest,  He  bears 
For  sinners  is  His  own  ; 
The  incense  of  His  prayers  and  tears 
Perfumes  the  Holy  Throne." 

— Newton. 

Sweet  Savour!  Ver.  18.  (1.)  The  cur- 
tains of  God's  pavilion  are  here  thrown  back, 
and  each  attribute  appears  rejoicing  in  re- 
demptiim.  The  aiiim;il  is  offered,  and  there 
is  fragrance  throughout  heaven.  This  image 
is  a  bright  jewel  in  the  Bible  treasury. 
It  first  flashed  its  beauty  on  Noah's  sac- 
rifice after  the  Flood.  It  appears  again  and 
again  through  the  Patriarchal  offerings  and 
those  of  the  Levitical  priesthood ;  and  all 
these  are  but  satellites  borrowing  their  beauties 
from  the  shining  sun  in  Eplies.  v.  2  :  "  Christ 
gave  Himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice 
unto  God,  for  a  sweet-smelling  savour.  (2.) 
Just  as  one  orb  contains  all  lights,  so  this 
brief  expression  contains  the  whole  purpose  of 
redemption.  The  children  of  Israel  were 
taught  in  twilight-rites  the  fulness  of  the 
work  of  Christ  ;  "  It  is  a  sweet  savour,  an 
offt-riug  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord."  This 
is  the  magnifying  medium,  through  which  we 
see  that  the  dying  of  Jesus  is  the  garden  of 
God's  sweetest  perfumes.  Hi.s  one  sacrifice  is 
eternal  and  unliounded  fragrance.  (3.)  If 
Christ's  Sficrifice  is  richest  odour  to  God,  so 
ought  it  to  be  to  niau.  The  joy  of  God  should 
be  our  joy.  The  refreshment  of  God's  heart 
should  be  the  refreshment  of  every  man's 
heart.  The  perfume  which  gratifies  the  spirit 
of  God  should  pcifntne  the  spirit  of  each  child 
of  Adam.  Man's  ev''iy  faculty  should  expand 
and  revel  in  the  Calvary  oblation.     His  cruoi< 

484 


fixion  should  be  the  soul's  par.uKse  of  every 
spice  and  flower.  His  name  sliould  be  as  oint- 
ment poured  forth.  His  sicrifice  should 
smell  of  myrrh,  aloes,  and  cassia.  Ho  Him- 
self should  be  as  a  bundle  of  myrrh,  a  cluster 
of  oamphire. 

"  As  myrrh  new  lileeding  from  the  tree, 
Such  is  a  dying  Chriitto  me  ; 
And  while  He  makes  my  soul  His  guest, 
My  bosom,  Lord,  shall  be  thy  rest," 

Ham  -  Rump  !  Ver.  22,  Eastern  sheep 
have  much  larger  tails  than  those  of  our  own 
land.  The  broailtailed  sheep  of  Aleppo,  Russell 
says,  are  known  to  have  tails  five  pounds  in 
weight.  To  prevent  these  being  torn  by 
thorns  and  thistles,  the  sliejiherds  fasten  thin 
boards  underneath  them.  Some  ol  these  boards 
have  wheels  to  facilitate  the  movements  of  the 
animal.  The  Abbd  Mariti,  in  his  "  Travels 
through  Cyprus,"  states  that  the  flesh  of  these 
tails  is  juicy  and  tender.  It  is  not,  however, 
eaten  separately,  but  mixed  with  the  lean  of 
other  portions.  The  fat  is  often  used  as  but- 
ter. This  explains  the  Levitical  consumption 
by  fire. 

Priesthood-Purposes !  Ver.  29.  Almost 
everything  connected  with  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood was  symbolic.  There  was  a  spiritual 
purpose  in  each  separate  act  and  fact.  It  is 
sufiBeient  merely  to  mention  such  suggestive 
things  as  the  mercy-seat  covering  the  ark,  in 
which  was  deposited  the  stone-engraved  law, 
and  on  which  the  high  priest  sprinkled  seven 
times  the  atoning  blood.  Then  there  were 
the  cherubims,  beneath  whose  outspread  wings 
ascended  the  cloud  of  incense — the  prayers  of 
the  saints  perfumed  by  the  infinite  merits  of 
the  Great  Mediator.  How  many  delightful 
thoughts  gather  about  it,  as  bees  clustering 
around  some  odorous  floiver  or  luscious  honey- 
comb !  In  how  many  humble  prayers,  in  how 
mail}'  glad  songs  of  praise,  is  it  the  central  idea, 
as  a  sun  serves  for  n  centre  of  attraction  to 
countless  satellite-orbs  of  lif/ht  and  beauty! 
Thus  the  priesthood  had  its  purpose.  Acting 
out  their  sacred  functions,  they  were  con- 
tinually revealing  and  visibly  interpreting  the 
deep  mystery  of  available  mediation  between 
God  and  man. 

••  I  need  Thee,  precious  Jesus  I 
For  I  am  full  of  sin  ; 
My  soul  is  dark  and  guilty. 
My  heart  is  dead  within." 

—  Whitfield. 

Atonement!  Ver.  33.  (1.)  All  bloody 
sacrilices  embodied  in  themselves  the  idea  of 
expiation.  This  idea  may  have  existed  in 
the  mind  of  the  patriarchs  only  in  a  vague  and 
indefinite  sha[)e,  as  marking  the  earl 'est  stage 
in  the  development  of  the  plan  of  redemption. 
It  may  have  resembled  the  pencilled  outline 
which  the  artist  makes  upon  the  canvaas  pre* 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXIX. 


vious  to  his  filling  in  with  rainbow  hues.  (2.) 
The  patriarchs  and  priests  of  tlie  Mosaic 
dippensation  understood  tliat  in  themselves 
Biicriiices  had  no  atuuiiig  power.  They  could 
atone  for  sin  only  as  they  were  symbolic — 
anticipatory  of  the  real  atonement  afterwards 
efifected  by  Christ.  The  idea  which  lies  at  the 
basis  of  atonement  is  that  of  covering.  The 
sin  atoned  for  is  regarded  as  if  no  longer  in 
existence.  (3.)  Tlds  paved  the  way  for  lecon- 
ciliation — that  idea  which  occurs  ten  times 
in  the  Greek  New  Testament.  In  nine  of 
these  ten,  the  Greek  is  translated  "reconcilia- 
tion ;  "  and  in  the  tenth  (Rom.  v.  11)  "atone- 
ment," i.e.,  at-one-ment.  The  death  of  Christ 
makes  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice, 
oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  sin  ;  and  thus 
opens  up  a  way  for  man's  reconcilement  to 
God. 

*'  No  more  need  altar  smoke,  nor  victim  bleed  ; 
'Tis  finished  !  the  great  mystery  of  love. 
Ye  sin-condemned,  by  this  blood  'tis  decreed 
Ye  Btunci  absolved :  Behold  the  curse  re- 
moved ! "  — Palmer. 

Substitution-Shadows!  Ver.  36.  (1.)  Tlie 
Messianic  Siibslitutionary  Sacrifice  is  the 
grandest  and  most  distinctive  thing  in  the 
Bible,  for  the  sake  of  which,  indeed,  the  Bible 
has  been  produced.  Many  regard  it  as  a  dis- 
cord in  nature's  harmonious  anthem  ;  clashing 
with  the  i)henomena  of  the  universe  around 
UB.  But,  as  an  earnest  writer  says,  this  is 
altogether  a  superficial  view.  Nature  and 
human  nature  present  certain  aspects  of 
atonement.  And  the  substitution  taught  by 
the  Aaronic  off  rings  and  rites  is  patent  to 
the  student  in  the  laws  of  nature  and  human 
nature.  (2.)  We  see,  writes  an  eloquent 
divine,  the  law  of  vicarious  action  at  work  in 
the  plant  yielding  up  its  life  in  order  that  the 
animal  may  be  nourislied.  We  observe  it  in 
the  sacrifice  of  the  animal  that  the  nobler  life 
of  man  may  be  sustained.  The  doctrine  of 
eubsntution  pi  rvades  the  whole  science  of 
chemistry,  in  which  we  find  numerous  exam- 
ples of  one  element  of  congeiKTs  replacing 
another.  (3.)  Tiius  nature,  human  nature, 
and  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  are  in  harmony  in 
teaching  each  and  all  the  great  mystery  of 
substitution.  All  three  are  like  different 
aisles  in  the  great  cathedral,  or  different 
avetiues  in  the  vast  forest,  leading  up  to  the 
Holy  Place — to  the  central  object  of  Calvary  : 
"  He  hath  made  Him  who  knew  no  sin,  to  be 
sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  the  righteousness 
of  Cod  in  Him." 

**  He  seized  our  dreadful  right,  the  load  sus- 
tained ; 
And  heaved  the  mountain   from  a  guilty 
world."  — Young. 

Morning  and  Evening  Watches  !  Ver.  39. 
(1.)  This  continual  burnt-offering,  combining 
in  itself  to  a  consuierable  extent  what  be- 
longed to  the  otlier  sacrifices,  might  be  re- 
garded   as   embodying   the   general  idea  of 


sacrifice,  and  as  in  a  sense  representing  th< 
whole  sacrificial  institute.  (2.)  On  the  same 
account  Fairbairn  says  that  it  was  a  species  of 
offering  to  be  presented  morning  and  evening 
in  behalf  of  tlie  whole  covenant,  people;  and 
which,  especially  during  the  night,  was  lo 
be  so  slowly  consumed  that  it  might  last  till 
dawn.  (3.)  This  cont  nual  burnt-offering,  or 
perp-tnal  sacrifice,  symbolised  the  abiding 
sacrifice  which  the  Loid  Jesus  presents  before 
the  heavenly  Throne  niglit  and  day,  from 
morn  till  eve,  and  from  eve  to  dawn  of  day. 
Faith's  eye  perceived  this.  (4.)  In  a  secon- 
dary sense,  it  signified  also  the  morning  and 
evening  watches  ^f  Christian  prayer.  In 
Deut,  xxxiii.  10,  it  says,  "They  shall  put 
incense  before  Thee,  and  whole  burnt  sacri- 
fices upon  Thy  altar."  The  incense  is  an 
emblem  of  daily  prayer,  morning  and  evening 
— of  prayer  without  ceasing;  and  the  accom- 
panying burnt-offering  indicated  that  in  every 
"incense-supplication"  was  to  be  the  Propi- 
tiation of  Christ.  The  Sacrifice  of  Calvary 
should  ever  be  mentioned  in,  should  ever  be 
associated  with,  the  Christian's  morning  and 
evening  watches. 

**  Here  I  would  for  ever  stay. 
Weep  and  gaze  my  soul  away ; 
Thou  art  lieaven  on  earth  to  me, 
Lovely,  mournful  Calvary." 

— Montgomery. 

Acceptable  Service !  Ver.  41.  (1.)  Frag- 
rance has  a  far-reaching  power,  a  mysterious 
association  with  the  deep  and  hidden  things 
of  the  heart.  Because  of  these  virtues,  many 
of  the  Bible  images  ajipeal  to  our  sense  of 
smell.  No  sense  is  more  closely  connected 
with  the  sphere  of  the  soul.  It  is  regardedjaa 
an  important  means  of  communication  with 
heaven,  and  a  direct  avenue  for  the  soul's  ap- 
proach to  the  Father.  The  acce]jtance,  says 
Macmillan,  of  man's  offerinirs  by  God  is 
usually  represented  in  the  anthropomorphisms 
of  tlie  Bil>le  as  findinir  its  expression  in  the 
sense  of  smell.  (2.)  The  Apostle  Paul,  em- 
ploying the  same  typical  language,  speaks  of 
himsi-'lf  and  the  other  Apostles  as  unto  God  a 
sweet  savour  of  Christ  in  them  that  are  saved 
and  in  tliem  that  perish.  The  Psalms  and 
the  Prophetic  writings  are  full  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  expressive  metapiiors,  applied 
to  the  most  solemn  jiersons  and  thinirs,  of 
"sweet  savours."  The  Song  of  Solomon  is 
like  an  Oriental  garden  sloiked  with  delicious, 
odorous  flowers.  But  the  "  sweet  savour " 
that  is  most  acceptable  is  "the  offering  by 
fire,"  i.e.,  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
amid  the  fires  of  wrath. 

"  The  fragrance  of  which  perfect  sacrifice 
Breathes  infinite  beatitude,  and  spans 
The  clouds  of  judgment  with  Eternal  Light." 

Burnt-Offering!  Ver.  42.  What  is  in  a 
name?  Words  are' but  empty  air;  names 
are  but  the  exterior  and  useless  shell.  The 
thing  si£;uified  is  the  kernel.     But  this  is  a 

48i) 


OHAP.  ZZIX. 


IIOMILETIC  COMMESTARY:  EXODUS. 


verj  inadequate  atatement.  Language  is  far 
more  than  ilie  mere  ves'ur€,or  even  the  vehicle 
of  thought.  It  is  botli  parent  and  nurse  of 
the  thouglit.  There  is  much  in  a  name; 
most  of  all  in  those  divinely  given.  Such 
are  the  words  "consecration,"  "atonement," 
"  burnt-oflering,"  "  wave-oflTi-ring,'*  &c.,  oc- 
curring in  this  chapter.  They  are  our  teachert 
and  guules,  without  which  we  can  mnke  no 
valuable  acquisition  in  the  Pentateuch  fields 
of  spiritual  knowledge.  Thev  are  self-luminous 
lamps,  hung  around  the  infinite  mystery  of 
the  invisible  God,  and  penetrating  the  thick 
darkness  in  which  He  dwells,  so  far  as  man's 
feeble  sight  can  pierce.  Upon  the  glass  of 
this  lamp  ("  burni-oflfering ")  may  be  read 
letters,  burnt  in  by  the  fiery  process  of  in- 
spiration, telling  lis  that  within  the  building 
ovt-r  whose  porch  it  hangs  is  a  spiritual  glory 
in  the  shape  of  the  Atoning  Sacrifice  of  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

"  Nor  can  the  type  and  symbol  take  away 
Tlie  guilt,  and  for  a  broken  law  requite. 
The  cross  unfolds  the  mystery,  Jesus  died; 
The  sinner  lives;  the  Law  is  satisfied. 

— Conder. 

Mediation-Meaning!  Ver.  44.  (1.)  Eastern 
nations,  beyond  all  others,  have  recourse  to 
mediation.  It  has  been  noticed  that  they 
seem  incapable  of  transacting  business  with- 
out the  intervention  of  a  mediator.  The 
buying  of  an  ass,  the  renting  of  a  house,  the 
liirinL'  of  a  servant,  or  the  settling  of  a  trifling 
dispute,  cannot  be  achieved  without  mediation 
at  the  present  day  in  tlie  East.  Yet  it  is  not, 
as  has  been  remarked,  a  modern  fashion.  It 
appears  even  in  the  early  history  of  Abraham 
at  Machpelah,  and  Joseph  in  the  Egyptian 
dungeon.  (2.)  Such  being  the  custom  in 
transacting  temporal  matters,  it  became  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world  to  resort  to 
mediation  in  the  affairs  of  the  soul.  Educated 
to  mediation  in  things  secular,  the  Israelites 
were  the  more  prepared  to  accept  mediation 
in  things  spiritual.  The  consciousness  of  sin 
would  only  intensify  this  f«'>ling  and  desire 
to  have  a  Mediator  or  Intercessor.  (3.)  The 
priests  in  the  Tabern:e'e  stood  in  titis  relation 
oflScially  and  by  Divine  appointment.  But 
even  they  could  only  mediate  typically.  Their 
mediation  had  a  meaning  in  Jie  future.  Their 
sacrificial  offerings  were  of  no  avail,  except  as 
they  pointed  to  the  one  true  Mediator,  whose 
blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 

"  See  Aaron,  God's  anointed  prieat, 
Within  the  veil  appear, 
In  robes  of  mystic  meaning  drest. 
Presenting  Israel's  prayer.** 

— NexnUm. 

Diyine-Indwelling !  Ver.  45.  It  is  a  re- 
markable coincidence  that  as  here  we  have  the 
•acrificial  lambs  connected  with  the  Divine 
Presence  in  the  Hebrew  Church,  so  there 
is  a  similar  conjunction  of  the  two  in  Rev. 
xxi.  Wiiether  wa  ra*rard  that  chapter  at  * 
486 


prophetic  vision  of  the  Millennial  or  Eternal 
Eras  of  the  Cinircli  of  L'lirist  matters  not.  It 
is  the  Lamb  of  God  who  figures  in  it  with 
His  Bride  ;  and  afterwards  comes  a  great 
voice  proclaiming  that  the  Tabernacle  of  God 
is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell  with  iliem. 
"  Jehovah-Sii.imniah,"  i.e.,  'I'heLord  is  there; 
because  "  Jehovaii-Tsidkenu,"  i.e.,  The  Lord 
our  Rigliti'ousness  is  there.  As  the  Lord 
dwelt  between  the  cherubims  as  long  as  the 
typical  iambs  were  present  in  the  Tabernacle 
services,  so  will  He  tabernacle  where  the 
Lamb  of  God  is  in  heaven.  Twice  over  in 
one  Verse  is  it  here  said  tliat  such  sliall  be  the 
bliss.  Oh,  amazing  honours !  The  Taber- 
nacle of  God  with  men  1  We  can  picture  the 
angelic  myriads  hovering  on  silvery  pinions 
over  the  glowing  scene,  and  exclaiming — 
"How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  0  Jacob,  and 
thy  tabernacles,  0  Israel !  " 

"  There,  wrought  with  hands  no  temples  rise. 
For  God  Himself  their  place  supplies; 
"^ or  priests  are  needed  in  the  abode 
Where  the  whole  hosts  are  priests  to  God." 
— Grinfield, 

Presence  -  Purpose  I  Ver.  46.  (1.)  Com- 
pare this  chapter  with  Rev.  vii.,  which  has 
been  sweetly  designated  as  the  "  Palace  Beau- 
tiful." If  verses  13  to  17  may  be  called  by 
one  "the  mirror  set  in  the  Christian  Apoca- 
lypse, in  which  the  Christian  sees  reflected 
his  future  character  and  condition  ;"  surely 
these  verses  from  36  to  46  may  be  equally  well 
described  as  "  a  mirror  placed  in  the  Mosaic 
Apocalypse,  in  which  the  Israelite  was  to  be- 
hold reflected  his  future  hope  in  Christ."  If  in 
Exodus  xxix.  we  have  the  ceremonial  washing, 
so  in  Rev.  vii.  we  are  told  that  the  myriad- 
throngs  of  white-robed  beings  have  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  L;imb.  If  in  Exodus  xxix.  we  learn 
that  this  was  by  way  of  free  approach  to  the 
throne  of  God  within  the  Holy  of  Holies,  so 
it  is  expressly  declared  that  these  blood- 
cleansed  souls  are  in  consequence  before  the 
throne.  If  in  the  significant  siieech  of  sym- 
bolic act  and  fact,  Aaron  and  the  priests  and 
people  sang,  "  Worthy  is  tlie  Lamb  that  was 
slain,"  so  it  is  the  same  song  whose  silent 
echoes  down  the  asres  are  cuiiLrht  up  in  audilde 
acclaim  by  the  redeemed  hosts.  If  in  Exodus 
xxix.  Israel,  through  obedience  to  the  Divine 
command,  hoped  for  tirC  Divine  Presence  with 
them  in  a  land  where  neither  hunger  nor 
thirst  should  be  their  lot,  so  in  Rev.  vii.  we 
are  told  that  these  redeemed  ones,  having 
been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  are  in 
their  holy  land  enjoying  the  presence  of  God, 
and  knowing  nothing  of  the  pangs  of  hunger 
or  the  tortures  of  thirst. 

'*  Now  before  the  Throne  of  God, 
Seal'd  with  His  Eternal  Name, 
Clad  in  raiment  pure  and  white, 
Victor  palms  in  every  hand, 
Through  their  great  Redeemer's  might. 
More  than  conquerors  they  staud." 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  OHAP.  XXX. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Cbitioal  Notes.  — 1.  Altar  of  incense]  =  Miktar  Ketoreth,  literally,  the  incenser  of  In* 
cense,  or,  to  incense  incense,  because,  strictly  speaking,  this  was  not  an  altar,  as  no  sacrifices 
were  offered  upon  it.  It  was  also  called  the  golden  altar  (xxxix.  38  ;  Num.  iv.  11)  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  which  was  of  less  costly  materials.  There  was  a  special  im- 
portance attacht'd  to  this  altar  from  various  circumstances.  The  sweet  incense,  the  symbol  of 
prayer,  was  burnt  upon  it  every  day,  morning  and  evening  (vers.  7,  8).  The  blood  of  the  sin- 
offering,  too,  was  sprinkled  upon  it  every  year  ou  the  great  day  of  atonement  (Lev.  xvi.  18-20), 
and  at  such  other  times  as  occasion  required  (Lev.  iv.  17,  18).  Tlie  position  of  this  altar  was, 
no  doubt,  calculated  to  enhance  its  typical  import.  It  stood  between  the  altar  of  burnt-offering 
in  the  Court  and  the  mercy-seart;  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  separated  from  the  latter  by  the  great 
partition  veil.  Thus  the  priest  as  he  ministered  with  his  face  turned  in  the  direction  of  the 
mercy-seat,  though  assured  of  its  reality,  was  still  only  permitted  to  see  it  with  the  eyes  of  his 
mind).  Hence  the  High  priest's  ministrations  in  this  rite  taught  Israel  to  offer  the  incense  of 
prayer  towards  the  throne  above,  which,  though  invisible  to  the  bodily  eye  at  the  time,  ia 
nevertheless  real  and  present  to  the  eye  of  faith. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Veraea  1-10. 

Worship. 

The  altar  of  incense  is  instructive  as  to  worship  in  all  generations. 

I.  The  material  of  the  altar  is  suggestive  of  the  elements  of  a  praying  heart. 

It  was  to  be  made  of  acacia  wood,  ver.  1  ;  significant  of  the  fact  that  prevailing 
prayer  must  rise  {tov!i&  sound  heart.  Acacia  wood  was  incorruptible.  In  prayer 
the  heart  must  be  sincere — no  lightness,  no  hoUowness,  no  hypocrisy.  Effec- 
tual prayer  must  rise  from  a  pure  heart.  This  is  signified  by  the  altar  being 
overlaid  with  pure  gold,  ver.  3.  It  was  called  the  golden  altar.  True  prayer 
springs  from  a  sin-renouncing  heart.  How  often  do  we  seem  to  think  that  any 
altar  will  do  for  heaven  !  Any  rotten  wood,  any  unconsecrated  stones,  any 
brazen  altar.  We  ask  amiss.  We  ask  with  an  insincere,  sin-regarding,  unbe- 
lieving heart.     "  Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart." 

II.  The  position  of  the  altar  is  suggestive  of  the  grand  function  of  prayer. 
"And  thou  shalt  place  it  before  the  vail,"  &c.,  ver.  6.  It  stood  before  the 
curtain  which  separated  the  sanctuary  from  the  Holy  of  Holies.  By  prayer  we 
gain  access  into  the  immediate  presence  of  the  merciful  God.  "  Before  the 
mercy-seat  which  is  over  the  testimony."  By  prayer  we  gain  an  interest  in  all  the 
great  promises  of  God  to  mankind.  "  By  the  ark  of  the  testimony. "  By  prayer, 
whatever  is  in  the  covenant  becomes  ours.  We  cannot  expect  mercy  without  a 
life  of  prayer  :  "  Let  us  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace  that  we  may  find 
mercy."  We  cannot  expect  the  blessings  of  providence  and  grace  without 
prayer.  We  must  enter  heaven  by  prayer.  Prayer  brings  us  into  the  presence 
of  God ;  into  fellowship  with  God  ;  and  makes  a-s  partakers  of  all  the  treasures 
of  God. 

III.  The  pure  incense  is  suggestive  of  the  sweetness  of  prayer,  ver.  7. 

Prayer  is  sweet  to  us.  To  pour  out  our  soul  to  God,  to  pray,  to  praise,  is  the 
highest  joy  of  our  spiritual  life.  Prayer  is  sweet  to  God.  The  gratitude  and 
trust  of  the  heart  are  to  God  as  the  fragrant  perfume  of  golden  censers  (Rev. 
viii.  3,  4). 

IV.  The  offering  of  the  incense  in  connection  with  the  lighting  of  the  lamps 
suggests  the  illuminations  of  prayer,  vers.  7,  8.  ^Ye  get  light  through  prayer. 
The  Word  of  God  is  a  great  lani})  for  our  illumination,  but  we  only  realise  its 
luminous  teachings  when  we  ponder  them  in  the  spirit  of  prayer  (James  i.  6-7) 

487 


chak  XXX.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


V.  The  horns  at  the  comers  of  the  altar  remind  us  of  the  power  of  prayer, 

vers.  2-10.  How  great  the  power  of  prayer  in  the  day  of  trouble,  in  the  day  of 
temptatiou  !  Day  by  day  we  ueed  the  strength  which  prayer  aioue  can  supply. 
Horns  are  the  symbols  of  power,  and  from  the  altar  of  God  comes  the  strength 
to  make  us  conquerors.  Prayer  is  not  only  sweet,  but  animating — not  only 
full  of  poetry,  but  full  of  power. 

"  Let  us  pray."  And  if  we  pray  with  a  pure  heart,  offering  no  strange  incense, 
ver.  9,  and  resting  all  our  intercessions  upon  the  atoning  merit  of  Christ,  ver. 
10,  God  shall  shew  us  His  glory,  enrich  us  with  His  gifts,  and  fill  us  with  His 
eternal  joy. 


MAIN  HOMILETIGS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versa  11-1 «, 

Equality  before  God. 
We  are  reminded  here — 

I.  That  all  men  are  equally  recognised  by  the  eye  of  God.  Moses  was  to 
take  "  the  sum  of  the  children  of  Israel  after  their  number."  This  taking  of 
the  census  of  Israel  reminds  us  of  God's  all-comprehending  and  individualising 
knowledge  of  man.  He  knows  all.  Every  living  soul  is  written  in  His  book. 
He  knows  each.  Each  tribe,  each  family,  each  person.  There  is  not  a  living 
being  outside  God's  knowledge,  there  is  not  one  who  can  drop  out  of  that 
knowledge.  With  all  the  apparent  confusion  of  the  world,  and  the  cheapness 
of  life,  God  knows  "  the  sum  ;"  and  He  knows  each  race,  each  dwelling,  each 
person  which  go  to  the  making  up  of  that  "  sum." 

II.  That  all  men  are  equally  guilty  before  the  law  of  God.  They  were  to 
give  a  ransom  for  their  souls.  What  is  the  ground  idea  of  this  ransom  but 
guilt  ?  Israel  was  sinful  before  God,  and  it  was  necessary  that  they  should 
bring  *'  atonement-money  "  in  their  hands  as  expressive  of  their  sin  and  peni- 
tence. It  was  to  make  an  "  atonement  for  their  souls."  We  are  guilty  before 
Goil,  and  it  is  necessary  that  we  have  somewhat  to  offer.  "In  our  hands  no 
price  we  bring,"  Christ  has  paid  all,  and  rendered  it  possible  for  Eternal  love 
to  show  grace  unto  all  who  seek  for  it  (John  i.  29  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  ::^8  ;  Rom.  v.  11 ; 
Rev.  i.  5).  In  Christ's  death  we  have  the  grand  recognition  that  Ave  are  sold  under 
sin,  but  that  God  has  provided  for  our  emancipation  and  life.  All  were  to  give 
their  ransom.  No  exemptions.  All  are  guilty.  Every  mouth  is  stopped. 
And  that  all  were  equally  guilty  before  God  is  expressed  in  all  having  to  bring 
the  same  atonement-money.  "  The  rich  shall  not  give  more,  and  the  poor 
shall  not  give  less  than  half  a  shekel."  This  fixed  amount  indicates  two 
great  truths  :  the  equal  preciousness  of  all  souls  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and 
the  equal  guiltiness  of  all  souls  in  the  sight  of  God.  "  There  is  no  difference" 
(Rom.  iii.  22). 

m.  That  all  men  are  equally  redeemable  through  the  mercy  of  God.  The 
atonement-money  was  to  be  accepted  from  every  hand.  The  half  shekel  in  the 
hau'i  of  every  member  of  Israel  spoke  of  universal  reconciliation  as  clearly  as 
it  did  of  universal  sin.  So  all  men  are  recoverable  in  Christ  (John  iii.  16). 
The  Apostle  in  declaring  "  there  is  no  difference,"  intends  to  show  there  is  no 
difference  in  regard  to  men's  restoration,  as  there  is  no  difference  in  regard  to 
their  sinfulness  and  condemnation  (Rom.  iii.  9-31).  1.  We  see  here  the  need  of 
atonement.  We  cannot  go  to  God  as  innocent  creatures.  A  merely  natural 
religion  will  not  do  for  us  fallen  and  guilty  men.  2.  We  see  the  preciousness  of 
the  atonement  of  Christ.  It  saves  those  who  trust  in  it  from  wrath  and  death. 
"Then  shall  they  give  every  man  a  ransom  for  his  sonl  unto  the  Lord,  when 
488 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxx. 


thou  numberest  them ;  that  there  be  no  plague  among  them."  And  so 
Christ's  merit  saves  us  from  the  last  plagues  of  God's  wrath  against  sin 
and  sinners.  And  it  saves  all  who  trust  in  it.  The  worst,  the  poorest. 
(Heb.  vii.  25.) 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Vertet  17-21. 

The  True  Washing. 

This  priestly  washing  in  the  Temple  symbolised  certain  great  truths  to  which 
we  shall  do  well  if  we  take  heed. 

I.  The  true  washing  is  Divine.  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  to  wash  themselves 
in  this  brazen  laver  in  the  Tabernacle.  They  were  not  to  wash  themselves  in 
their  own  homes,  the  washing  was  to  be  in  the  sanctuary  of  God.  Self-purifica- 
tion will  not  do.  We  cannot  cleanse  ourselves  from  the  dehlements  of  sin.  Sin 
is  not  skin  deep,  as  many  seem  to  suppose,  and  to  be  washed  away  by  the  touch 
of  our  palm  ;  the  stains  of  evil  are  deep  and  dark  in  our  nature,  and  only  the 
Divine  Cleanser  can  purge  them  away.  "For  though  thou  wash  thee  with 
nitre,  and  take  thee  much  soap,  yet  thine  iniquity  is  marked  before  Me,  saith 
the  Lord  God  "  (Jer.  ii  22).  "  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  Me  " 
(John  xiii.  8).  The  Gospel  of  Christ  is  the  power  of  God  to  purify  a  sinful 
world,  and  there  is  no  real  and  abiding  efficacy  in  any  other  method  (Ps. 
11  2-7). 

II.  The  true  washing  is  spiritual.  It  is  true  that  Aaron  washed  only  his 
hands  and  feet,  but  we  should  forget  the  whole  genius  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation 
if  we  were  to  overlook  the  spiritual  significance  of  this  rite.  The  true  purifica- 
tion is  not  material.  Many  social  reformers  think  to  purify  society  by  insti- 
tuting certain  political  and  physical  improvements.     They  think — 

••That  washing  seven  times  in  the  'People's  Batha' 
Is  aovereiLMi  for  a  people's  leprosy, 
Still  leaving  out  the  essential  prophet's  word 
That  comes  in  power." 

The  true  purification  is  not  ceremonial.  Baptismal  regeneratisn  is  more  mis- 
taken than  a  merely  superficial  political  regeneration  is.  The  water  in  the 
Church's  font  possesses  no  magic  efficacy  to  wash  away  sin.  The  true  purifica- 
tion is  that  of  the  soul.  "  0  Jerusalem,  wash  thine  heart  from  wickedness, 
that  thou  mayest  be  saved"  (Jer.  iv.  14).  Tliis  is  the  true  purification.  The 
cleansing  of  the  heart  through  the  truth  and  grace  of  Christ  (John  xv.  3,  xvii.  1 7  ; 
Eph.  V.  26  ;  1  Peter  i.  22).  Let  us  not  rest  in  a  mere  social  purity  (Titus  iii.  5). 
Let  us  not  rest  in  a  mere  ecclesiastical  purity  (John  iii.  6;  1  Peter  iii.  21).  Let 
Christ  cleanse  our  spirit  and  life. 

"  Wash  me,  and  make  me  thus  Thine  own. 
Wash  me,  and  mine  Thou  art ; 
Wash  me,  but  not  my  feet  alone, 
My  hands,  my  head,  my  heart." 

III.  This  true  washing  is  essential.  "  That  they  die  not."  This  interior 
and  divine  purity  is  indispensable.  Without  it  we  cannot  enter  into  fellowship 
and  communion  with  God  ;  without  it  we  cannot  enter  heaven  (Rev.  vii.  13-15). 
In  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  we  must  make  our  raiment  white,  and  by  constant 
washing  there,  keep  it  white.  Naaman  had  to  wash  in  Jordan  "  seven  times," 
and  so  must  we  come  again  and  again  to  the  great  fountain  of  purification  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

489 


CHAP.  XXX.  HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Vtraea  22-21 

The  Spirit  of  God  in  the  Church. 

That  the  ointment  signifies  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  we  can  hardly 
doubt.  The  anointing  of  Icings  and  prophets  signified  that  they  received  the 
gift  of  holiness  in  a  special  degree;  and  wlien  Clirist  was  anointed  with  the  oil 
of  gladness  above  His  fellows  (Ps.  xlv.  8,  9),  it  signified  that  on  Him  rested  the 
power  and  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  an  extraordmary  degree.  What  does  this 
ointment  teach  respecting  God's  Spirit  1 

I.  The  salutariness  of  His  influence.  Ointment  is  gracious  in  its  action,  and 
signifies  the  suftening  influence  of  the  Spirit.  As  ointment  softens,  so  does  the 
Spirit  of  God  cause  the  proud  will  to  relent,  and  the  hard  heart  to  soften.  The 
healing  influence  of  the  Spirit.  Wounds  are  mollified  with  ointment — its  action 
is  medicinal  an<l  purifying.  So  God's  Spirit  cleanses  and  heals  the  diseased  and 
wountled  soul.  The  rejoicing  influence  of  the  Spirit,  it  is  "  the  oil  of  gladness." 
*'  Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil :  my  cup  runneth  over"  (Ps.  xxiii.  5).  Here 
the  Psalmist  associates  anointing  with  fu.ness  of  joy.  Yes,  the  Spirit  of  God 
gives  tenderness  and  parity  to  the  soul,  and  out  of  this  contrite  and  cleansed 
heart  springs  up  streams  of  peace  and  joy. 

n.  The  sweetness  of  His  influence.  The  sweetness  of  this  ointment  render? 
it  a  striking  symbol  of  the  rich  and  fragrant  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
Spirit  of  God  gives  an  incomparable  charm  to  the  character !  We  see  this  in 
Christ.  "  All  thy  garments  smell  of  myrrh,  and  aloes,  and  cassia,  out  of  the 
ivory  palaces,  whereby  they  have  made  thee  glad  "  (Ps.  xlv.  8).  The  spirit,  the 
language,  the  life  of  Jesus,  breathed  a  divine  perfume.  And  so  it  is  with  all  in 
whom  the  spirit  of  Jesus  richly  dwells.  There  is  something  far  beyond  a  merely 
cold  and  formal  prosperity,  there  is  a  rich  diffusive  goodness.  When  the  power 
and  grace  of  Christ  fill  the  heart,  our  character  is  fragrant,  and  wherever  we 
go,  "  'tis  as  if  an  angel  shook  his  wings."  In  Jesus,  and  in  that  Holy  Spirit 
which  is  His  gift,  we  rise  to  the  beauty,  the  music,  the  fragrance  of  life.  Let 
us  seek  to  realise  this  richness  and  sweetness  of  character  and  disposition.  Not 
a  cold  intellectual  religion  ;  not  a  hard  austere  morality  ;  not  a  stern  rugged 
character  ;  but  a  lovely  life  and  a  soul  full  of  grace  and  sweetness.  Such  sweet- 
ness is  full  of  personal  joy.  It  is  also  most  preservative.  Some  say  that  the 
sweetness  of  the  rose  kills  certain  vermin,  and  sweetness  of  character  is  a 
defence.     And  it  powerfully  recommends  the  faith  of  Christ. 

m.  The  sacredness  of  His  influence.  1.  Nothing  is  sacred  except  as  it  is  hal- 
lowed by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Everything  was  to  be  anointed  with  the  ointment, 
vers.  26-31.  Our  temples  are  only  sacred  so  far  as  they  are  hallowed  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  ;  our  religious  instrumentalities  are  only  sacred  so  far  as  the  Spirit 
of  God  blesses  them  ;  our  ministers  are  only  sacred  so  far  as  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwells  in  them  and  works  through  them.  The  grandest  things  in  the  sanctuary 
needed  to  be  anointeil,  and  the  strongest,  brightest,  purest  things  in  the  Church 
are  but  dark  and  feeble  and  profane  except  as  they  are  filled  and  used  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  And  this  is  equally  true  of  the  highest  and  grandest  things  of  the 
world  and  life.  2.  Everything  is  sacred  that  is  hallowed  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The 
commonest  things,  when  anointed,  were  sacred  as  the  highest — the  brazen  laver 
as  the  golden  ark.  Let  us  seek  for  God's  Spirit  to  hallow  all  within  the  Church, 
to  hallow  all  within  the  world,  so  that  there  shall  be  nothing  common  or 
andean. 

490 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxx. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verm  3^38. 

Spiritual  Worship. 
Notice  here — 

I.  The  elements  of  true  worship.  1.  There  must  be  nothing  in  prayer  but 
what  is  sweet.  "  Sweet  spices."  No  anger.  Some  nations  leave  their  swords 
outside  their  temples ;  we  must  cherish  no  angry  or  warlike  sentiments  in  wor- 
ship. "Lifting  up  holy  hands,  witliout  wrath."  No  pride.  No,  "I  thank  God 
I  am  not  as  other  men."  ISo  selfishness.  "  Ye  ask.  and  receive  not,  because  ye 
ask  amiss,  that  you  may  consume  it  upon  your  lusts  "  (James  iv.  3).  No  unbelief. 
"  Without  doubting."  Some  prayers  have  in  them  so  much  of  doubt  and  pas- 
sion, of  pride  and  hypocrisy,  that  they  go  up  to  the  sky  more  like  the  vapour 
of  a  noxious  drug,  than  the  pure  incense  in  which  God  delights.  In  worship 
there  are  various  elements  of  thought  and  feeling,  as  there  were  various  spices 
in  the  priestly  censer,  but  we  must  take  care  that  there  is  nothing  bitter  or  bad. 
All  peace,  love,  faith,  charity,  admiration,  hope,  joy — whatsoever  is  otherwise 
enters  not  into  true  worship.  2.  Nothing  in  prayer  but  what  is  fure.  "Pure 
frankincense."  If  we  do  not  renounce  iniquity  in  our  life,  God  will  not  hear  us. 
(Isa.  i.  12-15).  If  we  do  not  renounce  iniquity  in  our  heart,  God  will  not  hear 
us.  Worship  is  not  a  substitute  for  righteousness,  but  the  expression  of  a  soul 
delighting  in  righteousness,  longing  for  righteousness.  The  prajers  of  a  bad  man, 
although  offered  in  a  white  or  golden  surplice,  although  expressed  in  seraphic 
language,  although  borne  upward  on  the  voices  of  singers  and  organs,  are  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord — it  is  the  smoke  of  the  pit,  not  the  sweet  incense  of 
God's  holy  temple. 

Pure  and  sweet  worship  is  delightful  to  us ;  it  is  the  highest  condition  of  the 
soul.     Such  worship  is  sweet  and  grateful  to  God. 

II.  The  expression  of  true  worship.  "  And  thou  shalt  beat  some  of  it  very 
small,  and  put  of  it  before  the  testimony."  Is  it  not  suggested  here,  that  in 
worship  there  should  not  be  vague  and  general  feeling  and  language,  but  that 
our  service  should  be  specialised  and  particular  ?  Our  penitejice  should  be  thus 
special.  Our  sins  should  be  discriminated  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  with  each 
fault  should  go  the  appropriate  confession  and  sorrow.  Our  supplications  thus 
distinguishing.  Our  intercessions  thus.  Praying  for  special  individuals,  pleading 
for  special  gifts.  Our  ^Yuses  thus.  "  Forget  not  all  His  benefits."  It  is  a  good 
thing  to  recall  the  mercies  of  God,  one  by  one,  as  far  as  that  is  possible.  We 
are  not  to  worship  in  the  lump,  as  if  God  were  too  grand  to  recognise  the  detail 
of  life ;  we  are  not  to  worship  in  the  lump,  as  if  the  "  least  mercies  "  were  not 
worth  recognition. 

III.  The  efficacy  of  true  worship.  *'  Where  I  will  meet  with  thee."  God 
met  them  as  they  came  near  Him  with  this  incense.  We  hear  worship  depre- 
ciated sometimes,  and  are  told  that  life  is  worship,  icork  is  worship  ;  let  us  not  be 
led  away  by  such  plausible  sayings  from  a  personal,  constant,  express  fellowship 
with  God.  It  is  only  as  we  come  to  God  with  the  pure  and  loving  worship 
of  the  heart  that  we  realise  His  presence.  Life  may  be  worship,  and  work 
may  be  worship  ;  but  life  and  work  are  never  worship,  until  the  heart  gives  its 
highest  love  and  trust  to  God. 

IV.  The  exclusive  object  of  true  worship.  "  As  for  the  perfume,"  &c,,  vers. 
37-38.  No  M'orship  of  man:  No  worship  of  humanity:  No  sam^worship  :  No 
a??ye^worship.     "  Worship  God." 


CEAP.  ZXX. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTAliY :  EXODUS, 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXX. 


BT 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Sacrificial  Speech !  Vera.  1-38.  (1.)  No 
Itudent  of  the  liible  needs  to  be  reminded 
that  by  the  complicuted  and  long  protracted 
series  of  events  whicli  preceded,  accompanied, 
and  followed  the  Exodus  from  Egypt,  the 
essential  doctrine  of  Gospel  truth  and  grace 
are  distinctly  made  known.  By  a  stupen- 
dous array  of  symbolic  acts  and  facts  they 
are  most  em!>hatically  confirmed  and  illus- 
trated. (2.)  Thomson  remarks  that  what  is 
mure  pertinent,  if  possible,  is  that  the  record 
of  ihem  is  so  guided  as  to  suggest  and  evolve 
the  very  best  words,  figures,  and  phrases  by 
which  these  fundamental  doctrines  can  be  set 
forll).  This  is  equally  true  of  the  words  and 
ideas  in  this  chapter  of  Exodus,  as  of  the 
paschal  lamb  in  Egypt,  or  the  smiting  of  the 
rock  in  Horeb.  (3.)  The  symbolic  acts  and 
facts,  it  has  been  wisely  asserted,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  typical  institutions,  rites,  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  economy,  were  de- 
signed to  permeate,  and  did  permeate,  the 
entire  religious  consciousness  of  the  Hebrews. 
They  thus  gave  birth  to  spiritual  ideas  and 
emotions  wholly  peculiar,  and  to  correspond- 
ing formulas  by  which  to  give  expi-essiou  to 
them. 

"  I  saw  a  Moslem  work  upon  his  shroud  alone. 
With  earnest  care,  even  as  the  silkworms 

weave  their  own, 
When  with  that  sacred  Script  it  was  filled 

from  side  to  side, 
He  wrapt  it  round  his  body,  and  in  calm- 
ness died,"  — Oriental. 

Incense  -  Altar  1  Vers.  1-10.  (1.)  In  the 
gorgeous  ceremonial  worship  of  the  Hebrews, 
none  of  the  senses  were  excluded  from  taking 
part  in  the  service.  Macmiilan  observes  that 
the  eye  was  appealed  to  by  the  rich  vestments 
of  Exodus  xxviii.;  and  the  splendid  furniture 
of  Exodus  xxvi.  and  xxvii.  The  ear  was 
exercised  by  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and 
the  voice  of  praise  and  prayer.  The  nostril 
was  gratified  by  the  clouds  of  fragrant  smoke 
that  rose  from  the  golden  altar  of  incense  and 
filled  all  the  place.  (2.)  This  altar  of  incense 
occupied  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  and 
honoured  positions  in  the  Tabernacle.  Itstood 
between  the  table  of  shew-bread  and  the  golden 
candlestick  in  the  Holy  Place.  It  was  made 
of  shittim  or  cedar  wood,  overlaid  with  plates 
of  pure  gold.  The  ex|jiaiing  altar  was  behind 
the  priest,  who  stood  at  this  altar.  His  steps 
had  brought  him  to  the  borders  of  the  holiest 
place.  He  has  passed  the  spot  where  dying 
viotims  bleed  ;  so  that  its  position  divinely 
arranged  seems  to  be  a  link  joining  Sacrifice 
to  Acceptance. 
492 


"  I  read  God's  Holy  Word,  and  find 

Great  truths  which  far  transcend  my  mind  | 

And  little  do  I  know  beside 

Of  thoughts  so  high,  so  deep,  80  wide  ; 

This  is  my  liest  theology, 

I  know  the  Saviour  died  for  me." 

— Bethune. 

Incense- Altar  Prefigurings !  Vers.  2-8.  It 
is  worth  while  observing — (1.)  Pattern/  Gold 
and  wood  ;  four-square.  (2.)  Place/  Within 
the  Holy  Place  ;  midway  between  the  Altar  of 
Sacrifice  and  the  Throne  of  Grace.  (3.)  Pur- 
pose/ Incense  to  be  oflPered  daily  thereon  ;  by 
the  priest ;  morning  and  evening;  along  with 
the  sacrifices.  (4.)  Purport/  Significant  of 
prayer;  the  duty  and  privilege  of  prayer; 
presented  through  an  intercessor.  (5.)  PrC' 
cept/  Daily  prayer  is  our  privilege;  and 
should  be  our  duty  ;  it  is  also  holy  ;  unworthy 
prayers  incur  danger,  (a.)  Doubtless  the  Jews 
felt,  when  they  saw  the  soft  white  clouds  of  fra- 
grant smoke  rising  slowly  from  the  altar  of  in- 
cense, as  if  the  voice  of  the  priest  were  silently 
but  eloquently  pleading  in  that  expressive  em- 
blem on  their  behalf,  (b.)  We  should  remember 
that  from  the  altar  of  our  souls  God  expects 
that  daily  prayer  is  to  ascend,  kindled  by  the 
altar  fire  of  Christ's  sacrifice  on  Calvary,  per- 
fumed with  the  merits  of  His  sinless  media- 
tion within  the  veil.  (c. )  But  it  wa,% perfumed 
incense,  telling  the  Jew  that  praise  must  ever 
be  associated  with  prayer.  This  is  a  needful 
reminder  to  the  Christian,  who  is  so  apt  to 
offer  unperfumed  prayer,  i.e.,  prayer  minut 
the  fragrance  of  thankfulness  and  adoration. 
Canst  thou  close 

"  Thine  eyes  with  comfort,  and  in  peace  re- 
pose, 
Before  thou  lift  thy  voice,  and  to  the  skies 
Send  up  devotion's  thankful  sacrifice. 
Sweet  as  the  fumes  which  from  the  censer 
rose  ? "  — Mant. 

Incense-Intent!  Ver.  7.  (1.)  Priestly! 
Looking  upon  the  Tabernacle  as  the  palace  of 
God,  the  theocratic  King  of  Israel,  and  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant  His  throne,  we  may  re- 
gard this  incense  aa  merely  correspon<ling  to 
the  perfume  so  lavishly  employed  about  the 
person  and  appointments  of  an  Oriental  mon- 
arch. The  Persian  sculptures  exhibit  the 
burning  of  incense  as  one  of  the  marks  of 
honour  offered  to  royalty.  In  the  Canticlt-e  of 
Solomon,  there  seems  to  be  express  allusion 
to  these  perfumes  burned  in  the  presence  of 
the  king,  when  the  bride  enters  his  palace  ; 
signifying  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  the  Church, 
which   He   hath  purchased  with   His   blood. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXX. 


(2.)  Prkitlyl  No  doubt  incense  derived  ita 
chief  importance  in  connection  with  the  cere- 
monial observances  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  from 
the  fact  of  its  being  the  great  symbol  of 
prayer.  It  seems  to  have  been  regarded  in 
the  light  of  a  sacred  ofifering.  The  Spirit 
has  selected  incense  as  the  type  of  prayer  in 
Psalm  cxii.  2.  Fragrance  is  the  breath  of 
flowers — the.  sweetest  expression  of  their  in- 
most being  ;  and  prayer  is  the  breath  of  life — 
the  expression  of  the  soul's  best,  holiest,  and 
heavenliest  aspirations.  (3.)  Prophetually I 
When  the  morning  lamps  were  trimmed,  and 
when  the  evening  lights  were  lit,  this  peifume 
ascended  as  a  great  prediction.  The  nostril  of 
smell  and  the  eye  of  sight  may  have  seen  in 
the  fragrant  cloud  oTily  the  symliol  of  their 
own  daily  orisons  to  God ;  but  ihe  nostril  and 
eye  of  faith  realised  the  peifnmed  incense  of 
Messianic  Intercession.  They  perceived  in 
the  unceasing  harmonic  offering  up  of  incense 
— a  beautiful  and  expressive  type  of  the  all- 
prevailing  prayers  of  their  Messiah. 

•*  He,  Who  for  men  their  Surety  stood, 
And  pour'd  on  earth  His  precious  blood. 
Pursues  in  heaven  His  mighty  plan, 
The  Saviour  and  the  Friend  of  man." 

Prayer !  Ver.  8.  Ryle  says  that  cold 
prayers  are  like  incense  without  the  fire. 
Seeker  remarks  that  when  jirayer  mounts  upon 
the  wing  of  fervour  to  God,  then  answers  come 
down  like  lightning  from  God.  It  is  Spurgeon 
who  writes,  When  thou  art  wrestling,  ask  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  nerve  thine  arm.  Prayer  may 
be  the  incense,  and  the  fire  may  come  from 
the  altar  of  burnt-offering  ;  but  it  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  sends  the  fire  from  heaven.  Trapp 
Bays  that  a  good  Christian  is  ever  praying  or 
praising.  He  drives  a  constant  trade  between 
earth  and  heaven.  The  incense-altar  is  ever 
emoking  with  the  sweet  perfumes  of  thankful- 
ness and  supplication,  though  there  may  be 
times  when  the  odours  are  sweeter  and 
Btronger.  Of  the  delight  which  the  Lord  has 
in  the  fragrant  entieaties  of  His  servants, 
nmple  illustrations  are  afforded  in  the  Canticles 
of  Solomon. 

**  My  God,  is  any  hour  so  sweet, 

From  blush  of  morn  to  evening  star, 
Ab  that  which  calls  me  to  Thy  feet — 
The  hour  of  prayer  ? " — Elliot, 


night  and  day  an  endless  odour  of  adoration 
went  up  to  God.  (3.)  It  is  said  that  when 
the  sun  rises  and  sets,  the  pious  herdsmen  of 
the  Alps  sound  their  horns  with  the  words  : 
"Praise  ye  the  Lord  !"  The  echo  is  caught 
up  by  herdsmen  on  the  other  slopes  and  sum- 
mits. These  have  the  mountains  for  their 
brazen  altars,  the  thankful  spirit  for  their  in- 
cense, and  the  love  of  God  for  their  enkindling 
fire. 

"  '  Not  unto  us  ; '  0  Lord  of  lords,  supreme, 
Whate'er    we    work,    Thou    workest ; 
Thine  the  praise  ; 
Oh,  wash  us,  cleanse  us,  light  us  with  Thy 
beam. 
And  work  in  us,  through  us,  to  endleaa 
—Taylor. 


Strange-Incense!  Ver.  9.  (i.)  The  allu- 
sion is  to  the  incense  employed  in  Egyptian 
and  other  heathen  worship.  The  burning  of 
incense  prevailed  in  most  of  the  ancient  reli- 
gions. It  was  of  a  particularly  sensuons 
spirit ;  and  hence  the  pertinent  caution  against 
its  use.  But  the  extreme  force  of  the  caution 
shows  that  some  other  design  was  in  the  mind 
of  God.  (2.)  Strange  incense  censures  the 
use  of  wrong  words  in  prayer.  The  utmost 
refinement  and  reverence,  purity  and  piety, 
should  be  cultivated  in  our  approaches  to  the 
Throne  of  Grace.  Worldly  expressions  in 
supplication  are  like  strange  incense — "an 
abomination  to  the  Lord."  (3.)  Strange  in- 
cense condemns  a  wrong  spirit  in  prayer. 
Ideas  of  an  unworthy  kind  ;  as  well  as  words. 
Too  great  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  this 
respect.  The  mind  of  Christ  should  be  our 
mind  in  prayer.  He  is  our  model,  in  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  in  the  Supper  Intercession, 
and  in  the  Gethsemane  Supplication.  (4.) 
Disregard  of  right  spirit  and  speech  brings 
jnd<rment.  The  mother,  who,  when  her  only 
child  was  given  up  by  the  doctor,  besought 
God  to  spare  her  child,  as  she  would  not  say, 
"  Nevertheless,  Thy  will  be  done,"  received  a 
sore  visitation  for  this  "strange  incense"  on 
the  altar  of  her  soul,  by  living  to  see  her  son 
ascend  the  scaffold  in  maturer  years. 

"  To  Thee  I,  therefore,  Lord,  submit 

My  every  fond  request. 

And  own,  adoring  at  Thy  feet. 

Thy  will  is  always  best," — Wesley. 


Praise!  Ver.  8.  (1.)  Power  well  remarks 
that  daily  praise  should  ascend  from  each  of 
lis  to  God,  as  the  perfume-incense  of  the  daily 
sacrifice  ascended  in  olden  times.  There  must 
not  be  fewer  incense-offerings  under  the  New 
than  under  the  Old  Testament.  We  are 
priests  to  offer  up  unto  God  the  sacrifict  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving  (Heb.  xiii.  15).  (.^) 
Pilkington  says  that,  if  Christ  dwell — mark 
dwell,  not  sojourn  —  praise  will  go  up  like 
incense  continually.  It  used  to  be  the  custom 
in  some  monasteries  in  the  Roman  Church  to 
have  a  conntant  change  of  choir.     Thus,  both 


Sonl-Eansom!  Vers.  11-16.  (1.)  The  pay- 
ment, says  Trower,  was  an  acknowledgment 
to  God  that  all  souls  are  His  (Ezek,  xviii.  4)  ; 
that  all  lives  are  due  to  Him  for  sins  com- 
mittd  :igaiiist  Him  ;  and  that  all  owe  Him 
thanks  for  the  mercy  by  which  we  have  been 
enrolled  in  the  census  of  His  people,  and  for 
the  privileges  we  thus  enjoy.  (2,)  We  should 
regard  ourselves  as  God's  coin,  stamped  with 
Christ's  image.  And  as  the  coin  of  the  realm, 
stamped  with  the  image  of  our  earthly  sove- 
reign, reminds  us  of  tlie  claims  of  our  rulers 
for  what  is  their  due  ;  so  we  should  remember 

493 


CHAP.  XXX. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


that,  a^  bearing  Christ's  stamp,  we  are  in  the 
highest  sense  due  to  Him.  Having  been 
bonght  with  His  blood,  we  should  ever  offer 
ourselves  to  Him  who  is  the  Lord  of  heaveu 
aud  earth. 

"  He  gave  me  back  the  bond — 
The  seal  was  torn  away  ; 
And  as  He  gave,  He  smiled,  and  said, 
•  Think  thou  of  Me  alway.' 

"  That  bond  I  still  will  keep, 
Although  it  cancelled  be  ; 
It  tells  uie  what  I  owe  to  Him 
Who  paid  the  debt  for  me." 

Sonl-Eedemption  !  Ver.  16.  (1.)  A  gen- 
tleman visiting  a  slave  market  was  deeply 
moved  by  tht;  agony  of  a  slave  girl.  He  in- 
quired her  price,  paid  the  ransom  to  the  slave 
tiatler,  and  placed  the  bill  of  sale  in  her  own 
hands,  telling  her  that  she  was  now  free,  and 
could  go  where  she  pleased.  At  first  she 
could  not  realise  the  change  ;  but  when  the 
whole  truth  flashed  upon  her,  she  spiang  for- 
vk-ard,  and  kneeling  before  him  cried  :  "  Let 
me  be  thy  servant,  for  thou  hast  redeemed 
me."  (2.)  The  Lord  Jesus  has  purchased  our 
freedom  from  sin-serfdom  and  Satan-savagedom 
with  a  great  price  :  "  Ye  are  not  bought  with 
corruptible  things  such  as  silver  and  gold,  but 
with  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus  ;  "  therefore, 
"  we  should  glorify  God  in  our  bodies  and 
B{)irits  which  are  His."  It  is  for  every  one  to 
pay  the  half  shekel  of  voluntary  surrender  to 
His  service,  whose  are  our  souls,  since  He 
paid  the  ransom — 

"  Thy  ransomed  servant,  I 

Restore  to  Thee  Thine  own  ; 
And  from  this  moment  live  or  die 
To  serve  my  God  alone." — Wesley. 

Laver-lessons !  Vers.  18-21.  (1.)  Water! 
Ver.  18.  In  emblem  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Law 
says  that  it  is  a  figure  of  the  precious  blood  of 
Christ  here.  No  doubt  the  laver  itself  is  a 
vivid  type  of  Christ ;  but  the  water  seems 
rather  to  symbolise  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  i.e.,  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Him. 
(2.)  Washing!  Ver.  19.  The  cleansing  power 
of  Divine  Grace  prepares  the  way  for  the 
Christian  priesthood  of  all  who  are  "kings 
and  priests  unto  God."  See  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25; 
John  iii.  ;  Tit.  iii.  15  ;  also  in  liev.  xx.,  the 
pure  river  of  the  Water  of  Life.  Joi-dan  and 
^'aaman  ;  Jesus  at  Betliahara;  Eihiopian 
Eunuch  near  Gaza.  (3.)  Worship!  Ver.  20. 
A  strict  command  was  issued  that  no  priest 
should  touch  the  brazen  altar,  or  pass  the 
tabernacle  door,  until  his  iiands  and  feet  had 
been  washed.  The  Rabbis  and  Pharisees  were 
most  punctilious  in  tli>'ir  temple  arrangements 
on  this  point.  (4.)  Wilncss !  Ver.  21.  Be- 
lievers are  to  minister  a  lifelong  service  to  the 
Lord  ;  and  to  engage  in  tliisworshipacceptably, 
they  must  be  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Their  hands  and  feet,  i.e.,  their  working  and 

494 


walking   with  God,  must  be   cleansed   from 

earth's    impurities.  God    has    provided  the 

cleansing  medium  :  "  Wash   you,   make  you 
clean." 

"  Let  all  who  hold  this  faith  and  hope 
In  holy  deeds  abound  ; 
Thus  faith  approves  itself  sincere  ; 
By  active  virtue  crowned," 

Anointing-Oil  Ingredients  !  Vers.  23-25. 
(1.)  It  was  composed  of  two  parts  of  myrrh — 
the  gum  of  a  tlioruy  tree  growing  in  Arabia  ; 
two  parts  of  cassia — the  bark  of  an  Indian 
tree,  having  a  strong  resemblance  to  cinna- 
mon, bat  more  pungent,  and  of  a  coarser  tex- 
ture ;  one  part  of  cinnamon — the  inner  bark 
of  a  tree  of  the  laurel  kind  growing  in  Ceylon  ; 
one  part  of  sweet  calamus — a  fragrant  beard 
grass  growing  in  Arabia,  and  whose  mot  and 
stem  and  leaves,  when  bruised,  are  very  fra- 
grant; with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  purest 
olive  oil  to  give  it  the  consistency.  (2.)  An 
immense  quantity,  we  are  told,  was  annually 
manufactured  and  consumed.  Of  this,  says 
an  eminent  author,  we  have  a  very  significant 
indication  in  the  fact  that  it  was  never  made 
in  smaller  quantities  than  750  ounces  of  solids 
compounded  with  five  quarts  of  oil.  It  was 
so  profusely  employed  that,  as  we  find  in 
Psalm  cxxxiii.,  when  applied  to  Aaron's  beard, 
it  flowed  down  over  his  head  and  breasts,  to 
the  very  skirts  of  his  garments. 

"  In  Him  a  holiness  complete 
Light  and  perfection  twine  ; 
And  wisdom,  grace,  and  glory  meet — 
0  Saviour  !  Thou  art  mine." — Newton. 

Cinnamon  !  Ver.  23.  (1.)  The  cinnamon 
tree  is  not  a  native  of  Palestine,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  substance  here  referred  to 
is  the  spice  of  the  cinnamon  laurel  in  Ceylon. 
It  is  a  low  growing  ti'ee,  with  a  smooth  ash- 
coloured  bark  and  wide-spreading  boughs. 
It  is  rendered  verj'  picturesque,  both  by  its 
form  and  the  variety  of  tint  given  to  its  bright 
green  leaves  by  their  white  under-surface. 
The  young  shoots,  too,  have  a  scarlet  crimson 
hue,  and  their  bark  is  often  speckled  with 
deep  green  and  orange-coloured  spots.  The 
fruit  is  about  the  size  of  a  damson,  and,  when 
ripe,  is  of  a  black  colour.  (2.)  Neither  the 
leaves  nor  flowers  give  forth  any  odour  ;  and 
it  is  not  till  the  season  for  gathering  arrives 
that  a  walk  through  the  cinnamon  gardens 
yields  delight  in  respect  of  fragrance.  King- 
ston notes  that,  when  the  Cinghelese  are 
engaged  in  their  annual  employment  of  peel- 
ing the  twigs,  the  beauty  of  the  gardens  and 
the  fragrance  of  the  spice  is  exquisite.  (3.) 
The  Arabians  had  commercial  intercourse  with 
Ceylon  and  India  at  an  early  period,  as  they 
were  the  first  navigators  of  the  Indian  Seas. 
Cinnamon  is  mentioned  in  Prov.  vii.  17  ;  Cant. 
iv.  14;  Rev.  xviii.  13.  In  the  second  of  these 
passages  it  is  referable  figuratively  to  the 
baptism  of  our  Lord ;  and  in  the  third,  it  is 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


mentioned  as  among  the  articles  of  commerce 
in  Babylon. 

**  From  various  herbs,  and  from  discondant 
flowers, 
A  fragrant  harmony  of  spice  compounds." 

— Smart. 

Divine  Kites!  Ver.  17-21.  (1.1  The  whole 
science  of  cbeiuistry  makes  us  familiar  with  a 
system  of  order.  The  chemistiy  that  deals 
with  the  inorganic  world  may  be  called  the 
science  of  substitutions.  There  is  nothing 
accidental  in  these  substitutions.  They  are 
the  result  of  laws  which  have  been  through 
all  time  in  active  operation,  and  to  which  they 
are  bound  by  a  mathematical  precision.  (2.) 
As  in  chemistry,  the  phenom^-na  of  substitu- 
tion bring  out  in  full  relief  the  unchanging 
order  of  nature,  showing  tliat  it  is  not  a  sys- 
tem of  chance  or  confusion,  but  of  the  most 
harmonious  arrangements  ;  so  is  it  with  the 
rites  enjoined  by  (Jod.  The  various  arrange- 
ments of  the  Tabernacle — whether  of  its  Holy 
of  Holies,  of  its  h^ly  place,  or  of  its  court  and 
altar  adjuncts — were  all  parts  of  our  orderly 
system  of  substitution,  pointing  to  the  Great 
Substitution  which  magnifies  the  moral  law 
and  makes  it  honourable. 

"  The  types  and  figures  were  a  glass 
In  which  they  saw  a  Saviour's  face." 

— Cowper. 

Holy  Water  !  Ver.  18.  Holy  water  indeed, 
says  Spurgeon !  If  there  be  such  a  thing,  it 
trickles  from  the  eye  of  penitt-nce,  bedews  the 
cheek  of  gratitude,  falls  upon  the  page  of  Holy 
Scripture  when  the  Word  is  applied  with 
power.  (1.)  Those  waters  tliat  filled  the 
hunger-channels  on  the  cheeks  of  the  prodigal 
Bon,  as  his  father  fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed 
him,  were  holy.  Those  waters  that  flowed 
from  deep  liquid  wells  upon  the  sacred,  dust- 
Boiled  feet  of  Jesus  at  the  feast,  were  holy. 
Those  waters  that  gushed  from  the  fount 
within  the  Prophet's  patriot  heart  over  his 
people's  woes  and  wickedness  were  holy.  Those 
waters  that  welled  out  during  the  silent  night 
watches  upon  the  Psalmist's  pillow,  as  he 
pondered  God's  goodness  and  his  own  badness 
were  holy.  (2.)  Holy  in  God's  sight,  though 
they  cannot  make  holy.  There  is  but  One 
Fount  whence  the  "  Water  of  Life  "  flows  to 
purify  the  soul,  and  sanctify  his  daily  ministry 
in  the  Christian  life.  That  purifying  comes 
not  of  ceremonial  cleansing,  lout  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  His  grace  is  the  '"  Holy  Water," — the 
living  water — the  water  whose  living  proper- 
ties are  capable  of  cleansing  the  works  and 
•walks  of  the  Christian  priests  unto  God  ;  so 
that  they  are  able  to  minister  daily  before 
God.  "Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the 
Lord?"  Who  shall  rise  up  to  officiate  iu 
"  His  Holy  Place  "  ?  Even  he  that  hath  clean 
hands  and  a  pure  heart.  Even  he  who  has 
accepted  the  cleansing  virtues  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  and  of  God. 


"  Only  be  sure 

Thy  hands  be  pure 
That  hold  these  censers,  and  the  eyes, 

Those  of  turtles,  chaste  and  true, 
Wakeful  and  wise." — Crashan. 

Hin-Measure  !  Ver.  24.  The  instructions 
given  about  the  holy  ointment,  and  the  mode 
of  its  preparation,  remind  us  of  the  Egyptian 
skill  in  ointments  and  peifiinies.  In  the  de- 
scription of  this  ointment  occurs  the  mention 
of  the  "hiu  "  as  a  measure.  It  is  supposed  to  be 
borrowed  from  the  Egyptian  language,  and  is 
only  found  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  in  Ezekiel's 
description  of  the  temple.  It  was  said  to  bo 
equal  to  about  six  quarts. 

"  Thy  Word  is  like  a  glorious  choir, 
And  loud  its  anthems  ring  ; 
Though  many  tongues  and  parts  unite. 
It  is  one  song  they  sing." 

Anointing-Oil  SymboUsm!  Vers.  26-30.  (1.) 

All  parts  of  the  Mosaic  worship  were  symbolic; 
and  all  those  parts  were  symbolic  of  Christ. 
They  all  silently  spoke  of  One  beyond  and  be- 
hind, above  and  around  them.  Moreover,  the 
most  explicit  directions  were  given  for  their 
anointing.  The  altars  and  the  sacred  furniture, 
as  well  as  the  priests  and  the  high  priest,  were 
to  be  most  carefully  anointed.  But  the  unction 
seems  to  have  been  most  special  in  the  case  of 
the  high  priest.  As,  then,  the  various  por- 
tions of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  appurtenances 
were  emblt^niatic  of  Christ,  this  anointing 
must  also  have  been  figurative  of  something 
done  to  Christ.  (2.)  One  of  the  sweetest 
names  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  "  Christ " — the 
Anointed  One.  "With  my  holy  oil,  have  I 
anointed  Him."  The  unction  of  the  Holy 
One,  our  great  High  Priest  received  in  (a)  In- 
tention, long  before  the  head  of  Aaron  had 
received  the  material  unction  ;  (6)  Intimation, 
when  the  wise  men  of  the  East  laid  their  gifts 
at  His  feet  ;  (c)  Interpretation,  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  descended  from  heaven  upon  Him,  as 
He  knelt  in  prayer  on  Jordan's  strand.  He 
received  not  the  Spirit  by  measure ;  for  in 
Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily. 

"  Nor  prayer  is  made  by  man  alone  ; 
The  Holy  Spirit  pleads, 
And  Jesus,  on  the  eternal  throne, 

For  sinners  intercedes." — Montgomery. 

Incense-Ingredients!  Vers.  34-38.  (1.) 
Composition  !  Vers.  34,  35.  The  ingredients 
are  described  with  great  precision  ;  and  were 
principally  obtained  in  traffic  from  the  Phoeni- 
cians. A  few  of  them  were  products  of  native 
plants  ;  but  most  of  them  came  from  Arabia, 
India,  and  spice  islands  of  the  Indian  Archi- 
pelago. Great  skill  was  required  iu  the  mixing 
of  these  ingredients.  The  art  was  a  recog- 
nised pi  ofession  among  the  Jews  ;  and  the 
roker/iim,  translated  "apothecary"  in  our 
version,   was   simply  a  maker  of  perfumes. 

495 


CHAP.  XXXI. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


(2.)  Consecration  I  Vers.  36,  37.  This  mixture 
was  to  be  pounded  in  very  small  particles,  and 
deposited  as  a  very  holy  tiling  in  the  Taber- 
nacle, before  the  ark  of  the  testimony.  It 
has  been  said  that  this  was  to  ensure  a  store 
of  it  being  always  in  readiness.  But  this  ex- 
cludes the  Divine  idea  of  "holy  consecration." 
Hence,  according  to  the  Rabbins,  one  of  the 
fifteen  prefects  was  retained  in  Solomon's 
temple  for  the  special  purpose  of  jireparing  it ; 
and  a  part  of  the  temple  was  reserved  for  his 
use  as  a  laboratory,  to  indicate  the  purity  of 
incense.  (3.)  Consei-vation  !  Ver.  38.  So  pre- 
cious and  holy  was  this  incense  considered, 
that  it  was  forbidden  to  make  a  similar  per- 
fume for  private  use  on  pain  of  death. 

"  Nor  will  He  to  those  lips  attend 
Whose  prayers  are  not  sincere. " 

— Burton. 


Incense  and  Unction  !  Vers.  1-38.  The 
Canticle  of  Solomon  lies  in  the  casket  of  Revela- 
tion— an  exquisite  gem — engraved  with  em- 
blematic characters.  It  is  a  retrospective 
poem  upon  Christ  in  the  Pentateuch  ;  and  it 
ia  a  prospective  poem  upon  Christ  in  the  New 


Testament.  (1.)  Cant.  iii.  6  :  "  Who  is  this 
that  conieth  up  from  the  wilderness  "  is  Jesus 
Christ  coming  up  from  the  wilderness  of  Judea 
— from  tbe  wilderness,  whence  the  sweetest 
odours  are  gathered  ;  for  not  amid  rich  and 
cultured  fields,  but  amongst  the  rocks  and 
sands  of  the  desert,  are  the  incense  and  unction 
herbs  obtained.  (2.)  He  comes  up  "like 
pillars  of  smoke,"  which  cannot  derive  its 
significance  from  the  Shekinah  pillar-cloud, 
but  from  those  fragrant  clouds  of  incense 
wafted  upwards  on  the  eastern  air — in  type  of 
the  prayers  of  Jesus  on  His  Baptism.  As  per- 
fumes of  fragrant  oil  anoint  our  High  Priest; 
so  pillars  of  perfumed  vapours  aacend  from 
His  heart.  (3.)  He  comes  up  "perfumed 
with  myrrh  and  frankincense,"  anointed  with 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  for  on  Jesus  our  great  High 
Priest  the  Spirit  is  shed  immeasurably.  In 
this  "Vessel  of  Honour"  the  Spirit  is  poured, 
abiding  in  Himself  in  all  fulness,  and  as  an 
exhaustless  fountain  ever  overflowing  for  His 
people. 

"  The  Spirit,  through  the  Saviour  shed. 
His  sacred  fire  imparts. 
Refines  our  dross,  and  love  diviiM 
Enkindles  in  our  hearts." 


CHAPTER  XXXL 


Cbitioal  Notes. — 14.  Ye  Bhall  keep  the  Sabbath  =  Ushemartem  eth  hashshabbath].  The 
rerb  shamar  =■  to  keep,  implies  the  idea  of  guarding,  watching  over  with  tenderness  and 
fidelity.  (Comp.  Ps.  ixi.  4,  5,  "He  that  keepeth  Israel" — and,  "The  Lord  is  thy  keeper"). 
Thus  Israel,  by  keeping  the  Sabbath  aright,  was  intended  to  cultivate  those  ennobling  qualities 
of  the  human  heart  and  mind  which  should  distinguish  them  as  a  people  in  covenant  with 
God,  both  their  keeper  and  liberator,  to  bless  them  with  rest  from  the  works  of  their  bon< 
dage,  and  with  peace  on  account  of  His  jealous  love  and  care. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAORAPH.—Vertti  1-11. 

Grace  and  Genius. 

After  having  given  directions  for  the  construction  of  the  sanctuary,  and  all 
things  required  for  the  worship,  Jeliovah  pointed  out  the  builders  whom  He 
had  called  to  carry  out  the  work,  and  had  filled  with  His  Spirit  for  that  purpose. 
This  ])aragraph  is  instructive  as  to  the  connection  between  gifts  of  nature  and 
the  influences  of  grace,  between  the  natural  and  the  supernatural  in  man's  intel- 
lectual life.     Observe — 

I.  Natural  gifts  are  often  discovered  by  grace.  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  were 
naturally  gifted  men — men  of  artistic  faculty.  Their  natural  ability  is  pre- 
supposed. Thus  Ex.  xxviii.  3,  "  Thou  shalt  speak  unto  all  that  are  wise-hearted, 
whom  I  have  filled  with  the  spirit  of  wisdom."  But  it  is  very  improbable  that 
these  men  had  as  yet  revealed  anything  like  great  artistic  taste  or  power. 
Egypt  did  not  know  their  talent ;  very  probably  they  did  not  suspect  it  them- 
selves. As  Trapp  well  observes :  "  Moses  might  well  doubt  where  he  should 
find  fit  workmen  among  those  brickmakers  from  Egypt."  And  yet  in  these 
496 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  CHAP.  xxxi. 


brickmakers  were  artists,  architects,  painters,  embroiderers,  and  musicians. 
The  grace  of  God  evoked  the  latent  power.  It  often  does  so  still.  Many  a  man 
having  got  a  new  heart  seems  also  to  have  got  a  new  head,  and  reveals  mental 
power  and  superior  aptitudes  which  had  not  been  suspected  before. 

II.  National  gifts  are  directed  "by  grace.  "  See,  I  have  called  by  name 
Bezaleel  the  son  of  Uri."  We  speak  of  men  being  "called"  to  the  ministry  ; 
are  they  not  "  called  "  to  all  s{)heres?  Nature  qualifies  men  for  certain  spheres, 
for  certain  mental  or  manual  work  which  they  will  best  accomplish.  But  is  it 
not  true  that  many  miss  their  calling'?  Let  all  men  seek  the  grace  of  God,  and 
none  shall  miss  their  providential  way.  "  I  have  called  by  name."  God  knows 
each  of  us  ;  He  knows  the  kind  of  our  talent  and  the  measure  of  it ;  and  if  we 
are  obedient  to  God,  He  who  puts  everything  in  its  place  in  nature  will  find  the 
"right  groove"  for  every  man  in  society. 

III.  Natural  gifts  are  heightened  by  grace.  Bezaleel  "  was  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  God,"  and  thus  all  his  natural  gifts  were  supernaturally  exalted.  Grace 
acts  on  the  lines  of  nature.  The  king  in  the  parable  divided  to  each  of  his 
servants  his  goods  ^^  according  to  their  several  ability."  But  the  influence  of  God's 
Spirit  gives  to  our  natural  powers  a  glow  and  ripeness  and  force  which  they 
could  not  otherwise  have.  Did  not  Milton  attain  a  sublimed  strain  through  living 
in  the  presence  of  Heaven  ?  Did  not  Angelico  find  that  devotion  gave  magic  to 
his  pencil  1  Have  not  holy  men  in  all  spheres  realised  a  perfection  and  power  of 
genius,  which  they  never  could  have  reached  had  it  not  been  for  the  inspirations 
of  rehgion  1  Let  all  seek  for  the  Spirit  of  God  to  purify  and  hallow  their  heart, 
and  they  shall  find  that  their  intellect  has  new  force,  their  eye  new  light,  their 
hand  new  cunning. 

IV.  Natural  gifts  are  sanctified  by  grace.  The  genius  of  Bezaleel  was  directed 
to  a  sacred  and  worthy  end.  How  often  have  we  seen  genius  directed  to  paltry 
ends  of  mere  luxury  and  amusement,  or  to  immoral  ends  1  God's  grace  sanctifies 
talent  to  noble  uses  and  ends. 

All  the  work  of  the  world  is  for  God,  and  every  workman  needs  to  be  filled 
with  God's  Spirit,  so  that  all  may  be  well  and  wisely  done. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  12-18: 

The  Sabbath  and  the  Sanctuary. 

The  command  to  keep  the  Sabbath  was  included  already  in  the  decalogue,  and 
there  is  therefore  some  special  meaning  in  the  repetition  of  the  command  in 
this  place.  Coming  as  it  does  at  the  conclusion  of  the  instructions  respecting 
the  Tabernacle,  it  is  evident  that  the  intention  was  to  teach  the  connection  which 
existed  between  these  great  institutions.     We  observe — 

I.  Both  exist  to  the  same  divine  end.  What  is  the  end  of  the  sanctuary  ? 
That  man  may  come  near  to  God— that  he  may  worship  God.  All  understand 
this.  The  sanctuary  does  not  exist  to  any  merely  intellectual  or  physical  end, 
but  it  is  the  place  where  our  spiritual  nature  is  to  be  instructed  and  purified  and 
blessed  by  communion  with  the  Holy  Spirit  (Ps.  xxvii.  4).  What  is  the  end  of 
the  Sabbath  (  Precisely  that  of  the  sanctuary.  Many  entertain  the  idea  that 
the  grand  end  of  the  Sabbath  is  physical  rest— that  this  is  one  of  its  purposes 
is  quite  true,  but  it  by  no  means  exhausts  the  meaning  of  the  day ;  neither  is 
the  grand  end  of  it  intellectual — visiting  picture  galleries  and  science  lectures, 
&c;  its  grand  object  is  si)iriiual.  The  Sabbath  is  primarily  intended  to  free 
man  from  bodily  toil  and  secular  care,  that  he  may  give  his  earnest  ittention 
2  0  497 


eSAP.  XXXL  HOMlLETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXoDUS. 

to  his  spiritual  nature.     The  sanctuary  and  the  Sabbath  have  one  purpose,  and 
that  is  religious  and  holy. 

n.  Both  are  alike  essential  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  end.  They  cannot 
be  divorced.  1.  If  the  public  worship  of  God  is  neglected  the  Sal)bath  will 
soon  be  secularised.  Tiie  Sabbath  lias  a  divine  basis,  and  when  God  ceases  to 
be  recognised  and  worshipped,  this  day  will  no  longer  retain  its  spell.  2.  If  the 
Sabbath  is  seculaiised,  rebgious  worship  will  soon  cease.  If  we  spend  some  hours 
of  the  sacred  day  frivolously,  how  seriously  it  impairs  our  worship  in  tbe  temple  ! 
When  society  give  up  the  Sabbath  to  physical  and  intellectual  pleasures,  it  will 
give  up  its  God  and  His  worship  soon  after.  Some  who  are  fully  persuaded  of 
the  importance  of  tbe  sanctuary  and  its  services,  have  very  loose  views  on  the 
keei)ing  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  greatly  to  be  deplored.  The  Sabbath  i.s  the  main 
pillar  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  if  it  comes  down  the  whole  fabric  of  divinity 
com  OS  down  with  it. 

III.  Both  are  alike  of  absolute  and  perpetual  obligation.  We  know  that  the 
wor-sbip  of  God  is  of  strict  and  perpetual  obligation,  and  thus  is  the  Sabbath. 
Kead  the  text.  And  Christ  did  not  revoke  or  modify  the  obligation  of  keeping 
this  day  to  high  and  holy  ends. 

Lessons  : — 1.  We  see  the  wickedness  of  those  who  would  secularise  the  Sabbath. 
It  would  shock  us  if  some  profane  man  made  a  stable  of  a  church  ;  it  ought  not 
to  shock  us  less  to  see  God's  holy  day  profaned  to  worldly  ends.  Anti-Sabbata- 
rianism is  essentially  atheistic.  2.  We  see  the  mistake  of  those  who  seem  to 
think  that  having  worshipped  they  may  spend  the  remainder  of  the  Sabbath  in 
worldliness  and  pleasure.  3.  We  see  the  error  of  those  who  think  that  doing 
religious  work  justifies  certain  forms  of  Sabbath  desecration.  The  Israelites 
had  a  great  woik  to  do  in  building  the  Tabernacle,  but  they  were  not  to  build 
it  on  the  Sabbath ;  and  we  must  all  take  care  that  the  work  of  the  Sabbath 
which  we  call  uiiavoiilable  is  really  so.  4.  We  see  the  error  of  those  who  think 
they  have  kept  the  Sabbath  when  they  rest  from  their  work,  but  who  absent 
themselves  from  the  house  of  God. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXL 

BY 

REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 

Mosaic-Mines  !  Vers.  1-18.  (1.)  The  face  thiugjAtirills  with  their  beauty  and  fragrance, 
of  Nature,  says  Maetuillan,  is  everywhere  But  ht  the  pen tateuch,  we  descend,  as  it  were, 
written  over  with  Divine  characters,  which  he  into  the  crust  of  the  earth.  We  lose  sight  of 
who  runs  may  read.  But  be.side  the  more  all  these  upper-air  glories  ;  but  we  find  new 
obvious  lessons  which  lie,  as  it  were,  in  the  objects  to  compensate  us  — truths  written  with 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  which  suggest  them-  the  finger  of  God — lessons  on  the  deep  things 
selves  to  us  often  when  least  disposed  for  of  God — diamonds  which  spaikle  when  brought 
inquiry  or  reflection,  there  are  Tnore  recondite  up  within  the  sphere  of  tlie  Sun  of  Righteous- 
lessons  which  she  teaches  to  those  who  make  ness,  who  has  risen  with  healing  in  His  wings, 
her  structure  arrangements  their  special  study, 

and  who  penetrate  to  her  secret  arcana.     And  **  Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene, 

those,  who  read  her  great  volume,  passing  on  The  dark,  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear." 

leaf  after  leaf,  to  the  quiet  and  sober  chapters  —Qray. 
of  the  interior,  will  find  in  these  internal  de- 
tails revelations  of  the  deepest  interest.     (2.) 

It  is  even  so  with  the  Bible.      In  the  New  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab!     Vers.  1-11.    1.  We 

Testament,  we  have  a  rich  robe  of  vegetation  have  here  (1.)  Nomination  by  God  of  the  archi- 

adorning  the  surface,  the  beauties  of  tree  and  tects  and  artisans;  (2.)  Inspiration  by  the  Holy 

flower,  forest,   hill  and  river,    and   the   ever-  Spiritof  their  genins;  (;5.)  Consecration  of  their 

changing  splendours  of  the  sky.     In  the  psalms  artistic  gifts  to  the  service  of  God;  and  (4.) 

and  prophets  we  walk  amid  the  beauty  of  gar-  Constniction  of  the  tabernacle  witli  a  view  to 

dena  and  ornamented  parterres,  where  every-  Sabbath-worship.     2.  In  these  several  points 

498 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


CBaP.  xxxt. 


we  have  prefigurations  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — the  true  Builder  and  Maker  of  that 
spiritual  edifice,  which  is  to  be  the  object  of 
enduring  and  adoring  observation  on  the  part 
of  angels  and  archangels — He,  tuo,  was  called 
of  God,  and  was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge.  He,  too,  devoted  His  gifts  to 
the  worship  of  Jehovah,  and  upreared  a  super- 
structure for  Sabbath  adoration.  3.  When 
Christ,  says  Matthew  Henry,  sent  His  ambas- 
sadors to  uprear  the  Gospel  tabernacle,  He 
poured  out  His  Spirit  upon  them.  He  enabled 
them  to  speak  with  tongues  the  wouderful 
works  of  God.  He  qualified  them  not  to  work 
upon  metal,  but  upon  men  ;  so  much  more 
excellent  were  the  gifts,  as  the  tabernacle  to 
be  pitched  was  a  greater  and  more  perfect 
tabernacle  (Heb.  ix.  11). 

"And  if  to  partake  of  such  honour, 
A  bruised  reed  dareth  to  trust, 
0  Comforter  !  raise,  in  Thy  goodness. 
Thy  servant  who  speaks  from  the  duat." 

Art-Inspiration!  Ver.  2.  (1.)  Jacox relates 
of  Fra  Giovanni  de  Fiecoli  that  he  never  com- 
menced any  work  —  whether  ati  elaborate 
fresco,  or  an  illumination  for  a  bo(jk — without 
praying.  He  always  carried  out  the  first  im- 
pression, believing  it  t*  bean  inspiration.  He 
never  retouched  or  altered  anything  left  as 
finished.  (2.)  Ruskin,  inhis"Modern  Painters," 
writes  of  Turner  as  "  inspired."  He  apolo- 
gises for  the  use  of  the  word  as  irreverent 
possibly;  but  there  is  no  such  irreverence,  if 
the  word  is  used  by  him  in  the  sense  and 
within  the  scope  of  Exodus  xxxi.  There  is 
such  a  thing  as  Art- Inspiration.  (3.)  South 
says,  that  the  greatest  poets  and  thinkers  will 
confess  that  their  highest  and  most  admired 
conceptions  and  disclosures  were  such  as  darted 
into  their  minds  like  sudden  flashes  of  light- 
ning, they  knew  not  how  or  when.  This  is 
prominent  in  the  case  of  Watt  and  his  steam- 
engine  ;  as  in  the  case  of  those  two  astrono- 
mers at  Berlin  and  London,  who  at  the  same 
moment,  independent  of  and  unknown  to  each 
other,  suggested  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
of  astronomical  phenomena.     Thus 

"  Step  by  step,  and  throne  by  thr9ne,  we  rise 
Continually  towards  the  Infinite  ; 
And  ever  nearer — never  near  to  God. 
— Bailey, 

Inspiration-Impetus!  Ver.  3.  The  same 
Spirit,  who  inspired  the  eloquence  of  Isaiah, 
and  the  melodies  of  the  chief  musician  Asaph, 
also  imparted  to  Samson  that  wonderful 
bodily  strength  which  he  displayed  in  Her- 
culean feats  against  the  Philistines  ;  and  to 
Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  the  fine  aesthetic  taste 
and  mechanical  skill,  by  which  they  were 
enabled  to  construct  the  tabernacle  after  the 
pattern  shown  on  the  mount.  As  Macmillan 
Bays,  Gideon  and  Jephthah  carried  on  their 
military  campaigns — Elijah  and  Elisha  wrought 
their  singular  miracles — Hiram  of  Tyre  forged 


and  engraved  the  precious  metals  employed 
in  the  service  of  Solomon's  temple,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit; — in  short,  it 
would  appear  from  Scripture  that  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Spirit  is  co-extensive  with  the 
sphere  of  human  aflairs ;  and  that  nothing 
with  which  man  has  to  do  is  outside  of  and 
beyond  the  proper  field  of  his  operations. 
Yet 

"  The  Lamp  of  Genius,  though  hy  His  grace  lit, 
If  not  protected,  trinun'd,  and  fed  with  care. 
Soon   dies,   or  runs   to   waste    with  fitful 
glare."  — Wilcox. 

Sanctified  Genius!  Ver.  3.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  examples  in  modern  times 
of  natural  gifts  lying  long  dormant  is  that  of 
Joseph  Cook.  The  world  dreamt  not  that 
within  her  circle  lived  a  giant  thinker,  whose 
thoughts  would  prove  Whitworth  hammers 
to  break  the  huge  brazen  idol-gates  of  Dagon- 
Atheism.  Possessed  of  this  gift,  for  long  years, 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  all  the 
rationalistic  theories  and  arguments,  as  well  as 
to  the  arts  of  rhetoric  and  science  of  language. 
When  the  time  came,  like  Bezaleel  and 
Aholiab — under  the  inspirations  of  the  Spirit 
— he  appeared  before  the  towering  strongholds 
of  Infidelity.  His  lectures  are  not  only  speci- 
mens of  magnificent  critical  power  ;  but  they 
are  marked  by  such  cultured  eloquence  that 
men  listen  entranced.  His  natural  genius, 
under  the  sanctifying  cultivation  of  Divine 
grace,  is  furnishing  the  Church  with  vessels 
of  gold  and  tapestries  of  purple  and  fine 
twined  linen  of  rare  workmanship  and  sur- 
prising execution. 

"Thus  beams  forth  his  soul — grace-illumined. 

As  shineth  at  morning  anew 
The  pastures  in  gold  and  in  jewels 
When  wet  with  the  heavenly  dew." 

School  of  Art !  Vers.  4,  5.  Some  of  the 
materials  of  which  the  tabernacle  was  formed 
were  very  costly,  and  not  easily  procured  by 
Israel  during  their  wilderness  wanderings. 
These  were  lirought  with  them  out  of  Egypt. 
The  time  of  their  residence  in  Goshen,  and  em- 
ployment in  Egyptian  works,  was  amply  sufii- 
cient  to  render  them  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  all  the  methods  of  Egyptian  art  and 
manufacture.  The  precious  stones,  which 
were  set  in  the  gold  of  the  ephod  and  breast- 
plate, were  engraved  by  means  of  the  skill 
acquired  by  them  in  Egypt.  Bezaleel,  to 
whom  God  had  given  ability  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  stones  for  setting,  &c.,  may  have 
perfected  his  talent  by  observation  and  prac- 
tice in  Egyptian  manufactories.  Many  orna- 
ments of  purest  gold  yet  remain,  which 
demonstrate  the  skill  of  the  Egyptians  in  the 
working  of  that  metal. 

"  All  thoughts  that  mould  the  age  begin 
Deep  down  within  the  primitive  soul, 
And  from  the  many  slowly  upward  vin 
To  one  who  grasps  the  whole." — Lowell. 
499 


OBAP.  ZXXL 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Genius-Grace  !  Ver.  4.  All  human  skill, 
all  artisiic  talent,  all  mechanical  invention,  are 
from  Goil.  (1.)  H')W  sadly  are  these  inspira- 
tions preveiited  !  A  Byron  destroys  that 
heavenly  genius  by  libidinous  poetry.  A 
Shelley  perverts  that,  uneartlily  i^race  by  athe- 
istic poems.  A  painter  perverts  that  God- 
given  skill  by  voluptuous  pictures.  A  mechani- 
cian perverts  that  more  than  human  science 
by  missiles  of  destruction.  (2.)  How  sorely 
are  these  inspirations  distorted  !  One  of  the 
most  eloquent  of  scientists  is  Tyndall ;  yet  he 
writes  to  blot  out  the  Christian  Heaven  in  the 
"infinite  azure  of  the  past."  One  of  the  most 
talented  of  Nature's  students  is  Darwin  ;  yet 
he  disowns  any  God  beyond  the  tiny  film 
vapour  of  evolution.  One  of  the  most  renowned 
of  naturalists  is  Wallace  ;  yet  he  disputes  the 
God  of  the  Christian  Revelation.  What 
blessings  these  Divine  Inspirations  would  have 
jiroved  to  mankind  and  the  men  themselves, 
were  they  but  employed — as  God  conferred 
them — to  His  glory  ! 

"Behold,    they're    God's  I     Say    not    ''Tui 

zephyr  mild 
Which  rustles  the  dead  leaf  ; ' 
They  are  thy  Saviour's,  yea,  thy  God's,  my 
child. 
Let  not  thine  ear  be  deaf  ; 
If  I  come  now  in  breezes  soft  and  warm, 
I  may  return  ai^ain  upon  the  storm  ; 
'  'Tis  no  light  fancy — firm  be  thy  belief 
They  are  thy  God's  I ' " 

Work-Design !  Ver.  5.  The  people  of 
Southern  Italy  convert  the  soft  plastic  lava 
that  has  devastated  their  homes  and  fields  into 
beautiful  ornaments  worn  on  the  bosom.  So 
should  the  farmer,  who  makes  grass  to  grow 
upon  the  mountains,  and  converts  the  waste 
places  of  the  earth  into  fertile  meadows  and 
smiling  cornfields,  endeavour  to  make  the  earth 
a  tabernacle  for  God's  glory  and  for  man's 
worship  and  welfare.  So  should  the  labourer, 
who  drains  and  trenches  the  soil ;  the  engineer, 
who  constructs  bridges  and  roads;  the  archi- 
tect, who  builds  dwellings  and  temples  ;  the 
artisan,  who  changes  the  metallic  ore  and  the 
timber  of  the  earth  into  useful  and  ornamental 
articles  ;  the  manufacturer,  who  adapts  to 
human  uses  the  raw  materials  which  the  earth 
furnishes  ;  the  artist,  who  idealises  the  scenes 
and  objects  of  nature  and  Inunan  life  ;  and 
the  poet,  who  moulds  the  sins  and  sufferings 
of  the  race  into  forms  of  Vx'.uity  in  his  melo- 
dious verse.  Then,  indeetl,  will  come  the 
"Golden  Age,"  when  the  wide  world  shall  be 
one  tabernacle. 

'*  The  rest  foreshadowed  for  the   Church  of 
God, 
The  golden  eve  of  Everlasting  Day." 

— Bickersteth. 

Eg^tian  Fabrics  f  Vers.  7-1 0.  (1.)  Leather! 
Of  the  preparation  of  leather  by  the  Egyptians 
here  can  be  no  loss.     The  representations  on 

500 


the  monuments,  and  the  few  actual  specimens 
which  remain,  enable  us  to  understand  it. 
Some  of  the  specimens  consist  of  straps  across 
the  bodies  of  mummies,  and  are  beautifully 
embossed.  Leather  was  employed  for  sandals, 
slioe^,  seats  of  chairs,  sofas,  and  chariot  orna- 
ments. In  the  Louvre  at  Paris  was  an  I'^gyp- 
tian  harp,  the  wood  of  which  was  covered  with 
a  kind  of  green  morocco,  cut  in  the  form  of  a 
blossom  of  the  lotus.  ("2.)  Leather  Manufac- 
ture.— Un  the  monuments  may  be  seen  a  man 
dipping  the  skins  to  soak  in  water  before  re- 
moving the  hair.  In  other  pictures  Egyptian 
curriers  are  engaged  in  cutting  leather  with  a 
knife,  in  shape  resembling  the  semi-circular 
blade  in  use  among  modern  curriers.  In  tan- 
ning, the  Egyptians  used  the  pods  of  the 
Acacia  Nilotica,  the  juice  of  the  unripe  fruit  of 
which  is  still  imported  from  Egypt  to  Europe 
for  medicinal  purposes. 

•'  Kindred  objects,  kindred  thoughts  inspire, 
.  As  summer  clouds  flash  forth  electric  fire." 

— Rogert. 

Sabbath-Storm!  Vers.  12-15.  Owing  to  the 
length  of  the  winter  and  the  shortness  of  the 
summer  on  the  Swiss  mountains  of  Jura,  it  is 
of  great  importance  for  the  peasantry  to  pre- 
serve their  hay  ;  otherwise  the  cattle  would 
starve.  One  Lord's  Day,  when  the  hay  was 
just  in  the  finest  condition  for  taking  up,  the 
sons  of  an  old  man  who  feared  God  and 
honoured  His  Sabliaths,  proposed  to  go  and 
cut  it.  He  admonished  them  for  the  wicked- 
ness of  such  desecration  ;  but  they  persisted 
and  went.  Just  as  they  had  cut  it  down,  a 
sudden  and  terrible  storm  broke  over  their 
heads,  the  rain  poured  down  from  the  thunder- 
clouds in  torrents,  and  the  hay  was  soon  com- 
pletely destroyed.  Returning  home  drenched 
and  dispirited,  the  sainted  patriarch  replied  : 
"  My  sous,  learn  from  this  to  respect  the  com- 
mandments of  God." 

"  I  do  regret  God's  day  among  the  hills. 

Spent  in  wild  wand'rings  in  His  world  so 
fair ; 
Warmed  by  the  sunshine  which  His  mercy 
fills. 
Swept  by  His  mighty  wings  when  storms 
were  there  ; 
When  I  passed  by  the  church's  sacred  door. 
And    left    His    peop'«    all    within   once 
more." 

Sabbath-Significance!  Ver.  16.  In  ad- 
dition to  otlier  important  ends,  the  Sabbath 
was  intended  to  be  an  ever-recurring  symbol 
of  heaven,  and  a  prophecy  of  the  rest  that 
remainetli  for  the  people  of  God.  It  is  thus 
explained  at  large  by  inspired  writers,  and  by 
those  who  accept  the  Bible  as  from  God  this 
statement  will  not  be  questioned.  It  is  not 
essential  to  our  purpose  to  determine  whether 
or  not  this  institution  be  still  binding  upon 
the  Christian  Church.  But  it  is  clear  as  a 
sunbeam  that,  aa  positive  institution,  prophetic 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xxin. 


type,  or  soothing  symbol,  the  Sabbath  has 
graven  its  name  on  the  very  heart  of  Christi- 
anity. Its  sweet  voice  is  heard  iu  her  hymns 
and  psalms  of  praise.  To  unnumbered  mil- 
lions of  her  children  it  is  the  only  practical 
foretaste  of  that  blessed  rest  which  it  fore- 
shadows, and  which  the  servants  of  God  anti- 
cipate with  longing  hearts. 

*'  Day  of  all  the  week  the  best, 
Emblem  of  eternal  rest." 

Testimony-Tables!  Ver.  18.  The  learned 
author  of  "Earth's  Lessons  "  says,  it  was  on 
tables  of  stone  that  God's  finger  traced  the 
unerring  and  unchanging  moral  law.  Tiie 
same  handwriting  may  he  recognised  in  the 
masses  of  rock  from  which  these  very  tables 
were  constructed.  We  can  trace  the  univer- 
sality of  Divine  law  throughout  all  the  suc- 
cessive creations  of  the  earth — throughout  all 
the  time  worlds,  as  throughout  all  the  space 
worlds,  in  geology  as  in  astronomy.  That  di- 
vinely universal  law  is  unity  of  force  amidst 
diversity  of  phenomena — unity  of  plan  amidst 
diversity  of  expiession.  And  thus,  amid  all 
the  varying  operations  of  His  hands  and  dis- 
pensations of  His  Providence,  we  find  Him  to 
be  without  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning. 

"  Oh !    Thou  Almighty,    throned  above   the 

stars. 
In  light  eternal,  which  no  darkness  mars, 
From  where  Thy  bright  pavilion  is  unfurled 
Thou  lookest  on  the  sorrows  of  the  world  ; 
Thine  is  the  kingdom.  Thine  is  power  and 

mic;ht. 
Directing  day,  and  ruling  in  the  night." 

Divine  Finger  I  Ver,  18,  (1.)  Before  Moses 
first  went  up  to  the  Mount  it  was  the  voice  of 
God  which  he  heard  repeating  the  decalogue  ; 
now  he  sees  the  fingei-  of  God  writing  the 
Bame.  By  finger  some  understand  the  ''  power '' 
of  God,  as  in  Exod,  viii,  19  ;  others  conceive 
the  "Spirit"  of  God,  as  in  Luke  xi,  29,  No 
doubt  both  are  right ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit  by 
the  power  of  God  wrote  the  tablets.     (2.)  Both 


as  spoken  by  God's  own  voice,  and  as  written 
on  the  rock  by  God's  own  finger,  these  com- 
mandments stand  forth  alone.  Their  supreme 
importance  is  sufficiently  betokened  by  their 
prominence  in  the  forefront  of  all  the  Mosaic 
ordinances  and  Levitical  ceremonies,  and  by 
their  promulgation  so  directly  and  entirely 
Divine.  God's  finger  gave  to  man  those  tea 
jewels  of  purity — 

"  As  an  eagle  from  the  waters 

Rising  plumes  his  feathers  bright. 
Shaking  diamonds  as  he  soareth 
Upwards  in  the  sunny  light." 

Decalogue  -  Kestoration  I     Ver,    18.      (1.) 

This  magnificent  memorial  was  designed  by 
God  to  stand  up  amid  tlie  ages  in  full  clear 
outline,  like  the  Egyptian  pyramids,  free  from 
external  growth  of  any  kind.  But  during  the 
subsequent  centuries  the  grand  pillars  disap- 
peared.  True,  it  stood,  but  a  jungle  of  weeds 
and  creepers  had  sprung  up  around  it.  In- 
stead of  insisting  on  the  simplicity  of  the 
decalogue,  the  Pharisees  and  Syrian  scholiasts 
planted  creepers  round  it,  so  that  these  grow- 
ing up  soon  hid  the  Memorial-Thoughts  of 
God  amongst  scarves  and  hems,  washing  of 
pots,  and  tithes  of  mint  and  cummin,  (2.) 
It  was  reserved  for  the  Lord  Jesus  to  destroy 
this  desolating  overgrowth.  With  the  Sword 
of  the  Spirit  in  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount  He 
cleared  away  this  noisome  tangle,  until  the 
Memorial-Truths  of  God  again  flashed  forth 
to  view,  and  beholdeis  were  astonished  at 
their  majesty.  Nay,  He  did  more.  As  the 
restoration  of  ancient  fabrics  brings  out  again 
the  old  lines  of  carving  and  sculpture  ;  so  did 
the  Restorer  of  the  decalogue  fill  out  the  law, 
and  bring  its  sayings  into  stronger  relief : 
"  Thou  Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God ;  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

"  When  Moses  stood  upon  the  hill. 
The  land  with  storms  was  trembling  still ; 
As  Jesus  speaks  from  the  hillside, 
All  is  with  sunshine  glorified  : 
The  Saviour  preaches  on  the  Mount." 

—Qerok. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


Ceittcal  Notes. — 1,  Zeh  Mosheh  haish  =  this  Moses  the  man].  The  Israelites,  thinking 
that  "the  man  "  who  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  had  acted  the  part  of  a  trjant, 
and  that  they  ought  to  fill  up  his  place  by  substituting,  not  another  "  man,"  but  a  deity, 
as  a  more  reliable  guide.  Extravagant  and  foolish  as  the  idea  was,  it  is  not  evident 
that  they  contemplated  wittingly  to  defy  God's  commandment  (chap.  xx.  4),  by  demanding  of 
Aaron  to  make  them  gods.  That  such  was  Aaron's  view  of  the  case  is  quite  clear  from  the 
words  in  which  he  defends  his  conduct  (ver,  23).  When,  however,  they  beheld  the  image,  then 
all  the  evils  with  which  the  worship  of  it  in  Egypt,  the  land  of  their  birth,  was  associated  in 
their  minds,  seized  upon  their  imaginations  with  such  power  that  they  lost  all  self-control,  and 
"  they  said,  These  are  thy  gods,  0  Israel,  who  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt"  (ver.  4). 
They  were  maddened  with  delight,  and  *' when  Aaron  saw  it"  (ver.  6),  i.e.,  the  efieot  the 
image  of  the  golden  calf  had  produced  upon  the  people,  he  perceived  that  it  was  too  late  r,o 

601 


CHAP.  xxxn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY.  EXODUS. 


reason  with  them  ;  and,  having  weakly  yielded  to  their  first  sinful  demand,  he  had  now  no  choice, 
probably,  to  prevent  a  mutiny  or  to  save  his  life,  if  he  manifested  any  signs  of  disapproval  of  their 
conduct,  so  he  built  them  an  altar  "before  it,"'  viz.,  the  golden  calf  ;  and  perhaps  also,  in  his 
endeavour  to  stave  off  the  evil  of  an  idolatrous  celebration,  he  proclaimed  "'  a  feast  to  the 
Lord"  (=  Jehovah)  for  the  following  day,  and  that  tuo  with  the  hope,  by  the  mention  of  the 
name  of  Jehovali,  of  tlie  people  calling  to  mind  His  comrnandment  against  all  image  wor- 
ship, and  so  affording  them  time  to  reflect  upon  it  over  night,  and  of  Moses  returning  in  the 
meanwhile. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  1-7. 

Idolatry. 

In  consequence  of  the  absence  of  Moses  in  the  mount,  the  children  of  Israel 
are  betrayed  into  an  act  of  gross  idolatry.     Let  us  observe — 

I.  The  crime  of  which  they  were  guilty.  That  crime  was  not  altogether  for- 
saking God.  It  is  quite  evident  that  these  Jews  intended  to  recognise  Jehovah 
in  these  emblems  or  this  emblem.  They  wanted  a  visible  representation  of 
Jehovah,  and  Aaron  made  the  calf  as  such.  Their  crime  was  in  making  any  such 
visible  representation ;  it  was  a  culpable  breach  of  tlie  second  commandment  ot 
the  covenant  words  (chap.  xx.  4).  But  is  there  not  ever  in  us  this  tendency 
to  obscure  our  vision  of  God  by  resting  in  natural  things  1  The  passion  for 
gods  in  the  text  is  a  passion  still  active  in  our  fallen  nature.  Is  not  much  of 
the  nature-woiship  of  our  age  a  similar  sin  1  Men  talk  of  honouring  God  in  His 
works,  but  really  they  allow  the  works  of  God  to  hide  the  personal,  spiritual, 
holy  God  of  Revelation.  Is  not  the  worldliness  of  the  age  a  similar  sin  1  Do 
we  not  often  think  so  much  of  human  love,  of  material  wealth,  of  social  honour, 
of  sejisational  pleasure,  that  we  but  feebly  realise  our  spiritual  nature,  and  our 
dependence  upon  a  spiritual  duty  for  the  satisfaction  of  life?  Is  not  much  of 
the  ritualism  of  the  Church  in  our  age  a  similar  sin  1  We  multiply  forms  and 
ceremonies,  and  attach  to  them  a  supreme  importance.  It  is  all  the  visible 
Church  until  you  can  hardly  see  the  spiritual  Jesus.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  is  to 
be  loved,  worshipped,  served  as  such  ;  but  there  is  in  us  a  sad  tendency  to  sink 
into  the  worldly,  the  carnal,  the  material,  and  to  forget  the  true  and  the  Living 
God. 

II.  The  inexcusableness  of  this  crime.  It  was  regarded,  as  this  chapter  fully 
shows,  as  a  great  and  unpardonable  crime,  and  very  dreadful  was  the  punish- 
ment which  followed  it.  Here  we  learn — 1.  That  the  expensiveness  of  such 
idolatry  does  not  excuse  it.  They  gave  their  golden  earrings — they  sacrificed 
wealth  and  pride.  Will-worship,  creature-worship,  is  often  costly,  but  this  does 
not  condone  it  (1  Cor.  xiii.  3).  2.  That  the  superior  nature  of  the  olg'ect  which 
comes  between  us  and  God  does  not  excuse  it.  The  god  was  gold.  Thine  may 
be  no  vulgar  God, — nature,  humanity — but  however  noble  in  itself  may  be  the 
object  which  eclipses  the  vision  of  God,  the  sin  is  none  the  less.  3.  That  the 
heauty  of  the  object  does  not  lessen  the  fault.  "  The  calf  was  fashioned  with  a 
graving  tool " — artistically  correct.  A  Church  which  comes  between  me  and 
tlie  spiritual  Jesus,  may  be  perfect  in  its  architecture,  pictures,  robes,  music,  &c., 
but  it  is  none  the  less  a  curse  for  that.  4.  That  religious  ceremonies  going  with 
the  idolatry  does  not  justify  it,  vers.  5,  6. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARAORAPH— Verses  1-15. 

Intercession. 
Consider — 

L  The  sin  and  peril  of  Israel.     Their  sin  was  the  more  grievous  because  it 
came  after  such  wonderful  manifestations  of  God's  power  and  love.    *'  Thy  people, 
602 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxii. 


which  thou  broughtest  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  have  corrupted  themselves," 
ver,  7.  Here  was  the  sting.  After  they  had  seen  all  the  wonders  that  God 
had  showed  them.  2.  Their  sin  was  the  darker  because  it  was  committed  so 
early.  "  They  have  turned  aside  quickly  out  of  the  way,"  ver,  8.  So  little 
patience  and  faith  had  they.  3.  Their  sin  was  in  itself  a  capital  offence.  "  They 
have  made  a  molten  calf,"  &c.,  ver.  8.  We  reckon  a  lack  of  belief  in  God  as  a 
mere  speculative  error ;  we  reckon  a  godless  life  as  far  more  innocent  than  a 
life  of  passion  ;  but  to  lose  sii,dit  of  God — to  cease  to  love  Him — is  regarded  in 
the  Word  of  God  as  the  cardinal,  all-comprehending  sin.  And  this  sin  on  the 
part  of  Israel  provoked  the  anger  of  God.  "  God's  wrath  waxed  hot  against 
them,"  ver.  11.  In  these  modern  days  a  certain  school  chose  to  represent  God 
as  looking  down  coldly  and  calmly  on  sin,  and  dealing  with  it  in  quite  an 
unimpassioned  manner,  but  Revelation  does  not  thus  reveal  God.  He  hates  sin  ; 
He  waxes  hot  against  sinners;  He  is  grieved  at  His  heart.  Is  not  this  whole 
picture  of  the  apostasy  of  Israel  suggestive  of  our  own  age  and  nation  ?  God 
has  not  dealt  with  any  nation  as  He  has  with  us,  and  yet  the  spirit  and 
philosophy  of  our  day  is  strangely  godless.  The  golden  calf  is  in  the  market- 
place and  in  the  schools. 

11.  The  intercession  by  which  the  impending  calamity  was  averted.  Moses 
entirely  forgets  himself  in  the  welfare  of  the  people,  ver.  10.  His  own  glory 
and  the  glory  of  his  house  are  ignored.  1.  He  pleads  with  God  for  Israel  on 
the  ground  of  God's  past  mercies,  ver.  11.  Thou  hast  been  good  and  gracious 
— be  gracious  still.  2.  He  pleads  with  God  on  the  grounds  of  sympathy  with 
the  divine  glory,  ver.  12.  He  was  jealous  for  God's  character  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world.  3.  He  pleads  with  God  on  the  ground  of  the  divine  promise, 
ver.  13. 

Thus  let  us  plead  with  God  when  we  behold  the  unrighteousness  of  the  age. 
Men  often  plead  with  God  for  man's  sake — for  the  sake  of  human  sufferings, 
&c. — let  us  plead  for  God's  sake.  Let  us  plead  for  man  out  of  sympathy  with 
God.     And  if  we  thus  plead,  God  will  hear  and  bless,  ver.  14. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  15-20. 

The  Truth  Given  and  Lost. 

We  contemplate — 

I.  The  truth  given,  chap,  xxxi  18.  1.  The  highest  truth  was  given  to  man. 
That  truth  could  not  be  divined  by  the  genius  of  men.  It  was  a  revelation 
from  God.  2.  The  fulness  of  the  truth  is  intimated.  "  Two  tables,  and  they 
were  written  on  both  their  sides."  The  whole  truth  needed  to  teach  us  our 
duty  to  God  and  man.  Ten  commandments  seem  few,  but  in  them  we  have 
the  great  laws  of  the  moral  universe,  and  one  such  law  properly  understood 
explams  a  wide  range  of  life,  as  the  knowledge  of  one  of  the  great  laws  of 
nature  explains  much  phenomena.  3.  The  authority  of  the  truth,  ver.  16. 
"Written  with  the  finger  of  God."  This  gift  of  the  tables  of  testimony  was 
God's  grandest  gift  to  Israel  The  source  of  light  and  purity  and  gladness 
(Ps.  xix.  7-9  ;  Rom.  iii.  1,  2).  The  truth  is  God's  grandest  gift  to  the  world. 
And  when  Christ  declared  unto  us  more  fully  the  grand  truths  of  the  spiritual 
universe,  He  imparted  to  us  the  choicest  blessings  of  heaven.  What  the  sun- 
shine is  to  the  natural  world — that  is  the  law  of  Moses,  and  the  exposition  of 
that  law  in  Christ,  to   the  moral  world. 

II.  The  truth  lost,  ver.  19,  Moses  brake  the  tables  of  the  law,  because  of  the 
sin  of  the  people.  His  was  a  righteous  anger,  and  his  action  forcibly  pictures 
the  fact  that  in  unbelief  and  sin  we  lose  the  trutli.     1.  Sin  sometimes  leailsGod 

603 


CHAP.  xxxn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


to  take  away  from  a  people  the  revelation  of  Himself.  There  is  a  famine  of  the 
word  of  God.  2.  Sin  always  blinds  men  to  the  knowledge  of  the  highest  truth. 
Let  us  open  the  windows  of  our  soul  to  the  light  of  God's  truth,  and  let  us 
carefully  preserve  that  truth.  We  see  nations  who  have  lost  the  truth  ;  we  see 
Churches ;  we  see  individuals.  That  the  truth  may  not  be  lost  to  us,  let  us 
live  in  purity,  let  us  obey  all  its  directions.  If  we  lose  the  tables  of  the  law  we 
lose  the  foundation  stones  of  empire,  of  Churches,  of  character. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Vertet  21-25. 

Shifting  Responsibility. 

"And  I  said  unto  them,  Whosoever  hath  any  gold,  let  them  break  it  oflF.  So 
they  gave  it  to  me:  then  I  cast  it  into  the  fire,  and  there  came  out  this  calf." 

Aaron  has  acted  a  very  sorry  part  at  a  great  crisis,  and  his  conduct,  and  the 
apology  he  made  for  it,  are  worthy  of  being  attentively  considered  by  us,  as  we 
are  very  apt  to  fall  into  similar  errors.  Being  charged  with  the  great  sin  of 
which  he  was  guilty,  Aaron  souglit  to  shift  the  responsibility,  and  rest  the  blame 
elsewhere. 

I.  He  blamed  society.  "  And  Aaron  said,  Let  not  the  anger  of  my  lord  wax 
hot :  thou  knowest  the  people  that  they  are  set  on  mischief,^'  ver.  22.  "So  they 
gave  it  me,"  ver.  24. 

Thus  is  it  with  men  now.  Yielding  to  the  pressure  of  society,  we  do  not 
live  out  our  highest  convictions.  We  defer  to  public  opinion.  Great  is  the 
tyranny  of  public  opinion,  and  many  dare  not  brave  it.  Aaron  dare  not  in  the 
text,  and  thousands  still  are  overawed  by  it.  We  like  to  be  talked  about,  but 
not  against.  We  stay  short  of  being  what  we  ought  to  be,  of  doing  what  we 
ought  to  do,  for  fear  of  the  adverse  criticism  of  our  neighbours,  work-fellows, 
countrymen.  We  defer  to  public  custom.  The  Jewish  rabble  wanted  images, 
such  as  were  in  Egypt,  and  Aaron  had  not  courage  to  resist  the  demand.  So 
we  often  bow  to  the  questionable  customs  of  society.  Our  convictions  are  other- 
wise, but  we  have  not  the  bravery  to  be  singular — we  cast  a  grain  of  incense  on 
the  world's  altar  when  we  ought  to  hurl  a  stone  at  its  gods.  We  defer  to  public 
violence.  "  Tliey  gathered  themselves  together  unto,"  ver.  1 — rather  "  against  " 
— Aaron  in  a  tumultuous  manner,  to  compel  him  to  do  what  they  wished. 
And  Aaron  was  coerced  by  them.  So  we  often  fear  the  anger,  menace,  violence 
of  those  around  us,  and  act  a  consciously  unworthy  part.  Aaron  in  the  text 
blaming  "  the  people  "  is  a  picture  of  thousands  of  us  to-day  !  We  do  not  wish 
to  act  thus  and  thus,  but  we  are  the  victims  of  our  social  surroundings.  It  is 
not  /,  but  the  people.  We,  none  of  us,  are  guilty,  it  is  the  crowd  behind  which 
pushes  us. 

n.  He  blamed  nature.  "  I  cast  it  into  the  fire,  and  there  came  out  this  calf." 
As  il  it  were  not  his  fault,  but  nature's.  He  says  nothing  about  the  mould  that 
he  made ;  nothing  about  the  graving  tool  that  he  used,  ver.  4 ;  but  nature  has 
done  it — it  has  done  itself.     So  do  we  reason  stilL 

1.  We  blame  nature  for  our  sins.  We  cannot  hold  ourselves  responsible  for 
various  sins ;  we  look  upon  them  as  springing  from  nature,  and  as  not  being 
amenable  to  control.  We  ignore  the  tact  that  we  failed  to  interpose  our  will  ; 
that  we  fed  the  fires  of  passion  ;  that  in  making  preparation  for  the  flesh,  to 
fulfil  the  lusts  thereof,  we  cuustructed  the  mould. 

2.  We  blame  nature  for  our  miseries.  Aaron  seems  to  represent  himself  as  an 
ill-used  man — one  to  whom  nature  has  been  unkind.  His  miseries  were  self- 
created,  but  he  fumbles  about  to  represent  them  as  an  unfortunate  outcome  of 
nature.     So  do  we  act  still.     The  other  nijsht  we  heard  a  man  the  worse  for 

504 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxxn. 


liquor,  abusing  a  telegraph  pole  against  wliich  he  had  bruised  his  face.  The 
spectators  smiled ;  but  they  might  have  seen  in  the  compUxining  sot  a  striking 
picture  of  poor  foolish  human  nature  in  general  We  foolishly,  wilfully  dash 
ourselves  against  the  great  laws  of  the  creation,  and  then,  bruised  and  weeping, 
rail  against  that  creation,  all  of  whose  laws  are  pure  and  sublime.  We  trans- 
gress the  physical  laws  on  which  health  depends,  and  there  comes  out  the 
sickly  calf;  we  transgress  the  moral  laws  on  which  happiness  depends,  and  there 
comes  out  the  wretched  calf;  we  transgress  the  intellectual  laws  on  which 
knowledge  depends,  and  there  comes  out  the  stupid  calf  ;  we  transgress  the 
social  and  political  laws  on  which  national  prosperity  depends,  and  there  comes 
out  the  bloody  calves  of  civil  strife  and  revolution;  we  transgress  the  econo- 
mical laws  on  which  wealth  depends,  and  there  comes  out  the  lean  and  ill- 
favoured  calf  of  poverty.  We  blame  nature  for  a  score  of  ugly  things  by 
which  we  are  plagued  when  they  are  simply  the  consequences  of  our  own  folly. 
A  word — 

1.  As  to  the  childishness  of  this  method  of  shifting  responsibility.  They  did 
it ;  it  did  it.  How  childish  !  The  little  children  say,  "  It  did  it — it  fell — it 
broke,"  and  their  seniors  smile  at  the  transparent  sophistry.  But  do  not  the 
seniors  also  the  same  ?  Blaming  society,  their  body,  nature  ?  "  The  calf  came 
out ! "  He  was  the  calf,  and  we  all  feel  that  he  was,  and  we  are  also  when  we 
shirk  responsibility,  and  speak  of  it  and  them.  We  are  men,  gifted  with  the 
power  of  self-determination,  and  it  is  supremely  ignoble  and  childish  to  attempt 
to  rest  the  onus  of  our  conduct  on  the  laws  of  nature  or  the  exactions  of  society. 

2.  The  foolishness  of  it.  Sin  not  only  makes  cowards  of  us  all.  but  fools  also. 
They  did  it ;  it  did  it.  What  shuffling  and  foolish  excuses  !  How  irrational ! 
"  Aaron's  reply  to  the  reproachful  question  of  Moses  is  designedly  obscure  and 
confused,  because  he  was  himself  conscious  of  the  great  crime  which  his  fatal 
want  of  moral  courage  had  abetted." — Kalisch  {in  loco).  The  reason  is  confused 
before  we  sin,  and  sinning  confuses  it  all  the  more,  and  we  awkwardly  seek  to 
veil  our  sin  and  shame  by  the  most  unmanly  and  illogical  vindications. 

3.  The  uselessness  of  it.  Aaron  is  severely  blamed  and  censured.  Moses 
gives  no  reply  to  the  childish  apology,  but  directly  charges  the  crime  home 
upon  Aaron.  "  TAcm  hast  brought  so  great  sin  upon  them,"  ver.  21.  ''Aaron 
had  made  them  naked,"  ver.  25.  See  also  Deut.  ix.  20.  So  will  it  be  with 
us  all  in  the  great  day  of  judgment  and  retribution  ;  our  personal  responsibility 
will  be  insisted  upon,  and  the  flimsy  reasonings  by  which  we  sought  to  evade 
that  responsibility  will  be  scattered  to  the  winds. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.—Verm  25-30. 

Eetribution. 
We  observe — 

I.  The  sin  by  which  the  retribution  was  provoked.     This  sin  was  one  which 

could  not  be  lightly  passed  over ;  it  was  a  violation  of  the  fundamental  law 
which  God  had  given  unto  Israel  (Ex.  xx.  3-5).  In  these  days  direct  sins 
against  God  are  lightly  thought  of,  but  Israel  was  taught  a  very  different  theo- 
logy. God  saw  that  in  the  making  of  an  image  His  real  nature  would  first  be 
eclipsed,  and  soon  His  existence  would  be  forgotten :  the  image  first  degraded 
the  idea  of  God,  and  then  displaced  God  in  the  eye  and  heart  of  the  people. 
And  whatever  lowered  God  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  whatever  let  God 
down  to  the  level  of  the  people,  whatever  stole  away  the  reverence  and  love  of 
the  people  from  God — this  was  a  cardinal  evil.  They  who  teach  us  to  see  God 
in  nature,  until  nature  takes  the  place  of  God  ;  they  who  teach  us  to  see  God 
in  humanity,  until  humanity  takes  the  place  of  God  ;  they  who  teach  us  to  see 

505 


CH  AP.  xxxn.  HO  Ml  LET IC  COM  MEN  TAR  Y:  EX  CD  US. 

God  in  the  blessings  of  life,  until  the  blessings  of  life  take  the  place  of  God ; 
they  who  teacli  us  to  see  God  in  the  Churcii,  until  the  Church  takes  the  place 
of  God ; — all  these  Aarons  are  causing  Israel  to  sin  the  sin  which  is  unto  death. 
Let  us  beware  of  losing  sight  of  tlie  Divine  spirituality,  of  the  Divine  existence. 
Idolatry  is  the  root  of  all  sin — renunciation  of  the  spiritual  holy  God  is  the 
mother  of  all  crimes  and  sorrows.  Ceasing  to  revere  the  Eternal  One,  what 
greatness  can  be  admired  ]  ceasing  to  adore  the  All  Beautiful,  what  excellence 
can  be  venerated  1  ceasing  to  believe  in  the  Holy  One,  what  purity  can  be 
sacred  1  ceasing  to  commune  with  the  Happy  One,  what  woes  are  not  possible  1 
Idolatry  and  atheism  are  direct  violations  of  the  most  fundamental  law  of 
existence,  and  directly  provoke  God's  anger.     We  observe — 

n.  The  retribution  by  which  the  sin  was  punished,  vers.  27,  28.     1.  This 

retribution  was  sivift.  The  scene  of  feasting  and  song,  verse  18,  was  soon 
turned  into  a  scene  of  death  and  dirge.  God  can  bring  swift  destruction  on 
splendid  empires,  on  proud  sinners.  Let  us  remember,  in  the  day  of  our  pride 
and  vanity,  how  easily  and  swiftly  God  can  visit  us.  "  The  laughter  of  fools  is 
as  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot."  "  The  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is 
short."  2.  This  retribution  was  terrible.  There  was  great  mercy  exercised  by 
God  in  this  event,  and  yet  how  terrible  this  judgment,  even  softened  by  grace ! 
It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  sin  against  God.  Idolatry,  atlieism,  libertinism — bring 
with  them  awful  punishments  in  this  life  ;  and  if  in  this  life,  what  of  the  next  ? 
3.  This  retribution  was  just.  We  see  what  dreadful  penalties  are  inflicted  on 
men  for  transgressing  the  great  laws  of  nature,  and  we  feel  that  if  this  is  right, 
it  is  just  in  God  also  to  punish  those  who  violate  the  highest  law  of  all.  W^hat 
frightful  diseases,  wars,  famines,  deaths,  come  out  of  sin,  and  the  event  recorded 
in  the  text  is  in  consistency  with  the  same  law  ! 

III.  The  penitence  by  which  the  retribution  was  escaped,  ver.  26.  "  Who  is 
on  the  Lord's  side  t "  The  Levites,  no  doubt,  had  participated  in  the  general  sin, 
but  at  the  call  of  Moses  they  repent,  and  become  the  instruments  to  execute  God's 
judgment,  although  they  had  to  slay  their  own  son  or  brother.  Let  us  put 
ourselves  on  the  Lord's  side,  whatever  it  may  cost  us.  "  0  Lord  our  God,  other 
lords  besides  Thee  have  had  dominion  over  us  :  but  by  Thee  only  will  we  make 
mention  of  Thy  name"  (Isa  xxvi.  13). 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.—  Verses  30-35. 

Religious  Patriotism. 

It  has  often  been  brought  as  a  charge  against  Christianity  that  it  is  adverse 
to  patriotism.  It  is  true  that  the  spirit  of  Christianity  is  cosmopolitan,  but 
yet  the  love  of  humanity  does  not  exclude  the  sentiment  of  nationality,  and  the 
Word  of  God  presents  us  with  instances  of  the  most  sublime  patriotism.  The 
true  Christian  is  a  true  patriot ;  the  patriotism  inspired  by  religion  is  of  the 
ntjblest  type.     The  text  is  a  case  in  point. 

L  Religious  patriotism  recognises  national  sin,  ver  30.  "  ]\Ioses  said  unto  the 
people.  Ye  have  sinned  a  great  sm."  There  is  a  patriotism  whose  motto  is  : 
Our  country — right  or  wrong.  Such  patriotism  is  spurious  and  quite  mislead- 
ing. There  is  a  patriotism  which  is  ever  dwelling  in  a  vain-glorious  temper  on 
the  wealth  and  victories  and  power  of  a  nation,  and  which  cannot  tolerate  the 
rebuking  of  the  national  vices.  This  is  a  kind  of  patriotism  which  leads  to 
evil  issues.  Religious  patriotism  discerns  and  rebukes  the  sins  of  the  times, 
and  is  therefore  the  true  patriotism.  True  love  is  not  blind,  neither  is  true 
patriotism.  It  is  sensitive  to  those  errors  and  vices  by  which  national  greatness 
506 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxil. 


is  eventually  destroyed.  He  may  seem  the  greatest  patriot  who  is  always 
vaunting  the  power  and  prowess,  the  wealth  and  magnificence,  of  his  country  ; 
but  iie  is  really  the  truest  friend  to  his  country  who  protests  against  the  iniquitous 
lavvs  which  are  on  its  statute  book,  the  errors  which  are  taught  in  its  schools 
and  temples,  the  vices  which  disgrace  its  streets. 

II.  Religious  patriotism  is  prepared  to  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  for  the 
national  welfare.  We  see  this  in  J\Ioses  in  the  text,  vers.  31,  32.  See  also 
verses  11-14.  Moses  set  the  nation  above  his  personal  interests,  above  his 
family  glory.  His  temptation  to  become  the  founder  of  a  great  nation  reminds 
as  of  Christ's  vision  of  the  kingdoms.  He  loves  his  nation  ;  he  will  not  merely 
die  for  it,  he  is  ready  to  suffer  unknown  sorrows  on  its  behalf.  See  also  Apostle 
Paul,  Romans  ix.  3.  Thus  the  Christian  Church  is  ever  making  great  sacrifices 
on  behalf  of  the  nation.  A  religion  that  does  not  issue  in  practical  patriotism, 
is  not  the  religion  of  Christ.  The  nation  is  of  God  as  well  as  the  family,  and 
the  true  Christian  in  the  spirit  of  self-sacrificing  love,  gives  time,  money, 
influence,  and  often  life  itself,  that  the  nation  may  be  educated  and  free  and 
pure. 

III.  Religious  patriotism  is  most  precious  to  the  state,  vers.  33-35.  We  find 
that  God  was  moved  by  the  prayer  of  Moses  to  spare  Israel.  It  is  oiten  thought 
that  the  grandest  power  in  the  state  is  the  power  vfhxch  fights  ;  but  really  the 
grandest  power  is  the  power  which  prays.  The  patriotism  which  seeks  to 
spread  the  knowledge  of  God  ;  which  seeks  to  secure  the  keeping  of  God's  laws ; 
which  vindicates  the  sanctity  of  God's  day  ;  which  pleads  with  God  on  behalf  of 
the  nation,  as  it  sins  and  suffers — this  patriotism  is  of  essential  preciousness. 
The  patriotism  which  seeks  to  bring  God  and  the  nation  closer  together,  is  fai 
more  precious  than  the  tongue  of  the  eloquent,  the  sword  of  the  valiant,  or  the 
wisdom  of  the  ancient. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXII. 

BY 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSOK 

Idol-Idiosyncrasy.    Yers.  1-35.    (1.)  Mate-  turns  aside  from  His  love  to  the  lying  vanities 

rial  idolatry  has  passed  away  among  civilised  of  the  world  must  drink  the  bitter  water  of 

nations  in  its  literal  inifiort.     As  Macmillan  jealousy,  filled  with  the  dust  of  the  bruised 

says,  the  old  worship  of  stocks  and  stones  is  and    mutilated    idols    of    spiritual    idolatry  : 

now  impossible  among  a  professedly  Christian  "  This  shall  ye  have  at  My   hand,  ye   shall 

people.     But  although  the  outward  mode  has  lie  down  in  sorrow." 

passed  away,  the  essence  of  the  temptation  .                             , 

remains  the  same.     Human  society  is  changed,  "Thou  art   the    man    withm   whose    hearts 

but  human   nature    is  unchanged.      The   im-  deep  ceU 

pulse  which  led  Israel  to  seek  the  golden  calf  All  evil  sleeping  lies ;         ,       ,      ., 

is  as  strong  as  ever,  and  images  are  set  up  and  Lust,   in  a  dark  hour  wakmg,    breaks  the 

worshipped    now    as   fantastic   as   any    pagan  spell, 

fetish  or  joss.     For  what  is  idolatry?     Is  it  And  straightway  there  arise         _      ^^ 

not  in  its  essence  the  lowering  of  the  idea  of  Monsters  of  evil  thoughts  and  base  desire. 

God  and  of  God's  nature,  and  the  exaltation  of  trerole. 
a  dead  image  ab  'Ve  a  man's  own  living  spirit  ? 

Is  not  an  idol  whatever  is  loved  more  than  God,  Israel's  Insurrection  !  Vers.  1-6,  Scene  I. 
ivhatever  is  depended  upon  for  hap2nness  and  — 2'he  Camp  of  Insurrection.  1.  Infidelity  of 
help  independent  of  God  ?  (2.)  Sooner  or  later,  the  people  (ver.  1)  maybe  illustrated  by  the 
as  Moses  pounded  the  calf  and  gave  the  Israel-  glacier  and  crevasse,  and  of  Aaron  by  the 
ites  the  dust  to  drink  in  punishment  of  their  story  of  Arnold  Winkelreid.  2.  Idolatry  of 
idolatry,  will  all  such  moral  idolaters  have  to  the  people  (ver.  4).  Breaking  the  law  may  be 
drink  the  dust  of  their  idols.  Our  sin  will  be-  illustrated  by  the  familiar  figure  of  a  chain- 
come  our  punishment,  our  idols  our  scourges.  link  which  holds  a  person  up,  being  broken,  or 
God   is  a  jealous  God,  and  every  soul  that  by  Samuel  and  Saul's  disobedience  as  to  sac^i. 

507 


CHAP.  XXXII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


fices  ;  and  making  the  calf  by  the  homely  idea 
of  the  Gieat  Eastern  having  a  wooden  en- 
gineer to  i)ilot  her  over  the  ocean  waves. 
I^Iosaic  Intercession  !  Vers.  7-14.  Scene 
11. — The  Mount  o/  Indignation.  1.  Indigna- 
tion of  Jehovah  (ver.  7)  at  Israel's  folly  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  story  of  a  father  going 
to  New  Zealand,  leaving  his  children  with 
certain  conunands  till  his  return  :  or  i)y  the 
natural  figure  of  a  lamp  hung  up  by  a  chain 
being  broken  in  its  fall.  2.  Intercession  of 
Moses  (ver.  14)  for  Israel's  forgiveness,  with 
his  pleas  of  God's  (1)  perfections,  (2)  partiality 
towards,  (3)  purpose  in,  and  (4)  ])rouii.ses  to 
Israel,  may  find  simple  illustrations,  if  any 
are  needed,  in  a  mother's  intercession  with 
the  father  for  her  offending  boy's  pardon  ;  or 
by  the  Queen's  intercession  at  Calais  with  her 
husbatui.  King  Edward,  on  behalf  of  its  citi- 
zens. Levitical  Intervention  !  Vers.  15-29. 
Scene  III. — The  Valley  of  Intervention.  1. 
Indignity  (ver.  15)  resented  by  breaking  of 
Btoue  tablets,  and  by  causing  Israel  to  drink 
of  powdered  wood  and  gold.  Allusions  mit-'ht 
be  appropriately  made  here  to  Dagon,  Aciian, 
Saul,  or  the  story  of  the  Chinese  boy  and  the 
gods.  2.  Integrity  (ver.  25)  of  the  Levites 
contrasts  with  the  fear,  folly,  and  falsehood  of 
Aaron.  Apt  references  might  be  found  in 
the  histories  of  Melancthon  and  Luther,  and 
in  the  noble  tale  of  the  boy  stopping  the  leak 
in  the  Dutch  dyke. 

"  Rain  and  sunshine  doth  combine, 
One  side  dark,  the  other  bright; 
Thus,  by  nature's  grand  design, 
In  one  rainbow  both  unite." 

~-Maguirt. 


Self-will  I  Ver.  1.  (1.)  It  was  but  a  little 
boy  crying,  as  he  limped  towards  his  father 
on  the  rough  common.  Yet  what  a  lesson  it 
taught]  His  father  had  promised  to  take 
him  to  a  lovely  scene  across  the  stony  waste 
if  he  would  promise  to  be  led  by  the  hand, 
and  not  be  rebellious  or  impatient.  And  he 
had  promised, as  boys  will  promise,  and  failed, 
as  boys  will  fail.  Hardly  had  he  set  out  than 
he  began  to  murmur  at  the  length  of  the  walk. 
When  the  father  seriously  reminded  him  of 
the  promise  to  obey  and  exercise  patience,  he 
was  silent  and  submissive.  But  presently  he 
let  go  of  the  strong,  wise  hand,  turned  aside 
from  the  path,  struck  his  foot  against  a  rugged 
rock,  and  straightway  cried  out  with  pain. 
The  scar  remained  till  death.  (2.)  Israel  was 
God's  wayward,  self-willed  child.  They 
thought  thattlipy  could  do  without  theFatlier'.s 
hand,  though  they  had  promised  to  be  guided 
by  Him,  who  was  able  and  ready  to  conduct 
them  to  the  green  fields  of  Eden.  And  so 
they  wander  a.side,  stumble  against  the  rough 
flint«,  experience  the  nu'sery of  silf-sufficiency 
and  disobedience,  and  learn  that  the  way  of 
transgressors  is  hard.  On  Israel's  national 
life  the  scar  was  vi.sihle,  even  to  the  nour 
when  Tit\i.s  shivered  its  massive  structure. 

608 


'■'  Therefore,    0    man,    remember    that    thy 
heart 
Will   shed   its   pleasures  as   thine   eye  ita 

tears ; 
And  both  leave  loathesome  furrows." 

1  -^Bailey. 

Sinful  Self-Sacrifice  !  Vers.  2,  3.  Whale 
says,  I'eople  often  sj)end  more  in  superstition 
than  Christians  for  the  truth.  To  gratify  self 
they  do  not  mind  making  many  sacrifices. 
To  have  liis  golden  calf  of  ambition  or  popular 
adulation  the  man  of  the  world  will  freely 
scatter  largesses  on  all  sides  with  bounteous 
hand.  With  what  lavish  magnificence  did 
the  ancient  heathen  adorn  their  temples  of 
superstition  !  With  what  profuse  prodigality 
will  some  nKjdeiii  men  of  science,  or  some 
wealthy  student  of  atheism,  spend  his  riches 
to  gratify  his  selfish — it  may  be  sinful — 
motives  !  Who  amongst  us  is  willing  to  do  as 
much  for  Jesus  as  these  Israelites  did  to  have 
self  gratified  in  the  golden  calf  ?  At  the 
present  time,  in  our  own  country,  a  man  of 
great  wealth  spends  his  whole  fortune  in  the 
issue  of  infidel  tracts  and  pamphlets,  which 
are  disseminated  broadcast  over  the  world. 
Atheism  is  his  idol-deity.  He  worships  the 
golden  calf  of  blank  atheism.  He  devotes 
his  immense  riches  to  its  exaltation.  There 
are  few  Christians  willing  to  make  such 
supreme  sacrifices  for  their  God. 

*'  I  gave  My  life  for  thee, 

My  precious  blood  1  shed. 
That  thou  niight'st  ransomed  be, 
And  quickened  from  the  dead. 
I  gave  My  life  for  thee  ; 
What  hast  thou  given  for  Me  ?" 
— HavergaL 

Sin's  Deceit !  Vers.  3-6.  There  is  a 
beautiful  picture  of  a  female  with  a  sweet 
but  melanclioly  expression  of  countenance. 
She  kneels  on  the  top  of  the  rock,  and  ia 
singing  to  a  harp,  which  she  strikes  with  her 
graceful  fingers.  Below  is  a  boat  with  two 
men  in  it — the  one  old  and  the  other  young. 
The  boat  is  rapidly  nearing  the  rocks,  but 
both  the  men  are  utterly  uiiconscious  of  their 
danger.  The  old  man  has  ceased  to  hold  the 
helm — the  young  man  has  dropped  the  oars. 
Both  are  fondly  stretching  out  tl  eir  hands 
towards  the  deceiving  spirit  —  wholly  en- 
tranced with  her  song.  A  few  moments  more, 
and  their  boat  will  be  a  wreck.  Israel  was 
thus  captivated.  Lured  on  by  the  weird  melody 
of  a  craving  for  visible  worship,  they  were 
now  on  the  wide  river  borne  onwards  to- 
ward the  jagged  rocks  of  destruction. 

"  The  fruit  of  sin,  goodly  and  fair  to  view. 
Deceives  us  in  its  beauty.     Pluck'd,  it  turni 
To  ashes  on  our  lips." — Webster. 

Bull-Worship !  Ver.  4.  (1.)  From  the 
earliest  times  the  Egyptians  adopted  certain 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


CFTAP.  xxxn. 


Rnimals  as  representatives  of  their  deities. 
Tbe  sjinbolisui  of  these  selections  has  been 
entirely  loist,  inasmuch  as  the  deities  were 
lost  sight  of  in  the  creatures  by  whom  they 
were  symbolised.  It  was  so  with  Apis-adora- 
tion :  an  animal  most  sacred  in  the  later  age 
of  Egypt.  It  is  supposed  that  the  Israelites 
borrowed  their  idolatrous  idea  of  the  calf  from 
this  form  of  bull-worship,  which  they  had  ob- 
served in  Egypt.  (2.)  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson, 
however,  says  that  they  borrowed  their  notion 
of  the  "golden  calf" — not  from  Apis-adora- 
tion, but  from  the  worship  of  Mnevis.  This  was 
the  sacred  ox  of  Heliopolis.  At  his  worship 
were  oflferiuge,  dancing,  and  rejoicings .  And 
it  is  supposed  that  the  Israelites  adopted 
these  ;  or  rather,  resumed  them  as  religious 
revelries  in  which  they  had  joined  during 
their  sojourn  in  Egypt.     Satan 

"  Moved  Israel  and  their  timid  priest  to  carve 
Their  idol-god,  and  interweave  with  gongs 
Their  naked  dances  round  the  golden  calf  : 
Vision  of  horror  and  of  grief." 

— Bichersteth, 


Aaronic  Action  !  Vers.  4,  5.  (1.)  Among 
the  high  Alps,  the  traveller  is  told  in  certain 
places  to  proceed  as  quietly  as  possible.  On 
the  steep  slopes  overhead,  the  snow  hangs  so 
evenly  balanced  that  the  sound  of  the  voice, 
the  crack  of  a  whip,  the  report  of  a  gun,  or 
the  detachment  of  a  snow-ball  may  destroy 
the  equilibrium  and  bring  down  an  immense 
avalanche  that  will  overwhelm  everything 
within  reach  in  ruin.  (2.)  The  Israelites 
were  in  such  a  position.  Their  moral  charac- 
ter was  unstable — their  principles  unfixed. 
They  were  so  evenly  balanced  between  good 
and  evil  that  a  word  from  Aaron  in  the  wrong 
direction  threw  them  down  into  the  abyss  of 
idolatry.  Had  Aaron  stood  firm — stiff  and 
silent  as  the  rocks  around,  the  tumultuous 
heaving  would  have  ceased.  (3.)  Are  there 
not  souls  around  us  hanging  so  nicely  poised 
on  the  giddy  slopes  of  temptation,  ready,  on 
the  least  encouragement  or  yielding  on  our 
•part  as  Aaron  did,  to  come  down  in  terrible 
avalanches  of  moral  ruin,  crushing  themselves 
and  others  in  their  fall  f  To  stand  firm,  says 
Richter,  may  save  a  world. 

"Be  great  in  act !     So  shall  inferior  eyes, 
That  borrow  their  behaviour  from  the  great, 
Grow  great  by  your  example,  and  put  on 
The  dauntless  spirit  of  resolution." 

— Shakespeare. 


Visible  Gods  !  Ver.  5.  (1.)  Adam  Clarke 
Bays  there  is  one  pretence  that  Roman 
Catholics  have  for  the  idolatry  of  their  image- 
worship.  Their  high  piiest,  the  Pope,  collects 
the  ornaments  from  the  people,  and  makes  an 
Image — a  crucifix — a  Madonna.  The  people 
worship  it ;  but  the  Pope  says  that  it  is  only 
to  keep  God  in  remembrance.  But  of  the 
whole,  God  says,  *'  They  have  corrupted  them- 


selves." He  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
visible  media  through  which  He  is  to  be 
worshipped.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that 
worship  Him  must  do  so  in  Spirit  and  in 
truth.  (2.)  Therefore,  as  Hallam  says,  any 
image  substituted  for  the  living  and  loving 
God,  who  is  invisible,  is  a  portentous  shadow 
projected  from  the  slavish  darkness  of  an 
ignorant  heart.  It  is  as  much  idolatry  to 
worship  God  under  a  visible  symbol,  as  it  ia 
to  worship  the  image  of  a  false  divinity.  Both 
forms  of  idolatry  deceive  the  soul,  harden 
the  heart,  and  drag  their  votaries  into  com- 
plete alienation  from  God. 

"  The  heart  surrendered  to  the  ruling  power 
Of  some  ungoverned  passion,  every  hour 
Finds  by  degrees  the  truth  that  once  bore 

sway. 
And  all  their  deep  impressions  wear  away, 
So  coin  grows  smooth,  in  traffic  current 

passed. 
Till  Caesar's  image  is  effaced  at  last." 

— CoMoper. 

Eevelry  Kites !  Ver.  6.  The  worship  of 
Apis  assumed  a  bacchanalian  character,  at- 
tended by  the  wildest  and  most  extravagant 
revels.  Herodotus  says,  that  on  the  feast  day 
of  the  gods  all  the  Egyptians  arrayed  them- 
selves as  soon  as  the  bull  left  his  gilded  asylum, 
and  gave  way  to  feasting  and  revelry.  Hila- 
rious processions  formed  an  important  feature 
of  the  Egyptian  ritual ;  as  might  be  expected 
in  a  countiy  where  the  cloudless  sky  and  the 
elastic  air  j)redispose  men  to  mirth  and  indo- 
lence. Drumann  remarks,  that  they  were 
like  orgies — that  even  women  appeared  in 
them — that  they  were  followed  by  indecent 
songs  and  dances — and  that  they  were  accom- 
panied by  clamorous  music  and  drunken  feasts. 
There  were  also  minims  and  mummeries,  like 
the  Roman  Saturnalia,  in  which  the  actors 
painted  their  faces,  and  ridiculed  or  struck 
the  bystanders. 

"  Men  are  but  children  of  a  larger  growth  ; 
Our  appetites  are  apt  to  change  as  theirs. 
And  full  as  craving  too,  and  full  as  vain ; 
And  yet  the  soul  shut  up  in  her  dark  room. 
Viewing  so  clear  abroad,  at  home  sees  n  othing ; 
But  like  a  mole  in  earth,  busy  and  blind, 
Works  all  her  folly  up,  and  casts  it  outward, 
To  the  world's  open  view." — Bryden. 

Divine  Omniscience  I  Vers,  7,  8.  Israel 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  though  Moses  could 
not  see,  God  could.  Creeping  down  stairs  at 
night  towards  the  orchard,  the  little  boy  for- 
got that  while  his  father's  eyes  were  locked 
in  slumbers  deep,  yet  there  was  One  whose 
eye  neither  slumbers  nor  sleeps.  But  when 
he  stood  beneath  the  favourite  apple-tree — 
when  he  stretched  forth  his  hand  to  the  branch 
— when  he  lifted  up  his  eye  to  the  tempting, 
coveted,  rosy-cheeked  fruit ;  lo  1  a  star  twin- 
kled its  ray  upon  him,  and  seemed  to  say, 
"God  sees,"    And  the  little  fellow  shrank 

009 


CHAP,  XXXII. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


back — retreated  from  the  garden  —  betook 
himself  upstairs,  rei)eatinp;  to  himself  the 
Scripture  words  "Thou  God  seest."  Ah! 
had  laiacl  only  remembered  this,  the  sin  had 
not  been  committed,  and  the  dire  mischief 
had  not  been  wrought. 

"  Though  all  the  doors  are  sure,  and  all  our 

servants 
As  sure  bound  with  their  sleeps,  yet  there 

is  One 
That  wakes  above,  whose  eye  no  sleep  can 

blind  ; 
He  sees  through  doors,  and  darkness,  and 

our  thoughts." — Chapman. 


Self -Corruption  !  Ver.  7.  "  Thy  people 
have  corrupted  tliemselves,  i.e.,  as  the  original 
and  English  words  imply,  they  have  broken 
tliemselves  up  together.  (1.)  Material  dis- 
integration! The  clay  and  soil  of  "ur  fields 
are  caused  by  the  oxidation  or  burning  of 
pure  metals.  They  are,  in  fact,  the  ashes  of 
metals.  The  dirt  that  cleaves  to  ov;r  footsteps, 
as  the  emblem  of  all  impurity,  is  produced  by 
the  disintegration  of  the  brightest  met  ils,  or 
the  most  sparkling  jewels.  (2.)  Mental  dis- 
in tef) ration  !  Jeliovah  tells  Moses  that  Israel 
had  corrupted  itself.  A  few  days  before  they 
were  as  His  jewels  ;  now  they  had  voluntarily 
entered  u|>on  a  process  of  disintegration. 
Passion  had  broken  loose  from  the  law  of  co- 
hesion to  God  ;  and  they  were  fast  becoming 
as  mud — the  foul  product  of  the  pure  crystal 
under  self-corruptive  influences.  (3.)  Moral 
disintegration!  All  sinful  thoughts,  and  words, 
and  deeds,  have  such  corrupting  effects.  By 
this,  man  breaks  the  order  and  law  of  his  exist- 
ence, and  his  whole  nature  disintegrates  in  the 
atniosyjhere  of  sin.  'i'he  whole  being  becomes 
vitiated,  disordered,  and  corrupt.  What  was 
once  more  or  less  solid  and  valuable  has  become 
dust  and  ashes. 

•'  The  basis  sinks,  the  ample  piles  decay, 
The  stately  fabric  shakes  and  falls  away," 
— Crabbe. 


Idol  Illustrations!  Ver.  8.  It  was  a  curi- 
ous feature  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  worship 
that  each  large  city  had  its  own  triad  or  as- 
semblage of  three  gods,  whom  it  more  parti- 
cularly adored.  The  triad  of  Memphis  were 
Ptali,  Buhastis,  Ajiis.  The  ruins  of  the  temple 
at  Memphis  sacred  to  calf-worship  were  dis- 
covered in  1850.  Close  at  hand  stood  the 
Apexim,  or  sanctuary  of  the  sacred  bull,  where 
he  was  carefully  tended,  as  well  as  the  cow 
from  which  he  had  sprung.  As  each  bull  died 
his  mummy  was  stored  away  in  one  of  the 
coiridors  extending  underground  for  a  con- 
siderable distance,  and  known  as  the  "Mummy- 
pits  of  Apis."  No  fewer  than  1200  of  these 
tombstone-tablets  have  been  traced,  and  the 
most  important  of  them  were  removed  to  the 
Louvre  at  Paris. 

^10 


"  Ideal  images  in  sculptured  forms, 
Thoughts  hewn  in  columns,  or  in  caverned 

hill, 
In  honour  of  their  deities  and  their  dead." 
— Montgomery. 

Sin-Steps !  Ver.  8.  (1 . )  Facilis  decensus  A  vemi. 
The  Jirst  step  in  the  primaeval  world  was  to 
worsliif>  God  under  natural  symbols.  The 
second  stej)  was  to  worship  the  creature  along 
with  or  beside  Jehovah.  The  third  step  was 
to  worship  the  objects  of  nature  more  than 
the  Being  who  Tuade  them.  The  fourth  step 
was  to  worship  these  works  of  nature  to  the 
exclusion  of  God.  Lower  was  the  surging  sea 
of  all  ungodliness,  whose  end  is  DEatu.  (2.) 
Goulburu  well  says  that  idolatry — i.e.,  the 
suirounding  the  creature  with  the  attributes 
of  tlie  Creator — is  the  original,  fundamental 
sin  of  man,  the  point  of  departure  from  which 
man  started  on  the  downward  course,  until  he 
reached  the  lowest  depths  of  wickedness, 

"  Polluted  most,  yet  wallowing  in  the  mire ; 
Most  mad,  yet  drinking  frenzy's  giddy  cup  ; 
Depth  ever  deepening,  darkness  darkening 
still."  —PoUok. 


Wrath  and  Mercy!     Vers.  10-14.     (1.)  If 

we  look  with  the  naked  eye,  says  Macmillan, 
at  the  star  Itigel,  which  forms  the  right  foot 
of  the  constellation  of  Orion,  we  obseive  a  star 
of  first  beauty  and  brightness.  But  the  tele- 
scope shows  us  that  it  is  a  double  star.  This 
is  a  binary  arrangement  which  prevails  to  a 
great  extent  throughout  the  heavens.  These 
binary  stars  revolve  round  each  other,  or  round 
a  common  centre.  They  thus  exhibit  the  ex- 
traordinary spectacle,  not  of  planet  revolving 
round  sun,  but  of  sun  moving  round  sun.  Their 
lights  blend  before  they  reach  us,  so  that  they 
present  to  the  naked  eye  the  appearance  of 
one  star.  (2.)  Kurtz  says  that  wrath  and 
mercy  were  both  united  in  the  eternal  counsel 
of  salvation,  which  was  the  combined  product 
of  the  two  ;  for  in  that  counsel  wrath  was 
appeased  by  mercy,  and  mercy  sanctified  by 
wrath.  Wrath  aiid  mercy  were  made  one  in 
the  counsel  of  salvation,  but  they  were  not 
extinguished.  Their  lights  blended  together 
in  this  incident  on  Horeb — Jehovah  saying, 
"Let  Me  alone;"  Moses,  prompted  by  the 
Spirit,  saying,  "Spare  Thy  people,  O  Lord." 

"  Had  not  the  milder  hand  of  Mercy  broke 
The  furious  violence  of  that  fatal  stroke 
Ofiended  Justice  struck,  we  had  been  quite 
Lost  in  the  shadows  of  eternal  night." 

— Quarle$, 

Mosaic  Meditation!  Ver.  12.  We  find  the 
law  of  intervention  in  every  department  of 
human  life — each  and  all  of  its  phases  serving 
to  indicate  more  or  less  clearly  the  spiritual 
law.  As  Ragg  remarks,  is  not  that  man  a 
mediator  who,  in  the  hour  of  danger,  inter- 
poses with  his  strong  arm  for  the  protection 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  xxxn. 


of  the  weak  ?  Is  not  that  woman  a  mediator 
who,  with  noiseless  step,  paces  the  sick  room 
wtiere  the  once  stalwart  man  ia  laid  prostrate, 
anticipating  his  every  want  and  desire  as  she 
stands  between  him  and  the  fell  disease  with 
which  he  is  grappling?  Is  not  that  mother  a 
mediator  whu,  with  simfile  and  eloquent  words, 
and  tears  more  eloquent,  pleads  with  the  father 
for  the  child  whose  wrongdoing  has  incurred 
parental  censure  and  rebuke  ?  Is  not  that 
nobleman  a  mediator  who,  with  earnest  words, 
undertakes  to  induce  his  sovereign  to  pardon 
the  rebel-peer,  and  restore  him  to  his  con- 
fiscated title  and  possessions?  Is  not  the 
Jewish  maiden  a  mediator  who,  with  conscious- 
ness of  the  great  risk  she  runs,  ventures  into 
the  royal  presence  to  implore  the  revocation 
of  the  impel  ial  decree  dooming  a  whole  exiled 
race  to  death  ? 

*'  Praying  for  His  children 

In  that  blessed  place, 
Calling  them  to  glory. 

Sending  them  His  grace; 
His  bright  home  preparing, 

Faithful  ones,  for  you  ; 
Jesus  ever  liveth, 

Ever  prayeth  too." — Ilavergal. 

Apis-Adoration!  Ver.  20.  The  Egyptian 
Apis  was  attended  by  a  retinue  of  priests,  and 
sacrifices  of  red  oxen  were  offered  to  him.  All 
his  changes  of  appetite,  his  movements,  and 
choice  of  places  were  watched  as  oracular.  He 
was  not  allowed  to  live  longer  than  twenty- 
five  years.  If  he  died  a  natural  death  befoie 
that  age,  his  body  was  embalmed  as  a  mummy, 
and  interred  in  the  subterranean  tombs. 
Otherwise,  he  was  secretly  put  to  death,  and 
buried  by  the  priests  in  a  sacred  well.  A  new 
animal  was  then  sought  for.  It  was  necessary 
that  he  should  be  marked  with  a  white  square 
on  his  forehead,  an  eagle  on  his  back,  and  a 
knot  like  a  cantharus  under  his  tongue.  When 
found,  he  was  conveyed  with  great  pomp  to 
Nicopolis,  where  he  remained  for  forty  days, 
attended  by  naked  women.  He  was  then  re- 
moved to  iVIemphis. 

"  The  general  world,  unconscious  pietists 
Of  falsest  creeds  and  errors,  God  allowed 
To  live  on,  unreproved,  till  came  the  time 
When  all  the  mysteries  of  heaven  and  earth 
Were  put  in  evolution." 

Calf-Carved!  Ver.  20.  (1.)  Most  of  the 
large  idols  of  antiquity  had  a  wooden  centre  ; 
the  metal  being,  by  way  of  preparation,  cast 
into  a  flat  sheet  which  the  goldsmith  hammered 
and  spread  out.  No  doubt,  this  calf  was  made 
of  wood,  and  then  oveilaid  with  gold.  This 
explains  the  destruction  by  Moses.  Being 
burnt,  the  wood  was  converted  into  charcoal, 
while  the  gold  would  be  cruished  to  pieces. 
(2.)  In  a  French  Bible  appears  the  ridiculous 
gloss  that  the  ashes  of  the  calf  which  Moses 
caused  to  be  burnt  and  mixed  with  the  water 
that  was  drunk  by  the  Israelites  stuck  to  the 


beards  of  such  as  had  fallen  down  before  it,  by 
which  they  appeared  with  gilt  beards,  as  a 
peculiar  mark  to  distinguish  those  who  bad 
worshipped  the  graven  image. 

"  Man's  a  poor  deluded  bubble, 
Wand'ring  in  a  nust  of  lies  ; 
Seeing  false,  or  seeing  double  ; 

Who  would  trust  to  such  weak  eyes  ?" 
— Dodsley. 

Idol-Impotency  !  Ver.  20.  (1.)  After  the 
defeat  of  the  Persian  army  in  the  Libyan 
desert,  Cambyses  returned  to  Memphis.  On 
his  arrival,  he  found  its  inhabitants  rejoicing  at 
the  discovery  of  a  calf  marked  with  the  mystic 
characters  which  declared  it  to  be  a  divine 
bull.  Ignorant  of  this  fact,  and  supposing  the 
public  joy  to  be  over  his  defeat,  Cambyses 
summoned  the  magistrates.  They  endeavoured 
to  pacify  him  by  explaining  about  the  bull  ; 
but  he  ordered  them  to  be  executed  as  liars. 
The  bull  and  priests  were  then  brought  into  his 
presence,  when,  drawing  his  dagger,  he  stabbed 
the  calf.  (2.)  Was  Moses  by  this  act  desirous 
of  showing  the  utter  impotency  of  their  newly 
adopted  god  ?  He  certainly  took  the  most 
efi'ectual  way  to  do  so.  When  the  English 
officer  struck  the  Brahmin  bull  amid  its  crowd 
of  worshippers,  these  deluded  devotees  looked 
for  his  immediate  destruction.  But  when  no 
harm  came  to  him,  when  he  seized  a  rough 
branch,  and  drove  it  with  many  lusty,  sacrile- 
gious blows  about  the  market-place,  the  people 
then  ridiculed  their  priests  and  animal  god. 
The  merciless  grinding  and  pounding  of  the 
Apis  or  Mnevis  calf  may  have  been  a  design  to 
convince  Israel  of  their  folly. 

"  What,  Dagon  up  again  !     I  thought  we  had 

hurled  him 
Down  on  the  threshold,  never  more  to  rise. 
Bring  wedge  and  axe ;  and  neighbours,  lend 

your  hands, 
And  rive  the  idol  into  winter  faggots." 

— Athelstane. 

Dust-Drink!  Ver.  20.  (1.)  She  was  his 
idol,  his  only  daugh  er  !  A  fairy,  sylphlike 
form  was  hers;  and  fondly  hia  eye  watched 
her  flitting  hither  and  thither.  In  his  love, 
the  proud  peer  and  father  forgot  the  suffering 
world  around — its  sorrows  and  its  woes.  In 
his  idol-worship,  he  lost  sight  of  God,  who 
had  given  him  that  living  soul.  He  placed 
the  human  form,  overlaid  with  the  gold  of 
sweetness  and  fairy  charms,  upon  the  throne 
in  his  being,  which  rightly  was  Jehovah's 
only.  One  day  the  pony  shied,  and  the  idol 
fell — fell  on  a  rude  stone  by  the  pathway. 
She  lived,  but  became  a  decrepit  form,  with 
distorted  face.  He  had  to  drink  of  the  bitter 
water  with  the  dust  of  his  idol,  as  from  day  to 
day  he  saw  her  nerveless  form,  and  marked 
her  twitching,  pinched  features.  (2.)  The 
observed  of  all  observers  !  What  queenly 
grace  was  hers  !  What  exquisitely  chiselled 
features  !     Women  envied  her  surpassing  love* 

611 


OBAF.  xxxn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


hnees ;  while  men  thirsted  for  her  smiles. 
Ami  slie  knew  it  all.  Her  beauty  became  her 
idol — wood  overlaid  witli  g'>l<l.  SLie  kariied 
to  adore  her  owu  charms.  She  worshipped 
her  image  reflected  iu  the  boudoir  mirror. 
God  was  forgotten  iu  her  idolatry  of  self- 
beauty.  An  evening  came,  when  tlie  flashing 
jewels  lay  untouched  —  when  the  princely 
saloon  felt  not  the  witchery  of  her  presence. 
It  was  small-pox  ;  an<i  she  rose  from  her  bed 
with  disfigured  featuies.  The  powdered  dust 
of  marred  and  charred  loveliness  was  mingled 
with  the  bitter  water,  as  she  jazed  in  the  now 
hateful  mirror.     Therefore — 

' '  Seek  not  the  world  I 

'Tis  a  vain  sliow  at  best ; 
Bow  not  before  its  idol-shrine  ;  in  God 
Find  thou  thy  DAT  and  best." — Bonar. 

Responsibility  I  Vers.  21-24.  Aaron  sought 
to  shift  the  responsibility  of  this  apostacy  from 
his  own  shoulders  to  those  of  others.  1.  He 
blamed  the  people  (ver.  22)  for  (1)  desiring, 
and  (2)  demanding.  2.  He  blamed  the  fur- 
nace (ver.  24)  for  (1)  protecting,  and  (2)  pro- 
ducing. Kalisch  says  that  Aaron's  reply  to 
the  reproachful  qiiestion  of  Moses  is  designedly 
obscure  and  confused,  because  he  was  himself 
conscious  of  the  great  crime  which  his  fatal 
want  of  moral  courage  had  abetted.  A  crazy 
house  is  propped  up  by  one  support ;  but 
conscious  of  its  insecurity,  the  owner  places  a 
second  to  keep  up  the  structure.  Aaron  was 
sensible  of  the  flimsiness  of  his  defence,  and 
he  must  need  prop  it  up  with  two  supports, 
which,  after  all,  disclosed  its  insecurity. 

"  Sin  and  shame  are  ever  tied  together 
With  Gordian  knots,  of  such  a  Btrong  thread 

spun, 
They  cannot  without  violence  be  undone." 

PerBonal  Responsibility  1  Ver.  23.  That 
puckered  mouth  had  once  known  smiles  1 
Those  withered,  parchment-like  cheeks  had 
once  worn  the  rose  bloom  I  Those  hungry 
eyes  had  once  been  like  those  of  doves,  washed 
with  milk  and  fitly  set  1  Those  lean,  clutching 
hands  had  once  tenderly  embraced  a  fair  and 
loved  form  !  And  that  heart,  dry  and  worth- 
less as  a  decayed  nut-kernel,  had  once  been 
soft  and  gushing  with  love  and  sympathy  1 
Now  he  was  a  miser,  smiling  only  as  he  saw 
the  yellow  dross  and  clutched  the  golden 
Coins.  To  bleed  a  stone  were  easier  than  to 
find  pity  and  unselfish  sympathy  for  the  woes 
and  wants  of  others.  He  was  a  miser  ;  yet  he 
had  his  moments  when  conscience,  like  a  second 
Moses  to  Aaron,  would  ask,  *'  What  is  this 
that  thou  hast  done  ? "  Adam-like,  Aaron- 
like,  Saul-like,  aye,  man-like,  he  would  reply 
to  himself,  "She  made  me  what  I  am."  He 
had  loved,  and  his  love  had  proved  faithless — 
had,  on  the  very  morning  of  their  intended 
marriage,  befin  wedded  to  another.  She  had 
made  him  love  gold,  become  selfish  and 
ftvaricious,  live  a  hard  and  unsympathetic 
512 


life.  "  She  made  me  1 "  "  No,  Aaron,  death 
before  dishonour."  Fearing  the  auger,  menace, 
and  violence  of  tlie  Israelites,  he  acted  a  con- 
sciously unworthy  part,  and  all  the  more  be- 
cause he  was  their  leader  pro  tempore.  We 
are  what  we  make  ourselves,  not  what  others 
make  us — the  victims  of  our  fears  or  folliea, 
our  lusts  or  lingeriugs  after  evil. 

"  Our  acts  our  angels  are,  or  good  or  ill, 
Our  fatal  shadows  that  walk  by  us  stilL" 
— Beaumont. 

Retribution  1  Vers.  2-8.  (1.)  Yes,  they 
were  rebels  taken  red-handed  in  revolt  against 
their  king.  Not  only  had  they  taken  up  arms 
against  their  liege  lord,  and  entered  into  nego- 
tiations with  his  relentless  foe,  but  they  had 
endeavoured  to  induce  many  of  their  fellow- 
countrymen  to  join  them  in  their  rebellioua 
and  lawless  course.  To  spare  them  from 
punishment  would  be  to  leave  them  oppor- 
tunity of  bringing  wider  ruin  upon  all  and 
sundry.  For  the  sake  of  the  people,  and 
especially  the  weak,  it  was  necessary  that 
retribution  should  overtake  these  red-handed 
communistic  leaders.  (2.)  Daniel  Defoe,  in 
his  far-famed  "Life  of  Robinson  Crusoe,"  and 
John  Bunyan,  in  his  widely-known  allegory  of 
the  Holy  War,  have  shown  how  this  apparently 
severe  treatment  was  in  reality  true  charity 
and  compassion.  And  is  it  not  from  the 
same  cause  that  the  lost  angels  and  men  are 
to  be  "  for  ever "  shut  up  in  darkness,  and 
precluded  from  entering  amongst  the  re« 
deemed  ?  It  is  often  the  greatest  mercy  to 
exercise  strictest  justice.  Severity  to  one  may 
save  the  many  from  temptation,  nay,  from 
ultimate  destruction.     Pity  I 

*•  I  share  it  most  of  all  when  I  share  justice, 
For  then  I  pity  those  I  do  not  know, 
Wliich  a  dismiss'd  offence  would  after  gall ; 
And  do  him  right  that,  answering  one  foul 

wrong. 
Lives  not  to  act  another." — Shakespeare. 

Mosaic  Intercession  !  Ver.  30.  (1.)  There 
is  a  sublime  grandeur  in  the  form  of  Moses, 
as  we  behold  him  holding  forth  his  rod  over 
the  billowy  sea,  or  raising  that  rod  towards 
heaven.  The  stormy  tempest  and  the  beet- 
ling waters  obeyed  the  Leader,  who  was  in- 
vested with  power  by  that  God  who  made  the 
sea  and  stretched  out  the  firmament  on  high. 
(2.)  There  is  more  than  human  majesty  in 
the  appearance  of  Moses  when  we  behold  the 
great  Lawgiver  descending  from  Sinai,  bearing 
aloft  those  holy  commandments  which  not  a 
nation  alone,  but  a  world  should  observe,  his 
countenance  radiant  with  such  glory  as  never 
before  had  beamed  from  human  face.  (3.)  But 
though  he  was  mighty  as  the  Leader,  illustri- 
ous as  the  Legislator,  it  is  with  more  of  in- 
terest and  admiration  that  we  view  him  as  the 
Intercessor  for  Israel.  Power,  it  has  been  well 
said,  excites  wonder,  holiness,  awe.  But  it  i* 
lore  which  attracts  the  soul. 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP,  xwiri. 


"'Mid  visions  of  eternal  light 

That  glow  on  Eden's  plain, 
Where  never  comes  tiie  shade  of  night 

In  spii  it  realms  to  re igu  ; 
Where  robe  and  crown  of  angels  glow, 

There's  One  in  tears  alone — 
One  interceding  for  our  woe — 

'Tis  Jesus  by  the  Throne." 

Book  of  Life!  Ver.  23,  (I.)  The  book 
here  spoken  of  is  the  Book  of  Life.  It  was 
even  then  the  custom  of  every  city  to  keep  a 
list  of  the  burgesses.  The  Israelites  were 
familiar  with  the  custom  of  keeping  a  register 
of  families  ;  as  appears  in  Genesis  v.  1. 
Hence  Moses  uses  a  familiar  figure  in  speak- 
ing of  God's  book.  It  has  been  supposed  that 
a  similar  reference  occurs  in  Psalm  xxix.  and 
Ixix. ;  and  in  Daniel  xii.  1.  (2.)  It  seems  that 
in  China  they  have  two  books — one  the  Book 
of  Life,  and  the  other  the  Book  of  Death. 
These  are  presented  to  the  Emperor  by  his 
ministers,  who  is  at  liberty  to  blot  out  from 
either  book  any  names  he  pleases.  Those 
whose  names  he  blots  out  from  the  Book  of 
Life  are  doomed  to  die  ;  and  those  whom  he 
erases  from  the  Book  of  Death  are  allowed  to 
live. 

**  And  then  and  there  the  likeness  as  of  books 
Before  the  awful  presence  of  the  Judge 
Was  seen — the  massive  chronicles  of  time. 
The  Law — the  Gospel  and  the  Book  of  Life." 
— Bickersteth. 

Intercession  !     Vers.  31-34.    In  one  of  the 

lovely  Swiss  villages,  bordered  on  its  most 
romantic  lake,  dwelt  an  aged  Christian  and  his 
granddaughter  —  a  maiden  of  simple  beauty 
and  lofty  imagination.  Two  Englishmen 
visited  the  locality ;  when  the  attention  of 
one  was  attracted  to  this  German  girl.  After 
some  weeks'  residence,  the  English  stranger 
discovered  that  he  was  loved  by  the  village 
maiden.  He,  therefore,  induced  her  to  leave 
her  grandfather's  roof,  under  the  promise  of 
a  marriage.      For  a  month   they  continued 


travelling  from  one  place  to  another,  partly 
for  concealment  and  partly  to  view  the  beau- 
tiful scenery.  At  length,  the  yearning  to  see 
the  aged  grandfather  became  intense  ;  but  he 
liad  steruly  i-efused.  In  this  painful  crisis, 
the  English  friend  undertook  to  intercede. 
His  intercession  proved  effectual ;  and  on  the 
regular  marri-ige  of  tlie  two  runaways,  she 
was  restored  to  her  old  home.  Here  husband 
and  wife  lived  happily,  until  the  summons 
came  for  the  veteran  Christian  to  leave  this 
passing  world. 

•*  We  dare  not  think  what  earth  would  be^ 
0  Intercession  !  but  for  thee  ; 
A  howling  chaos,  wild  and  dark — 
One  flood  of  horrors,  while  no  ark, 
Upborne  above  the  gloom-piled  wave, 
From  one  great  death-abyss  might  sav6t" 


Intercessory  Prayer  I  Ver.  34.  (1.)  It  has 
been  well  said,  Prayer  is  not  an  endeavour  to 
wrest  from  God  what  He  is  reluctant  to  bestow. 
It  is  the  approach  of  the  heart  to  Him  to  claim 
what  He  has  promised,  and  what  He  delights 
to  give.  It  was  God  Himself  who  directed 
Moses  to  stand  in  the  beach.  And  it  is  the 
Father  who  has  given  the  Son  to  be  our 
Intercessor.  All  true  prayer  is  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  therefore  cannot  fail  to 
be  presented  and  accepted.  (2.)  If  such  is 
true  of  the  intercessory  prayer  of  Moses,  how 
much  more  so  is  it  of  Christ?  He  pleads  for 
our  forgiveness  at  the  throne  of  God.  When 
the  word  went  forth  against  the  fruitless 
fig-tree  :  "  Cut  it  down,"  the  voice  was  heard 
of  the  prevailing  advocate,  "  Let  it  alone  this 
year  also."  How  often  may  such  prayers  have 
been  ofiered  on  our  behalf  ! — Luke  vi.  12. 

"  Ended  is  the  day's  work  now, 
Jesus  seeks  the  mountain's  brow; 
He,  from  early  dawn,  His  sheep 
Hath,  as  Shepherd,  toiled  to  keep. 
Doth  He  close  in  sleep  His  days  ? 
Nay,  He  watches  stiU,  and  prays." 


CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

Cbittoal  Notes. — 18.  Thy  glory]  =  Kebodeeha,  from  kabod=glory,  i,e.,  the  mysteriouf 
essential  qualities  of  the  Deity  in  all  their  magnificence  and  stupendousness.  Moses  felt 
forced  to  make  this  request  on  account  of  the  pressuie  of  circumstances.  He  was  fully  alive 
to  the  heinousness  of  the  sin  which  the  Israelites  had  committed  in  tlie  worship  of  the  golden 
calf  (xxxii.  30)  ;  he  had  witnessed  God's  indignation  upon  it  (xxxii.  10),  and  yet,  upon  his 
intercession  on  their  behalf,  the  Lord  repented  (i.e.,  recalled)  the  evil  which  He  thought  to  do 
to  His  people  (xxxii.  14).  This  blending  of  justice  and  mercy  ;  this  stern  reproving,  and  again 
yielding  with  all  tenderness  and  love  and  forbearance,  on  the  part  of  God,  was  so  contrary  to  all 
that  he  feared,  and  therefore  so  bewildering  to  him,  that  he  was  induced  to  ask,  *'  Show  me 
now  Thy  way  that  I  may  know  Thee  "  (ver.  13),  i.e.,  "reveal  unto  me  now,  at  this  juncture  of 
contrarieties,  Thy  secret,  that  I  may  know  once  for  all  the  principles  on  which  Thou  dost  act 
thus."  To  this  God  answers  him  with  a  promise  (ver.  14).  To  which,  again,  Moses  replies 
with  great  naivete  (ver.  16),  as  if  he  said,  "  Of  course,  Thy  presence  must  go  with  us ;  only  that 

2p  613 


CHAP,  xxxia.  HOMlLETtC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


IK  not  exactly  what  my  request  means,"  and,  as  if  for  the  sake  of  greater  perspicuity,  he 
amends  his  request  and  resumes,  "  I  pray  Thee,  show  me  Thy  glory,"  i.e.,  "  Give  nie  that  which 
will  unlock  to  my  understanding  Thy  mysterious  self,  for  then  shall  I  feel  at  rest  and  never 
again  be  confounded,  however  contradictory  Tliy  wonderful  dealing  with  us  may  appear  in 
future."  And  a:,'ain  God  replies  (vers.  19-'22),  and  of  which  verse  23  is  an  ax  omatic  con- 
clusion, viz.,  that  man  in  his  present  state  can  only  know  or  see  the  glory  of  God  exiieriinentally, 
and  in  the  manifestations  of  Hi.i  providence,  as  indicated  in  verses  19-22,  and  that  oidy  retro- 
spectively, by  seeing  His  "back-parts  =  Achoray,  i.e.,  ll\s  past,  or  His  works  ;  but  His  "  face" 
=  Pauav,  i.e.,  future,  in  all  its  mysteriousness  no  man  can  see  while  in  a  mortal  state. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.  — Verses  1-12. 

The  Hidden  Countenanck 
We  observe — 

I.  The  fact  of  the  hiding  of  God's  face.  God  has  not  here  wholly  deserted 
Israel — far  from  it.  In  consequence  of  the  intercession  of  Moses,  and  of  that 
retribution  which  had  been  inflicted  upon  Israel,  God  promised  not  to  forsake 
His  people ;  but  we  are  instructed  here,  verses  2  and  3,  that  God's  presence 
shall  not  l)e  so  fully  and  brightly  granted  to  Israel  as  it  has  been.  "  I  will 
send  ail  angel  before  thee,"  ver.  2.  That  is,  God  will  stand  by  His  elect  people, 
but  He  will  be  more  hidden  by  agents  and  instruments.  Is  not  this  sometimes 
still  the  case  with  God's  people  %  They  feel  that  God  has  not  forsaken  them, 
but  He  is  not  near  to  them,  so  sensibly  near  and  precious  to  them  as  He 
once  was.  They  feel  as  the  children  of  Israel  did  here — that  an  angel  takes 
the  place  of  God — a  star  takes  the  place  of  the  sun.  They  feel  as  Job  did 
(Job  xxix.  3.)  As  David  did  (Ps.  xlii.  5).  There  is  not  the  rich,  full  abiding 
sense  of  the  Divine  presence  and  love. 

II.  The  reason  of  the  hiding  of  God's  presence.  This  hiding  is  not  arbitrary, 
-f  he  sin  of  Israel  was  the  explanation  of  this  eclipse  of  the  Divine  Face.  When 
God  withdraws  His  fuller  presence  from  the  souls  of  His  people  it  is  (1)  partly  in 
judgment.  "  I  will  not  go  up  in  the  midst  of  thee,  for  thou  art  a  stiff-necked 
people,"  ver.  3.  Because  of  our  forgetfulness,  or  unbelief,  or  perversity,  God 
takes  from  us  the  joys  of  His  salvation.  Our  sins  separate  between  us  and  God, 
And  when  they  do  not  create  an  impassable  gulf,  they  create  a  distance  between  us 
and  God  which  fills  the  soul  with  the  gloom  of  the  night  and  the  chill  of  the 
winter.  But  it  is  (2)  also  in  mercy  that  God  hides  Himself.  "Lest  I  consume 
thee  in  the  way."  With  fuller  revelations  of  God's  presence  come  loftier  respon- 
sibilities, and  God  lessens  the  gifts  that  He  may  lessen  our  perils.  It  is  as  much 
in  mercy  as  in  anger  that  God  denies  us  fuller  revelations  of  truth,  fuller 
measures  of  joy,  higher  privileges  and  gifts. 

III.  The  sorrow  of  the  hiding  of  God's  presence,  vers.  4-6.  The  people  put 
off  their  ornaments  as  the  sign  of  their  great  loss  and  sorrow.  Putting  away 
their  ornaments  signified  (1)  that  in  losing  God  they  had  lost  their  glor^. 
Their  God  was  their  glory,  and  if  He  refused  to  shine  upon  them,  their  glory 
departed.  Putting  away  their  ornaments  signified  (2)  that  in  losing  God  they 
had  lost  their  treasure.  God  was  their  portion,  and  in  Him  they  had  all  riches. 
(3)  Putting  away  their  ornaments  signified  that  they  had  lost  their  joy.  No 
more  joy  without  Him.  Thus  is  it  still  with  God's  people.  In  diminishing 
measures  of  God's  love  and  grace  they  find  reason  for  profoundest  sorrow.  It  is 
no  use  wearing  jewels  if  we  are  losing  Him — for  without  Him  we  have  no  glory, 
no  treasure,  no  joy. 

"  Should  I  from  Thee,  my  God,  remove, 
Life  could  no  lasting  bliss  afford  ; 
My  joy,  the  sense  of  pardoning  love, 
My  guard,  the  presence  of  my  Lord," 

514 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxxiiL 


IV.  The  method  by  which  we  are  to  seek  the  restoration  of  the  light  of 
God's  presence,  vers.  7-12.  Drawing  nigh  to  God  in  penitent  sorrow — in 
ardent  supplication.  Then  God  is  moved  to  forgiveness ;  He  causes  His  face  to 
shine  upon  us,  and  we  are  saved. 

The  Manifested  Presence. — Verses  12-17. 
The  manifested  presence  is — 

L  The  saint's  privilege,  vers.  12,  13.  Moses  pleads  that  it  is  his  privilege 
to  have  a  clear  knowledge  of  God's  will  and  way.  God  has  condescended  to 
honour  Moses:  "  1  know  thee  by  name,  and  thou  hast  also  found  grace  in  My 
sight,"  ver.  12.  Therefore  Moses  pleads  that  God  will  give  to  him  a  clear 
knowledge  of  His  mind  and  purpose,  ver.  13.  It  was  not  only  the  privilege 
of  Moses  thus  to  know  God,  but  all  God's  people  are  to  be  sharers  in  the  same 
privilege.  God  has  called  us  His  friends,  and  sons,  and  people,  therefore  it  is 
not  for  us  to  walk  in  uncertainty  and  darkness  and  sorrow.  We  ought  to  seek — 
1.  For  a  clear  manifestation  of  God's  character.  2.  For  a  comfortable  assur- 
ance of  God's  favour.  3.  For  a  full  acquaintance  with  God's  will  concerning 
us.  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him,"  and  none  of  God's 
people  ought  to  be  content  to  live  in  a  state  of  perplexity  and  misery. 

II.  The  saint's  rest.  "  And  He  said,  My  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I 
will  give  thee  rest,"  ver.  14.  The  clear  bright  consciousness  of  God's  favour 
and  presence  will  give  rest  unto  the  soul.  There  is  rest  from  doubts.  We  feel  we 
are  God's,  and  all  fear  is  cast  out.  Eest  from  fear  of  enemies.  "  If  God  is  with  us, 
who  can  be  against  us  1  "  Rest  from  anxieties  about  the  way.  He  finds  the  path 
for  us.  Rest  from  misgivings  about  the  future.  In  the  knowledge  of  God's  truth, 
love,  power,  promise,  the  soul  realises  a  peace  which  passeth  understanding. 

The  manifested  presence  is, — 

III.  The  saint's  joy  and  glory,  ver.  15.  If  God  does  not  go  with  them, 
they  do  not  wish  to  proceed  to  Canaan.  True,  Canaan  was  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey  ;  but  it  had  no  charms  in  the  eyes  of  Moses  if  God  was 
to  be  hidden.  The  manifested  love  of  God  is  the  Canaan  of  His  people,  and 
without  this,  lauds  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  are  desolate  and  undesirable. 
And,  in  ver.  16,  we  are  taught  that  God  is  the  glory  of  His  people.  The  con 
sciousness  of  God's  love  renders  the  people  of  God  singularly  rich,  and  great, 
and  happy. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 

Bible-Truths  I  Vers.  1-23.    Beautiful  Book  thou  hast  the  promise  of  a  life  that  now  is, 

of  Life  !     Everlasting  Word!  though  heaven  and  of  one  that  is  to  come.     What  a  lovely 

and    earth    should    pass   away   thou   art   all-  world  would  that  be  where  the  page  was  not 

abiding.     Thou  art  the  book  of  love  and  of  only  widely  and  openly  spread,  liut  where  all 

peace  ;    thy  pages    are   brightened    with   the  men  and  wumen  walked  steadily  in  the  light 

intelligence   that   "God    is   love,"   and   thou  of  it!     What   would   such  a  world   be  but  a 

makest  by    thy  soft    influence   faniiiios   and  Paradise  regained? 
nations  peace-makers.     Thou  art  the  book  of 

truth  ;  from   thy  pages  have  shone  forth  the  **  Speak  !  for  Thy  servant  heareth  ;  bid  Thy 
clearest  and  most  certain  words  that  ever  fell  word 

on  human  ear.    Thou  art  the  book  of  freedom;  Draw  me  to  Thee,  encourage,  or  reprove; 

priests  and   kings   have  clasped  and  chained  Incline  my  heart  to  do  Thy  will,  0  Lord  ; 

thee,  dreading  the  dreadful  power  of  liiiht.  And   on  its  tablets  trace  Thy  words  of 

Thou  art  the  book  of  eternity  and  of  time  j  love." 

515 


CHAP.  XXXUl. 


nOMILETlC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Divine-Restraint !  Ver.  3.  (1.)  In  Mada- 
gascar, sonic  natives  asked  a  missionary  to 
take  the  leailorsliii)  of  their  deputation  to  the 
governor  of  the  province,  on  the  question  of 
their  beins?  allowed  to  miirrate  to  another  and 
more  fertile  part  of  this  great  island.  On  the 
way,  some  of  the  members  of  the  party  fell 
into  committing  excesses  by  drinking,  and 
under  its  influences  plundering  some  of  the 
properties.  As  soon  as  the  complaint  was 
made  to  tlie  missionary,  he  refused  to  go  any 
farther,  and  intimated  his  intention  of  return- 
ing the  following  morning  at  daybreak,  leav- 
ing them  to  shift  for  themselves.  "  I  cannot 
go  up  with  you,  for  your  irregularities  dis- 
honour my  character  as  a  messenger  of  truth 
and  righteousness."  (2.)  Was  it  not  some- 
thing of  this  kind  here  !  "  I  will  not  go  up  in 
the  midst  of  thee,"  But  why  not  ?  Surely 
God  had  forgiven  them  in  chap,  xxxii.  ?  But 
it  was  forgiveness  conditional  upon  Israel's 
penitence.  If  a  child,  who  has  done  wrong, 
and  who  has  heard  of  its  father's  readiness  to 
pardon,  does  not  arise  and  go  to  him,  saying, 
"  Father,  1  have  sinned,"  can  he  obtain  the 
father's  forgiveness  ?  Ought  he  to  expect  it  ? 
No.  Just  so  Israel.  God  could  not,  consis- 
tently with  His  attributes,  go  up  with  Israel 
BO  long  as  there  was  no  repentance.  This  im- 
penitence was  a  Divine  restraint  upon  Him. 

"  May  repentance  be  the  ember 
Which  upon  my  lips  shall  lie, 
And,  from  head  to  foot,  my  nature, 
With  its  burning,  purify." 

Palestine-PromiBed  !  Ver.  3.  Bannister 
■ays  that  all  that  can  delight  the  eye,  and  feed 
the  imagination,  is  lavished  over  the  surface. 
The  lovers  of  scenery  can  find  there  every  form 
and  variety  of  landscape.  Its  snowy  heights 
and  mountains,  its  valleys  and  its  waters,  are 
as  beautiful  as  when  David  sang  their  praises, 
and  far  more  interesting  hy  the  accumulation 
of  reminiscences.  The  land,  unbroken  by  the 
toils  of  the  husbandman,  awaits  but  the  hour 
appointed,  when  it  will  sustain  and  fructify  its 
millions  of  products,  and  flow,  as  of  old,  with 
milk  and  honey,  reasserting  its  rightful  title, 
"the  garden  of  the  Lord"— "the  glory  of  all 
lands  I " 

*'  0    blessed   land  I    the   whole  world  envies 
thee, 
Thy  fields,  by  His  pure  footsteps  hallowed. 
0  happy  people,  whom,  as  Shepherd,  He 
With  gentle  crook  unto  green  pastures 
led."  — Geruh. 

Sin-Scars !  Vers.  1-3.  Have  you  ever 
attempted  a  carpenter's  work  as  an  amateur? 
There  is  a  right  and  a  wrong  way  of  planing 
a  board.  Even  the  skilled  carpenter  will  by 
accident  plane  one  shaving  the  wrong  way  of 
the  grain.  Of  course,  the  surface  is  left  rough. 
What  is  to  be  done  ?  Turn  the  board  and 
plane  in  the  reverse  direction.  It  will  take 
more  than  one  driving  to  get  the  surface 
516 


smooth  again  ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  go  over 
it  again  and  again.  So  with  Israel.  One 
stroke — a  wrong  one — cut  deeply  and  roughly, 
and  long  weary  years  were  needed  to  efface  the 
error.  Efface!  That  could  never  be.  The 
cut  made  by  the  urchin's  hand  remains  in  the 
giant  oak  centuries  after  that  boy  hecame 
hoary  and  went  to  the  other  world.  The  scar 
formed  from  some  slight  wound  received  by  a 
child  in  some  act  or  deed  of  disobedience  wlicn 
but  three  years  of  age,  remains  on  the  finger 
or  leg  when  threescore  years  and  ten  have 
been  reached.  The  mark  of  Israel's  cross- 
grainedness  at  Sinai  remained  afterwards  on 
the  national  life, 

"  The  toind  is  hushed,  and  the  storm  is  gone. 
Yet  the  waves  of  tlie  ocean  are  rolling  on. 
And,  reckless  of  all  they  have  done  before. 
Madly  they  rush  on  the  trembling  shore, 
And  whiten  the  beach  with  foaming  spray, 
Like  wreaths  of  snow  on  a  wmter's  day." 

Hiding  -  Discipline !  Ver.  4.  A  father 
walking  with  his  child  in  the  city,  and  fear- 
ful of  losing  him,  owing  to  the  restless  spirit 
of  the  child,  whose  curiosity  led  him  to  gaze 
on  every  new  object  which  presented  itself, 
withdraws  himself  behind  some  pillar,  or  hides 
himself  at  the  corner  of  a  street.  He  has 
thus  hidden  away,  not  that  he  may  lose  the 
child,  but  in  order  to  prevent  it  from  being 
lost,  by  making  it  keep  closer  to  him  in  future. 
So  did  God  hide  Himself  from  Israel  when 
that  people  rambled  from  Him  in  their  wor- 
ship at  Sinai.  It  was  done  to  make  the  Israel- 
ites seek  Him  the  more  earnestly,  walk  more 
circumspectly,  and  keep  closer  to  Him  for  the 
time  to  come. 

"  Therefore,  although  'tis  hard  to  flesh  and 
Blood, 
Believe,  my  children,  this  is  for  your  good." 

Divine  -  Tuition  I  Ver.  5.  (1.)  Sailing 
down  the  might-sweeping  Amazon  were  an 
English  mother  and  her  children.  One  ot 
them  of  very  tender  years  was  yet  of  wayward 
and  self-willed  spirit.  On  one  occasion,  hav- 
ing landed  from  the  boat  at  a  creek  on  the 
shore  to  catch  turtles  and  game,  the  little  one, 
contrary  to  solemn  injunctions,  wandered  oft 
into  the  wood,  and  caused  extreme  anxiety 
and  delay.  The  search  all  night  for  the 
wanderer  led  to  an  ekkr  brother  catching  the 
swamp  fever,  from  which  he  never  recovered. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  self-willed  child 
should  be  punished.  Yet  the  mother-heart 
yearned  to  relax  the  severity  of  the  chastise- 
ment. Could  this  be  done  without  an  expres- 
sion of  penitence  ?  No  ;  but  none  was  evi- 
denced. Tenderly  the  mother  took  the  boy's 
hand,  reasoned  with  him,  pointed  out  that 
the  moral  attributes  of  a  parent  required  con- 
trition for  an  ofl'ence,  and  urg''d  upon  him 
true  repentance.  (2.)  Great  as  is  a  mother's 
love,  the  Divine  is  greater.  Solemn  as  are 
the  moral  attributes  of  a  parent,  God's  are 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXUL 


more  so.  He  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  His 
own  perfections,  yet  He  longs  to  reduce  the 
severity  of  His  sentence.  How  can  it  be  clone  ? 
He  on  Sinai — ay,  in  Etrypt — condescended  to 
be  Israel's  Teacher  and  Parent ;  therefore  He 
liere  instructs  Israel  in  the  law  of  repentance. 
Like  that  mother,  He,  as  it  were,  sits  down 
to  teach  Israel  the  necessity  of  true  heartfelt 
contrition,  with  confession  of  sin.  Awful  as 
ver.  5  seems,  it  ig  the  awfulness  of  the  Divine 
Heart  thirsting  to  extend  mercy,  if  only  the 
scandalous  offenders  will  bend  their  stiff  necks 
in  penitence  :  "  Therefore  now,  put  off  thy 
ornaments  from  thee." 

"  It  is  good  for  you,  thouirh  it  seems  not  now ; 
Although  your  eyes  are  now  bedimmed  with 

tears. 
Yet  on  your  darkness  purer  light  shall  glow, 
Till,  through  the  cloud,  the  Crown  of  Faith 

appears." 

Self-Mortification  I  Vers.  6,  4.  (1.)  A 
nobleman  employed  at  a  continental  court  on 
an  important  State  mission  heard  of  the  un- 
faithfulness of  his  wife  during  his  absence. 
Duty  to  his  country  at  a  perilous  crisis  required 
its  careful  and  complete  discharge.  On  his 
return  home  and  arrival  at  the  town  nearest 
his  castle,  he  sent  forward  a  friend  to  disclose 
the  revelation  which  had  been  made  to  him. 
Stricken  with  remorse  at  her  sire's  knowledge 
of  her  guilt,  she  implored  mercy,  and  be- 
sought the  friend  to  intercede  for  her  forgive- 
ness. The  husband  promised  that  she  should 
be  provided  for,  but  declared  his  inflexible 
resolution  not  to  restore  her  as  before.  Over- 
whelmed with  a  sense  uf  shame,  and  of  the 
utter  hopelessness  of  life  under  such  circum- 
stances, she  stripped  herself  of  her  princely 
attire  of  silks  and  jewels,  and  assumed  the 
meanest  garb  of  sackcloth  and  humiliation. 
("2.)  God  tells  us  that  Israel  had  been  to  Him 
as  a  wife:  "Thy  Maker  is  thy  husband." 
The  calf-worship  was  indeed  idol-fornication 
on  the  part  of  the  nation's  soul.  He  had  dis- 
covered Israel's  unfaithfulness  wliile  Moses 
was  in  the  mount.  He  sends  Moses  to  an- 
nounce an  entire  separation  of  Himself  from 
the  nation.  The  intercession  of  Moses  secure 
milder  terms ;  but  God  says,  "  I  will  not  go 
up  in  the  midst  of  thee."  This  terrible  de- 
claration led  to  deep  humiliation  on  the  part 
of  the  people.  They  stripped  themselves  of 
their  ornaments,  in  token  that  separation  from 
Go(i  meant  the  drying-up  of  all  heart  joy  and 
gladness.  Tliis  explains  ver.  4,  which  chrono- 
logically comes  in  after  ver.  6. 

"  No  good  thing  in  me  resides. 
All  my  soul  an  aching  void. 
Till  Thy  Spirit  tliere  abides, 
And  I  am  filled  with  God." 

—  Wesley, 


Porter  says  that  the  tents  of  eastern  leaders 
are  often  very  lovely,  spacious,  and  encom- 
passed with  walls  of  waxed  cloth.  He  de- 
scribes one  pasha's  tent  near  Cairo,  inside  of 
which  was  a  pavilion  lined  with  flowered 
tapestry.  Around  this  costly  tent  were  pitched 
two  hundred  other  tents  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  look  towards  the  pasha's  tent.  (2.)  Others, 
however,  are  of  o|)inion  that  this  was  really 
a  temporary  sacred  tabernacle,  provisional  to 
tiie  construction  of  the  one  according  to  Divine 
direction  \>y  Bezaleel,  Aiioliab,  and  their  work- 
men. This  seems  to  be  the  most  correct  view  ; 
and  its  removal  without  the  camp  was  clearly 
symbolic  instruction  to  Israel  of  their  increased 
need  of  a  mediator  in  their  approaches  to  God. 

**  Times  have  been  when  tempests  beat, 
And  I  suffered  great  defeat; 
When  loved  comrades  fell  away, 
Till  it  seemed  that  none  would  stayi 
But  amid  the  storm's  wild  rush 
There  has  come  a  solemn  hush 
Over  life's  oft-troubled  sea. 
For  a  Friend  has  said  to  me, 
'  I  will  never  leave  thee.' " 

— Farningham. 

Scripture  Sublimities !  Ver.  9.  What  a 
mistake  it  is,  says  the  author  of  the  Schonberg 
Gotta  Family,  to  look  upon  the  Bible  as  a 
mere  collection  of  many  books  !  It  is  so  essen- 
tially One  Book — the  first  page  linked  to  the 
last — not  by  similarity  of  opinion,  but  by 
identity  of  authorship.  If  Exodus  xiv.  is 
evidently  by  the  same  author  as  Revelations 
xiv. ;  so  clearly  is  this  chapter  with  other 
portions  of  the  apocalypse.  Exodus  and  the 
apocalypse  are  portions — verses,  if  you  like — 
of  one  great,  wonderful  poem,  by  one  whose 
ideas  are  all  eternal  realities.  The  simplicity 
of  the  old  classics  is  strained  and  artificial 
beside  its  stories  and  pictures.  The  vivid 
visions  of  Dante  are  faint  and  dusky  as  the  air 
of  his  Inferno  itself  beside  the  Scripture 
sublimities  of  Exodus  xxxiii.  and  Revelations 
iv.  or  xi.  And  there  is  this  infinite  diS'erence 
between  it  and  all  human  compositions : 
that  its  heroes  were  those  who  were  alive,  and 
are  dead,  and  yet  are  alive  for  evermore.  Its 
visions  are  not  guesses,  but  glimpses  of  reali- 
ties which  shall  soon  familiarly  surround  us. 
Its  thoughts  are  messages,  to  each  soul  among 
us,  from  "  the  Lord  our  God  talking  with 
us." 

"  Then  I  felt  my  fainting  soul 

Filling  with  a  new  delight. 
On  my  darkened  vision  stole 

Dawn  of  day  tliat  hath  no  night} 
Thirsting,  trembling  for  the  vail 

To  be  wholly  rent  for  me. 
That  from  sin's  entangling  toils 

Evermore  I  might  be  free." 


Congregation  -  Tent !  Ver.  7.  (1.)  Some 
suppose  this  to  have  been  the  official  tent- 
residence  of   Moses,  as  the  leader  of   Israel. 


Divine  Communion  !  Ver.  11.  (1.)  Some 
say  the  Lord  Jesus  is  in  visible  guise  ;  while 
others  say,  invisible.    The  blind  communicate 

617 


CHAP,  xxxin. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


without  seeing  a  form,  and  the  deaf  without 
hearing  a  voice.  We  may  speak  to  a  person 
behind  a  wall  or  a  screen,  if  only  assured  that 
he  ia  within  call.  By  letters  we  address 
friends  humlreds  of  miles  distant.  The  tele- 
graph hourly  gives  instances  of  men  in  close 
contiict,  though  physically  far  apart.  Writers 
have  addressed  multitudes  separated  from 
them  by  continents  of  space  and  centuries  of 
time.  Here,  however,  was  some  sense  of 
nearness  to  Qcjd.  (2.)  It  may  be,  therefore, 
that  the  Divine  Son  appeared  in  visible  form, 
as  He  had  formerly  done  to  Abraham  and 
to  JacoW — tleigiiing  thus  to  siiroud  His  glory 
before  the  time  when,  born  of  a  wi)mau,  He 
should  wear  the  veil  of  human  flesh.  But 
what  the  Lord  revealed  of  Himself  only  raised 
a  more  intense  de.sire  in  the  heart  of  Moses 
for  higher  knowledge — more  exalted  com- 
munion. It  is  ever  so.  Each  glimpse  of 
Emmanuel's  beauty  makes  us  long  for  fuller 
revelations.  Each  draught  of  divine  fellow- 
ship fills  us  with  deeper  thirstings. 

"  As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling  streams 
When  heated  in  the  chase. 
So  longs  my  soul,  0  God,  for  Thee, 
And  Thy  refreshing  grace." 

Prayer  -  Pleadings  !  Vers.  12-16.  (1.) 
Hamilton  not  inaptly  remarks  that  the  in- 
sulated cloud,  which  from  its  lonely  bosom 
launches  a  bolt  big  enough  to  rend  the 
mountain,  or  make  the  welkin  ring  again,  if 
touched  at  every  point  by  its  trailing  neigh- 
bours— if  stranded  on  the  tree  tops  or  the 
mountain  side — soon  loses  all  its  lightning, 
drawn  off  in  inconspicuous  sparklet — a  thin 
pale  ghost  of  vapour.  (2.)  From  isolated 
spirits,  soaring  hearts  like  those  of  Elijah  and 
Moses,  great  bolts  of  prayer  went  up,  or,  like 
the  fire  from  heaven,  in  S()me  flashing  word 
the  long-gathered  thought  came  down.  And 
such  was  this  mighty  supplication,  which 
Moses  dared  to  flash  out  from  his  Horebheart 
up  into  the  Divine  and  Infinite.  (3.)  Nowa- 
days, instead  of  the  whole  soul  going  up  to 
God  in  some  heaven-rending  ejaculation,  it  is 
all  that  our  spent  and  diluted  pity  can  do, 
when  the  sacred  fire  is  drawn  off  in  driblets, 
to  appreciate  the  sublime  upsoarings  of  souls 
such  as  Luther  aixl  Knox,  John  or  Paul, 
Daniel  or  David,  Elijah  or  Moses.  Yet,  let 
us  not  forget  that  a  thousand  smaller  organs 
may  equal  the  might  and  melody  of  that  in 
the  giant  minster. 

"  Prayer,  like  the  Saviour,  ever  pleads 

For  faithless  friend — for  keenest  foe  ; 
Prayer,  like  the  Spirit,  intercedes 
For  every  grade  of  human  woe. 
And  yet  like  Him,  so  vast  its  power, 
That  it  can  calm  the  fiercest  blast, 
And,  over  misery's  darkest  hour, 
A  sunlet  radiance  sweetly  cast." 

— Mark. 

Name  -  Knowledge  !     Vers.    12-17.     Kit  to 

uys  that  this  denoted  personal  favour  to\rards 
518 


those  whose  names  are  thus  known.  To  be 
known  by  name  to  a  great  jiersonage  or  king 
in  the  East  is  still  considered  a  high  distinc- 
tion. Knox,  in  the  History  of  his  Adventures 
in  Ceylon,  mentions  tliat,  when  he  desired 
the  Cingalese  to  bring  liini  rice  for  his  daily 
food,  they  told  him  that,  as  "  the  king  knew 
his  name,"  the  nobles  oi  the  Court  would  see 
that  he  was  daily  supplied  with  all  necessary 
provisions  and  dainties.  Before  Theodore, 
the  Emperor  of  Al>yssinia,  became  a  victim  to 
the  vice  of  strong  drink,  the  missionary  found 
a  frequ''nt  passport  through  tlie  wilds  and 
villages  of  that  region  in  the  same  way  :  "  The 
king  knows  your  name."  In  Isaiah  xliii.  1, 
the  Lord  exhorts  to  confidence  and  trust, 
because  "  1  have  called  thee  by  thy  name." 
His  knowing  the  name  of  Moses  was  indica- 
tive of  iionour.  Even  so,  God  knew  Jesus  by 
name:  "Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus;" 
and,  "  He  has  given  Him  a  name  above  every 
name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  (as  the 
Mediator  and  Intercessor)  every  knee  should 
bow." 

"  Thy  precious  name.  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  ia 

better  far  to  me 
Than  all  the  wealth  that  can  be  found  in 

earth,  or  air,  or  sea. 
Thou  art  the  Paradise,  set  forth  by  God's 

own  hand  of  love  ; 
Thy  presence  is  itself  the  heaven  where  I 

shall  dwell  above." — Canitz. 

Divine  Guidance!  Ver.  14.  Two  boys 
were  conversing  about  Elijah's  ascent  on  the 
chariot  of  fire,  when  one  inquired  of  the  other 
whether  he  would  not  have  been  afraid  to  ride 
in  such  a  chariot.  "  No,"  replied  the  other, 
"not  if  God  drove  the  hors?s."  If  God  holds 
the  reins  there  can  be  no  danger.  As  the 
child  on  board  the  ship,  amid  the  howling 
blast,  exclaimed,  "  My  father  is  at  the  helm," 
Moses  felt  that  with  the  Divine  Guidance  all 
would  go  well,  and  Israel  reach  the  haven 
where  they  would  be.  He  realised  that  God's 
presence  was  the  only  guarantee  for  safety, 
success,  and  happiness. 

"  I  fear  no  foe  with  Thee  at  hand  to  bless, 
Ills  have  no  weight,  and  tears  no  bitterness; 
Where  is  death's  sting?    Where,  grave,  thy 

victory  ? 
I  triumph  still  if  Thod  abide  with  me." 

Presence-Power  1  Ver.  16.  It  was  church- 
time.  The  bells  had  ceased  tolling,  and  still 
the  messenger  of  God  came  not  to  conduct  the 
services.  The  congregation  were  woniiering 
and  impatient,  for  tiiej'  were  blessed  with  a 
faithful  pastor,  whose  ministry  they  esteemed. 
Anxious  about  the  delay,  the  elder  sent  the 
verger  across  to  the  parsonage  to  remind  the 
preacher  that  he  was  expected  in  the  house  of 
God.  On  entering  the  open  door,  wiiat  was 
the  worihy  m.^n's  astonishment  to  hear  his 
pastor  apparently  in  earnest  and  urgent  con- 
versation  with  some  one,  whose  replies  he 


ROM  I  LET  IG  COMMENTARY ;  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  xxxm. 


could  not  hear.  Returning  hastily  to  the 
place  of  prayer,  he  acquainted  the  pious  elder 
with  the  fact.  A  ray  of  light  flashed  in  upon 
tlie  elder's  mind,  and  he  asked  the  verger  what 
words  he  liad  heard.  The  reply  was,  "I  can- 
not go  witliout  Thee  ;  1  must  have  Thy  pre- 
sence." "That  will  do,"  said  the  elder; 
''He'll  come  with  our  pastor,  and  we'll  have 
a  blessed  day  with  God."  The  minister  was, 
like  Luther  and  Kmi,  agonising  with  God  in 
prayer,  imploring  Him  in  the  words  of  Moses, 
"Let  Thy  presence  go  with  us." 

"  Does  He  promise  that  His  presence 
Shall  go  with  us  to  the  end  ? 
Will  our  dear  Lord  ne'er  forsake  us  ? 
Will  He  all  our  steps  attend  ?  " 

Mosaic-Self-forgetfulness !  Ver.  16.  (L) 
In  England's  historical  annals  stands  a  king  of 
high  renown,  against  whom  a  nobleman  had 
secretly  conspired  with  a  rival  prince.  A 
neighbouring  baron,  on  intimate  terms  with 
the  offender,  and  yet  held  in  high  esteem  by 
tlie  sovereign  because  of  his  probity  and 
valiancy,  undertook  to  intercede.  Hastening 
to  court,  he  sought  the  royal  presence-cham- 
ber, and  pressed  his  suit  for  mercy.  The 
king  told  him  that  his  intention  was  to  con- 
fiscate the  estates  and  titles  of  the  offending 
nobleman  and  confer  them  upon  himself,  as  a 
most  faithful  and  devoted  subject,  to  whose 
wisdom  and  valour  king  and  country  alike 
owed  much.  He  assures  him  of  his  sove- 
reign's favour  and  grace.  What  was  the 
astonishment  of  the  courtiers  around  to  see 
the  favoured  baron  cast  himself  again  at  the 
feet  of  his  monarch  benefactor,  and  plead  the 
royal  favour  towards  himself  as  a  reason  for 
pardoning  the  conspiring  peer.  (2.)  Israel's 
Sovereign  assures  Moses  of  His  favour,  and 
offers  to  confer  on  him  Israel's  inlieritance 
and  title  as  "  God's  People."  Whereupon 
Moses  makes  the  assurance  of  God's  favour 
to  himself  a  plea  for  offending  Israel:  "If  I 
have  found  grace  in  Tliy  sight,  go  up  with  us." 
He  identifies  himself  with  Israel  because  he 
derives  no  separate  advantage  or  privilege. 
"I  and  Thy  people."  Surely,  if  the  earthly 
monarch  graspicg  England's  sceptre  wondered 
at  the  spirit  of  the  mediator,  acceded  to  his 
request,  and  honoured  him  in  many  ways,  we 
can  understand  the  Divine  KinL',  swaying  the 
sceptre  of  righteousness,  according  Moses  his 
petition,  and  rewarding  him  with  a  vision  of 
His  glory. 

"  Father  of  Jesus,  love's  reward. 
What  rapture  will  it  be, 
Prostrate  before  Thy  Throne  to  lie, 
And  ever  yaze  on  Thee." — Faber. 

Mosaic-Yearnings!  Ver.  18.  (1.)  Not 
Nature's  ylm'y.  Moses  had  seen  glorious 
landscapes — the  Nile  brimming  over  with 
bounty — sunrise  from  behind  the  Pyramids — 
the  majestic  mountains  of  this  great  vvilder- 
nees.     The  90th  Psalm,  and  all  the.  poems  in 


the  Pentateuch,  show  that  Moses  was  alive  to 
the  glory  of  God  in  Nature.  He  realised  the 
Divine  Glory  in  the  twinkling  stars  and  shin- 
ing sands,  in  the  wild  thunderstorm  and  in  the 
soft  sweet  breath  of  eve.  But  this  was  not  the 
glory  for  a  vision  of  which  he  thirsted.  (2.) 
Not  Jehovali'a  glory.  Moses  had  beheld  His 
glory  at  the  Burning  Bush  in  Midian — on  that 
night,  so  much  to  be  remembered,  ,then  His 
royal  ensign  fired  the  firmament,  and  under 
Heaven's  immediate  guidance  the  glorious 
march  began  ;  and  in  that  mount,  whose 
mountain-top  was  encircled  with  the  Divine 
glory  like  devouring  fire,  whilst  the  voice  of 
the  Eternal  filled  the  surrounding  solitudes 
with  words  which  echo  still  far  and  wide  o'er 
earth  and  sky  and  sea.  (3.)  But  Grace's  glory. 
Moses  would  gaze  on  the  heart  of  Jehovah, 
rich  in  forgiveness,  and  radiating  forth  its 
ceaseless  loving-kindness.  Like  those  mys- 
terious boxes  of  Eastern  Asia  and  Japan,  the 
Divine  attributes  had  opened  up  their  glories 
one  by  one  ;  and  now  Muses  glimpses  a  glory 
still  interior — the  glory  of  His  Grace.  God 
has  just  shown  mercy  to  scandalous  insulters 
of  His  supremacy  ;  and  grasping  at  this  inlet 
mild  and  merciful,  Moses  prays,  "Show  me 
Thy  glory."     As  the  astronomer 

"  Who  on    the   starry  heavens  the   livelong 

night 
Fas    azed  unwearied,  in  the  dewy  morn 
1  etu  mug     homeward,    plucks     a    simple 

flow«r, 
Primrose,  or  cowslip,  or  anemone, 
And  in  its  lender  beauty  peering  finds 
More  sweet  delight  than   in  tliose  mighty 

orbs 
With  all  their  pendant  satellites." 

— Bickersteih. 

Mediator-Mirror!  Ver.  19.  (1.)  Moses  in- 
terposes between  God  and  the  breakers  of  Bis 
holy  laws.  He  even  offers  himself  a  sacrifice 
(chap,  xxxii.)  in  tlie  place  of  recreant  Israel, 
His  mediation  avails,  so  that  God  mitigates 
the  penalty  on  tlie  repentance  of  the  evil- 
doers. He  declares  His  favour  for  the  man 
who  has  so  generously  ofiered  himself  as  a 
substitute.  The  Divine  assurance  of  favour 
and  grace  emboldens  the  mediator  to  become 
the  intercessor.  In  chap,  xxxiii.  we  have 
these  eloquent  utterances  of  self-foruetful  de- 
votions ;  as  well  as  the  Divine  revelation  that 
He  will  vouchsafe  to  manifest  Himself  to  the 
intercessor.  (2.)  Messiah  interposed  between 
God  and  the  offenders  of  His  righteous  will. 
He  offered  Himself  a  sacrifice  unto  God  for 
a  sweet-smelling  savour— doing  what  Moses 
could  not  do.  The  Lord  accepted  His  media- 
tion— laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all — and 
announced  pardon  to  those  sinners  who  re- 
pented. He  spoke  from  the  excellent  glory 
this  word,  "  Thou  art  My  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  1  am  well  pleased."  On  the  Cross  of 
Calvary,  the  Interce>sor's  prayer  rose  liigh  and 
clear:  "  Forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."     St.  Mark  in  his  last  chapter, 

619 


OBAF.  xxxin. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


and  St.  Luke  in  Acts  i.  relates  that  God  then 
"received  Him  up  into  glory,"  as  Paul  ex- 
presses it  in  one  of  his  epistles ;  see  also 
Kev.  L 

*•  And  lo  1  the  Everlasting  Father  rose 
Diffusing  beams  of  joy  ineffable, 
Which  centred  on  His  Son,  His  only  Son," 

Face-Fire  !  Ver.  20.  (1.)  Heathen  mytho- 
logy has  an  extraoniinary  caricaiure  of  this 
Divine  declaration  in  tlie  tradiiion-fable  of 
Jupiter  and  Semele.  She  is  reported  to  have 
entreated  Jupiter  to  show  her  his  'J:lory.  At 
first  he  was  very  reluctant,  knowing  that  it 
would  be  fatal  to  her;  but  he  at  last  yielded 
to  her  solicitations.  The  story  runs  that  she 
paid  dearly  for  her  importunate  temerity,  aa 
she  was  consumed  by  his  presence  on  the  reve- 
lation of  his  majesty.  (2.)  Oh  !  Profane 
parody  of  the  Divine  Ideal  I  Jupiter  cannot 
do  aught  to  ward  off  the  peril.  Whereas, 
Jehovah 'accedes  to  the  request,  only  by  pre- 
venting  danger  to  the  suppliant  Moses.  Bag- 
ster  thinks  that  "the  face  of  God"  here 
signifies  that  light  inaccessible  before  which 
angels  may  stand  ;  and  concerning  which  the 
apostle  says,  "Now  we  see  tlirough  a  glass, 
darkly  ;  then  face  to  face " — with  no  dim, 
darkling  veil  between. 

•*  Light  of  the  world  I  be  Thou  a  sword  of 

wrath 
Flashing  its  threat*ning  gleam  across  the 

path 
Which  leads  to  sin  and  shame — and  guide 

ns  on, 
Until  we  bathe  in  bliss  before  Thy  throne  I " 


Divine-Face  !  Ver.  20.  The  Incas  of  Peru 
have  a  curious  tradition  of  one  of  their  princes. 
He  had  been  driven  from  the  palace  and 
court ;  and  had  to  tend  the  sacred  llamas 
amongst  the  lonely  plains  of  Chita.  Here  a 
glorious  beintr,  with  robes  brighter  than  the 
light,  appeared  to  him,  and  ordered  him  to 
return  to  his  city,  to  deliver  iiis  people  from 
oppression  :  "  For  to  tliee  it  isgivon  to  deliver 
thy  people."  He  did  as  he  was  told — secured 
the  deliverance  of  his  people — and  was  ap- 
pointed their  ruler  and  prince.  After  this 
was  accomplished,  he  built  a  beautiful  temple. 
Hero  he  stood  in  the  court  before  all  the 
people,  wearing  a  beautiful  tunic  of  blue 
wrought  with  gold  threads,  and  a  lotig  mantle 
glittering  with  shinini;  jewels.  He  dared  to 
raise  his  eyes  to  tlie  awful  burning  face  of  the 
great  faiher,  and  to  say,  "Let  me  behold 
thy  brightness."  Is  there  in  tiiis  ancient 
legend  no  relic  of  the  histories  of  Moses, 
Aaron,  and  Solomon — blending  together  in 
the  far  distance  of  time? 

*'  But  who  can  wander  to  Thy  bright  abode, 
And  look  on  Thee,  the  Everlasting  God, 
If  angels,  veiled,  before  Thy  presence  sing. 
And  sinless  seraphs  droop  the  golden  wing  ?'' 

520 


God-Emblems !  Ver.  22.  Bowes  says  that 
one  of  che  most  ancient  hieroglyphic  repre- 
seutations  of  God  was  the  figure  of  an  eye  upon 
a  sceptre,  to  denote  that  God  sees  and  rules 
all  tilings.  The  Egyptian  hieroglyphic  was  a 
winged  globe  with  a  serpent  coming  out  of  it : 
the  glolie  to  signify  God's  eternity,  the  wings 
His  active  power,  and  the  serpent  His  wis- 
dom. The  Thracian  emblem  was  a  sun  with 
three  beams ;  one  shining  upon  a  sea  of  ice 
and  ineliiiig  it,  another  upon  a  rock  and  dis- 
solving it,  and  the  third  upon  a  dead  man 
and  putting  life  into  him.  But  we  know 
nothing  of  the  imagery  which  God  decided  to 
employ  in  order  that  Moses  might  behold 
this  beatific  vision. 

"  How  wonderful,  how  beautiful, 
The  sight  of  Thee  must  be  ; 
Thine  endless  wisdom,  boundless  power, 
And  awful  purity  1 

"  Tet  I  may  love  Thee,  too,  0  Lord, 
Almighty  as  Thou  art ; 
For  Thou  hast  stooped  to  ask  of  me 
The  love  of  my  poor  heart." 

Kock-CIiftl  Ver.  22.  (1.)  There  is  a  re- 
markable  passage  in  Cant.  ii.  14,  which  ii 
uttered  by  Christ  (1)  to  His  Church,  and 
so  (2)  to  the  Christian  :  "Thou  art  in  the 
clefts  of  the  rock,  in  the  secret  places  of  the 
stairs."  Some  suppose  that  the  second  clause 
refers  to  the  gardens  in  the  east,  where  the 
terraces  one  above  another  were  cut  out  of  the 
rock.  But  the  natural  significance  is  the 
cavernous  precipices  of  the  rocks  resembling 
stairs.  What  are  these  words  designed  to  in- 
dicate ?  1.  Some  say  "the  rock  of  nature," 
in  which  Christ  finds  the  Church  and  Chris- 
tian before  He  calls  them  by  His  grace.  2. 
Others  assert  that  Christ  is  the  hiding-place. 
Thrice  blessed  are  they  who  are  hidden  in 
Him,  that  they  may  see  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord  I  (2.)  The  subsequent  expression  is 
equally  remarkable:  "Let  me  see  Thy  face, 
let  me  hear  Thv  voice."  It  was  Moses  who 
besought  God  for  this.  But  here  we  have 
God  asking  for  this  at  the  hands  of  Moses. 
To  Him  the  voice  of  Moses'  prayer  had  been 
sweet :  "  The  prayer  of  the  upright  is  His  de- 
light." He  loves  to  hear  the  breathings  of 
the  Spirit  of  His  Son  in  our  hearts.  See  Cant, 
iv.  13;  Mai.  iii.  16,  Moreover,  it  is  only 
while  we  are  thus  in  Christ  Jesus  that  our 
countenance  beams  with  the  reflection  of  His 
glory.  Thus  when  Muses  was  forty  days  in 
the  mount  His  face  shone.  "  So  shall  the  King 
greatly  desire  thy  beauty." 

"  Oh,  droop  not  1     Though  a  cloud  may  be 
Between  the  glorious  Son  and  thee, 

No  shade  His  face  can  dim  ; 
Beneath  His  smile  away  shall  roll 
The  sin-mist  of  thy  wounded  soul: 

Only  abide  in  Jlim."  — Shipton, 

Deity-Dazzling!  Ver.  23.  (1.)  When  a 
heathen  king  objected  to  the  missionary's  tC8< 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y .-  EXOD  US.  chap,  xxxiv. 

limonj  concerning  the  One  living  and   true  ruption  ;  but  still  sin  has  mnch  to  do  with  thia 

God,  that  he  could  not  see  Him,  and,  there-  fact,   that  no  man  shall  see  God   and  live. 

fore,  could  not  believe  in  Him,  he  took  the  Angels,    who   never   sinned,    may  look  upon 

kinw  into  the  courtyard,   and  asked  him  to  Him   and    be   undismayed  ;  but   sinful    man 

look  intently  upon  the  sun,  wliich  was  burn-  cannot.      Yet  we  have  the  Messianic  beati- 

ing  in  high  noon.     When  the  monarch  replied  tude  :  *' Blesssed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for 

that  the  attempt  would  blind  him,  tlie  mis-  they  shall  see  God." 

sionary  retorted,    "If   thou  canst    not  look 

upon  one  of  His  servants  without  being  dazzled 

by  his  briirhtness,  how  canst  tlion  endure  look-  "  O  Holy,   wondrous  vision  !  to  think,   when 

ing  upon  Himself  ?"    (2.)  But  this  incapability  this  life's  past, 

not  only  arises    from  the  inherent  glory  of  The  beauty  of  Mount  Tabor  shall  end  in 

God,    but    from    man's   imperfection.      True,  heaven  at  last ! 

when  Daniel  by  the  river  Hiddekel,  and  John  To  think  that  all  the  glory  of  uncreated  light 

in  Patmos,  belield  even  the  veiled  glory  of  the  Shall  be  the  promised  guerdon  of  them  that 

Lord,  their  comeliness  was  turned  into  cor-  win  the  tight  1 "                   — (?Ojma«, 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Critical  Notes. — 1.  Hew  thee  two  tables  of  stone].  A  task  which  could  not  have  failed 
to  make  Moses  feel  abashed,  and  to  impress  him  with  a  sense  of  humility  as  he  reflected  on  his 
breaking  the  first  tables  which  God  Himself  had  prepared  for  him.  The  former  he  had  but  to 
receive,  these  he  must  carry  up  the  mount;  and,  beside?,  this  time  without  being  accompanied 
by  Aaron,  Nadab,  and  Abihu,  and  the  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel  (xxiv.  9).  That  all  this 
diflFerence  connected  with  his  obtaining  the  second  tables  was  calculated  to  make  a  designed 
impression  upon  him,  is  evident  from  the  emphatic  manner  in  which  God  referred  him  to  the 
first  tables,  viz.,  "which  thou  hast  broken  "  (ver.  1). 

MAIN  EOMILETIOS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Term  1-4. 

The  Renewal  of  the  Two  Tables. 

At  the  earnest  intercession  of  the  mediator  God  had  consented  to  give  another 
substantial  revelation  of  His  will  It  was,  however,  to  be  connected  with  a  sub- 
stantial memorial  of  the  people's  disobedience  and  God's  patience  and  goodness. 
On  the  furmer  occasion,  the  materials,  as  well  as  the  revelation,  were  prepared  by- 
God.  The  material  must  now  be  prepared  by  man.  The  circumstances  under 
which  the  law  was  renewed  were  the  same  as  those  under  which  it  was  first 
given,  see  chap.  xix.  12,  &c.     The  subject  teaches  us — 

I.  That  the  moral  law  is  perpetually  binding.  Having  been  broken  it  must 
be  renewed. 

1.  The  revelation  of  the  law,  in  the  first  instance,  was  but  a  repetition  in  detail 
of  what  had  already  been  conveyed  directly  in  the  heart  of,  or  by  special  injunc- 
tions to,  man.  (1.)  Generally  (Exod.  xv.  '1&  ;  Gen,  xxvi.  5  ;  Gen.  xvii.  3).  (2.) 
Particularly,  obedience  (Adam  and  Eve) ;  murder  (Cain,  and  Gen.  ix.  5)  ;  dis- 
honour to  parents  (Gen.  ix.  22).  The  spiritual  ^^'orship  of  the  true  God  (Gen. 
xii.  7  ;  xiv.  18) ;  adultery  and  lying  (Gen.  xii.  14-19  ;  xx  2-16)  ;  adultery  (Gen. 
xxxix.  9) ;  lying  (Gen.  xxvii.  35)  ;  idolatry  (Gen.  xxxv.  2) ;  the  Sabbath  (Exod. 
xvi.  25,  26). 

2.  The  moral  law  was  not  abrogated  by  Christ  (Matt.  v.  17-19).  We  are 
redeemed  from  its  curse,  not  from  its  obligation. 

3.  The  moral  law  is  still  binding  (Rom.  vi.  15  ;  1  Cor.  ix  21). 

n.  That  the  renewal  of  the  moral  law  when  broken  entails  duties  unknown 
before.  "  Hew  thee  two  tables  of  stone;  "  "and  he  hewed  two  tables  of  ston*^  " 
This  fact  is  very  typical  and  suggestive. 

1.  In  the  first  inscription  of  the  moral  law  upon  man's  heart,  the  preparation  and 

621 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  HOMl LET IC  COMMENTARY-  EXODUS. 

the  writing  were  exclusively  the  work  of  God.  When  our  first  parents  awoke 
to  consciousness,  the  "fleshy  tables"  were  found  covered  with  the  "oracles  of 
God." 

2.  When  those  tables  were  defaced  and  those  oracles  transgressed,  the  work 
of  preparation  fell  largely  upon  man.  Ever  afterwards  man  had  to  prepare 
himself  by  acts  of  penitence  and  faith, — not  excluding  divine  help,  of  course, — but 
nevertheless  those  acts  are  acts  of  man,  "  God  commandeth  man  everywhere  to 
repent."     "Repent  ye,  and  believe  the  Gospel"  (cf.  Heb,  viii.  10). 

3.  But  this  renewal  of  the  divine  law  is  accomplished  in  such  a  way  as  to 
deprive  man  of  all  ground  of  glorying,  and  so  as  to  ascribe  all  the  glory  to  God. 
The  tables  were  of  plain  stone,  all  their  embellishments  were  by  the  Divine 
hand. 

III.  That  when  the  moral  law  is  broken  God,  graciously  offers  to  renew  it 
upon  man's  compliance  with  the  revealed  condition,  ver.  1.  So  when  man  by 
repentance  and  faith  "  puts  off  the  old  man  and  puts  on  the  new,"  he  is  renewed 
in  the  imaue  of  Him  that  created  him,  on  which  the  moral  law  is  inscribed 
(Col.  iii.  9-16). 

IV.  That  these  conditions  should  be  complied  with — 

1.  Speedily.   "  Early  in  the  morning." 

2.  Fersonally.  This  great  work  is  a  transaction  between  God  and  the  individual 
particularly  concerned.  We  may  therefore  argue  that  priestly  intervention  is 
(1)  unnecessary.  The  Being  who  could  inscribe  the  precept  on  stone,  can 
inscribe  the  principle  on  the  fleshy  tablets  of  the  heart.  (2)  Imposture.  None 
but  God  could  do  the  one,  none  but  God  can  do  the  other.  Vain,  then,  is  the 
dependence  on  Baptism,  Absolution,  &c.  If  God  has  not  written  on  the  soul, 
no  priest  can  ever  trace  the  Divine  handwriting  there. 

3.  Patiently.  Moses  waited  again  forty  days  and  forty  nights.  (1.)  Do  not 
hurry  the  work  over.  What  is  being  done  is  being  done  for  eternity.  Distrust 
spasm  and  mere  excitement,  no  man  ever  became  great  in  Christianity  or  any- 
thing by  paroxysm.  (2.)  Don't  despond  if  the  work  is  not  progressing  as 
rapidly  as  you  might  wish.  If  God  is  writing  on  your  heart,  let  that  be  your 
comfort,  and  let  God  use  His  own  time.  Paul  had  to  say,  Phil.  iii.  12-14. 
Learn — 1.  The  value  of  the  moral  law.  2.  The  importance  of  having  that  law 
not  only  on  stone  or  paper  but  in  the  heart.  3.  The  necessity  of  a  public  and 
practical  exhibition  and  interpretation  of  that  law  in  the  life. — /.  W.  Buri,. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  5-7. 

The  Proclamation  of  the  Divine  Name. 

This  was  the  second  proclamation.  The  first,  Exod.  iii.  4,  was  delivered  to 
Moses  for  his  instruction  and  comfort  on  his  special  mission.  This  was  delivered 
for  the  Jewish  nation  and  the  world.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  this  God  had 
revealed  His  law,  and  was  about  to  take  the  people  into  covenant  relationship 
with  Him,  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  that  tlie  people  should  know  something 
definite  about  the  Being  to  whom  they  were  thus  intimately  related  and  whom 
they  professed  to  serve.  This  was  the  first /«//  revelation,  the  last  is  "like  unto 
it."  "God  is  love,"  and  they  are  "enough"  for  faith  and  hope  and  work. 
Notice — 

I.  The  proclamation  of  the  Divine  name. 

1.  The  Divine  name  was  proclaimed  ahsoUdely.  What  God  is  in  and  of 
Himself  is  thus  defined  :  "  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God."  The  self-existent,  self- 
sufficient,  all-poM'erful  One.  Connected  witli  the  subjoined  revelation  of  His  good- 
522 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xxxiv. 


ness,  this  teaches — (1.)  That  as  His  goodness  is  based  upon  His  power  man  must 
not  presume.  (2.)  That  as  His  power  supports  His  goodness  man  need  not 
despond. 

2.  The  Divine  name  was  proclaimed  relatively.  This  relative  proclamation 
may  be  viewed  as  revealing  God's  goodness  and  God's  justice.  (1.)  The  Divine 
goodness.  Merciful,  first  because  man's  misery  makes  him  first  an  object  of  pity 
(Judges  X.  16  ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  19).  Gracious,  because  unless  God's  goodness  was 
tree,  spontaneous,  and  unconstrained,  man  could  never  enjoy  it,  as  he  has  not 
the  wherewith  to  purchase  or  deserve  or  draw  it  forth  (2  Cor.  viii.  9). 
Longsuffering,  not  good  by  spasm  or  effort,  but  patient  and  unwearied.  '*  Slow  to 
anger,"  "  Bears  long,"  even  when  the  wrongs  of  His  saints  call  for  His  vengeance 
(Luke  xviii.  7).  Stretches  "  out  His  hand  all  the  day  long,"  and  "  waits  to  be 
gracious."  How  forcibly  does  the  history  of  Israel,  and  indeed  of  every 
individual  life,  bear  witness  to  this  !  Abundant;  to  God's  goodness  there  is  no 
limit.  It  is  a  fountain  that  ever  flows  and  is  never  exhausted  (Eph.  lii.  16,  21 ; 
Phil.  iv.  19).  Certain.  "Truth."  It  is  based  upon  the  Divine  immutability  ; 
"  He  cannot  deny  Himself."  Universal ;  "  keeping  mercy  for  thousands  ;"  uni- 
versal as  regards  space,  universal  as  regards  time.  Activf', ;  "forgiving  iniquity, 
transgression,  and  sin."  (2.)  The  Divine  justice  is /??/(?a;/We.  "  That  will  by  no 
means  clear  the  guilty."  This  inspires  us  with  the  confidence  that  right  is  the 
order  of  the  universe.  The  guilty  may  be  spared  so  that  they  may  repent,  but 
they  will  not  be  cleared.  They  may  prosper  for  the  time,  but  a  heavy  retri- 
bution awaits  them.  Once  more  the  Divine  justice  operates  through  natural 
laws,  "visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers,"  &c.  How^  By  the  physical  law  of 
heredity.  What  a  motive  for  parents  !  Beware  how  you  break  God's  laws  ; 
you  not  only  entail  punishment  on  yourself,  but  your  poisoned  blood  will  flow 
in  the  veins  of  your  degenerate  offspring ! 

II.  The  method  of  its  proclamation. 

1.  The  Divine  name  was  proclaimed  ^e?'Sona%.  "And  the  Lord  passed  by 
before  him  and  proclaimed."  (1.)  God  is  not  the  discovery  of  the  unaided 
intellect.  It  was  no  deduction  of  philosophy,  no  imposition  of  priestcraft,  but 
the  revelation  of  the  Lord  (Job  xi.  7 ;  1  Cor.  i.  21).  (2.)  Not  an  inference 
from  the  phenomena  of  nature.  If  it  is  contended  that  it  was,  how  is  it  thaft 
only  Jews  and  Christians  have  arrived  at  this  knowledge  of  the  Divine  name  1 
Others  have  had  the  page  of  nature  spread  before  them,  and  yet  have 
been  either  atheists  or  idolaters.  Much  of  what  is  boastfully  called  natural 
theology,  and  the  revelation  of  God  in  the  universe,  are  but  facts  read  into  nature 
from  the  Bible  and  by  Bible  men.  True,  God  is  revealed  there  (Rom.  i.  20) ; 
but  the  key  is  wanted  to  decipher  the  hieroglyphics,  and  that  key  is  the 
"  Scriptures  which  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God." 

2.  The  Divine  name  was  proclaimed  condescendingly.  Although  a  revelation 
of  the  Divine  Being  was  necessary,  yet  one  so  full  and  gracious  was  surely  the 
result  of  the  beneficent  condescension  of  God.  Another  revelation  has  been 
vouchsafed  since,  based  upon  the  same  condescension  (Phil.  ii.  5-8). 

This  proclamation  is  of  value — 

i.  Apologetically.  This  is  the  authorised  revelation  of  the  character  of  God. 
Unbelievers  fight  shy  of  it,  and  take  certain  doings  or  commands  wrested  from 
their  context,  and  without  examination  as  to  the  reason  why.  All  such  doings, 
&c.,  must  be  referred  to  and  compared  with  "  the  glories  "  that  here  "  compose 
God's  name."  This  is  the  God  we  worship,  not  the  fiction  of  a  disordered  fancy 
or  a  diseased  mind,  but  "the  Lord,  the  Lord  God,"  &c. 

ii.  To  the  afi3icte<l.  Can  this  God  be  unkind  or  unjust?  Then  trust  that 
what  He  is  now  doing  is  for  your  good. 

iii.  To  the  sinner,  (1)  God  is  good,  therefore  repent  and  come  to  Him;  but 
(2)  just,  and  therefore  cannot  connive  at  sin. — /.  W.  Burn. 

523 


CHAP.  xixiT.  nOhflLETIC  COMMENTARY :  EX0DD8, 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAORAPH.—  Veim  8,  9. 

God's  Presence  with  His  People. 

The  revelation  of  the  Divine  name  was  almost  too  much  for  Moses,  it  was 
BO  unmerited.  He  was  lost  in  wonder  and  adoration  at  the  Divine  condescension, 
ver.  8.  Recovering  himself,  however,  and  emboLlened  by  this  gracious  pro- 
clamation, he,  in  the  true  spirit  of  believing  and  triumphant  prayer,  supplicated 
God's  actual  presence  among  His  people.  This  is  not  tiie  only  instance  in  which 
past  favours  have  been  the  basis  for  future  expectations  (Gen.  xviii  23-33 ; 
Ps.  cxvl  12).     The  text  teaches  us — 

L  That  God's  presence  with  His  people  is  secured  by  mediation.      His 

presence  with  Israel  was  secured  by  the  intercession  ot  Moaes  ;  His  presence  with 
His  Church  is  secured  by  the  intercession  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  whole  of  John 
xvii.  is  based  upon  this. 

n.  That  God's  presence  is  importuned  because  of  the  obstinacy  of  His  people. 

"  A  stitl-necked  people."  One  would  have  thought  that  would  have  been  an 
argument  for  vengeance.  But  no,  Old  and  Ncav  Testaments  alike  base  upon 
man's  failings  a  reason  why  God  should  visit  him  (John  iii.  16  ;  Matt.  ix.  13; 
Rom.  v.  8).  The  reason  is  obvious,  God  alone  is  equal  to  the  task  of  subduing 
sinners  and  bringing  them  into  obedience  to  Himself. 

III.  That  God's  presence  is  supplicated  to  fulfil  God's  promises. 

1.  God  had  promised  to  pardon.  God's  presence  was  requisite  for  this, 
because  the  Divine  pardon  is  not  merely  an  erasure  of  sin  from  God's  book, 
but  an  erasure  of  sin  from  man's  heart.  Forgiveness  is  not  merely  a  fact  in  the 
moral  universe  of  which  man  may  or  may  not  be  conscious  ;  but  a  fact  in  man's 
spiritual  nature  which  he  enjoys,  and  of  Avhich  he  has  irrefragable  proofs.  God 
Himself  must  come  near  and  transform  the  sinner  into  the  saint. 

2.  God  had  ])romised  that  Israel  should  be  His  inheritc-mce.  This  could  only 
be  effected  by  God's  going  amongst  them  and  taking  them.  What  boundless 
comfort  does  the  double  argument  give  !  "God,  in  the  person  of  His  Son,  has 
come  amongst  us,  therefore  we  are  His  inheritance.  Mnn  is  His  inheritance, 
therefore  He  is  with  us  always  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world," 

In  conclusion — i.  God  having  blessed  us  is  a  reason  for  our  expectation  ot 
future  blessings.  Compare  the  past,  present,  and  luture  tenses  of  Psalm  xxiii. 
ii.  God  having  blessed  us  in  the  past  should  be  the  basis  of  our  expectation  that 
He  will  manifest  Himself  to  us.  iii.  This  Divine  presence  should  be  the  incen- 
tive to,  and  power  of,  personal  purity  and  consecration. — /.  W.  Burn. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  10-26. 

The  Renewal  of  the  Covenant. 

The  engagements  which  man  had  made  with  God  being  broken,  the  covenant 
had  to  be  commenced  de  novo.  All  the  ground  must  be  again  covered.  The 
subject  naturally  divides  itself  into  promises,  prohibitions,  injunctions.  For 
the  other  circumstances,  see  Exodus  xxiii.,  xxiv. 

L  Promises.     "  Before  all  the  people  I  will  do  marvels,"  &c. 

1.  God's  marvels  are  indefinite,  to  leave  a  margin  for  Him  "  to  do  exceeding 

abundantly  more  than  we  can  ask  or  think."     No  man  would  wish  for  God  to 

tie  Himself  exclusively  down  to  certain  undertakings  and  nothing  more.     In 

that  case,  God  having  literally  executed  His  promise,  there  would  be  no  more 

624 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  ohap.  xxxiv. 

room  for  faith  and  hope.     So  all  the  great  Christian  privileges  are  indefinite-— 
faith,  conversion,  sanctification,  heaven.      However — 

2.  God  cxftutes  definite  marvels.  God  gives  us  a  little  that  we  may  have  a 
sample  of  what  He  can  give,  and  that  little  is  real,  tangible,  and  experimental, 
ver.  11.  God  promises  us  definite  destruction  of  our  enemies,  and  a  definite 
inheritance  in  the  Promised  Land. 

3.  All  God's  definite  promises  include  the  indefinite,  and  vice  versa. 

4.  God's  promises  to  His  people  are  for  general  instruction.  "  All  the  peopU 
among  which  thou  art  shall  see,"  &c. 

II.  Prohibitions. 

1.  Covenants  with  the  people  of  the  land,  ver.  12.  All  alliances — matrimonial 
or  religious — were  sternly  furbidden,  from  whatever  motive,  "  lest  it  be  for 
a  snare,"  vers.  15,  16  ;  {'1  Cor.  vi.  14,  15). 

2.  Idolatry,  vers.  13,  14.  They  were  neither  to  serve  nor  to  spare  other 
gods.  This  prohibition  is  binding  to-day.  All  those  idols  which  intervene 
between  us  and  the  service  of  the  true  God  must  be  overthrown.  Now  they 
excite  the  righteous  jealousy  of  God  ! 

3.  The  manufacture  of  symbols  of  God,  ver.  17,  lest  they  should  fall  again 
into  their  recent  sin.  Christians  should  cut  themselves  off  from  all  that  would 
be  likely  to  drag  them  back  into  their  "  former  conversation." 

III.  Injunctions. 

1.  The  religious  feasta  Unless  religion  be  based  upon  joy,  and  unless  God's 
service  is  joyous  and  free,  they  are  unpracticable.  This  first  injunction  is  based 
upon  this  fact.  God  is  not  a  hard  master,  and  desires  His  people  to  delight  in 
His  service. 

2.  The  religious  rest  of  the  Sabbath-day.  Sabbath  observance  is  one  of  the 
root  principles  of  religion.  Where  that  is  neglected  or  desecrated,  rehgion  is 
extinct.  This,  by  the  way,  is  one  of  the  Sabbath  arguments  which  cannot  be 
refuted. 

3.  The  religious  consecration  of  the  first-fruits  as  recognising  God's  right  to  all. 
This  is  also  part  of  the  Christian  covenant.  We  must  recognise  God's  right  to 
our  time,  our  property,  and  ourselves.     In  conclusion — our  text 

i.  Has  a  special  reference  to  backsliders.  God  offers  to  renew  His  covenant 
with  them  on  the  specified  terms  (Hosea  xiv.  1-3).     ii  To  all  (Isa.  i.  18-20). 

—J.  }F.  Burn. 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARA  ORAPH.— Versa  27,  28-32. 

Divine  Revelation. 

Divine  revelation  is  the  communication  by  God  to  man  of  certain  facts,  doc- 
trines, duties,  for  instruction,  comfort,  or  practice,  which  wouhl  not  otherwise 
have  been  discovered.  Our  text  may  be  used  as  covering  the  whole  revelation 
of  God's  character  and  will  as  contained  in  the  Bible.     We  remark — 

I  That  Divine  revelation  is  the  result  of  Divine  inspiration.  "  And  He  was 
there  with  the  Lord."  It  is  no  human  conjecture,  however  true.  It  is  no  infer- 
ence, however  correct,  from  existing  facts;  but  information  directly  derived 
from  the  presence  of  Divine  wisdom  and  Divine  power. 

n.  That  Divine  revelation  is  made  through  a  human  medium.  In  some 
cases  God  has  sent  angels  to  communicate  His  truth  ;  but  even  those  commu- 
nications have  only  reached  the  people  through  the  appointed  medium.  We 
earn  therefore — 

526 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


1.  That  the  inspired  man  is  only  the  medium,  and  must  not  be  treated  as 
the  reveal  er. 

2.  The  way  to  account  for  variations  of  style  and  apparent  discrepancies. 
The  thought  is  God's,  tlie  words  are  man's. 

III.  That  Divine  revelation  is  infallible  on  the  one  hand,  intelligible  on  the 
other. 

1.  Infallible.  (1)  As  re,i.'ards  authority.  "  All  that  the  Lord  had  spoken  to 
him."  A  most  conspicuous  fact  in  G-od's  Word  is,  tliat  inspired  men  disclaim  all 
originality  and  speaic  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  (2)  As  regards  completeness. 
^'All  that  the  Lord  had  sjioken."  Inspired  men  claim  to  "  declare  all  the  counsel 
of  God."  The  Book  claims  to  be  a  revelation  of  "  all  things  pertaining  to  life 
and  godliness." 

2.  Inielligible.  Being  through  man,  God's  thoughts  are  presented  in  a  form 
adapted  to  the  conditions  of  the  human  intellect,  in  words  man  can  understand. 

IV.  That  Divine  revelation  is  binding  upon  man.  *'  He  gave  them  com- 
mandment." 

1.  God  does  not  speak  for  nothing.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  having 
spoken  He  would  leave  it  to  man,  whether  he  obeyed  or  disobeyed.  Nor  can 
it  be  supposed  that  man  is  at  liberty  to  pick  and  choose  as  to  what  he  shall 
accept  and  what  reject.  The  whole  counsel  of  God,  because  it  is  His  counsel,  i8 
binding  upon  man. 

2.  It  is  binding  because  only  by  obeying  God's  laws,  and  following  the  lines 
indicated  by  Gotl's  wisdom  and  goodness,  that  man's  well-being  can  be  secured 
mentally,  morally,  and  spiritually.     Learn  then — 

i.  To  value  this  revelation,  ii.  To  treat  it  reverently,  not  to  cavil  at  its 
apparent  discrepancies,  &c.  iii.  To  make  it  the  one  rule  of  our  faith  and 
practice. — /.  W.  Burn. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARA  GRAPff— Verses  29-Z5. 

The  Glory  of  Man. 

The  glory  of  man  is  harmony  with  his  Maker,  likeness  to  his  Maker,  conse- 
cration to  the  service  of  his  Maker,  and  the  attestation  of  his  Maker's  approval 
in  his  character  and  life.  In  this  sense  Moses  was  glorified.  In  this,  and  also  in 
other  and  subiimer  senses,  was  the  "  Son  of  Man  glorified  "  (John  xvii.)  Moses' 
glory  was  external  as  well  as  moral,  but  he  belonged  to  an  external  dispensation. 
It  is  the  privilege  of  every  Christian  to  have  this  glory,  not  in  the  mere  lustre 
of  the  face,  but  in  the  moral  and  influential  sphere  of  the  heart  and  life  (John 
xvii.  22,  23  ;  Col.  i.  27).     Notice— 

I.  That  this  glory  was  the  result  of  communion  with  God.  For  forty  days 
and  forty  nights  Moses  had  dwelt  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  and  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty."  He  who  would  know  what  glory  is  must  go  ■where 
that  glory  is  to  be  obtained.  Man  usually  seoks  glory  elsewhere ;  on  gory  battle- 
fields, in  the  arena  of  political  strife,  on  the  broad  plains  of  literature,  science, 
and  art.  Indeed,  in  these  spheres  Moses  had  "  whereof  to  glory."  He  occupied 
a  high  rank  among  warriors  and  statesmen  and  literati  ;  but  if  we  could  ques- 
tion him  about  these  matters  he  would  count  all  these  things  loss,  and  tell  us 
that  his  glory  consisted  in  the  manifestation  of  his  Maker's  favour  when  on  the 
holy  mount  If  man  would  now  be  glorified,  he  must  "approach  with  boldness 
the  throne  of  grace,"  and  then  he  will  hear  Christ  say  with  reference  to  him  and 
his  fellow-worshippers,  "The  glory  thou  gavest  Me  1  have  given  them." 

XL  That  this  glory  was  open  to  the  inspection  of  others.     "  And  when  Aaron 
526 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxiv. 


and  all  the  children  of  Israel  saw  Moses,  behold  tlie  skin  of  his  face  shone." 
And  so  now.  Not  in  the  same  literal  way  of  course,  but  in  a  way  no  less  real. 
One  of  the  great  features  of  Christianity  is  its  publicity.  None  of  its  great  events 
were  done  in  a  corner.  Even  the  transcendent  miracle  of  the  transfiguration 
was  before  witnesses.  So  with  Christian  life  all  thnnigh  the  ages.  It  derives  its 
glory  "in  secret,"  but  it  exhibits  its  glory  "openly."  The  Cliristian  is  "a  city 
set  on  a  hill,"  a  "  liglit  shining  in  a  dark  place."  This  glory  will  exhibit  itself 
in  the  appearance,  speech,  action  of  those  in  whose  heart  Clirist  is  formed 
"the  hope  of  glory."  And  that  glory,  unlike  Moses',  as  we  shall  see,  "shines 
brighter  and  brighter  to  the  perfect  day." 

III.  That  this  glory  had  a  due  effect  on  its  beholders.  What  could  it  mean  1 
It  might  signify  the  coming  glory  which  should  consume  them  for  their  sins. 
Was  it  a  mute  declaration  that  God  had  rejected  the  intercession  of  the  mediator 
and  was  coming  in  flaming  fire  to  have  vengeance  upon  them  ?  They  were 
afraid.  They  waited.  No  fire  fell  They  were  assured.  Whereupon  they 
"talked  with  Moses." 

1.  The  glory  of  a  holy  Christian  life  will  have  its  eff'eot  upon  the  wicked.  It 
will  arouse  conscience.  Its  awful  contrast  with  the  smouldering  embers  of  an 
ungodly  life  may  perhaps  arouse  the  breath  of  prayer  to  fan  them  into  a 
divine  flame. 

2.  The  glory  of  a  holy  Christian  life  will  have  its  efifect  upon  the  good.  It 
will  encourage  the  feeble  by  an  exhibition  of  the  grand  possibilities  of  piety.  It 
will  stimulate  the  strong  to  exhibit  their  glory  more  and  more. 

IV.  That  while  this  glory  was  manifest  to  all  beholders,  its  subject  was 
unaware  of  its  existence.  "  Moses  wist  not  that  his  face  shone."  Self-con- 
sciousness is  fatal  to  a  glory  that  is  more  than  tinsel  or  varnish,  at  all  times  and 
everywhere.  It  is  the  one  thing  against  which  the  Christian  should  especially 
guard  himself.  There  are  certain  facts  of  which  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  be 
conscious.  He  should  be  conscious  that  he  is  born  of  God,  that  he  loves  Christ, 
that  he  is  growing  in  grace,  and  that  he  has  a  hope  of  heaven.  Of  all  else  of  the 
virtues  and  graces  that  flow  therefrom,  of  past  achievements,  of  present  attain- 
ments, he  should  be  forgetful. 

1.  Moses  had  no  time  to  think  about  it.  While  it  was  transfiguring  him  he 
was  in  communion  with  God.  When  he  ceased  communion  he  was  about  God's 
work. 

2.  Moses  had  no  inclination  to  think  about  it.  His  ambition  and  desires  were 
in  quite  a  contrary  direction.  His  one  desire  was  to  serve  God  and  guide  the 
people  to  the  Promised  Land. 

3.  He  had  no  warrant  to  think  about  it.  It  was  not  a  consequence  of  his  own 
services,  or  virtue,  or  work.     It  was  the  manifestation  of  the  grace  of  God. 

V.  That  this  glory  being  derived  was  not  self-sustaining.  "  And  when  (not 
as  A.  V.  till,  in  conformity  with  the  fact  that  Aaron,  &c.,  beheld  the  glory  and 
— with  ver.  35,  and  LXX.  Vulg.  Targums  and  most  versions)  Moses  had  done 
speaking  ...  he  put  a  vail  on  his  face.  But  when  Moses  went  in  before  the 
Lord  ...  he  took  the  vail  off"."  See  2  Cor.  iii  13-16.  (See  ^ //ore?,  in  loco). 
"  Moses  placed  a  vail  on  his  face  in  order  that  the  sons  of  Israel  might  not  look 
on  the  termination  of  the  transitory."  He  had  to  visit  the  Lord  to  renew  that 
glory.  It  was  like  the  sacred  fire  which  the  vestal  virgins  were  to  feed  con- 
tinually. 

The  Christian  can  only  keep  up  the  lustre  of  his  holiness  by  continually 
deriving  fresh  supplies  from  its  fontal  source.  His  life  can  only  be  kept  fresh, 
beautiful,  and  glorious  by  always  being  near  the  Lord  of  his  life. 

Application — 1.   Have  you  this  glory  1     All  other  glories  are  but  tinsel  io 

527 


OHAP.  XXXIV. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


comparison  with  it.  All  other  glories  fade  both  in  themselves  and  in  the 
recollection  of  the  beholders.  This  is  true  glory,  eternal  glory.  2.  This  glory 
is  obtainable  through  Him  who  is  the  "  brightness  of  God's  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  His  person,  ami  by  fellowsliip  with  Him  we  shall  walk  in  its  light  here, 
and  afterwards  "appear  with  Him  in  glory." — /.  JV.  Burn. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  OHAPTEi  XXXIV^ 


n 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSOIT. 


Law-LightsI  Vers.  1-35.  Prcssense  says, 
that  whatever  opinions  men  may  hold  as  to  the 
integrity  of  that  primitive  witness,  all  must 
own  that  it  contains  passes  in  which  one 
beholds,  as  it  were,  tlie  refleciion  of  the  lustre 
whicli  caused  Moses's  face  to  sliine  when  he 
held  converse  with  God.  It  has  ever  been  the 
pious  mind  which  has  tlirouEfh  tiieeyes  beheld 
the  chain  of  revelation  and  the  long  series  of 
Divine  manifestations  grailually  unwind  them- 
selves. Just  as  tliey  that  watch  for  the  morn- 
ing gaze  out  from  tlie  height  of  the  tower, 
longing  with  inexpressilile  desire  for  the 
approach  of  dawn ;  so  does  religious  con- 
sciousness cast,  glances  of  fire  upon  the 
horizon  as  she  looks  out  for  the  Divine  Sun- 
rise. The  wliole  of  the  Old  Testament  pants 
and  throbs  with  this  Divine  yearning,  and  it 
aiso  shows  us  the  linger  of  God  writing  in  the 
heart  of  man  the  great  preparation  for  the 
Gospel.     The  angels  ever 

"  Draw  strength  from  gazing  on  its  glance, 
Though  none  its  meaning  fathom  may  ; 
The  Word's  unwithered  countenance 
la  bright  as  at  Mount  Sinai's  day." 

—Goethe. 

Sun  -  SplendoTJis !  Vers.  1-7.  Countlesi 
and  ceaseless  as  are  tbe  benefits  which  are 
imparted  to  us  by  the  bright  orb  of  day,  the 
human  eye  cannot  look  upon  his  undimmed 
noonday  face,  without  being  blinded.  We 
cannot  look  upon  him  in  his  full  brightness; 
but  when  he  is  passing  awaj-,  we  can,  as  it 
were,  enjoy  and  wonder  at  the  l>eauty  he  has, 
or  the  splendour  he  leaves  behind.  A  gor- 
geous canopy  of  clouds — glowing  in  every  tint 
of  gold,  scarlet,  and  purple  over  the  evening 
sky,  alone  remains  to  bear  witness  to  the 
passing  sun's  magnificence.  As  we  enjoy  the 
vanishing  glory  of  the  sun,  so  did  Moses 
exult  in  the  vision  of  the  Divine  glory.  He 
could  not  look  upon  the  face  of  God  ;  but 
when  the  Lord  had  passed  by  then  he  could 
behold  and  delight  in  the  shaded  vision  of 
Jehovah's  back  parts.  And  what  sweet 
beauties  did  his  eyes  descry — emhlems  of 
those  invisible  beauties  which  the  soul  in 
communion  with  God  beholds — 
528 


"  The  vivid  brilliant  streaks 
Of  crimson  disappear,  but  o'er  the  hilla 
A  flush  of  orange  hovers,  softening  up 
Into  harmonious  union  with  the  blue 
That  comes  a-sweeping  down. " 

— Carrington. 

Written  -  Revelationl    Ver.   1.     (1.)  The 

stream  which  flows  tiirough  many  soils  takes 
a  bitter  taste  from  one,  and  a  dusky  tint  from 
another.  Even  so  tiie  true  faith  could  not  be 
kept  alive  by  tradition.  Man's  memory  was 
too  treacherous  to  be  entrusted  with  a  matter 
so  distasteful  to  liis  fallen  spirit  as  tlie  true 
character  of  God.  Hence  the  need  of  a 
written  revelation.  (2.)  And  even  where 
there  was  a  traditional  theology,  in  its  trans- 
mission from  race  to  race  it  was  found  that 
the  oral  revelation  grew  dark  and  ofTensive. 
In  this  stagnant  swamp,  weltering  with  rep- 
tiles and  fuming  with  pestilence,  who  can 
recoirnise  the  stream  which  bounded  from  the 
Alpine  crag,  pure  as  the  melted  snow  and 
salubrious  as  Heaven's  own  precipitate.  Henc« 
the  need  of  a  written  revelation. 

"  The  which,  in  waves  which  clear  as  crystal 
seem, 
Spreads  like  a  swelling  sea  o'er  earth's 
dry  ground, 
Mirror'd  therein   heaven's   halls   of    azuro 
gleam, 
And  gold  and  pearls  amid  its  sands  are 
found. 
Hast  thou  not  of  this  heaven-bright  river 
heard  ? 
There  dip  thy  cup ;  it  is  Truth's  Holy 
Word."  — Geroh. 

Morning  -  CommunionI  Ver.  2.  Fuller 
quaintly  says,  "Spill  not  the  morning — the 
quintessence  of  the  day — in  recreation  ;  for 
sleep  is  itself  a  recreation.  Add  not,  there- 
fore, sauce  to  sauces."  Beechersays,  "  Let  the 
day  have  a  blessed  baptism  liy  giving  your 
first  waking  thougiits  into  the  bosom  of  Gnd. 
The  first  hour  of  the  morning  is  the  rudder 
of  tlie  day."  Boerhaave  says,  "  Nothing  more 
eflectually  restra  iis  the  passions,  and  gives 
spirit  and  vigour  through  the  business  of  the 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OBAF.  XXZJT. 


day,  than  early  meditation  and  prayer."  Swain 
says,  '*  It  is  tiie  early  blackbird  that  catches 
the  worms  ;  and  it  is  the  early  riser  who  sees 
the  sun  rise.  Morning  prayer  briiiirs  bounties 
to  the  soul  ;  and  the  Christian,  who  l)etake8 
himself  betimes,  beholds  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness arise  with  healing  in  His  wings  !"  Green 
Bays,  "  When  the  morning  breaketh  forth  in 
crimson,  the  beauteous  flowers  of  the  field 
spread  wide  their  odorous  cups  to  drink  the 
blooming  influence  of  tlie  rising  genial  sun. 
We  should  get  us  early  to  the  hill  of  supplica- 
tion, and  catch  the  bright  eflulgence  of  the 
Saviour's  face." 

*'  That  as  the  light,  serene  and  fair, 
Illumines  all  the  tracts  of  sin. 
His  sacred  Spirit  so  may  rest 
With  quick'ning  beams  upon  thy  breast, 
And  kindly  cleanse  it  all  within 
From  darker  blemishes  of  sin. 
And  shine  with  grace  until  we  view 
The  realm  it  gilds  with  glory  too." 

— Parndl. 

Beatific-Vision  I  Ver.  2.  Another  morn- 
ing came,  so  difl^rent  from  that  other  august 
occasion  when  a  quaking  multitude  surrounded 
a  thundering  mount.  This  time  there  was 
neither  hlackness  nor  tempest,  nor  sound  as 
of  a  trumpet;  hut,  with  his  two  stone  tablets, 
the  Lawgiver  ascended  in  the  clear,  cool  day- 
spring.  He  ascended  and  sought  the  ap- 
pointed place,  and  as  there  in  the  cleft  of  tiie 
rock  he  waited,  a  cloud  drew  nigh — a  cloud 
like  that  whicli  floated  above  the  Tabernacle. 
And  as  the  Lord  passed  by,  and  spake,  Moses 
bowed  his  head  and  worshipped.  During  the 
protracted  interview  of  the  forty  following 
days,  perfect  love  cast  out  fear ;  and  from 
the  pavilion  of  this  friendly  presence  and  its 
rapt  communion,  Moses  came  down  with  that 
shining  face,  which  only  reappeared  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration. 

"  Never  the  ken  of  mortal  eye 
Can  pierce  so  deep,  and  far,  and  high, 
As  the  eaule  vision  of  hearts  that  dwell 
In  tiie  lofty  sunlit  citadel 
Of  Faith  that  overcomes  the  world." 

Divine  Character!  Ver.  6.  (1.)  Simonides 
the  philosopher,  being  requested  to  describe 
God,  asked  a  week  to  tliink  of  it.  After 
that,  he  besought  a  month ;  then  a  year. 
Even  then,  being  still  unahle,  lie  declined  the 
task,  declaring  that  the  more  lie  thought  of 
God,  the  less  was  he  able  to  describe  Him. 
(2.)  Pagan  artists  depicted  Jupiier  with 
thunder  in  his  riglit  hand,  and  an  eagle  at 
his  feet.  Their  highest  conceptions  were  to 
clothe  him  with  (ilouds,  while  the  poets  robed 
him  in  terrors.  Woes  and  wonders  were  tlieii 
Bublimest  ideal  of  God.  (3.)  Revelation  alone 
emblazons  God  in  the  full  circle  of  His  per- 
fections. The  name  of  the  God  of  the  Jews, 
who  is  also  the  God  of  tlie  Christians,  !■ 
"  The  Lord  Qod,  merciful  and  gracious." 
2Q 


"  Most  glorious  art  Thou  !    when  from  Thy 
pavilion 
Thou  lookest  forth  at  morning ;  flying  wide 
Those  curtain-clouds  of  purple  and  vermilion. 
Dispensing  life  and  light  on  every  side." 

— Barton. 

Divine  Glory !  Ver.  6.  Amongst  astrono- 
mers, remarks  Hamilton,  it  is  a  favourite 
speculation  that  the  sun  himself  is  something 
else  than  a  mere  ball  of  fire,  and  that  inside 
of  his  burning  atmosphere  there  may  be  a 
mighty  globe  with  cool  meadows,  seas  of 
glass,  rivers  of  crystal,  and  every  conceivable 
provision  for  a  vast  and  rejoicing  population 
— the  possible  home  of  even  the  just  made  per- 
fect. True  or  no,  the  speculation  illustrates 
our  thought.  God's  glory  is  His  goodness. 
The  holiness  of  God  is  as  a  consuming  fire 
to  the  guilty  conscience;  but  within  this 
light  inaccessible — within  this  refulgent  at- 
mosphere of  truth  and  sanctity,  is  a  glory  more 
intimate  and  essential  still,  the  inmost  per- 
fection and  divinest  beauty  of  the  Godhead. 
Coming  from  within  that  light  inaccessible, 
the  only-beuotten  Son  from  the  bosom  of  the 
Father  declared  what  was  there — viz.,  love. 
And  so  on  this  occasion  to  the  meek  and 
wistful  Moses  preaching  tlie  Gospel,  Jehovah 
expanded  that  one  word  of  love  into  the 
name  :  '"  The  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious, 
forgiving  iniquit\',  transgression,  and  sin." 

"  The  sun  has  lost  his  rage  ;  his  downward  orb 
Shoots  nothing  more  bub  animating  warmth 
And  vital  lustre  ;  that,  with  various  ray, 
Lights  up  the  clouds,  those  beauteous  robea 
of  heaven."  — Thomson. 

God-Goodness!  Ver.  6.  (1.)  The  child's 
primer  on  geography  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  that  which  the  cliild  has  in  mature 
school-days.  Very  simple  are  the  words  and 
expressions ;  but  how  detailed.  The  word 
continent  requires  sentence  after  sentence  of 
explanation  to  the  child-mind;  but  when  the 
child  has  become  the  youthful  student,  three 
words  suffice  to  explain  the  same.  Even  so, 
in  Exodus  xxxiv.  6,  we  have  the  lengthened 
explanation  of  the  Divine  glory ;  while  in 
1  John  iv.  there  is  the  same  and  substance — 
tlie  essence  of  all — in  the  three  woids,  "  God 
ia  Love."  (2.)  The  savage  who  has  never 
seen  a  rose,  can  only  understand  its  nature 
when  it  is  presented  to  him  in  full  bloom ; 
wliereas  lie  who  knows  what  a  rose  is,  realises 
its  beauty  and  perfecj^ion  when  it  is  wrapped 
up  in  the  bud.  The  petals,  so  to  speak,  of 
God's  goodness  were  set  before  Moses  in  full 
bloom  in  this  verse ;  but  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment it  was  sufficient  to  give  the  bud,  "  God 
is  love." 

"  I'll  sing  it  in  the  sinner's  ear, 
I'll  tell  it  to  the  worklling. 

And  ask  no  other  theme; 
'Twill  flow  to  sootlie  the  .iiourners  wail; 
Children  will  hold  the  of  i-told  tale 

Dearer  than  fiction's  dream." 
629 


caAP.  XXXIV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Grace-Revelations!  Vers.  6,  7.  (1.)  These 
verses,  as  Stock  says,  sliow  that  the  revelation 
of  God  was  not  merely  to  the  outward  sight, 
but  chiefly  to  the  heart  and  mind  of  Moses. 
All  the  previous  dealings  of  Uod  with  Israel 
had  been  successive  revelations  of  His  altii- 
butes,  embraced  in  the  name  Jehovah.  But 
Moses  had  never  had  a  full  and  wonderful 
view  of  the  "  Mercy  and  Truth "  thereiti  ; 
therefore  he  here  obtains  a  glimpse  into  the 
Divine  treasury,  with  its  boundless,  inex- 
haustible stores  of  mercy — mercy  ready  to 
meet  and  satisfy  the  demands  of  justice.  (2.) 
Filled  with  joyful  boldness,  he  turns  the  very 
fact  of  Israel's  stifJ-neckedness  into  a  jilea  I'or 
tiie  presence  and  favour  of  God.  As  Law 
Bays,  this  heart  is  mercy.  As  the  sun  abounds 
in  sparkling  rays,  the  sea  in  drops,  the  sky  in 
glittering  orbs  ;  so  God  is  one  vast  treasure- 
house  of  mercy.  This  is  the  brightest  jewel 
of  His  crown — overtopping  the  heavens,  out- 
living all  times,  outshining  all  perfections.  It 
is  the  riches  of  His  riches. 

"  God's  boundless  mercy  is  to  sinful  man 
Like  to  the  ever  wealthy  ocean  ; 
Which,    though    it   sends    forth    thousand 

streams,  'tis  ne'er 
Known,  or  else  seen,  to  be  the  emptier." 
— Herrick. 

Boundless  Mercy  !  Ver.  7.  (1.)  Hearken, 
says  Law,  to  tlie  melody  of  this  sweet  note. 
The  thought  may  sometimes  rise,  that  mercy 
visits  but  a  favoured  few,  that  the  rare  gift 
enriches  but  rare  souls.  Nay,  mercy's  arms 
are  very  wide ;  mercy's  heart  is  very  large  ; 
mercy's  mansions  are  very  many.  It  has 
brought  saving  joy  to  countless  multitudes.  It 
has  saving  joy  for  countless  yet.  The  doors 
stand  open.  Thousands  have  found  mercy  ; 
but  there  are  stores  for  thousands  yet.  (2.) 
The  atmosphere  is  sometimes  terrible  with 
thunder,  and  riven  with  lightning — impreg- 
nated with  pestilence,  and  charged  with  de- 
struction. But  it  is  generally  and  chieflj'  a 
means  of  health,  filled  with  beautiful  sounds, 
fragrant  with  sweetest  odours,  the  pathway  of 
sunbeams,  the  source  of  sparkling  dew,  the 
parent  of  harvests  and  fountain  of  earthly  life. 
Ay,  God  is  indeed  full  of  mercy's  flowers  and 
fruits. 

"  0  God,  how  beautiful  the  thought, 
How  merciful  the  bless'd  decree. 
That  grace  can  e'er  be  found  when  sought, 
And  naught  shut  out  the  soul  from  Thee  I " 
—  Cook. 

Grace -Memories !  Ver.  8.  Moses  could 
never  forget  those  moments  spent  in  the 
clefts  of  the  rock,  while  he  beheld  the  grace 
of  God's  glory,  after  the  insufferable  glories 
of  tlie  law  on  Sinai.  What  Christian,  who 
has  felt  the  terrors  of  the  law  producing  d^ep 
conviction  in  his  conscience,  and  who  has 
found  peace,  ever  forgets  that  blissful  moment 
when,  hiding  in  the  cleft  side  of  Jesus,  he 
beheld  the  glory  of  God's  grace,  and  heard 
630 


His  voice,  "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee."  Afl 
the  rebellious  subject,  wlio  has  stood  before 
his  offended  monarch,  marked  the  dread  frown 
gathered  on  his  royal  I  row,  and  listened  to 
the  solemn  proclamation  of  the  laws  of  the 
state,  is  filled  with  deep,  unutterable  joy  as 
he  sees  the  radiant  smile  of  love  glowing  on 
that  face,  and  as  he  hears  the  forgiving  de- 
claration, "Thy  offence  is  blotted  out  by  a 
merciful  sovereign,"  the  pardoned  and  re- 
stored subject  can  never  lose  sight  of  that 
scene — of  the  radiant  smile.  The  proclama- 
tion would  be  written  on  the  tablets  of  hia 
memory  in  ineffaceable  characters. 

"  For  the  King  Himself  in  His  tender  grace, 
Hath  shown  me  the  brightness  of  His  face  ; 
And  who  shall  pine  for  a  glow-worm  light. 
When  the  sun  goes  forth  in  his  giant  might  ?" 
— Havergal. 

Christ  and  Exodus!  Vers.  18-26.  Take 
that  prism  to-morrow  and  let  the  sun  shine 
through  it,  and  you  will  see  marvels.  The 
white  pure  light  is  divided  into  many  colours. 
Even  so,  bring  Christ  and  let  His  mediatorial 
glory  pour  its  concentrated  flood  upon  this 
prism  in  Exodus  xxxiv.  Lo  !  glorious  truths 
of  Gospel  grace  shine  with  varied,  vivid  lustre. 
What  glorious  rays  of  saving,  sanctifying 
beauty  !  We  behold  the  glory  of  Christ  in 
marvellous  combination  then  in  this  Mosaic 
prism.  Each  ray  may  be  contemplated  in 
itself,  but  all  blend  in  the  glory  of  God  our 
Saviour. 

"  Flooded  with  splendour  bright  and  broad, 
The  glorious  light  of  the  Love  of  God." 

Vision-Media  !  Vers.  18-22.  (1.)  We  do 
not  say  to  a  person  of  diseased  sight,  Come  out 
and  look  at  the  noonday  sun.  But  we  provide 
the  coloured  glass  as  the  medium  through 
which  he  may  behold  the  brightness  of  the 
sun.  (2.)  Israel  could  not  gaze  upon  the  glory 
of  God,  except  through  the  media  of  rites  and 
ceremonies,  &c.  The  supernal  splendour  of  a 
direct  vision  of  God  would  only  have  dazzled 
their  sight,  and  not  illuminated  their  soul. 
(3.)  Under  the  Gospel,  Christians  have  their 
media  through  which  to  behold  the  Divine 
glory.  Christ  the  Son  of  Man,  His  words  of 
tenderness  and  truth.  His  works  of  solace  and 
sympathies;  these  are  the  coloured  media 
through  which  we  "gaze  upon  God." 

•'  0  Love  !  0  Life  !  our  faith  and  sight 
Thy  presence  maketh  one ; 
As  through  transfigured  clouds  of  white 
We  trace  the  noonday  sun. 

"  So,  to  our  mortal  eyes  subdued. 
Flesh-veiled,  but  not  concealed. 
We  know  in  Thee  the  Fatherhood 
And  heart  of  God  revealed." 

—  Whittier. 

Divine-Tribute  !  Ver.  20.  (1.)  Arrowsmith 
says.  The  sun  shines  by  his  own  nature,  the 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXIV. 


air  only  by  participation  of  light  from  the  sun. 
So  whatever  gond  the  crCratiires  have,  is  by 
derivation  from  Jehovah,  the  fountain  of  being. 
Take  away  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  air  ceaseth 
to  shine,  and  so  it  is  here.  (2.)  Williams  says, 
A  riglit  view  of  benefits  received,  of  the  source 
from  whencethey  flow,  and  of  our  own  demerit, 
has  a  direct  tendency  to  excite  gratitude :  and 
•while  the  mind  is  itifliienced  by  sovereig'i  grace 
this  will  be  the  pleasing  effect.  (3.)  The  great 
ocean  is  in  a  constant  state  of  evaporation. 
But  there  are  men  who  do  not  believe  in 
evaporation,  i.e.,  in  giving  back  to  God  of 
what  they  received  from  Him.  They  get  and 
keep  all  they  can  ;  forgetting  the  duty  of 
gratitude,  overlooking  the  law  of  Divine 
tribute. 

"  I  yield  Thee  back  Thy  gifts  again, 
Thy  gifts  which  most  I  prize ; 
Desirous  only  to  retain 
The  notice  of  Thine  eyes." 

— Guyon. 

Spiritual-Sustenance!  Ver.  28.  (1.)  In  the 
beautiful  transj)areut  amber  of  the  Eocene 
epocli  are  often  found  threads  of  mould,  frag- 
mei}ts  of  moss  and  lichens,  blossoms  and  leaves 
of  flower-bearing  plants,  as  well  as  wings  of 
bees  and  butterflies.  Nature  has  preserved 
these  things  of  the  past — things,  too,  wliich, 
apparently  small  and  insignificant,  open  up 
to  the  mind's  eye  a  wide  vista  into  the 
mysterious  past.  So  in  the  precious  amber 
of  the  Bible  are  preserved  incidents  and  state- 
ments, remnants  of  thought  and  blossomings 
of  truth.  To  the  careless  readers  these  may 
appear  trivial ;  but  they  are  infinitely  sugges- 
tive to  those  who  examine  them.  (2.)  One  of 
the  most  interesting  and  suggestive  is  that  of 
Moses  existing  for  forty  days  without  nature's 
bountiful  stores.  He  was  fed  by  the  melodies 
of  heaven,  the  music  of  the  spheres,  as  the 
beautiful  Jewish  legend  says,  until  God's 
purposes  were  accomplished,  and  then  he 
returned  to  the  common  mode  of  sustaining 
life.  It  teaches  that  bread  has  no  esseutial 
or  necessary  relations  to  the  bodily  organisa- 
tion of  man,  that  human  life  can  be  sustained 
independently  of  material  means,  and  that,  as 
God  Himself  is  tlie  nourisher.  He  can,  when 
He  pleases,  dispense  with  the  mere  outward 
instrumentality,  and  feed  by  His  own  direct 
and  unveiled  sustaining  power — 

"  0   Lord,   Thou  hast  with   angel  food   my 
fainting  spirit  fed  ; 
If  'tis  Thy  will  I  linger  here,  bless  Thou  the 

path  I  tread  ; 
And   though   my  soul    doth  pant  to  pass 

within  the  pearly  gate. 
Yet  teach  me  for  Thy  summons,  Lord,  in 
patience  still  to  wait." 

— Shipton, 

Written  Word!  Ver.  28.  (1.)  In  pro- 
portion as  a  nation  becomes  civilised,  the 
desire   for   a  code   of   written   law  increases 


along  with  the  knowledge  of  its  desirableness. 
Our  forefathers  wandered  as  savages  amid  the 
wilds,  relying  upon  oral  traditions,  which  be- 
came more  and  more  degenerate.  And  so  in 
these  Gentile  religions,  all  alive  with  hideous 
and  abominable  idolatries,  who  could  believe 
that  this  is  what  man  has  made  of  that  oral 
revelation  vouchsafed  to  Noah,  so  clear  and 
pellucid  in  its  Ararat  outflow  ?  (2.)  When 
civilisation  disclosed  their  degenerate  condi- 
tions to  our  ancestors,  they  felt  the  need  of 
a  written  code  of  laws  and  enactments  ;  and 
these  are  embodied  in  our  statutes  called  the 
Law  of  the  Land.  The  condition  of  the  world 
at  large,  and  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  evidenced  the 
moral  necessity  for  a  written  law.  Even 
amidst  the  awful  glories  of  Sinai,  Israel  learned 
from  its  own  tendency  to  degenerate  how 
urgently  esseutial  it  was  to  have  the  written 
Word. 

"  Thy  Word,  0  God,  is  living  yet 
Amid  earth's  restless  strife, 
New  harmony  creating  still. 

And  ever  higher  life. 
And  as  that  Word  moves  surely  on, 

The  light,  ray  after  ray. 
Streams  farther  out  athwart  the  dark. 
And  night  grows  into  day." 

— Longfellow, 

Fellowship-Fruits  I  Vers.  29-35.  (1.)  For 
forty  days  successively,  the  great  Jewish 
legislator  was  concealed  on  the  summit  of 
Mount  Sinai,  within  the  thick  darkness  by 
which  the  glory  of  Jehovah  was  veiled  from 
the  less-favoured  eyes  of  the  multitude.  In 
this  prophetic  seclusion,  separated  from  the 
world,  his  mind  took  deeply  and  strongly  the 
impress  of  heaven.  By  communion  with  God 
his  soul  was  saturated  with  the  light  of  Hia 
holiness.  His  countenance  by  a  spiritual 
afiiuity  caught  the  celestial  radiance  and  re- 
flected it  with  dazzling  brightness.  On  his 
descent  from  the  mount,  this  splendour  from 
the  Divine  Presence  continued  to  shine  on 
his  face,  that  Aaron  beheld  it  while  he  talked 
with  him,  and  all  the  children  of  Israel 
were  afraid  to  come  nigh.  (2.)  Brown  says 
his  face  was  radiant,  and  dispersing  beams 
like  many  horns  or  cones  about  his  head  ; 
which  is  also  consonant  unto  the  original 
signification.  Our  Saviour  and  the  Virgin 
Mary  are  commonly  painted  with  scintilla- 
tions or  radiant  halos  about  their  head,  which 
by  the  Fiench  are  designated  the  glory.  In 
Borne  of  the  ancient  BiV)les,  Moses  is  described 
with  horns.  The  same  description  we  find 
on  a  silver  medal,  i.e.,  upon  one  side  Moses 
horned,  and  on  the  reverse  side  the  conmiand- 
mentagainstsculptured  images.  The  believer's 
walk  and  conversation  should  be  thus  encircled 
with  "horns  of  glory,"  rays  of  the  beautiea 
of  holiness. 

'•  Ne'er  let  the  glory  from  my  soul  remove. 
Till  perfect  with  Thy  ransomed  flock  above, 
I  cease  to  sin,  but  never  cease  to  love." 

031 


CHAP,  xxxrr. 


UOMILETJC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Sunnet-Eeflection  !  Ver.  29.  (1.)  Looking 
np  into  ihe  bi  iglit  blue  nky  on  a  clear  .«umraer 
day,  we  see  far  ofiF  great  masses  of  -wliite 
fleecy  clouds,  piled  up  against  the  sky  like 
tiie  snow  mountains  in  Switzerland.  We  see 
them  sailini;  quietly  and  gracefully  across  the 
dark  blue  heavens, bright  with  the  dazzling  efful- 
gence of  the  monarch  of  the  day.  (2.)  And  at 
sunset  we  may  see  the  mighty  clouds,  kissed  by 
the  warm  effulgence  of  the  sovereign  sun  ere 
he  sets  behind  the  western  hills,  bang  around 
in  all  their  congregated  hues  of  beauty,  like 
the  pillars  of  some  grand  tabernacle.  Even 
the  sky,  illuminated  to  its  centre,  has  caught 
the  radiance,  and  glows  inten.sely,  changing 
its  sapphire  majesty  to  gold.  (3.)  Where  do 
the  clouds  and  sky  borrow  their  splendour? 
From  the  sun's  face.  And  so  Moses,  from 
communion  with  God,  caught  the  reflection 
of  His  glorious  face.  And  just  as  the  sun 
shines  on  the  clouds  in  the  sky  and  makes 
them  beautiful  ;  and  just  as  God  shone  on 
the  face  of  Moses  and  made  it  bright ;  so,  by 
intercourse  with  Jesus — by  beholding  His  face 
— we  are  changed  into  the  same  image ;  our 
souls  are  made  to  reflect  the  brightness  of  Hia 
face. 

"  Sunlight  seeking  hidden  shadow,  touch'd 
The  green  leaves  all  a-tremble  with  gold 
light. "  — Massey. 


pure,  having  left  behind  the  impuritieB  ol 
eartli,  and  having  drawn  nearer  to  the  sun- 
light. (2.)  Heie  we  have  a  picture  of  Israel, 
of  Aaron  and  the  elders,  and  of  Moses.  The 
Israelites  were  like  the  eartli-clouds,  with 
sombre  faces  dulled.  Aaron  and  the  elders 
were  nearer  God  and  so  were  brighter.  But 
Moses  was  like  the  far-up  cloud  of  silver 
purity,  his  countenance  canglit  the  bright 
perfections  of  (lod  in  the  clear  blue  scene  of 
communion.  He  knew  it  not,  was  as  uncon- 
scious as  tbe  snowwhite  vapour-vail;  yet  his 
face  shone.  (3.)  There  are  souls  whose  lives, 
spent  amid  the  fogs  and  malaria  and  defiling 
exhalations  of  worldliuess,  are  dark  and  ugly. 
Then  there  are  others  whose  lives  are  higher 
up  in  the  region  of  morality,  and  so  are  less 
dense  and  repulsive,  but  still  not  clear  and 
bright.  And  there  are  those  who,  living  far 
above  amid  the  sapphire-sheen  of  God's  in- 
finite love,  have  lives  all  beautiful — comely 
with  the  comeliness  which  the  Suu  of  Kight- 
eousness  sheds  upon  them. 

"  To  whose  white  robes  the  gleam  of  bliss  !■ 
given  ; 
And  by  the  breath  of  mercy  made  to  roll 
Right  onward  to  the  golden  gates  of  heaven, 
Where  to  the  eye  of  faith,  they  peaceful  lie, 
And  tell  to  man  his  glorioua  destiny." 

— Wilson, 


Sonl-Excellence  i  Ver.  29.  An  eminent 
writer  says — True  Christian  excellence  shines 
naturally  like  the  sun,  not  for  the  sake  of  efiect, 
but  because  it  cannot  help  shining.  It  was 
BO  with  the  face  of  Moses.  But  whenever  a 
Christian  grace  becomes,  so  to  speak,  self-con- 
scious, it  loses  its  charm.  It  is  like  an  Alpine 
flower  brought  from  tlie  lonely  mountain  peak, 
where  it  blushed  unseen,  and  planted  in  the 
pulilic  garden,  where  it  loses  its  beauty  and 
fragrance,  bec(miiug  a  mere  weed.  You  can- 
not handle  a  bntterjUy's  wing  without  rubbing 
ofi"  its  delicate  mealy  dust,  or  a  ripe  grape 
without  destroying  the  rich  purple  bloom 
upon  it.  And  so  you  cannot  handle  ad- 
miringly your  own  Ciiristian  virtue  without 
impairing  its  tender  loveliness. 

"  Beware  of  too  sublime  a  sense 

Of  your  own  worth  and  consequence." 

*'  If  thou  would'st  keep  thy  garments  white 
and  holy, 
Walk  humbly  with  thy  God." 

— Cowper. 

Soul-Shekinah  !  Vers.  30-35.  (1.)  In  our 
atmosphere  we  have  noticed  the  lower  strata 
of  clouds  have  a  dark  colour,  for  to  them 
belong  the  smoke,  and  the  steam,  and  the 
fogs,  and  the  malaria,  and  the  earthly  exhala- 
tions. Above  them  are  those  whicii  have  left 
behind  much  of  the  earthly  exhalations,  but 
which  are  still  not  of  perfect  brightness  and 
hue.  But  far  above  them,  through  the  dry 
air  of  summer,  may  be  seen  other  clouds 
beautiful  in  array,  the  white  of  their  drapery 
632 


Moral-Transfiguration  1  Ver.  30.  (l.)Like 
the  great  Jewish  lawgiver,  the  soul  that  is 
familiar  with  God  in  meditation  and  prayer 
cannot  fail  to  contract  resemblance  to  Him — 
cannot  fail  to  catch  a  portion  of  His  purity 
and  greatness.  When  our  Saviour  prayed 
and  held  intercourse  with  His  Father  on  the 
mount.  His  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  His 
raiment  was  white  as  the  light.  In  like  man- 
ner every  believer  on  the  mount  of  prayer, 
during  his  heart's  intercourse  with  God,  is 
spiritually  tran.*figured.  (2.)  It  has  been 
beautifully  remarked  that  every  face,  accord- 
ing as  it  is  more  or  less  turned  towards  our 
Sun,  must  reflect  a  portion  of  His  brightness. 
When  Arthur  returned  from  church  there  was 
a  serene  happiness  expressed  in  his  manner, 
that  strikingly  contrasted  with  the  peevish 
restlessness  and  fietfulness  of  those  whose 
thoughts  had  not  risen  above  earth.  Lina 
thought  that  she  had  never  seen  her  brother's 
eyes  so  Lright,  or  his  manner  more  full  of  the 
sweet  light  of  courtesy  to  all  around. 

"  As  though  an  angel  in  his  upward  flight 
Had  left  his  mantle  floating  in  mid-air." 
— Baillie. 

Legal  Fears  !  Ver.  30.  Contrast  the  fears 
of  the  Israelites  at  Horeb,  as  they  saw  the 
shining  face  of  Moses,  with  the  joys  of  the 
disciples  on  Hermon  as  they  beheld  the 
countenance  of  the  Mediator  shine  as  the  sim. 
Then  the  disciples  of  Moses  were  reluctant  to 
draw  near  ;  but  now  the  disciples  of  the 
Mediator  exult  in  their  nearne^  "It  is  good 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTART:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXZIT. 


for  as  to  be  here."  As  Krummacher  says, 
"  Every  glauce,  every  play  of  look,  every 
word,  every  majestic  act,  was  radiant  witli 
grace  and  only  grace."  Streams  of  peace 
flowed  into  the  apostles  hearts.  Sweet  and 
sabl)atic  rest  was  hrt^athed  around  them. 
Every  ray  of  His  countenance  that  fell  upon 
them  was  the  tran.-<porting  smile  of  a  God. 
Here  they  would  gladly  have  made  tabernacles 
and  remained — for  ever  remained  in  this 
beatific  irradiation  of  the  Only-Begotten,  full 
of  grace. 

"  Here  let  us  holy  tabernacles  build. 
That  we  may  ever  stay 
In  silent  trance,  with  heavenly  visions  filled, 
Joy  that  shall  ne'er  decay. 

Self-Consciousness  !  Ver.  31.  (1.)  Character! 
— A  beautiful  woman  who  knows  that  she  is 
beautiful,  and  prides  herself  upon  its  pos- 
session, and  parades  her  cliarms  before  the 
world  for  its  admiration  and  applause,  gives 
evidence  of  her  self-consciousness  by  a  thou- 
sand vain  and  artful  ways,  studied  in  oider  to 
attract  attention.  Alas  !  This  is  but  too  com- 
mon with  Christian  souls.  They  know  too 
well  that  their  lives  reflect  the  glory  of  God. 
They  embrace  every  opportunity  of  exhibiting 
the  radiance.  They  are  proud  of  their  spotless 
character  and  blameless  conduct.  (2.)  Con- 
sequence!— The  transparent  film  of  collodion 
on  the  photographer's  plate  becomes  instantly 
blackened  and  unfit  for  his  purpose  when 
placed  in  the  light.  And  so  there  are  graces 
BO  delicate  and  sensitive  in  the  Christian  si  ul 
that  they  are  rendered  opaque  and  useless  for 
their  object  when  regarded  in  the  light  of 
self-consciousness.  It  perverts  the  motives 
— lowers  the  aims — corrupts  the  affections. 
And  Satan,  as  has  been  well  remarked,  takes 
full  advantage  of  such  self-complacency  to 
tempt  us  to  a  grievous  fall.     There  is  on  earth 

"A  host  of  prides,    some  better  and   some 
worse. 
But  of  all  prides,  since  Lucifer's  attaint, 
The  proudest  swells  a  self-sufficient  saint." 

— Hood. 

Vail-Symbolism !  Ver.  33;  (1.)  Type!— 
In  2  Cor.  iii.  7-18,  Paul  says  that  it  typified 
the  blindness  of  the  Jewish  mind.  The  hard- 
ness of  their  hearts  brought  a  vail  over  their 
spiritufl  sight,  so  that  they  could  not  look 
beyond  the  letter.  They  saw  the  tables  of 
etone,  and  beheld  the  letters  written  upon 
them  ;  but  they  could  not  behold  the  Divine 
glory  in  the  face  of  Moses.  (2.)  Token! — 
On  the  one  hand  it  was  a  token  that  under 
the  law  man  cannot  see  the  face  of  God  and 
live  ;  and  on  the  other  that  under  the  Gospel 
the  natural  man  cannot  behold  the  glory  of 
God  as  it  is  in  the  face  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ 
— the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 
(3.)  Testimony ! — It  spoke  eloquently  of  the 
Divine  glory  in  the  law — of  the  spiritual 
lessons  of  the  moral  beauty  and  effulgence 
vailed  in  the  Pentateuch  from  ordinary  gam. 


Aaron  and  the  rulers  might  draw  nigh  and 
behold  ;  but  the  giddy  world-throng  could  not 
perceive. 

"This  is  the  mount  where  Christ's  disciplai 
see 
The  glory  of  Incarnate  Deity ; 
'Tis  here  they  find  it  good  indeed  to  be. 
And  view  His  face." 

— Elliott, 

Eenewed  Eeflection  !  Ver.  35.  (1.)  It  has 
been  supposed  by  some  that  the  vail  was  put 
on  by  Moses  after  he  had  delivered  the  mes- 
sage from  God,  in  order  to  hide  the  passing 
away  of  the  brightness,  which  he  retained  on 
first  coming  forth  from  the  Divine  Presence. 
There  is,  however,  no  just  reason  for  this 
supposition.  Such  a  proceeding  appears  very 
unworthy  of  Moses,  and  entirely  opposed  to 
his  character.  He  assumed  the  vail  each  time 
he  came  out  from  holding  communion  with 
God,  because  each  time  his  face  again  reflected 
the  glory  of  the  Lord's  face.  The  vail  was 
thus  put  on,  in  order  that  the  people  might  not 
shrink  from  his  presence.  (2.)  When  our 
earth  turns  away  its  face  from  holding  com- 
munion with  the  sun,  then  the  reflected 
brightness  passes  away  from  its  features, 
and  night  reigns.  No  8<>oner  does  it  again 
turn  towards  this  dark  world's  light,  thau 
again  her  countenance  is  illumined  with  the 
reflection  of  the  sun's  glory.  Bi.t  again  the 
face  is  withdrawn  by  the  earth's  diurnal 
motion,  and  the  glory  fades.  Even  so,  when- 
ever Moses  was  with  God,  he  came  forth — 
his  face  resplendent  with  th»  bright  efful- 
gence ;  only  to  lose  it,  and  again  to  have  it 
restored. 

"  Welcome,  dawn  that  never  dies. 
Day  that  needs  no  stars  nor  sun, 
Where  no  tear-mists  ever  rise, 
Hiding  Thee,  Eternal  One." 

Modesty's  Vail  !  Ver  35.  Macmillan  says 
a  true  Christian  does  not  parade  his  excel- 
lencies before  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
He  covers  them  with  the  softening  vail  of 
modesty,  as  Moses  covered  his  shining  face 
with  a  vail  in  his  intercourse  with  Isiael.  The 
Christian,  as  the  poet  rhymes,  does  good  by 
stealth,  and  blushes  to  find  it  fame.  He  pre- 
fers the  shade  of  retirement  to  the  theatre  of 
display.  In  short,  he  does  not  attest  himself 
in  anything  that  he  says  or  does,  but  retires 
behind  the  vail  of  modesty,  and  shows  that 
he  is  animated  by  the  same  mind  which  was 
in  Christ  Jesus — that  he  has  learned  of  Him 
who  is  meek  and  lowly  in  heart. 

"  Scarcely  revealing. 
Scarcely  concealing, 

Being's  sweet  mystery 
Smiles  from  the  sod  : 
While  on  each  leaf 
Is  written  this  brief 

But  beautiful  histo^, 


'  We  are  of  God. 


633 


OHAP.  XXIV. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Spiritual  Assimilation!  Ver.  35.     Just  as  in  allusion  to  the  transfiguration  of  Moses, 

those  who  live  at  a  royal  court  acquire  courtly  "We  all,  with  uuvailed  f;ice,  beholding  as  in 

manners,  and  those  who  associate  with  refined  a  glass   the  glory  of   tlie   Lord,  are  changed 

and   educated  peoi>le  acquire  refinement    in-  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even 

sensibly  ;  so  those  who  live  by  faith   in  the  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 
presence  of  God,  and  as  it  were  in  tlie  court 

of  heaven,  inevitably  acquire  something  of  a  "  From  glory  unto  glory!  0  marvels  of  the 
heavenly    tone    and  spiritual    elevation.      As  word  ! 

Macmillan  says,  "Cninmuniou  with  light  im-  With  open  face  beholding  the  glory  of  the 

parts  light ;  fellowship  with  greatness  creates  Lord, 

greatness;  contact  with  the  spiritual  produces  VVe,    even    we    (0    wondrous    grace!)    are 

spirituality."       The    apostle    represents    the  changed  into  the  same, 

transforming  influence  of   the  contemplative  The  image  of  our  Saviour,  to  glorify  Hi« 

study  of  the  Divine  character  when  he  says  name."  — Havergai, 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


Cbitioal  Notes. — 1.  And  Moses  assembled  =  vayyakheyl].  This  assembling  suggests  the 
idea  of  reuniting  and  strengthening  the  bonds  of  union  among  "all  the  congregation,"  which, 
through  the  sad  consequences  of  the  sin  of  the  golden  calf,  were  no  doubt  very  much  loosened. 
And  Moses  does  this  by  first  impressing  upon  the  people  that  most  elevating  observance  of  God's 
laws,  viz.,  the  keeping  holy  of  the  Sabbath  day,  and  then  by  affording  them  a  common  interest 
in  a  common  work.  He  only  now  tells  them  of  what  he  had  been  told  by  God  (xxv.-xxxi.) 
concerning  the  holy  service.  He  invites  them  to  bring  free-will  gifts  for  tlie  construction  of 
the  tabernacle,  its  vessels,  and  the  holy  garments  (vers.  4—20).  This  wrought  so  eflfectually  on 
their  better  nature  that  Moses  found  it  necessary  to  restrain  the  spontaneous  outflow  of  their 
hearty  generosity  (xxxvL  5). 


MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verset  1-2. 

The  covenant  having  been  renewed,  Moses  now  relates  to  the  people  what 
God  had  revealed  concerning  the  time  and  place  of  divine  worship. 

The  Time  for  Divine  Worship. 

1,  Moses  was  never  weary  of  impressing  on  the  people  the  importance  and 
divine  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  day.  For  this  there  were  several  obvious 
reasons.  (1.)  The  Sabbath  was  part  of  the  moral  law.  (2.)  It  was  necessitated 
by  the  conditions  of  the  body  and  mind  needing  rest,  (3.)  It  was  a  recogni- 
tion of  God's  right  to  time.  (4.)  An  opportunity  apart  from  the  distractions  and 
duties  of  life  for  drawing  near  unto  God,  All  these  reasons  are  in  special  force 
under  the  Christian  dispensation.  Why  then  should  Christian  preachers  tire  of 
teaching  it,  or  Christian  people  tire  of  hearing  it  1  It  requires  no  very  wide 
research  to  find  that  selfishness,  worldliness,  and  sin  are  at  the  bottom  ot 
Sabbath  desecration. 

2,  As  this  chapter  deals  mainly  with  the  building  of  the  sanctuary,  this  com- 
mand may  be  regarded  as  applying  to  that.  They  were  not  to  break  the  law 
even  for  so  good  a  purpose.  So  Christians  should  not  do  evil  on  that  day  for 
the  supposed  benefit  that  may  accrue.  The  question  is  not,  Would  it  amuse  and 
instruct  to  o[)en  museums  on  tlie  Sabbath  day  ;  but,  Is  it  right  to  do  so  1  No  1 
Bays  God's  Word,     Notice — 

I.  That  the  Sabbath  was  to  be  a  rest  after  six  days'  work.  Hence,  honest, 
diligent  toil  is  of  equal  obligation.  Do  not  let  us  lay  all  tlie  emphasis  on 
"Remember  the  Sabbath  day,"  and  none  on  "Six  days  shalt  thou  labour," 
Again,  it  would  be  easy  to  show  that  if  a  man  has  played  away  his  working 
Week  he  is  unfitted  for  the  sacred  enjoyment  of  the  day  of  rest. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xxxv. 


n.  That  the  Sabbath  was  to  he  a  day  of  sacred  rest.  "  An  holy  day,  a  Sabbath 
of  rest  to  the  Lord."  Not  of  unsanctified  idleness,  but  a  cessation  of  exhausting 
labour,  so  that  the  mind  might  be  wholly  given  to  the  refreshing  duties  which 
devolve  upon  that  day,  A  man  may  no  more  waste  the  Lord's  time  than  his 
own.  Keeping  the  Sabbath  day  holy  does  not  mean  simply  the  putting  up  of 
shutters,  and  the  putting  by  of  business  ;  it  means  also  attention  to  those  sacred 
employments  which  devolve  upon  us  as  the  servants  of  God. 

III.  That  the  Sabbath  implied  the  cessation  of  unnecessary  labour.     "  Ye 

shall  kindle  no  fire,"  &c.  In  eastern  climates  this  would  be  quite  unnecessary. 
And,  indeed,  as  the  materials  of  life  in  those  climates  are  so  simple  and  so  easily 
procurable,  very  little  manual  work  could  be  said  to  be  necessary.  The  obvious 
exceptions,  of  course,  were  works  of  mercy  to  man  and  beast.  With  us  it  is 
diflPerent ;  fires,  e.g.,  are  necessary.  But  the  prohibition  against  needless  work  is 
binding  still.  We  have  ample  time  to  do  our  necessary  works  and  to  enjoy  the 
luxuries  of  life.  Let  us  not,  nor  oblige  our  servants  to,  rob  God  of  the  right 
to  His  own  day. 

In  conclusion — Remember  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man  and  not  man 
for  the  Sabbath. 

1.  For  man's  use.  Not  for  his  abuse.  If  a  man  wants  recreation  let  him 
take  it  out  of  his  own  time.  ii.  For  God's  worship.  As  the  institution,  or  the 
confirmation  at  any  rate  of  the  Sabbath  contemplated  the  tabernacle,  so  the 
Sabbath  is  inseparably,  all  through  the  ages,  connected  with  the  worship  of  God. 

— J.  W.  Burn. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Verses  4-19. 

The  House  of  the  Lord. 

The  instructions  for  the  building  and  furniture  of  the  Tabernacle  were 
detailed  in  chap,  xxv.,  &c.     In  this  recapitulation,  notice — 

I.  That  the  provision  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  was  obligatory.  The  command 
for  worship,  the  time  of  worship,  and  the  building  for  worship  emanated  from 
the  same  divine  authority.  Has,  then,  the  obligation  for  the  latter  ceased  ? 
No  !  Christians  should  be  cautious  how  they  speak  of  the  abolition  of  the  Mosaic 
dispensation.  Much  of  the  terrible  pest  known  as  antinomianism  is  based  on 
erroneous  notions  on  this  subject.  True,  as  a  dispensation  it  is  abolished,  inas- 
much as  we  live  under  the  dispensation  of  Christ.  But  many  of  the  leading 
principles,  provisions,  and  commands  of  the  latter  are  based  upon  those  of  the 
former,  and  what  has  not,  either  by  divine  ordination  or  the  necessities  of  the 
case  been  abrogated,  is  binding  still.  The  law  of  our  text — provision  for  public 
worship — has  never  been  abolished,  was  sanctioned  by  Christ,  practised  by  the 
Apostles,  and  has  been  recognised  by  the  Church  universal  ever  since.  The 
command  of  our  text  is  based — 

I.  Upon  necessity.  (1.)  The  worship  was  a  common  worship,  and  therefore 
necessitated  a  place  where  people  could  meet  together.  (2.)  The  worship  was 
of  perpetual  obligation  and  frequent  practice.  Some  provision  must,  therefore, 
be  made  against  contingencies  of  weather,  &c.  2.  Upon  utility.  Private  houses 
could  not  always  be  in  a  state  of  readiness,  and  must  from  their  very  nature 
lack  those  appliances  without  which  order  and  decency  would  be  impossible. 

II.  That  the  Lord's  house  should  be  the  result  of  the  people's  free  and  gene- 
rous will,  ver.  5.  The  principle  held  as  good  then  as  now,  "  The  Lord  loveth 
a  cheerful  giver,"  &c.  The  people  were  not  taxed  for  it.  No  Church  rate  was 
Iftvied.     ^o  hand  was  laid  on  national  property.     To  wrest  contributions  from 

535 


CHAP.  XXXV.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


unwilling  and  grudging  hands  for  God's  service,  is  to  overthrow  the  principles 
on  which  such  service  is  founded,  and  to  offer  what  God  cannot  accept.  Here, 
as  afterwards,  such  as  had  "  a  mind  to  work "  were  invited  to  work ;  such  as 
were  inclined  to  give  were  encouraged  to  give.  No  compulsion  was  used.  God 
wanted  a  house.  Moses  told  the  people  so.  The  voluntary  principle  was  called 
into  play,  and  was  on  tliis  its  first  appearance  successtul,  as  it  has  been  ever 
since,  as  it  will  be  as  long  as  the  work  is  left  to  the  faith  and  love  of  those  to 
whom  the  appeal  is  made  (Ps.  ex.  3). 

III.  That  the  Lord's  house  was  to  he  built  and  furnished  intelligently,  ver.  10. 
The  Jews  built  their  Tabernacle  with  distinct  reference  to  the  purposes  for  which 
it  was  to  be  used.  The  "  wise  hearted,"  therefore,  and  not  merely  the  wealthy 
and  the  tasteful,  were  in  special  request.  The  necessity  for  "wise  heartedness," 
in  building  and  furnishing  God's  house,  has  not  vanished  with  the  "  shadowy 
dispensation."  Let  Christian  architects  and  Church  officers  bear  this  in  mind. 
If  our  tabernacles  are  specially  for  the  teaching  of  God's  word,  they  should  be 
80  constructed  that  the  preacher  should  be  seen  and  heard  by  all. 

IV.  That  the  Lord's  house  was  to  he  complete. 

1.  The  building  was  to  be  complete.  "  His  tent,  covering,  taches,  boards,  bars, 
pillars,  sockets,"  &c.,  &c.,  were  all  to  be  finished  and  in  their  place.  No  man 
thinks  of  moving  into  a  house  until  the  house  is  complete.  Is,  then,  that  which 
is  not  good  enough  for  man,  good  enough  for  man's  Maker  1  Christian  men  !  let 
not  the  infidel  and  the  worldling  say  as  they  pass  by  our  slovenly  and  unfinished 
buildings,  "  These  men  began  to  build  a  tower  for  their  God  and  were  not  able 
to  finish."  We  can  finish  our  temples  of  mammon,  our  temples  of  gaiety,  our 
temples  of  learning :  let  us  not  leave  unfinished  the  sanctuary  of  our  God. 

2.  The  accessories  were  to  be  complete.  The  inventory  here  is  perfect,  down 
to  the  very  pins  and  sockets.  It  may  be  said  that  this  belonged  to  the  "  cere- 
monial law."  Well,  is  the  abolition  of  that  law  in  its  technical  details  a  reason 
why  "  beggarly  elements  "  should  be  introduced  into  the  Christian  Churches,  and 
ministers  hampered,  congregations  inconvenienced,  and  the  work  of  God  gene- 
rally retarded  for  the  want  of  needful  arrangement.  Let  trustees  of  Churches 
see  to  it  that  everything  in  the  pulpit,  choir,  pews,  and  vestry,  that  is  requisite 
for  the  decent,  edifying,  comforting  worship  of  God,  is  provided.  And  let 
vergers,  chapel-keepers,  pew-openers,  see  that  everything  is  in  its  place  before 
the  minister  and  congregation  arrive. 

3.  The  funds  were  to  be  complete.  When  the  Tabernacle  was  "  opened  "  it 
was  out  of  debt.  Christians  did  not  learn  from  Jews  the  habit  of  spending 
money  for  God  which  their  children  would  have  to  provide.  It  is  a  scandal  to 
men,  who  would  under  no  circumstances  allow  men  to  call  themselves  their 
creditors,  to  make  them  God's  creditors.  If  a  congregation  is  poor,  let  them  be 
satisfied  with  a  modest  bunding  till  they  are  rich  enough  to  provide  a  more 
magnificent  structure. 

V.  That  the  Lord's  house  should  he  beautiful  (1  Chron.  xvi.  29).     It  was 

only  a  tent,  but  it  was  the  best  tent  in  the  whole  camp.  It  was  reared  for  the 
best  purpose,  the  people  therefore  constructed  it  of  the  best  materials  they  had, 
and  on  the  best  plans.  True,  it  may  be  said  that  God  is  everywhere  and  may 
be  worshipped  anywhere.  But  everywhere  is  the  temple  God  has  erected  for 
Himself,  and  has  He  not  lavished  magnificence  and  beauty  on  that  temple  1 
Look  at  its  roof,  its  floor,  its  aisles  !  Let  nature,  then,  be  the  model  upon  which 
churches  should  be  constructed  for  the  higher  worship  of  the  great  Creator. 
And  if  the  Jews  thought  it  worth  their  while  to  make  God's  house  as  splendid 
as  their  means  would  allow,  let  not  Christians  fall  below  their  standard.  There 
may  be  exceptions.  The  people  may  be  poor.  Churches  may  have  to  adapt 
636 


nOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  chap.  xxxt. 

themselves  to  circumstances.  But  let  them  be  of  the  very  best  that  can  be 
afforded  ;  and  let  those  beware  whose  objection  against  the  beauty  of  the  Lord's 
house  is  merely  the  selfish  one,  cost. 

Remember — (i.)  That  God's  house  is  for  His  woiship,  not  for  lectures  or 
theatrical  displays,  (ii.)  Tiiat  God's  house  is  for  the  preaching  of  His  Word  ; 
(iii.)  and  therefore,  that  God's  house  demands  our  best  efl'orts  for  its  completion, 
and  our  reverent  behaviour  at  its  services. 

— /.  W.  Bum. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Yersea  20-29. 

Hints  for  Building  Committees. 

The  wishes  of  God  were  made  known  in  the  previous  section,  and  the  people 
forthwith  resolved  themselves  into  a  committee  of  ways  and  means  for  carrying 
those  wishes  out.     The  action  of  the  committee  was — 

I.  Immediate,  vers.  20,  21.  They  did  not  hold  a  meeting  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  lecoramendations,  and  adopt  the  report.  Nor  did  they  elect  a 
chairman,  secretary,  and  working  comraiitee,  to  advise  when,  where,  and  how 
measures  were  to  be  cai  ried  out,  but  went  away  at  once  and  commenced  the 
work,  before  their  ardour  evaporated  in  idleness  and  their  determination  in  talk. 
Had  they  met  but  once  and  debated  the  question,  the  probabilities  are,  like 
their  Christian  successors,  the  work  might  never  have  been  done. 

n.  Spontaneous  and  earnest,  ver.  21.  They  had  but  one  public  meeting, 
and  that  a  very  short  one,  and  that  without  resolutions  or  amendment  or  excit- 
ing appeals.  The  cause  itself  was  all  the  eloquence  they  wanted.  God  had 
graciously  forgiven  them,  and  had  condescended  to  dwell  amongst  them,  and 
wanted  a  house  for  that  purpose.  That  was  enough  for  them.  Their  gratitude 
to,  and  love  of  God,  did  all  the  rest.  Should  Christian  people  want  other 
incentives  than  these  1  and  should  their  contributions  to  building  funds,  ifec,  be 
less  prompt,  less  free,  less  generous  1  Must  Christian  contributions,  for  God's 
cause,  be  prompted  by  dinners,  soirees,  harangues,  bazaars,  when  Jewish  con- 
tributions were  given  because  the  people's  heart  was  stirred  up,  and  their 
spirit  made  willing  by  the  grandeur  of  the  cause  %  (2  Cor.  viiL  9-12). 

III.  According  to  individual  ability.     From  gold  and  silver,  down  to  brass 

and  badgers'  skins.  Nothing  was  too  good  or  rich,  nothing  too  poor.  "They 
did  what  they  could."  The  poor  did  not  draw  back  because  of  their  poverty. 
The  rich  did  not  plead  the  many  demands  upon  their  wealth.  God  required 
then,  as  now,  "  according  to  what  a  man  had,  not  according  to  what  he  had 
not."  God  looks  at  quality  as  well  as  quantity,  and  has  scales  of  His  own  in 
which  to  weigh  the  widows'  mites.  The  wisdom  of  this  encouragement  to  poor 
as  well  as  rich  is  obvious.  Let  the  poor  man  feel  that,  because  it  has  been 
raised  partly  by  his  exertions,  the  building  belongs  as  much  to  him  as  to  the  rich 
man,  and  that  he  does  not  occupy  its  benches  on  sufferance  or  through  charity. 

IV.  Self-denying.  Many  of  these  gifts  for  the  sanctuary  were  the  ornaments, 
luxuries,  and  comforts,  and  even  tiie  necessities  of  life.  They  felt  that  the 
work  was  worth  the  sacrifice.  And  what  work  1  Let  the  Christian  remember 
that  the  Tabernacle  was  mainly  for  domestic  worship,  not  for  teaching  the  will 
of  God  to  the  foreigner  and  idolater  outside.  When  we  consider,  then,  the 
work  of  Christian  Churches,  how  that  tliey  are  not  merely  or  mainly  for  the 
comfort  and  edification  of  believers,  but  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  for 
the  lost  and  the  depraved,  how  much  more  should  we  be  willing  to  dispense 


OHAP.  XXXV.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


with  the  superfluities  of  life,  that  tlie  "Word  of  God  "  may  have  free  course  and 
be  glorified  !  " 

V.  Laborious.  Their  gifts  did  not  supersede  their  individual  exertion,  ver,  29. 
And  those  who  could  present  no  material  gift  gave  tlieir  time  and  skill. 

1.  Let  those  who  cati  work  as  well  as  give,  do  both.  This  applies  particularly 
to  women  who,  indeed,  are  specifically  mentioned.  The  Church  has  wisely 
followed  this  example,  and  utilised  tliis  source  of  profit  in  Working-meetings,  &c. 
Let  them  never  go  out  of  date.  Not  merely  for  the  pecuniary  profit,  although 
that  is  by  no  means  to  be  overlooked,  but  for  the  good  feeling  and  sympathy 
that  are  established,  and  because  of  the  interest  in  the  Lord's  work  that  it 
develops. 

2.  Let  those  who  can't  give,  work.  Many  a  little  country  chapel  has  been 
built  by  the  exertions  of  its  congregation  in  their  overtime.  Work  is  money, 
and  work  done  for  God  is  perhaps  more  prolific  in  blessing,  and  more  acceptable 
to  God.  This  applies  to  the  children.  Let  them  have  a  share  in  the  work  ; 
and  let  them  be  able  in  after  years  to  look  back  with  satisfaction  and  gratitude 
that  they  were  early  in  life  instructed  and  encouraged  to  work  for  God. 

VI.  In  conclusion — our  text  implies  that  some  were  unwilling,  and  did  not 
embark  on  this  glorious  enterprise. 

1.  Some  were  selfish.  They  loved  their  property  more  than  they  loved  their 
God. 

2.  Some  may  have  argued,  "  Amongst  such  a  vast  congregation,  one  contri- 
bution will  not  be  missed,"  as  many  Christians  do  to-day. 

3.  Some  may  have  argued,  "  We  are  poor,  and  our  mite  will  be  really  nothing 
in  aid  of  the  undertaking." 

4.  But  all  who  failed  to  do  what  they  could  in  this  matter,  necessarily  failed 
to  receive  that  special  blessing  which  God  has  for,  the  "  cheerful  giver." 

— /.  fF.  Bum. 


MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPE.—  Venei  30-35. 

Genius. 

No  more  instructive  chapter  on  human  genius  has  ever  been  written  than 
this.  It  tells  us  what  genius  is.  It  traces  it  to  its  origin.  It  describes  its 
duties  and  responsibilities.  It  warns  us  of  the  dangers  to  which  it  is  exposed. 
Bezaleel  and  AhoHab  are  representative  men.  They  belong  to  a  class  which 
comprises  the  poets,  philosopliers,  sculptors,  artists,  and  skilled  artizans  of  every 
age.     The  naiTative  suggests — 

1.  What  genius  is. 

\.  Wisdom  xler,  from  Uy^.  To  fasten  the  attention  upon,  to  judge,  to 
decide  ;  LXX.  e6:pta,  Vulg.  sapienta,  and  is  employed  in  various  instances  to  denote 
the  highest  exercise  of  the  mind,  and  the  prime  qualification  of  the  workman  in 
any  manner  of  work. 

2.  Understanding  from  ]3n.  To  see  into  or  discriminate  ;  i.e.,  the  perceptive 
faculty ;  LXX.  avvtaii,  Vulg.  intelligentia. 

3.  Knowledge  from  yV.     To  experience.     Practical  acquaintance  with  fact; 

LXX.  sTioTrj/Mt),  Vulg.  scientia. 

4.  All  manner  of  workmanship,  dexterity  of  hand.  There  is  nothing  equal 
to  the  Old  Bible  definitions.  No  modern  dictionary  could  give  a  more  accurate 
definition  of  genius  than  this. 

n.  That  genius  is  the  gift  of  God.     **  The  Lord  .  .  .  hath  filled  him  with  the 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS,  ohap.  xxxv. 


Spirit  of  God," — the  spirit  of  Elohim.     The  same  spirit  who  inspired  Balaam 
(Num.  xxiv.  2),  Azariah  (2  Chron.  xv.  1),  Zechariah  (2  Chron.  xxiv.  20), 

1.  We  must,  of  course,  carefully  distinguish  between  tile  inspiration  of  Moses, 
e.g.,  and  that  of  Bezaleel.  The  one  was  inspired  to  reveal  moral  truth,  binding 
on  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men,  the  other  to  perform  work  of  a  very 
different  character.  Hence  the  former  was,  for  the  time  being,  infallible ;  the 
latter  might  neglect  to  employ  his  gilts,  or  divert  them  into  an  improper 
channel. 

2.  But  never  let  us  forget  that  genius  is  one  of  God's  mightiest  gifts  (Jas. 
i.  17).  The  intellect  in  all  its  phases  and  faculties,  is  inbreathed  by  God,  and  is 
the  highest  tribute  to  His  glory,  and  the  strongest  argument  for  His  existence. 
"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,"  but  their  proclamation  is  silence  com- 
pared with  the  speculations  of  the  philosopher,  the  imagination  of  the  poet,  and 
the  discourse  of  the  orator,  with  music,  and  sculpture,  and  song. 

III.  That  genius  only  reaches  its  highest  level  when  devoted  to  the 
service  of  God.      "  The  Lord  haih  called  by  name,"  &c. 

1.  Because  it  belongs  to  God  and  is  in  affinity  with  God.  No  degradation  is 
more  complete  and  disastrous  than  genius  working  apart  from,  or  in  antagonism 
to,  God — Byron,  Shelley,  &c.  The  most  splendid  geniuses  have  been  those  who 
have  walked  humbly  with  their  God — Moses,  Isaiah,  Paul,  Augustine,  Bacon, 
Newton,  Faraday,  &c. 

2.  Because  the  service  of  God  is  the  noblest  ministry  in  which  it  can  engage. 
That  is  the  delight  of  the  unfallen  intelligencies.  It  is  a  crime,  therefore, 
to  exclude  the  intellect  from  this  province.  God  does  not  ask  for  our  ignorance, 
He  condemns  it.  The  mind  of  man  was  created  in  order  that  it  might  be 
employed  for  God,  and  God  has  provided  spheres  for  its  exercise  in  His  written 
word  and  in  the  worship  of  His  holy  name.  And  what  loftier  service  can  man 
render  either  to  His  God  and  to  his  fellow,  than  to  unfold  the  truths  that  have 
been  revealed  for  man's  guidance  in  this  world,  and  his  hopes  for  that  which 
is  to  come  1 

3.  Because  in  serving  God  its  own  highest  interests  are  promoted.  In  God's 
presence  it  is  elevated  and  transfigured.  When  has  poetry  been  so  sweet,  elo- 
quence so  rich,  logic  so  subtle,  eloquence  so  moving,  philosophy  so  pure,  learning 
so  varied  and  so  exact,  and  art  so  sublime,  as  when  consecrated  to  God? 

IV.  That  genius  should  not  he  above  practical  work.  "  To  work  in  gold  and 
silver,"  &c.  Carlyle  has  defined  genius  as  "an  infinite  capacity  for  taking 
pains."  So  says  our  text.  An  unproductive  genius  is  inconceivable.  Men 
of  great  intellectual  powers  have  given  way  to  idleness  and  have  perverted 
their  powers.     But  here  they  have  failed.     Then — 

1.  Genius  must  not  be  made  an  excuse  for  idleness.  Because  one  man  can 
do  in  three  days  what  would  take  another  man  six,  he  must  not  lounge  away 
the  remaining  time. 

2.  Genius  must  not  be  an  occasion  for  imposition  upon  others.  Aholiab  had 
to  perform  the  work  allotted  to  him  as  much  as  the  most  illiteiate  Israelite. 
Yet  this  is  a  great  danger.  It  is  held  by  some,  almost  axiomatically,  that 
"geniuses  need  not  work.  Let  that  be  done  by  the  hewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  of  water  while  we  do  the  thinking." 

v.  That  true  genius  is  unselfish,  ver.  34.  They  were  not  to  be  miserly  of 
their  intellectual  powers,  but  to  impart  their  skill  and  knowledge,  as  much  as 
possible,  to  others.  It  is  not  only  theologians  or  lawyers  who  are  to  be  charged 
with  keeping  the  "key  of  knowledge."  Genius  is  a  trust,  and  the  man  who 
devotes  it  to  selfish  uses,  and  neglects  to  improve  others  by  it,  commits  a  sin 
against  God.     In  conclusion,  Learn — 

539 


CHAP.  XXXT. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


i.  To  cultivate  gratitude  to  Gori  for  the  existence  of  genius  in  the  world,  and 
for  what  genius  He  has  given  you.  ii.  To  recognise  your  responsibility  to  God 
for  what  the  genius  of  otliers  has  placed  within  your  reach,  and  what  your  own 
genius  enables  you  to  do.  Cultivate  it  in  yourself,  encourage  it  in  others,  iii. 
To  feel  the  duty  and  privilege  of  laying  all  the  stores  of  genius  on  the  altar  for 
the  service  of  God. — /.  IF.  Burn. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXV. 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSOIf. 


Moral  Law  I  Vers.  1-35.  (1.)  The  cere- 
moniai  law  was  like  a  scaflfo  ding  around  a 
building  which  is  being  slowly  and  gradually 
raised.  Wlien  the  building  is  completed, 
the  scaffolding  is  taken  away.  But  the  moral 
law  is  like  the  rafters,  deep  sunk  in  the 
building  itself.  These  cannot  be  taken  away 
without  the  ruin  of  the  whole  structure 
of  revelation.  (2.)  The  ceremonial  law  is  like 
the  bright  petals  of  a  blossom,  which  drop 
ofiF  to  make  room  for  the  fruit.  But  the 
moral  law  is  like  the  stem,  which  upholds 
both  blossom  and  fruit.  For  God  is  holy — 
God  is  good  ;  and  therefore  the  law  of  holi- 
ness and  goodness  must,  like  God,  endure  for 
ever. 

•'  Thy  God  is  good,  His  mercy  nigh, 

His  love  su.staius  thy  tottering  feet ; 
Trust  Him,  for  His  grace  is  sure, 
Ever  doth  His  Tndh  endure." 

— Zehn. 

Sabbath  !  Ver.  2.  The  Sabbath  was  origi- 
nally instituted  as  a  day  of  rest ;  and  was  to 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  God.  Of  this 
latter  circumstance  the  Jews  bad  so  far  lost 
sight,  that  they  substituted  their  own  super- 
stitious rites  in  the  place  of  divine  ordinances, 
and  thus  exchanged  a  spiritual  for  a  merely 
ceremimial  observance  of  the  day.  Concerning 
Bome  of  the  superstitions  which  prevailed 
amongst  the  people,  Basnage  tells  us  that  in 
the  places  where  they  had  liberty,  in  the  time 
of  Maimonides,  they  sounded  the  trumpet  six 
times  to  give  notice  that  the  Sabbath  was  be- 
ginnitig.  At  the  first  sound  the  countryman 
left  his  plough  ;  at  the  second,  they  shut  up 
their  shops ;  at  the  third,  they  covered  their 
pits.  They  lighted  candles,  and  drew  the 
bread  out  of  the  oven  ;  but  this  last  article 
deserves  to  be  insisted  on  because  of  the 
different  cases  of  conscience  about  which  the 
masters  are  divided.  When  the  soutid  of  the 
sixth  trumpet  surprised  those  that  had  not  aa 
jet  drawn  out  their  bread  from  the  oven, 
there  the  pious  must  leave  it,  &c. 

"  A  Sabbath  glory  for  the  good 
No  night  shall  take  away  ; 
When  shall  Thy  servant,  Lord,  attain 
To  that  eternal  day  ?  "  — Oerok 

540 


Sabbath-Sanctuary  !  Ver.  2.  The  temple, 
says  Hamilton,  was  a  sacred  place.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  it  was  usual  to  claim  for  churches 
the  right  of  sanctuar}'  ;  so  that  whosoever 
took  refuge  within  the  hallowed  precincts  was 
safe  from  the  avenger.  But  it  is  not  to  a 
holy  place,  but  to  a  holy  day,  that  God  has 
given  this  protecting  privilege.  Every  seventh 
day  was  to  be  a  sacred  asylum  for  man  and 
beast.  Humboldt  despised  all  religions  and 
hated  Christianity  ;  yet  he  was  forced  to  own 
that  the  "seventh  day  rest  from  labour" 
was  an  unspeakiible  blessing.  But  what 
Humboldt  would  not  acknowledge,  viz.,  its 
Divine  authority,  an  eloquent  Israelite  has. 
Disraeli,  iu  his  "Tancied,"  remarks  that  the 
life  and  property  of  Britam  are  protected  by 
the  law  of  Sinai.  The  hard-workiivg  people  of 
England,  he  says,  are  secured  a  day  of  rest  iu 
every  week  by  the  Sinaitic  Decalogue  ;  for 

*'  Sunday  is  the  golden  clasp 
That  binds  together 
The  volume  of  the  week." 

— Longfellow, 

Sabbath-Service !  Ver.  3.  It  is  no  easy 
matter  to  be  everybody's  friend.  Yet  we 
do  not  fear  to  say  that  t\\i>.  friend  we  are 
introducing  to  our  readers  df  serves  that  gra- 
cious name — we  mean  the  li'jrd's  day.  Our 
friend  is  most  faithful  and  punctual  ;  every 
seven  days  he  comes  round.  However  labo- 
rious our  vocation,  however  painful  our  life, 
we  are  sure  to  see  that  friend  reappear  at  the 
end  of  the  week,  inviting  each  of  us  to  break 
for  a  few  hours  the  monotony  of  our  work, 
to  give  a  new  current  to  our  thoughts,  to  put 
on  our  Sunday  garments,  and  to  enjoy  neces- 
sary repose. 

"  Why  do  we  heap  huge  mounds  of  years 

Before  us  and  behind, 
And  scour  the  Sabbath  days  that  pass 

Like  angels  on  the  wing' 
Eaco  turning  round  a  small  sweet  fao* 

As  beautiful  aa  near  ; 
Because  it  is  so  small  a  face. 

We  will  not  see  it  clear." 

Nature's  -  Tabernacle !  Ver.  4.  Rightly 
considered,  all  nature  is  the  tabernacle  of  God, 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXV. 


constructed  for  His  worship.  The  tabernacle 
of  the  wilderness  has  been  called  by  an 
eminent  writer  a  miniature  model  of  the 
whole  earth,  just  as  he  calls  the  people  of 
Israel  a  miniature  pattern  of  all  naticins. 
Every  man  has  a  part  assigned  to  him  in  the 
erection  and  adorning  of  this  wonderful 
tabernacle,  whose  floor  is  the  green  fields, 
whose  walls  are  the  rocks  and  uiountaius,  and 
whose  roof  is  the  ever-changing  sky.  Every 
man  who  does  a  day's  work  is  a  fellow-worker 
with  God,  in  carrying  out  His  great  design  in 
creation — in  improving  the  face  of  nature — • 
changing  the  wilderness  into  a  garden,  de- 
veloping the  latent  resources  and  capabilities 
of  the  earth,  converting  its  crude  materials 
into  shapes  of  beauty  and  forms  of  usefulness, 
in  making  the  world  fairer  and  richer,  and 
better  fitted  to  be  the  home  of  redeemed  man, 
and  the  shrine  of  the  Most  High  God.  There- 
fore "  Excelsior." 

"  In  happy  homes  he  saw  the  light 
Of    household    fires    gleam    warm     and 

bright ; 
Above  the  spectral  glaciers  shone. 
And  from  his  lips  escaped  a  moan — 
'  Excelsior  ! '  " 

— Longfellow. 

Love's  Service  !  Vers.  5-19.  (1.)  He  was 
bu&y  preparing  the  home.  All  his  thoughts 
day  after  day  were  on  its  beauty  and  decora- 
tion. And  as  the  work  advanced  towards 
completion  ;  as  the  rooms  became  richly  yet 
chastely  adorned  in  floor,  and  ceiling,  and 
wall ;  as  the  garden  parterres  assumed  an 
orderly  and  blooming  appearance,  he  spent 
hours  in  wandering  from  room  to  room,  and 
terrace  to  terrace,  thinking — of  what? — of 
whom  ?  Of  her  whom  he  loved — on  whom  he 
had  lavished  his  fondest  affections,  and  for 
whose  residence  in  that  house  he  had  been  so 
busily  occupied  in  preparation.  He  regretted 
none  of  these  costly  offeiings  at  "Love's 
Shrine."  (2.)  God  had  condescended  to  be 
Israel's  God.  He  had  promised  to  come  and 
dwell  with  them.  And  they  were  building 
Him  a  house  wherein  to  reside.  Some  there 
might  be  who  grudged  the  costly  beauties  of 
the  taV)eruacle,  but  most  of  the  pious  in 
Israel,  who  loved  God  with  all  their  heart, 
would  delight  in  making  sacrifices  for  Him 
whom  they  loved.  And  as  the  home  grew 
more  and  more  ready  for  His  Divine  indwell- 
iuir,  how  that  love  would  fill  their  spirits  with 
bright  prospects  of  sweet  fellowship  and  lov- 
ing communion  with  Him  when  the  house  of 
God  was  ready.  So  the  fabric  of  our  soul's 
holiness  is  being  daily  upieared  and  adorned 
for  the  Apocalyptic  consummation. 

*  The  mansion  of  creation's  Architect ; 
The  palace  of  the  Everlasting  King  ; 
Its  gates  of  pearl,  its  edifice  of  gold  ; 
Ita  very  streets  of  pure  crystalline  gold." 
— Bickersteth. 

Hidianite  •  Mines  I      Yer.    5.      The    Old 


Testament  allusions  to  gold,  silver,  and  other 
valuable  metals,  derive  new  interest  from 
Captain  Burton's  researches  in  Midian  during 
the  last  six  months.  He  has  returned  from 
his  first  expedition  with  twenty-five  tons  of 
specimens — including  torquoise,  alabaster,  and 
sulphur.  He  also  brought  for  the  Egyptian 
Khedive,  Midianite  coins,  inscriptions,  frag- 
ments of  glass  and  pottery  ;  as  well  as  a 
variety  of  relies  from  the  thirty-two  ruined 
cities  which  still  exist  in  the  land.  He  found 
evidences  of  ancient  mining  operations  every- 
where, traces  of  gold  to  an  important  amount, 
quartz  threaded  with  veins  of  silven  Every- 
where were  evidences  of  great  operations 
anciently  conducted  by  practised  miners — pro- 
bal)]y  slaves — under  skilled  engineers.  The 
stones 

"  Of  purest  crystal  are  from  gloomiest  mines. 
The  tenderest  pearls  are  won  from  roughest 
seas." 

Religion  -  Sphere !  Vers.  6-11.  The 
Levitical  economy  teaches  that  the  whole 
life  is  one,  that  true  religion  is  the  proper 
use  of  man's  whole  being,  and  that  it  is  not  a 
thing  merely  of  the  Sunday  and  the  sanctuary. 
By  our  Lord's  life  on  earth  He  imparted  to 
the  whole  earth  a  heavenly  character — made 
every  spot  of  common  ground  au  altar,  every 
common  mean  a  sacrament,  every  action  of 
daily  life  a  worship.  Religion  has  its  place  in 
everything  ;  even  in  our  daily  labours  which 
we  pursue.  The  inspiration  of  Aholiab  in 
his  trade  shows  the  true  design  and  meaning 
of  work.  Macmillan  remarks,  that  natural, 
as  well  as  spiritual  talents,  are  the  good  gifts 
of  God,  that  the  right  use  of  the  powers  of 
the  artist,  the  musician,  the  poet,  the  artisan, 
the  mechanic,  the  day  labourer,  is  due  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  Spirit. 

"  '  0  dreaiy  life  !  *  we  cry,  '  0  dreary  life  I ' 
And  still  tiie  generations  of  the  birds 
Sing  through   our   sighing,  and  the  flocks 

and  herds 
Serenely  live,  while  we  are  keeping  strife 
With  Heaven's  true  purpose  in  us,  as  a  knife 
Against  vikich  we  may  struggle!" 

Stone-Stability  !  Ver.  9.  (1.)  Gems  are 
steadfast  and  enduring.  They  are  not  com- 
posed of  perishable  material.^ — not  even  of 
rocks  that  wither  and  crumble  away  ;  but  of 
that  which  endures.  Jewels,  as  a  class,  are 
the  most  lasting  of  all  earthly  objects,  the 
most  beautiful,  as  well  as  the  most  imperish- 
able, form  in  which  matter  appears.  Gold 
will  wear  away,  silver  will  tarnish,  and  wood 
will  decay.  The  granite  stone  itself  will  dis- 
integrate. But  jewels  will  continue  unchanged 
for  thousands  of  yciirs.  They  are,  therefore, 
expressive  types  of  stability  and  permanence. 
(2.)  Gospel  truths  have  this  virtue.  They 
are  no  vague  hopes,  or  shadowy  dreams ;  but 
solid  substantial  realities,  more  enduring  than 
the  everlasting  hills  theuiselves.  They  are 
truths  which  will  last  when  the  heavens  shall 

5^1 


CHAP.  XXIT, 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


be  rolled  up  like  a  scroll  and  vanish  away, 
rhey  will  come  out  of  tlie  last  dread  conflagia- 
tioi),  when  the  earth  and  all  therein  shall  be 
burnt  up,  all  the  purer,  clearer,  and  more 
enduring  for  the  fiery  ordeal.  Were  Gospel 
truths  destitute  of  this  stability,  they  might 
retain  their  literary  hrilliancy,  but  they  would 
lose  their  saving  and  consoling  pott-ncy.  It 
enabled  Paul  to  say,  "  I  know  in  whoui  1  have 
believed." 

*'  The  earth  shall  pass  away. 

The  stars  shall  fall, 
The  heavens  roll  together 

Like  a  parchment  scroll  ; 
But  Truth  shall  live  for  ever, 

And  through  endless  ages  give 

Her  blessings  to  the  sainted. 
And  fail  them  never,  never." 

Tabernacle  -  Furniture  !  Vers.  10-14. 
Amongst  the  existing  memorials  of  ancient 
Rome  is  the  triumphal  Arch  of  Titus,  reared 
to  commemorate  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by 
that  famous  general.  It  represents  in  its  bas- 
reliefs  the  golden  candlestick,  the  table  of 
shewbread,  and  r)ther  sacred  articles  which 
formed  part  of  the  spoils  of  the  temple. 
These  trophies  were  borne  conspicuously  in 
the  triumphal  procession  with  which  Titus 
and  his  army  were  honoured  on  their  return 
to  Rome.  Tlie  sculptures  on  the  aich  repre- 
sent the  ])rocessiiin,  the  figure  of  the  candle- 
stick being  the  most  prominent  of  the  sacred 
symbols. 

"  Their  glory  faded,  and  their  race  dispersed. 
The  last  of  nations  now,  though  once  the 

first, 
They  warn  and  teach  the  proudest,  would 

they  learn, 
'  Keep  Wisdom,  or  meet  vengeance  in  your 

turn.'  "  — Covoper, 

Divine  Delectation  !  Vers.  10,  &c.  In  the 
Canticles  of  Solomon  we  are  told  that  He 
feedeth  among  the  lilies.  (I.)  Material! 
The  Creator,  it  has  been  well  observed  by 
Mactnillan,  receives  enjoyment  from  the 
beauties  of  creation.  We  are  told  authori- 
tatively that  He  takes  pleasure  in  the  works 
of  His  liands ;  that  for  His  pleasure  they  are 
and  were  created.  Those  countless  objects 
of  wonderful  loveliness,  in  situations  where 
no  eye  but  His  own  can  behold  them,  are 
sources  of  Divine  delectation.  Such  are  the 
wild  flowers  m  pathless  deserts,  and  on  inac- 
cessible mountain  peaks.  (2.)  Moral!  As 
the  artist  delights  in  exercising  his  talent  in 
depicting  tae  iand.-<cape — as  the  architect  finds 
pleasure  in  exerting  his  skill  in  uprearing  the 
gorgeous  minster;  so  God  not  only  delights 
in  the  scenes  and  objects  of  nature,  in  the 
formation  of  which  He  has  exercised  His 
divine  wisdom  and  power,  \n\t  also  in  the 
"beauties  of  holiness,"  designed  and  upreared 
by  His  grace.  In  this  respect  God  desired 
and  delighted  tosee  the  Wilderness  Tabernacle 
beautiful  and  glorious — as  the  emblem  of  the 

542 


Church  and  Christian  "comely  with  the  come* 
liness  "  which  He  has  put  on  them. 

"  To-day  I  saw  a  dragon-fly 

Come  from  the  wells  where  he  did  lie, 
An  inner  impulse  rent  the  vail 
Of  his  old  husk  ;  from  head  to  tail 
Came  out  clear  plates  of  sapphire  mail. 
He  dried  bis  wings  ;  like  gauze  they  grew  • 
Through  crofts  and  pastures  wet  with  dew, 
A  living  flash  of  life  he  flew." 

—  Vernon. 

Gift-Generosity!  Ver.  21.  (1.)  Dr.  Fowler 
remarks  that  the  servants  of  God  should  be 
as  hearty  as  the  servants  of  Satan  have  been. 
They  gave  their  ornaments  for  the  golden 
calf  ;  now  they  give  them  to  God.  Let  grace 
succeed  sin,  as  Paul  passed  from  a  self-sac- 
rificing persecutor  to  a  self-denying  and 
laborious  preacher.  God  invites  but  does  not 
compel.  Every  one  is  to  do  what  he  can. 
Christ's  kingdom  rests  on  the  affections.  Its 
motive  is  love,  its  object  is  the  perfection  of 
love.  (2.)  Spurgeon  relates  of  a  woman  who 
was  known  to  be  very  poor,  that  she  offered 
at  a  missionary  meeting  to  subscribe  one 
penny  a  week  to  the  mission  field.  When 
remonstrated  with,  that  surely  she  could  tiot 
afford  such  a  sum  in  her  great  poverty,  she 
replied,  "  I  spin  so  many  hanks  of  yarn  a 
week  for  my  living,  and  I'll  spiu  one  hank 
more,  which  will  be  a  penny  a  week  for  the 
Society." 

"  To  pass,  when  life  her  light  withdraws. 
Not  void  of  rif/!itcous  self -applause, 
Nor  in  a  merely  selfish  cause." 

Church  Gifts!    Vers.  21,   22.      Bickersteth 

says  the  urgent  needs  of  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  were  set  before  his  flock  on  No- 
vember 25th  ;  and,  although  his  congregation 
was  by  no  means  a  wealthy  one,  £100  was 
collected.  A  printed  note  was  circulated 
during  the  week  following,  in  which  he  asked 
for  a  great  effort  to  be  made  to  raise  the  sum 
of  £800  in  this  emergency  of  Foreign  Missions. 
On  Sunday  £300  were  cast  into  the  Lord's 
treasury,  including  a  cheque  for  £100 — a  roll 
of  bank  notes  to  the  amount  of  £75,  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  a  silver  bowl,  and  a 
little  boy's  silver  cu]).  There  were  also  two 
small  gold  rings  put  in  the  j)lates,  and  two 
more  silver  mugs  were  since  sent  for  sale. 
So  that  he  had  £-100,  or  more  than  he  asked 
for,  to  send  to  the  Society  for  missions  to  the 
heathen. 

"  But  what  or  who  are  we,  alas ! 
That  we  in  giving  are  so  free? 
Thine  own  before  our  offering  was, 
And  all  we  have  we  have  from  Thee.** 

—  Widier. 

Almsgiving,  &c. !  Ver.  21,  22.     Two  wo. 

men  were  one  day  discussing  what  constituted 
the  true  beauty  of  the  hand.  Differing  in 
opinion,  they  selected  a  gentleman  as  umpire. 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXtV. 


It  was  a  delicate  matter.  He  thought  of  Paris 
and  the  three  goddesses.  Glancing  from  one  to 
the  other  cf  the  hands  presented  for  examina- 
tion, he  replied  at  last,  "Ask  the  poor,  and 
they  will  tell  you  that  there  is  a  more  beauti- 
ful hand  than  these."  Astonished  at  this 
reply,  they  inquired,  "What  hand?"  To 
wliich  he  responded  that  the  poor  considered 
that  the  most  beautiful  hand  in  the  world 
which  was  devoted  to  deeds  of  loving  service 
and  almsgiving.  There  is  one  hand  more 
beautiful  Still — the  hand  that  with  a  humble, 
grateful  heart,  brings  gifts  for  the  worship 
and  service  of  God. 

"  At  least  not  rotting  like  a  weed, 

But,  having  sown  some  generous  seed. 
Fruitful  of  further  good  indeed." 


which  the  priest's  garments  were  composed' 
The  yarn  was  beaten  with  clubs,  and  the 
thread  boiled  in  water,  so  as  to  soften  it. 
Arsiiioe,  Pelusium,  and  Alexandria  were  cele- 
brated for  their  weaving,  which  was  princi- 
pally done  by  men,  and  not  by  women.  In 
agreement  with  this  last  fact,  the  preparation 
of  the  cloth  for  the  sanctuary,  and  of  the 
robes  of  the  priests,  was  entrusted  through- 
out to  the  care  of  men.  The  women  did  the 
spinning,  and  they  bought  of  the  people  which 
they  had  spun. 

"  To  toil  in  tasks,  however  mean, 

For  all  we  know  of  right  and  true, 
In  this  alone  our  worth  is  seen  ; 
'Tis  this  we  were  ordained  to  do." 

— Sterling. 


Necklaces  and  Jewels!  Ver.  22.  Heng- 
etenberg  tells  us  that  in  Egypt  costly  and 
elegant  ornaments  abounded  in  proportion  as 
the  clothing  was  simple  and  scarce.  Girdles, 
necklaces,  armlets,  rings  and  earrings  of 
various  kinds,  suspended  from  the  neck,  are 
found  represented  in  the  paintings,  and  in  fact 
still  exist  among  the  mummies — the  excel- 
lence of  the  Egyptians  in  some  of  the  nicer 
and  more  elaborate  and  useful  branches  of 
art.  They  imitated,  with  a  skill  not  certainly 
surpassed  by  moderns,  the  amethyst,  the 
emerald,  and  other  precious  stones ;  and  they 
formed  necklaces  of  all  the  hues  of  the  rain- 
bow. From  these,  it  is  plain — as  a  matter  of 
history — that  the  Israelites  received  instruc- 
tions in  the  art  of  making,  as  well  as  engrav- 
ing, precious  stones. 

"  The  jasper,  streaked  with  many  a  tender  dye, 
The  sapphire,  of  celestial  blue  serene, 
The  agate,  once  Chalcedon's  peerless  boast, 
The  melibean  hyacinth,  and  last 
The  lucid  violet  of  amethyst." 

— BickersUth. 

Permanent  Offerings !  Ver.  22.  Dr.  Judson 
tells  of  a  Karen  woman  who  offered  herself 
for  baptism.  After  the  usual  examination, 
he  inquired  whether  she  could  give  up  her 
ornaments  for  Christ.  It  was  an  unexpected 
blow.  He  explained  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel, 
and  appealed  to  her  own  consciousness  of 
vanity.  He  then  read  to  her  the  apostle's 
prohibition  in  1  Tim.  ii.  9.  She  looked  again 
and  again  at  her  handsome  necklace ;  and 
then,  with  an  air  of  modest  decision,  she  took 
it  off,  saying,  "  I  love  Christ  more  than  this." 

"  No  love  but  Thine,  but  Thine  can  me  re- 
lieve ; 
No  light  but  Thine,  but  Thine  will  I  receive; 
No  light,  no  love  but  Thine." 

— Bonar. 

Fine  Linen!  Ver.  25.  In  the  tombs  of 
Beni  Hassan,  there  are  pictures  of  the  method 
of  preparing  and  twisting  the  thread  for  the 
manufacture  of  the   fine   liuen  or  hysaiu  of 


Spindle  and  Spinning !  Ver.  25.  In 
ancient  times,  and  even  in  periods  not  long 
ago  in  our  own  country,  the  distaff  and 
spindle  formed  as  commonly  the  occupation 
in  the  higher  ranks  of  society,  as  do  the  more 
elegant  accomplishments  of  the  present  day. 
Even  in  the  Augustan  age  of  Rome,  the 
Emperor  usually  wore  no  other  garments  than 
what  were  made  at  home  by  his  wife,  sister, 
or  daughter.  Irby  and  Mangles  in  their 
"Travels"  say,  that  in  Arabia,  while  the 
girls  guard  the  flocks  they  have  a  bundle  of 
wool  at  their  backs  for  spinning.  The  spindle 
was  probably  the  most  ancient  form  of 
spinning  apparatus.  In  India  and  other  parts 
of  the  East,  the  art  of  spinning,  so  says  the 
author  of  "Rays  from  the  East,"  is  still  of 
the  most  primitive  kind.  The  Hindoo  mother, 
placing  her  infant  on  the  ground,  will  sit  by 
the  hour  turning  the  simply-formed  machine 
with  her  hand  ;  at  her  wheel 

"  Spinning  amain,  as  if  to  overtake 

The  never-halting  time  ;  or,  in  her  turn, 
Teaching  some  novice  in  the  Eastern  home 
Her  skill  in  this,  or  other  household  work." 

Tribute- Offerings !  Ver.  29.  (1.)  Grati- 
tude! A  slave  in  the  Southern  plantations 
was  aided  by  a  Canadian  to  escape  from  the 
horrible  oppression  of  a  slave-driver.  He  was 
enabled  to  procure  employment  in  Canada, 
and,  being  a  skilled  mechanician  by  natural 
talent,  he  was  able  to  command  a  liberal 
income.  Every  hnlf-year  a  mysterious  gift 
reached  the  home  of  the  Canadian  liberator — 
"  Gratitude's  tribute  for  my  freedom."  Freed 
from  the  bondage  of  Egyptian  taskmasters, 
Israel  had  ample  occasion  to  testify  their 
gratitude  to  the  Divine  deliverer.  (2.)  Glad- 
ness !  Frequently,  an  announcement  may  be 
seen  in  the  daily  papers  that  the  Queen  hag 
been  graciously  pleased  to  accept  some  sub- 
ject's gift,  a  book,  or  something  else.  The 
donor  is  glad  to  have  his  gift  accepted  by  so 
great  a  personage  as  his  sovereiiin.  It  be- 
comes a  red-letter  day  on  which  the  donation 
was  acknowledged.  What  gladness  the  Israel- 
ite donors  ought  to  have  felt  in  their  bearti 

543 


0HA7.  XXXT. 


HO  Ml  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


that  the  "King"— the  "Divine  King"  in 
their  midst,  aud  heaven's  dread  Sovereign — 
consented  to  receive  their  voluntary  olTeringsI 

*'  Pitying  Lord,  wilt  Thou  despise 
This  my  sacrifice  ? 
Tell  me,  tsaviour,  do  I  bring 
Anything  t" 

— Kimball. 

Sacred  Self-denial !  Ver.  29.  (1.)  In  a  happy 
rural  pai  soiiage  wi-re  two  children.  The  parish 
was  a  poor  one,  often  visited  witli  distress  aiid 
disease.  The  elder  girl  deliglited  in  deeds  of 
loving  service  amongst  the  aged  aud  needy 
the  younger  found  pleasure  in  self-gratifica- 
tion. On  one  occasion  came  an  urgent  demand 
upon  the  charity  of  the  charitable,  and  the 
love  of  the  loving.  The  elder  was  desirous  of 
helping  in  time  of  need,  and  gave  up  her 
trinkets  and  presents,  with  the  consent  of  her 
mother,  to  be  approi)riated  to  supplying  the 
necessity.  But  the  younger  hugged  her 
presents,  and  grudged  to  give  her  necklaces 
and  ornaments.  On  the  following  Sunday, 
as  they  walked  to  the  house  of  God,  they  pre- 
sented a  singular  contrast,  the  one  plaiidy 
attired,  with  no  ornament  of  any  kind,  the 
other  arrayed  in  all  her  prettiness  of  jewel 
and  adornment  —  which  was  the  happier  ? 
Churchgoers,  who  saw  outwardly,  may  have 
thought  the  one  in  all  her  bravery  ;  but  her 
mother  and  her  God  knew  otherwise.  (2.)  So 
Moses  and  Jehovah  saw  that  the  hearts  of 
those  Israelites,  who  had  cheerfully  given  up 
their  armlets  and  amulets  of  gold  and  silver, 
their  jewels  and  necklaces  of  precious  stones, 
were  happier  far  than  those  who  still  retained 
them.  They  may  have  derided  their  plainly- 
robed  fellows  for  their  over-devotion  to  God  ; 
but  they  could  not  have  the  inward  sense  of 
joy  and  satisfaction  which  springs  from  un- 
Belfish  self-sacrifice  for  God.  And  when  the 
givers  and  non-givers  stood  before  the  com- 
pleted tabernacle,  on  whom  would  the  Divine 
benediction  rest.  Thus  will  it  be  when  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  perfect  in  the  last  day. 

"  Their    earthly    ministry    approved,     He'll 
enroll 
Their  n.imes  amo)ig  the  citizens  of  heaven, 
And  freemen  of  His  sinless  universe." 

Art-Inspiration  I  Vers.  30-35.  Few  minds 
are  sunlike,  sources  of  light  to  themselves  and 
to  others.  Most  are  moons,  which  .shine  with 
a  derivative  and  reflecteii  light.  Bezaleel  and 
Aholiab  drew  their  skill  from  Divine  inspira- 
tion. Indeed,  it  has  been  said  by  Cicero  that 
all  great  men  are  in  some  degree  inspired. 
They  are  divinely  qualified  for  their  respective 
missions.  Was  not  Gutenberg  inspired  to 
invent  printing,  with  the  view  to  a  world-wide 
diffusion  of  the  Word  of  Life  ?  The  history 
of  nations  and  of  the  Clmrcli  affords  mimeroua 
illustrations  of  this  species  of  inspiration  in 
the  raising  up  of  special  men  to  certain  works 
when  such  needed  to  be  done. 

Hi 


**  Oh,  I  see  the  crescent- promiie 

Of  the  Spirit  hath  not  set; 

Ancient  founts  of  inspiration 

Well  through  all  my  labours  yet  I* 

Grace-Genius  I     Ver.  32.     (L)  Hume  says 

that  the  richest  genius,  like  the  most  fertile 
so  1,  when  uncultivated,  sljoota  up  into  the 
rankest  weeds  ;  and  instead  of  vines  and  olives 
for  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  man,  produces 
to  its  slolliful  owner  a  plentiful  crop  of  poisons. 
(2.)  But  is  Hume  right?  Is  itnot uns«7?c/^eci 
genius  which  thus  shoots  up  lank  and  long, 
rank  and  strons^  ?  Genius,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Divine  grace,  will  never  become  the 
deadly  Byronic  euphorbia.  However  splendid 
talents  may  compel  our  admiration,  they  have 
no  right  to  claim  the  general  esteem  of  man- 
kind, when  their  possessor  exercises  them 
without  due  regard  of  what  is  due  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  human  race,  and  conducive  to  the 
glory  of  God. 

"  Yet  man,   dim-sighted  man,   and   raah   as 
blind. 
Deaf  to  the  dictates  of  his  better  mind. 
In  frantic  competition  dares  the  skies, 
And  claims  precedence  of  the  Only- Wise." 

— Quyon. 

Work-ResnltBl  Ver.  35.  (1.)  The  labours 
of  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab,  from  a  worldly 
point  of  view,  were  evanescent.  The  taber- 
nacle, which  they  constructed  with  such  rare 
skill,  passed  away.  All  its  precious  materials 
and  workmanship  disappeared  like  a  beauti- 
ful dream  of  the  morning,  and  not  a  trace  of 
them  now  remains  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  this,  the  work  of 
Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  was  abiding  in  its 
spiritual  results.  Israel  reaped  the  benefit  of 
it  through  all  their  generations.  We  our- 
selves are  better  for  it  to-day.  Our  Chris- 
tianity, our  civilisation  itself,  is  based  upon 
the  fleeting  fabric  which  the  Jewish  artists 
created  in  the  wilderness.  (2.)  Our  work 
may  appear  far  less  important  and  far  more 
transient  than  theirs.  Many  of  the  tasks  in 
which  we  engage  serve  very  brief,  and 
apparently  trifling  purposes  indeed.  But 
let  us  overcome  this  temptation  by  the 
thought  that,  while  the  outward  aspects  of 
our  daily  labours  may  pass  away  in  the 
changes  of  titne,  the  inward  spiritual  sub- 
stance will  remain.  Their  results  will  live 
and  act  for  good  or  evil  when  that  night  baa 
come  upon  ua  in  which  no  man  can  work. 

"  In  this  glorious  calling 

Work  till  day  is  o'er  j 
Work,  till  evening  falling, 

You  can  work  no  more. 
Then  vMir  labour  bringing 

To  the  King  of  kings, 
Borne  with  joy  and  singing 

Home  on  angels'  wings." 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS.  oBa/,  xxxvi. 


CHAPTER  XXXVL 

Crittoal  Notes. — 1.  According  to  all  that  the  Lord  tad  commanded],     "Bezaleel  and 

Aholiab  and  every  wise-Li-urted  man  "  (ver.  2)  were  not  permitted  to  iiuinlge  in  using  their 
artistic  skill  in  working  things  of  an  arbitrary  kind,  but  were  restricted  to  work  only  such  things 
as  they  were  cotninanded.  The  nature  of  these  instructions  which  restricted  the  sphere  in 
which  they  might  employ  their  skill,  but  yet  within  an  assigned  sphere,  allowed  them  tlie 
amplest  sco(>e  for  the  exercise  of  their  skill,  served  both  gesthetical  and  moral  ends.  Probably 
the  severe  lesson  which  the  Israelites  leaiued  in  consequence  of  the  making  of  the  golden  calf 
fitted  them  for  the  right  appreciation  of  the  restrictive  commandment  in  regard  to  the  worka 
of  the  tabernacle,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  entire  absence  of  any  spirit  of  self-assertion  ;  they 
brought  their  gifts  cheerfully  and  liberally,  and  ceased  to  do  so  as  they  were  commanded. 
Showing  how  thoroughly  cured  they  were,  for  a  long  time  at  any  rate,  of  ritualistic  fancies  and 
innovations. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH. 

1  The  skill  of  the  workmen.     "  Then  wrought  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  and 

every  wise-hearted  man."     It  is  obvious  that  though  Bezaleel  was,  as  has  been 
said,  the  master  of  the  works,  and  Aholiab  his  principal  assistant,  there  was 
associated  with  them,  but  acting  under  them,  a  large  company  of  skilled  work- 
men, master  craftsmen,  as  they  might  be  called,  who  directed  the  labours  of 
other  artizans  beneath  them.    The  expression  "  every  wise-hearted  man  "  applies, 
in  all  probability,  to  all  but  the  last.     Notice — (1.)  How  far  their  skill  extended. 
They  knew,  it  is  stated,  "  how  to  work  all  manner  of  work  ; "  by  which  it  is  not 
necessary  to  understand  that  every  one  of  them  was  a  sort  of  "  Jack-of-all- 
trades,"  but  only  that  among  them  were  individuals  qualified  to  perform  every 
variety  of  work  that  was  needed  for  the  Tabernacle — spinners,  weavers,  silver- 
smiths, goldsmiths,  workers  in  wood  and  brass,  &c.,  &c.     And  so  within  the 
Church  of  God  to-day  is  every  kind  of  talent  that  is  needful  for  the  erection  of 
the  better  Tabernacle  of  which  that  simple  structure  was  but  a  type — persons 
qualified  to  do  the  noblest  services,  as  well  as  persons  exactly  fitted  for  the 
meanest,  skilled  expounders  of  the  Word,  and  gifted  champions  of  the  faith,  as 
well  as  humble  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  and  earnest  teachers  of  the  young.     Yet 
it  would  seem  as  if  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  were  specially  endowed.     Aholiab,  we 
learn,  was  "an  engraver  and  a  cunning  workman,  and  an  embroiderer,"  and 
Bezaleel  was  qualified  "  to  think  out  inventions  ; "  while  it  would  seem  as  if  they 
both  possessed  such  a  knowledge  of  all  the  different  arts  as  to  enable  them  to 
teach  the  artizans  in  any  department  whatsoever.     And  so  in  the  Church,  while 
the  rule  is  to  find  the  gifts  distributed  among  many, — the  Holy  Ghost  dividing  to 
every  man  severally  as  he  will, — occasionally  there  are  discovered  those  who  pos- 
sess a  whole  cornucopia  of  endowments,  a  sort  of  spiritual  Admirable  Crichtons. 
(2.)  WTience  their  skill  proceeded.     Distinctly  stated  in  the  narrative  to  have  been 
supernatural  in  its  origin  :  "  Every  wise-hearted  man,  in  whom  the  Lord  put 
wisdom  and  understanding."     In  a  sense  this  is  true  of  all  men,  whatsoever  be 
the  amount;  of  wisdom  and  understanding  they  possess.     The  mind  with  all  its 
faculties  is  God's  gift ;  and  the  best  talents  are  dependent  on  the  divine  bless- 
ing for  success  in  acquiring  knowledge  (of.  Ps.  cxxvii).      But  obviously  the 
historian  refers  to  a  communication  of  wisdom  which  was  special  and  extra- 
ordinary.    Yet  not  of  such  a  character  as  to  preclude,  but  rather  to  presuppose, 
the  possession  of  superior  natural  endowments,  and  diligent  application  of  the 
same.    As  already  hinted,  the  All-Wise  Artificer  works  no  superfluous  miracles, 
and  certainly  never  dispenses  with  His  ordinary  rules  in  conducting  men  to 
wisdom,  unless  in  cases  where  these  customary  methods  are  altogether  inapplic- 
able, as,  e.g.,  in  revealing  His  will  to  prophets.     "  Poeta  nascitur,  non  fit,"  is  a 
2b  645 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

maxim  which  holds  true  in  large  measure  of  all  gifted  men.  Bezaleel,  A.holiab, 
and  their  co-workers,  were  doubtless  naturally  gifted  men.  But  in  this  case  tlieir 
abilities  were  superiiaturally  assisted  by  <livine  influence.  Hence  God  spoke 
of  tlieni  as  gifts  wliich  He  had  given  for  the  work  of  the  Tabernacle.  It  should 
teach  us  to  recognise  not  only  that  all  our  mental  endowments  are  the  gilt  of 
God,  but  that  special  proficiency  in  any  particular  profession,  trade,  art,  is  equally 
due  to  Hiui,  while  it  also  reminds  us  that  whatever  talent  we  may  possess,  as 
Christians  for  helping  on  His  Church,  has  been  origimdly  bestowed  by  Him,  and 
by  Him  has  been  rendered  successfid,  and  that  if  at  any  time  God  is  pleased  to 
raise  up  within  the  Church  any  eminent  sons  of  wisdom, — men  who  know  what 
Israel  ought  to  do,  and  competent  to  direct  their  fellows, — we  should  cheerfully 
recognise  such  as  His  gift.  (3.)  To  lohat  their  skill  was  directed:  "  The  service  of 
the  sanctuary."  The  great  talents  of  these  artificers  were  not  applied  to  any 
selfish  purposes.  As  if  vividly  recognising  whence  their  "gifts"  had  proceeded, 
they  joyfully  returned  them  in  willing  consecration  to  their  Heavenly  Donor — - 
in  this  supplying  a  lesson  for  us  all,  both  as  men  and  as  Christians.  Nothing 
more  lameTitable  can  be  witnessed  than  the  consecration  of  great  powers  of 
mind  or  body  to  the  ignoble  object  of  self-aggrandisement,  the  making  of  money, 
the  acquiring  of  fame,  the  sipping  of  pleasure.  Even  in  the  commonest  of  callings 
a  loftier  purpose  is  attainable.  "  Whether  therefore  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatso- 
ever ye  do,"  whether  ye  sweep  a  crossing  or  cobble  a  boot,  or  build  a  ship,  or 
command  an  army,  or  rule  a  senate,  "  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God."  It  is  beautiful 
to  see  life  pervaded  by  this  sublime  idea.  More  especially  is  it  beautiful  to  see 
Christians  upon  whom  God  has  conferred  special  qualifications  for  the  service 
of  the  sanctuary,  whether  of  mind  or  of  body,  devoting  them  to  His  service. 
Besides  being  beautiful  it  is  right.  He  surely  has  the  first  claim  upon  those 
talents  which  He  Himself  has  bestowed. 

II.  The  liberality  of  the  people.  1.  The  liberality  of  the  people  was /or  a  sacred 
object:  "for  the  work  of  the  service  of  the  sanctuary;"  i.e.,  for  the  erection  of 
the  Tabernacle,  or  the  building  of  the  Church.  In  other  words,  it  was  designed 
for  the  maintenance  of  religious  ordinances  in  their  midst.  With  this  they  were 
charged  by  Divine  commandment  (xxxv.  4).  So  have  Christians  been  charged  with 
the  duty  of  maintaining  and  extending  the  New  Testament  Church  by  means 
of  their  liberality  (1  Cor.  ix.  14;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2;  2  Cor.  vii.  7,&c).  Hence,  what- 
ever be  the  opinions  of  God's  people  about  the  legality  or  expediency  of  State 
endowments,  this  much  is  clear,  that  they  are  not  exempted  from  the  obligation 
of  contributing  as  God  hath  prospered  them  for  the  support  and  diffusion  of 
the  Gospel.  This  commandment,  which  was  given  to  the  people  through  Moses, 
was  not  that  Israel  as  a  State  should  endow  the  Church,  but  that  Israel  as  a  Church 
should  support  herself.  2.  The  liberality  of  the  people  was  voluntary  in  its  character: 
the  "  offerings  "  were  "  free."  Though  by  a  Divine  commandment  they  were 
charged  with  the  duty  of  building  the  Tabernacle,  the  people  were  not  compelled 
to  give  for  that  object  by  means  of  pains  and  penalties.  "Whosoever  is  of  a 
willing  heart,  let  him  bring  an  offering  unto  the  Lord  "  (xxxv.  5).  Cf  vers.  21,  22. 
"  And  they  came,  every  one  whose  lieart  stirred  him  up,  and  every  one  whom 
His  Spirit  made  willing."  Nothing  can  more  clearly  indicate  that  this  was  not 
a  State-tax,  or  a  compulsory  Church-rate,  but  a  veritable  free-will  offering,  a 
voluntary  contribution.  Of  this  character  were  all  tlie  offerings  of  the  Hebrew 
Church  :  not  only  those  which  were  free-will  in  the  sense  of  being  prompted  by 
the  offerer,  but  tliose  which  were  prescribed  by  divine  statute.  See  Lev.  i.  3, 
xix.  5,  xxii.  19-29.  The  sword  of  the  magistrate  was  not  employed  to  enforce 
payment  of  any  offerings  in  the  Hebrew  Church.  By  divine  appointment  the 
Hebrew  Church  was  a  voluntary  Church ;  and  so  is  the  Church  of  the  New 
Testament  (2  Cor  viii.  12,  ix.  7).  This  being  the  case,  are  not  State  endow- 
546 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxti. 


ments  both  unnecessary  and  wrong?  3.  The  liberality  of  the  people  was 
ahunda7it  in  its  measure.  One  of  the  chief  objections  urged  against  Voluntaryism 
is  its  insufficiency.  Were  the  Church  to  be  left  solely  to  the  free-will  offerings 
of  God's  people,  the  Gospel  ministry  would  starve,  and  Church  Extension  would 
be  at  an  end.  It  was  not  so  with  the  Hebrew  Church.  "  The  people"  brought 
"much  more  than  enough  for  the  service  of  the  work,"  and  required  to  be 
restrained.  And  if,  in  the  New  Testament  Church,  the  same  superabundant 
liberality  has  not  been  manifested,  it  is  not  because  it  has  not  been  required — 
Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20,  will  consume  all  the  free-will  offerings  that  Christ's  people 
can  bring ;  nor  because  it  has  not  been  commanded  (2  Cor.  ix.  6).  May  it  not 
be  because  the  New  Testament  Church  has  too  often  sought  to  lean  on  State 
support?  All  experience  proves  that  State  support  and  voluntary  offerings  are 
antagonistic,  and  tend  to  mutually  destroy  one  another.  State  support  represses 
Christian  liberality.  Christian  liberality,  when  allowed  free  scope,  will  not  long 
be  satisfied  to  lean  upon  the  crutch  of  State  support.  4.  The  liberality  of  the 
people  was  luidely  diffused  in  its  extent.  Possibly  it  was  universal,  although  that 
is  not  exactly  affirmed.  The  probability  is,  there  were  those  who  offered 
nothing,  whose  hearts  did  not  make  them  willing.  At  the  same  time,  the  im- 
pression is  tliat  the  people  generally  contributed.  So  in  the  Christian  Church 
liberality  should  be  generally  diffused,  should  in  fact  be  universal.  Were  it 
always  of  the  character  of  that  displayed  by  these  Hebrews,  as  general,  aa 
liberal,  as  cheerful,  it  would  never  be  objected  to  as  insufficient. 

III.  The  disinterested  conduct  of  Moses. 

The  workmen  having  reported  that  the  people  had  brought  more  than 
enough  for  the  service  of  the  work,  Moses  caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  throughout 
the  camp  that  no  more  offerings  were  to  be  received.  So  the  people  were 
restrained  from  bringing,  ver.  6.  Had  JMoses  or  the  workmen  ever  been 
inclined  to  enrich  themselves,  they  had  ample  op})ortunity.  "But  they  were 
men  of  integrity,  that  scorned  to  do  so  mean  a  thing  as  to  sponge  upon  the 
people,  and  enrich  themselves  with  what  was  offered  unto  the  Lord.  Those  are 
the  greatest  cheats  that  cheat  the  public.  If  to  murder  many  is  worse  thar 
to  murder  one,  by  the  same  rule  to  defraud  communities,  and  to  rob  the  Church 
or  State,  is  a  much  greater  crime  than  to  pick  the  pocket  of  a  single  person. 
But  these  workmen  were  not  only  ready  to  account  for  all  they  received,  but 
were  not  willing  to  receive  more  than  they  had  occasion  for,  lest  they  should 
come  either  into  the  temptation  or  under  the  suspicion  of  taking  it  to  them- 
selves. These  were  men  that  knew  when  they  had  enough." — Henry.  "  Had 
Moses  been  intent  upon  gain,  and  had  he  not  been  perfectly  disinterested,  he 
would  have  encouraged  them  to  continue  their  contributions,  as  thereby  he 
might  have  mtiltiplied  unto  himself  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones.  But  he 
was  doing  the  Lord's  woik,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and 
therefore  he  sought  no  secular  gain." — A.  Clarice.  In  this  Moses  served  as  a 
pattern  to  all  public  men,  to  ministers  of  State,  to  magistrates  and  rulers,  but 
especially  to  Christian  ministers,  not  to  use  their  offices  for  self-enrichment. 
The  minister  who  can  say  like  Paul,  "  I  seek  not  yours,  but  you,"  wields  a 
mighty  power  for  good  over  the  members  of  his  flock  in  comparison  with  him 
who  seeks  into  the  priest's  office,  like  Micah's  Levite,  for  a  piece  of  bread,  and 
preaches  the  Gospel  "for  filthy  lucre's  sake." 

The  Preparation  of  the  Dwelling. 

"  And  every  wise-hearted  man  among  them  that  wrought  the  work  of  the 
Tabernacle  made  ten  curtains  of  fine  twined  linen,  and  blue  and  purple  and 
Bcarlet :  with  cherubims  of  cunning  work  made  he  them,"  &c.,  vers.  8-38. 

d47 


CHAP,  isxvi.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


"  The  dwelling  (P'Z^Dri)  was  an  oblong  of  thirty  yards  in  length,  and  ten  yards 
in  breadtli  and  height,  built  on  the  southern,  northern,  and  western  sides  ot 
upright  planks  of  acacia- wood,  overlaid  wiih  gold.  Over  the  whole,  there  were 
placed  lour  coverings.  The  inner  one,  consisting  of  costly  woven  materials 
(byssus  woven  in  dillerent  colours,  with  figures  of  cherubim  upon  ii),  was  so 
arranged  as  to  form  the  drapery  of  the  interior  of  the  dwelling,  whilst  the  other 
three  were  placed  outside.  In  front  of  tlie  building,  towards  the  east,  there 
were  five  gilded  pillars  of  acacia-wood  ;  and  on  these  a  curtain  \\  as  suspended, 
which  closed  the  entrance  to  the  dwelling,  and  bore  the  name  of  "^DD."  "The 
interior  of  the  dwelling  was  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  second  curtain, 
sustained  by  four  pillars,  and  made  of  the  same  costly  fabric  and  texture  as  the 
innermost  covering.  _  Of  these  two  parts,  the  further  (or  westerly)  was  called 
the  Most  Holy  D^li^lp  U}l'p  and  was  a  perfect  cube  of  ten  cubits  in  length  and 
breadth  and  height;  so  that  the  other  part,  or  the  Holy,  li^lpT}  was  of  the 
same  height  and  breadth,  but  twice  as  long.  This  inner  curtain  was  called 
Parocheth  P^IS"     Kurtz — "  Sacrificial  Worship." 

In  the  present  section  these  various  parts  are  again  described : — A.  Tht 
coverings  :  (1.)  The  inner  covering,  consisting  of  ten  curtains,  of  blue  and  purple 
and  scarlet,  ornamented  with  cherubim,  and  joined  together,  curtain  to  curtain, 
by  means  of  fifty  loops  and  fifty  golden  taches,  vers.  8-13.  (2.)  The  second 
covering,  of  eleven  curtains  of  goats'  hair,  "  for  the  tent  over  the  Tabernacle, 
vers.  14-18.  (3.)  The  third  covering,  of  rams'  skins  dyed  red,  ver.  19.  (4.)  Th6 
fourth  covering,  of  badgers'  skins,  ver.  19.  B.  The  framework,  "^ers.  20-34.  G. 
The  veils :  (1.)  The  inner  vail,  vers.  35,  36.  (2.)  The  outer  vail,  vers.  37,  38.  See 
chap.  xxvi.  1,  in  which  all  these  articles  are  described. 

That  the  Tabernacle  was  symbolic  of  the  better  things  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, as  well  as  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  covenanted  nation,  we 
have  the  authority  of  the  writer  of  the  Hebrews  for  asserting.  For  the  expla- 
nation of  its  symbolic  import,  see  chap.  xl.  17-33.  To  suppose  that  every  pin, 
and  bolt,  and  pillar,  and  curtain,  had  a  special  spiritual  significance,  is  only  the 
imbecility  of  exegesis.  "  The  Irvingites,  e.g.,  believe  that  their  ecclesiastical 
council  ''was  shown  at  the  time  of  its  formation,  by  the  word  of  prophecy,  to 
have  been  shadowed  in  the  construction  of  the  Mosaic  Tabernacle.  The  forty- 
eight  boards  of  that  structure,  it  was  said,  typified  the  six  elders  from  each  ot 
the  seven  churches  in  London,  together  with  six  of  the  apostles;  the  five  bars, 
which  upheld  all  the  boards,  represented  a  ministry  committed  to  other  five  of 
the  apostles,  whose  duty  it  is  to  instruct  the  council  in  the  principles  upon 
which  counsel  is  to  be  given  :  the  two  tenons,  with  their  sockets  of  silver  for 
each  board,  had  reference  to  the  deaconal  ministry,  through  which  the  eldership 
is  rooted  in  the  love  of  the  people.  Two  elders,  appointed  to  act  as  scribes  ot 
the  council,  have  their  shadow  in  the  two  corner  boards  of  the  Tabernacle.  The 
heads  of  the  fourfold  ministry — apostle,  prophet,  evangelist,  and  pastor — corre- 
spond to  the  four  pillars  between  the  Most  Holy  and  the  Holy  Place :  five 
evangelists  to  the  five  pillars  at  the  entrance :  the  seven  angels  of  the  Churches 
to  the  lights  of  the  candlestick  ;  and  sixty  evangelists  are  the  antitypes  of  the 
sixty  ])illars  of  the  court,  four  of  whom  form  the  outer  door  of  entrance.  This 
council  is  declared  to  be  the  model  according  to  which  God's  purpose  is  to  be 
effected  in  every  land." — Eadie's  "Ecclesiastical  Cyclopaedia,"'  ait.  "irvingites." 

Scarcely  less  fanciful  is  the  explanation  which  Josephus,  following  Philo, 
gives  :  "When  Moses  distinguished  the  Tabernacle  into  three  parts,  and  allowed 
two  of  them  to  the  priests,  as  a  place  accessible  and  common,  he  denoted  the 
land  and  the  sea,  these  being  of  general  access  to  all ;  but  he  set  apart  the  third 
division  for  God,  because  heaven  is  inaccessible  to  men.  And  when  he  ordered 
twelve  loaves  to  be  set  on  the  table,  he  denoted  the  year  as  distinguished  into  so 
648 


EOMILETIC  commentary :  EXODUS.  ohap.  xxxti. 


many  months.  By  branching  out  the  candlestick  into  seventy  parts,  he  secretly 
intimated  the  Decani,  or  seventy  divisions  of  the  planets ;  and  as  to  the  seven 
lamps  upon  the  candlesticks,  they  referred  to  the  course  of  the  planets,  of  which 
that  is  the  number.  Tlie  vails,  too,  which  were  composed  of  four  things,  they 
declared  tlie  four  elements;  for  the  fine  linen  was  proper  to  signity  the  earth, 
because  the  flax  grows  out  of  the  earth  ;  the  purple  signified  the  sea,  because 
that  colour  is  dyed  by  the  blood  of  a  sea  shell-fi>h  ;  the  blue  is  fit  to  signify  the 
air,  and  the  scarlet  will  naturally  be  an  indication  of  fire.  Kow,  the  vestment 
of  the  high  priest,  being  made  of  linen,  signified  the  earth  ;  the  blue  denoted 
the  sk)',  being  like  lightning  in  its  pomegranates,  and  in  the  noise  of  the  bells 
resembling  thunder."     For  continuation,  see  "  Josephus,"  Ant.  iii.  7,  9. 

Though  not  symbolic  in  the  senses  described,  the  structure  of  the  Tabernacle 
may  be  suggestive  of  true  and  ])rofitable  thoughts ;  as,  e.g. — I.  The  character 
and  condition  of  the  Church  of  God  on  earth :  1.  Its  mean  and  insignificant 
appearance,  like  a  tent.  2.  The  excellence  and  variety  of  its  materials,  "  gold  and 
silver  and  {)recious  stones,  &c.  (1  Cor.  iii.  12;  1  Pet.  ii.  4).  3.  The  iinity  and 
compactness  of  its  parts,  suggested  by  the  joined  curtains  and  fastened  frame- 
work, "in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together,"  &c.  (Eph.  ii,  21). 
4.  The  protection  and  security  of  the  whole,  pictured  in  the  threefold  covering 
(Isa.  xxxii.  2 ;  Zech.  xii.  8),  &c.  II.  The  fidelity  and  diligence  of  Christian 
Ministers,  who,  like  Bezaleel  and  his  fellow-craftsman,  should  be — (1.)  Obedient 
to  the  Divine  oi'ders,  "  the  wise-hearted  men,"  who  wrought  the  raw  material, 
were  honoured  to  be  fellow-workers  with  God,  but  not  fellow-designers.  They 
were  not  invited  to  plan  the  Tabernacle  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  but  only  to 
construct  what  God  had  previously  designed  and  commanded  :  which  is  pre- 
cisely what  the  Christian  minister,  as  a  wise  master  builder,  has  to  do,  not 
originate  a  church  according  to  his  own  conceptions,  but  fashion  all  things,  the 
doctrines  and  ordinances  of  the  Church,  according  to  the  pattern  supplied  to 
him  by  Christ.  (2.)  Diligent  and  minute  in  their  execution,  doing  everything  with 
good  will  as  to  the  Lord  and  not  to  men,  counting  no  trouble  too  great  if  so  be 
they  can  fulfil  their  ministry  in  connection  with  Christ's  temple,  and  being 
equally  solicitous  about  all  their  duties  to  have  them  well  done,  not  bestowing 
more  care  upon  the  larger  offices  and  less  upon  the  smaller,  but  transacting 
everything  with  due  attention  to  the  approbation  of  the  Master. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXX VI 

BY 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAM  SON 

Symbolism  f     Vers.  1-38.     Atwater  notices  which    they    might     be    most    readily    and 

that  symbolic  language  was  in  common  use  at  effectively     taught      the     Divine     mysteries, 

the  time  of  Moses.     True,  the  art  of  alpha-  Possibly  they  understood   Byn;bolic   language 

betic  writing  was  used  to  some  extent  at  this  quite  as  well  as  the  Greek  understood  writing, 

period  ;  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  symbolic  &c. 

writing  must  have  been  more  common.     May  ,,  _,            .     ^  _  ,            ,   j      ..i           .     • 

it  not,  tlierefore,  have  been  the  more  effective  "  The  ancent  Hebrew  clad  with  mysteries  ; 

medium  of  conmmnication  of  moral  and  reli-  ^he  learned  Greek  rich  m  ht  epithets, 

gious  truth?     Egypt   furnishes  an   eniphatic  B^^^s^d    m    the    lovely    marriage    of    pure 

affirmative.     Much   use   was  made  by  them,  words.                                          —Hrewer. 
not    only  of   symbolic  writing,    but  of    what 

may  properly  be  styled  symbolic  institutions.  Human  Help  I     Ver.    1,   &c.     (1.)    Human 

The  construction  of    their  temples — the  rites  agency  !  As  God  sent  down  the  manna  from 

performed   in  them — the   garments  worn   by  heaven,  so  could  He  have  planted  the  taber- 

the  priests,  were  all  designed  to  represent,  in  nacle  upon  the  sands  of  the  desert  in  all  its 

a  visible  form,  the  doctrines  of  their  religion.  unique  completeness  of  design  and  ornament. 

It  is,  consequently,  a  natural  supposition  that  But  He  wisely  employed  human  agency  in  ita 

Israel  would  require  a  form  of  language  by  design  and  coustruction.     The  glorious  templf 

649 


«HAr.  XXXVI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


of  His  Church  could  be  executed  and  estab- 
lished by  Himself  without  any  of  the  instru- 
mentality of  man.  Yet  God  wisely  enlists 
human  agency.  (2.)  Human  acthity  !  As  God 
brought  forth  water  f mm  the  flinty  rock ;  so 
could  He  have  furnished  Moses  with  the 
materials  for  the  construction  of  the  taber- 
nacle. But  He  graciously  counselled  the 
oflfering  of  the  necessary  articles  by  man.  He 
called  forth  the  activity  of  the  human  hand 
and  heart.  The  wonderful  structure  tljat 
attracts  angelic  observation,  as  it  rises  daily 
more  complete,  is  associatfd  with  human 
activity.  The  gifts  and  graces  of  the  human 
mind  and  heart  are  employed  by  God  to 
achieve  its  adornment.  (3.)  Human  adora- 
tion I  As  God  was  alone  adored  when  the 
structure  was  perfect,  so  to  Him  alone  will 
adoration  be  ascribed  through  the  eternal 
ages.  We  are  told  that  the  topstone  shall  be 
brought  forth  with  shouts  of  "Grace,  grace 
unto  it."  No  man  could  claim  praise  for  the 
tabernacle  glories,  still  less  can  he  do  so  in 
connection  with  the  "beauties  of  the  Church* 
Temple."  "  Not  unto  us.  Lord,  notunlo  us  ; 
but  unto  Thy  name  be  the  praise." 

"  Thy  works  all  praise  Thee ;  all  Thy  angels 
praise  ; 
Thy  saints  adore,  and  on  Thy  altars  burn 
The  fragrant  incense  of  perpetual  love." 
—Pollolc, 

Genlus-Insplratlon !  Ver.  2.  It  is  recorded 
of  Smith,  the  great  Assyrian  explorer,  that  he 
felt  endowed  with  a  certain  natural  predesti- 
nation to  be  an  Orientalist,  tspeciuUy  in  the 
connection  of  Oriental  discovery  with  the  Bible. 
In  what  various  ways  does  that  wonderful  old 
book  stimulate  the  human  mind  !  Thus,  in- 
spired from  childhood.  Smith  was  always 
directing  his  attention  towards  it.  As  he 
grew  up,  this  interest  increased  in  intensity 
and  attraction.  He  made  a  series  of  disco- 
veries in  deciphering  the  tablets  deposited  in 
the  British  Museum.  In  1872,  he  accom- 
plished his  most  brilliant  feat — the  finding 
and  translating  the  tablets  containing  the 
Assyrian  account  of  the  deluge.  His  labours 
and  researches,  thus  directed  from  childhood, 
have  resulted  in  our  being  able  to  corroborate 
from  profane  memorials  and  ruins  the  early 
statements  of  Genesis  and  Exodus.  He  has 
not  merely  achieved  the  resurrection  of  primi- 
tive history,  but  out  of  those  resurrected 
materials  he  has  constructed  a  tabernacle  of 
testimony  to  the  verity  of  the  Chi-istiau  Faith. 
For  the  Christian  Faith, 

"  Unlike  the  timorous  creeds  of  Pagan  priest, 
Is  frank,  stands  forth  to  view,  inviting  all 
To  prove,  examine,  search,  investigate." 

Fame-Immortality !  Ver.  2,  &c.  In  his  re. 
cent  explorations  near  Troy,  the  great  German 
explorer  has  found  many  curiously  wrought, 
richly  enchased  jewels  of  gold  and  silver,  &c. 
In  the  temple  ruins  of  Pompeii,  as  well  as  of 

650 


Corinth  and  Antioch,  beautiful  specimens  ol 
architecture,  sculpture,  and  art  decoration 
have  been  discovered.  But  nothing  is  known 
of  the  makers.  Their  works  remain,  more  or 
less  tarnished  or  disfiL'ured,  but  their  names 
are  a  blank.  Magnificent;  temple  ruins,  sur- 
rounded  by  most  exquisitely  carved  and 
sculptured  elephant  statues,  may  be  seen  by 
the  traveller  in  Cinghalese  woods  and  wilds ; 
but  who  worshipped  within  those  idol-fanes, 
or  who  exerted  art  and  genius  in  their  de- 
sign and  erection?  Echo  answers,  "Who?" 
Humble  as  was  the  "  tent-house  "  of  God,  its 
designers  and  builders  are  known  to  fame. 
I'he  names  of  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  are  phono- 
scopes  —  telling  the  sons  of  men  down  the 
ages  that  it  is  service  for  God  which  immor- 
talises ;  that  the  fame  of  loving,  holy  service 
for  Jehovah  is  handed  down  in  the  imperish- 
able amber  of  the  Divine  purpose,  and  that  as 
the  drops  of  Juno's  milk  abide  in  the  Milky 
Way  above,  so  throughout  eteruity  they  who 
serve  God  shall  shine  as  the  stars  of  heaven. 

•*  Oh,  who  shall  lightly  say  that  fame 
Is  nothing  but  an  empty  name  ! 
When  memory  of  the  mighty  dead 
To  earthworm  Christian's  wistful  eye 
The  brightest  rays  of  cheering  shed, 
That  point  to  Immortality." 

— BaiUU, 

Tabernacle -Costs,  &c. !  Vers.  5,6.  It« 
cost  was  defrayed  chiefly  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  the  people,  and  probably 
amounted  to  £250,000.  This  was,  says  Kitto, 
from  a  poor  people,  and  yet  the  liberality  of 
the  peojile  was  such  that  their  gifts  were  more 
than  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  The  value  of 
the  precious  metals  alone,  which  were  used 
in  the  construction,  must  have  been  immense. 
Dilworth,  in  his  description  of  the  tabernacle, 
notes  that  the  worth  was  upwards  of  £200,000 
of  our  money.  Cobbin  says  we  may  hope 
that  the  time  is  coming  when  there  shall  be 
more  than  enough  for  the  evangelisation  of 
the  world  unto  Christ.  At  present.  Home 
and  Foreign  Missionary  Societies  in  England 
and  America  are  continually  crying,  '  *  Give 
more,  give  more,  or  we  must  give  up  various 
mission  stations  and  missionaries."  .\t  home 
and  abroad,  churches  stand  unfinished,  their 
spireless  forms  a  loud-voiced  reproach  to 
Christendom,  that  with  all  her  light  and 
liberty,  with  all  her  blessings  and  beifedic- 
tions,  she  comes  very  far  short  of  realising 
the  Mosaic  record,  "The  people  were  re« 
strained  from  bringing."     For  men  still 

*'  Lavish  their  wealth  on  bloodshed,  but  !>©• 
_  grudge 
A  tithe  for  Gospel  progress,  and  the  meant 
Of  Christian  industry,  and  the  behoof 
Of  fellow  creature's  growth  in  grace." 

Nature-Teachings!  Vers.  8-13.  (1.)  Natur$, 
ti)at  great  missionary  of  tlie  Most  High, 
preaches  to  us  for  ever  in  all  tones  of  love. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXVt 


and  writes  truth  in  all  colours,  on  manuscripts 
illuminated  with  stars  and  flowers.  And  yet 
the  nineteenth  century,  with  all  its  excessive 
nature-worship,  fails  to  hear  tliose  tones,  or 
learn  those  truths.  Landscapes  form  favourite 
Bubjects  in  our  galleries  of  art ;  yet  how  few 
of  the  artists,  or  their  admirers,  have  listeued 
to  their  preaching.  The  pages  of  our  poets 
radiate  witli  exuberant  imagery  from  nature, 
like  the  rainbow  hues  that  flicker  on  the  neck 
of  a  dove;  yet,  neither  the  poets,  nor  their 
students,  read  the  lessons.  (2.)  The  Tabirnacle, 
as  richly  and  beautifully  adorned, — and  after 
nature's  model, — has  also  its  tones  and  trutlis. 
Yet  how  few  hear,  or  hearing  understand. 
What  an  elegant  writer  has  put  into  nature's 
lips  may  well  be  conceived  to  come  from  the 
tabernacle  and  its  surroundings,  "Oh,  it  is 
the  saddest  of  all  things  that  even  one  human 
Boul  should  dimly  perceive  the  beauty  that  is 
ever  around  us,  a  perpetual  benediction."  It 
is  the  beauty  of  "  Christ  and  Christianity 
vailed." 

**  Mysterious  these — because  too  large  for  eye 
Of  man,  too  long  for  human  arm  to  mete." 

Beautiful  and  Good!  Vers.  14-38.  (1.) 
When  God  made  a  house  for  man  to  dwell  in, 
He  blended  the  beautiful  and  good,  illuminat- 
ing it  with  the  lamps  of  heaven,  threading  it 
with  silver  streams,  embroidering  it  with 
rainbow  tinted  flowers,  perfuming  it  with 
incense  from  ten  thousand  painted  chalices, 
and  appointing  a  band  of  featliered  choristers 
in  every  grove.  (2.)  When  God  gave  man 
commission  to  build  a  house  for  Him  to  dwell 
in.  He  modelled  the  plan  upon  His  own 
principle  of  combining  the  beautiful  and  good. 
True,  it  was  but  of  limited  extent,  but  it  had 
the  concentration  of  loveliness  and  excellence. 
The  choicest  productions,  as  well  as  the 
loveliest  hues  and  most  graceful  forms  in 
nature,  were  enlisted  to  achieve  the  construc- 
tion of  God's  beautiful  house.  (3.)  When  God 
makes  a  building  of  God — a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens— for  Him- 
self and  redeemed  humanity  to  dwell  in,  it 
will  likewise  coml)ine  the  beautiful  and  good. 
It,  too,  will  have  its  everlasting  light,  its 
ever-living  stream,  its  never-fading  flowers,  its 
ever-fragrant  incense,  and  its  ever-abiding 
priesthood.  Hence  it  is  called  the  heavenly 
sanctuary,  to  point  it  out  as  a  place  of  holy 
worship  (Rev.  vii.  15-17). 

**  His  people  were  a  royalty  of  priests. 
And  offered  in  His  temple  ceaseless  prayer, 
And  incense  of  uninterrupted  praise." 


materialistic  thinkers.  Linnseus  said  that  the 
more  he  explored  the  tabernacle  of  nature, 
and  the  deeper  he  penetrated  behind  its  vail, 
the  more  he  saw  of  order — the  more,  too,  he 
admired  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator.  (2.)  The 
same  method  and  order  apparent  and  ap- 
pointed in  nature  and  the  tabernacle  are 
expected  by  God  in  the  Christian  Church,  and 
in  the  tabernacle  of  a  Christian's  life-pur|iOse. 
There  are  individual  communities  ot  Chris- 
tians, and  there  are  individual  Christians, 
who  place  gold  and  silver  and  brass,  tachea 
and  curtains  and  skins,  numberings  and  loop* 
ing  in  discreditMble  confusion.  They  talk  of 
the  "Divine  Profusion"  as  though  it  was 
"Divine  Confusion."  God  would  have  me- 
thod-order in  urace,  as  in  nature — under  the 
Gospel,  as  under  the  law.     For 

"  Order  is  Heaven's  first  law — a  glorious  law. 
Seen  in  those  pure  and  beauteous  isles  of 

light ; 

Nor  less  on  earth  discerned, 
'Mid  rocks  snow-clad,  or  wastes  of  herbless 

sand 
Throughout  all  climes,  beneath  all  varying 

skies, 
Fixing  ill   place  the  smallest  flower   that 

blooms."  — Milton. 

Badgers  !  Ver.  19.  Kirby  says,  that  Kuppel, 
an  African  traveller,  held  that  the  animal 
here  was  in  reality  the  diigong.  Tliese  now 
nearly  extinct  dugongs  of  the  Indian  Seas 
form  the  connecting  link  between  the  real 
whale  and  the  walrus.  When  they  raise 
themselves  with  the  front  part  of  their  body 
out  of  the  water,  a  lively  fancy  might  easily 
be  led  to  imagine  that  a  human  shape  was 
surging  from  the  deep.  Hence  they  have 
been  named  sea-sirens  and  mermaids,  and 
have  given  rise  to  many  extravagant  fictions. 
Like  the  whale,  the  dngong  iias  no  hind  feet, 
but  a  powerful  horizontal  tail.  The  anterior 
extremities  are,  however,  less  finlike  and  more 
flexibly  jointed,  so  that  they  can  lean  on 
them  while  cropping  the  seuweeds  on  the 
shallow  shores.  It  is  the  only  animal  yet 
known  that  grazes  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 
usually  in  shallow  inlets.  It  feeds  upon  the 
seaweeds  much  in  the  same  manner  as  a  cow 
does  upon  the  herbage. 

"  Part  single  or  with  mate 
Graze  the  seaweed  their  pasture,  and  through 

groves 
Of  coral  Btr^iy,  or  sporting  with  quick  glance, 
Then  to  the  sun  their  wav'd  coats  dropt  with 

gold." 


Method-Order  1  Vers.  16-18,  &c.  (1.)  Gray 
remarks,  that  by  the  distribution  of  gold, 
silver,  brass,  &c.,  and  by  the  clearly  defined 
numlierings  and  loopings,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  fitness  of  things  and  the  Divine  order 
— right  tilings  in  right  places.  We  see  this 
Divine  method  and  order  in  nature,  acknow- 
ledged and  admired  hy  the  most  bigoted  of 


Labour-Benefits!    Ver.    20.      (1.)    Carlyle 

says  that  work  is  of  a  religious  nature — work 
is  of  a  brave  nature,  which  it  is  the  aim  of  all 
religion  to  be.  All  work  of  man  is  as  the 
swimmer's.  A  waste  ocean  threatens  to  de- 
vour him  ;  if  he  front  it  not  bravely,  it  will 
keep  its  word.  By  incessant  wise  defiance  of 
it,  lusty  rebuke  and  buff"et  of  it,  behold  how 

651 


OHAF    ZXXVI. 


HO  MI  LET  IC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


it  legally  supports  liim — bears  him  as  its  eon- 
qu'Tor  along.  Goethe  says  that  it  is  so  with 
all  things  man  undertakes  in  tins  world.  And 
it  is  80  with  labour.  (2.)  When  Satan  came 
to  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise,  it  was  to  con- 
tradict this — to  luro  them  into  tiie  belief  that 
laliour  dishonoured  and  debased  ;  and  that 
true  honour  and  happiness  consisted  in  reclin- 
ing at  ease  amid  tlie  bowers  of  Eden,  and 
enjoying  all  things  by  a  mere  wish.  They 
gave  up  dressing  and  tending  the  garden,  only 
to  learn  that  Satan  finds  mischief  for  idle 
hands  to  do — only  to  learn,  too  late,  tliat 
work  in  itself  is  the  essential  condition  of 
man's  growth  and  happiness.  (3.)  God  might 
have  given  Israel  the  boards  all  ready  sawn 
and  planed  and  carved  ;  but  He  did  not. 
Why?  for  He  never  acts  witliout  a  purpose — 
without  a  design  worthy  of  Himself.  When 
resting  under  Sinai,  Israel  fell  into  golden- 
calf  revelry ;  therefore,  they  are  now  kept 
busily  occupied.  As  has  been  fitly  said,  labour- 
toil  is  meant  to  be  for  a  being  who  cannot 
stand  alone  in  his  helplessness,  the  trellis 
along  which  he  is  to  be  trained  and  disciplined 
to  bring  forth  the  peaovable  fruits  of  right- 
eousness. 

"  Labour  is  rest — from  the  sorrows  that  greet 
us; 
Rest  from  all  petty  vexations  that  meet  us  ; 
Rest  from  sin  promptings  that  ever  entreat 

us ; 
Rest  from  world-sirens  that  lure  us  to  ill." 
— Osgood. 

Work-Design!  Ver.  23.    (1.)  It  wag  an  act 

of  policy  with  some  of  the  Roman  consuls  to 
keep  the  people  constantly  at  war,  that  they 
might  be  diverted  from  hatching  mischief 
and  seditions  at  home.  The  dangerous  hu- 
mours in  the  body  politic  were  supposed  to  find 
their  outlets  in  the  sirife  with  foreign  nations 
in  which  the  people  were  engaged.  Whatever 
the  wisdom  of  this  form  of  doing  evil  to  others 
that  good  may  continue  with  one's  self,  it  shows 
that  even  the  heathen  mind  understamls  that 
idleness  and  mischief  are  closely  related. 
(2.)  Conscious  of  tiiis  disposedness  to  evil  on 
the  part  of  man  after  his  fall,  God  enjoined 
upon  His  progeny  the  pre-occupalion  of  la- 
bour. So  Israel  were  kept  employed  in  the 
wilderness.  Daily  work,  tlien,  is  not  an  aim- 
less and  capricious  thing.  It  has  a  wise  plan 
— a  noble  purpose  ;  if  only  to  deter  us  from 
the  commission  of  crime.  That  is  labour  in 
its  "  toil-aspect."  But  labour  or  work  in  it- 
self is  no  "deliverance  from  sin  and  strife," 
for  work  existed  before  the  fall.  There  was 
work  in  Eden,  and  there  shall  be  work  in 
heaven  ;  for  the  paradise  of  saints,  , 

"  Like  Eden  with  its  toilesa  husbandry, 
Has  many  plants  to  tend,  and  flowers  to 

twine. 
And  fruit-trees  in  the  garden  of  the  soul, 
That  ask  the  culture  of  celestial  skill." 

— Bickersteth, 
552 


Mutual  Usefulness !    Vers.  25-30.    (1.)  The 

car()eiiter  and  goldsmith  are  not  ordinarily 
ranked  as  of  the  same  standing  and  position  ; 
yet  is  not  the  carpenter  as  necessary  as  the 
goldsuiitli,  if  not  more  sot  Were  all  carpen- 
ters goldsmiths,  where  would  be  our  houses, 
our  stately  bridges,  our  exquisite  art  carvings  t 
Both  have  their  place  in  the  economy  of  the 
tabernacle-structure.  Both  are  mutually  use- 
ful, the  one  giving  prominence  to  the  useful, 
the  other  giving  prominence  to  the  beautifuL 
The  carpenter  prepared  the  pillars,  but  he  re- 
quired the  co-operation  of  the  silversmith,  so 
that  sockets  might  be  made  for  his  pillars. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  goldsmith  might  beat 
out  his  gold,  burnish  and  cunningly  enchase 
it,  but  he  could  not  say  to  the  carpenter,  "I 
have  no  need  of  thee."  (2.)  In  the  New  Tes- 
tament St.  Paul  illustrates  this  "mutual  use- 
fulness ideal"  in  the  Christian  Church,  by 
the  analogy  of  the  members  of  the  human 
body.  And  so  the  curtains  cannot  say  to  the 
bars,  nor  the  pillars  to  the  sockets,  nor  tha 
carpenters  to  the  goldsmiths,  "  We  have  no 
need  of  you,"  Vessels  of  wood  and  brass,  and 
silver  and  gold,  are  alike  essential  and  useful 
in  the  Christian  Church.  The  eflfortsof  none, 
however  humble,  should  be  despised.  Com* 
mon  material,  if  honouring  God,  should  be  an 
much  thought  of  and  esteemed  as  rare  gems 
and  precious  metals  ;  they  are  so  by  God,  who 
is  no  respecter  of  persons.     Then  let  us  act 

*'  For  each  new  dawn,  like  a  prolific  tree. 
Blossoms  with  blessings  and  with  duties, 

which 
So  interwoven  grow,  that  he  who  shirks 
The  latter,  fails  the  first  to  win." 

Union-Strength !     Vers.  31-34.     (1.)  The 

coupling  bars,  says  Gray,  by  which  the  boards 
of  the  tabernacle  weie  held  together,  may 
well  remind  us  of  some  of  the  advantages  of 
union.  By  it,  weak  things  become  strong, 
plain  things  beautiful,  useless  things  of  the 
highest  service,  and  detached  things  a  com- 
pact whole.  As  De  Senancceur  says,  imion 
does  everything  when  it  is  perfect.  It  satis- 
fies desires,  simplifies  needs,  foresees  the 
wishes  of  the  imagination.  It  is  an  aisle 
always  oj)en,  and  becomes  a  constant  fortune. 
(2.)  Union  among  the  barons  of  England 
established  the  Magna  Charta  liberties.  Union 
amongst  the  tribes  and  nations  of  England 
and  Scotland  maile  them  a  compact  nationality, 
and  mistress  of  the  world's  many  seas.  Union 
amongst  the  Vaudois  of  the  valleys,  secured 
them  strength  to  resist  the  utmost  satanic 
combinations  of  Rome.  Union  amongst  the 
Canadians  is  enabling  them  to  build  up  the 
mightiest  kingdom  of  the  future.  (3.)  When 
has  the  Church  achieved  hiT  greatest  triumphs 
over  ancient  and  modern  idolatry,  except  when 
she  was  unit'^d?  Why  is  Christendom  so  far 
behind  in  the  missionary  conquest  of  the 
world  ?  Because  the  cliuiches  are  not  united. 
Because  bars  and  boards,  looi>s  and  links, 
pillars  and  sockets,  curtains  and  taches,  are 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAF.  xxrvn. 


nok  bound  together  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit, 
and  the  bond  of  peace.  When  the  diflferent 
portions  and  branches  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
are  thus  united  in  the  latter  days,  then  the 
universe  will  read  in  the  result,  "  Union  is 
Strength." 

"  The  Christ  again  has  preached  through 
thee 
The  Guspel  of  humanity  ! 
Then  lift  once  more  thy  towers  on  high, 
And  fret  with  spires  the  western  sky, 
To  tell  that  God  is  still  with  us. 
And  Love  is  still  miraculous." 

—WhiUier. 

Mosaic-Mystery!  Vers.  36-38.  (1.)  There 
ia  a  celebrated  picture  of  Raphael,  in  which 
the  Virgin  and  her  child  are  represented  as 
Burrounded  by  a  halo,  which  appears  at  a  dis- 
tance to  be  notbiug  else  than  vapour.  This, 
when  seen  near  at  hand,  is  found  to  be  made 
up  of  innumerable  cherub  faces — borne  close 
to  the  tabernacle  vail,  and  what  at  the  dis- 
tance appears  to  be  vapour,  resolves  itself 
into  cherubic  forms,  behind  which  is  the  Om- 
nipreseut.  So  with  the  doctrines  of  the  New 
Xutament.    (2.)  The  beast  of  the  field  sees 


the  sunset,  but  he  does  not  understand  it.  He 
gazes  upon  its  glory  and  beauty,  but  finds 
that  sunset  a  sealed  book.  The  brute  mind 
gazes  upon  the  setting  sun  of  Mosaism,  but 
discovers  nothing  that  can  be  understood. 
But  let  the  brute  mind  become  a  new  crea- 
ture in  Christ  Jesus,  and  things  are  ditierent. 
Mosaism  has  then  its  beauty,  its  sublimity, 
its  moral  law.  The  spiritually  enlightened 
man  reads  truth  in  its  sunset.  (3.)  The  poet 
has  branded  the  atheist  as  an  owl  coming 
forth  to  the  sunlight,  shutting  its  eyes,  and 
hooting,  "I  see  it  not."  Our  shutting  our 
eyes  does  not  extinguish  the  Shekinah  behind 
the  cherubic  vail.  The  Omnipresent  is  there, 
for  all  our  blinking  and  blinding.  In  that 
innermost  Holiest  Christianity  finds  a  per- 
sonal Omnipresence,  lifting  up  tiie  light  of 
His  countenance  upon  His  devout  and  devoted 
worshippers. 

"  No  more  the  rising  sun  shall  gild  the  morn. 
Nor  evening  Cynthia  fill  her  silver  horn  ; 
But  lost,  dissolved  in  His  superior  rays. 
One  tide  of  glory,  one  unclouded  blaze, 
The  Light  Himself  shall  shine 
Revealed,  and  God's  eternal  smile  be  thine." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Cbitioal  Notes. — 1.  And  Bezaleel  made  the  ark].  All  things  in  their  order.  First,  the 
vessels  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  then  those  of  the  Holy.  First,  the  due  regard  for  God's  com- 
mandments, and  then  for  worshipping  Him  in  a  becoming  manner.  First,  the  mercy-seat,  theu 
the  altar  of  incense. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OF  TEE  PARA  OR  APE. —  Versa  1-29. 

The  Preparation  of  the  Furniture. 

"  And  Bezaleel  made  the  Ark  of  shittim-wood  :  two  cubits  and  a-half  was  the 
length  of  it,  and  a  cubit  and  a-half  the  breadth  of  it,  and  a  cubit  and  a-half  the 
height  of  it,"  &c.,  xxxvii.  ver.  1-29. 


A. — The  Holy  of  Holies. 

I.  The  Ark,  vers.  1-5.  Cf.  xxv.  10-15,  in  which  the  instructions  which  are 
here  carried  out  were  originally  given.  The  Ark,  being  intended  to  contain  the 
Divine  testimony,  and  to  support  the  Mercy-Seat,  the  proper  residence  of  God, 
required  to  be  constructed  so  as  to  leave  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  the  idea 
of  ineffable  purity  or  holiness.  Accordingly  it  was  made  as  directed,  of  the 
finest  wood,  and  of  the  purest  gold.  To  enhance  the  idea  of  holiness  connected 
with  the  Ark,  it  was  not  to  be  touched  or  immediately  handled,  but  only  by 
means  of  two  staves  constructed  of  the  same  kind  of  wood  and  overlaid  with 
gold — which  staves  were  not  to  be  removed  from  its  side,  but  to  remain  in  the 
four  golden  rings  which  supported  them,  two  on  each  side,  in  order  to  be  always 
convenient  for  lifting,  and  that  no  temptation  might  be  given  for  laying  hands 
npon  the  sacred  symbol. 

553 


OTAP.  KXVIL  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


II.  The  Mercy-Seat,  ver.  6.  Cf.  xxv.  17.  The  term  "  capporeth,"  by  which 
the  Mercy-Seat  is  designated,  signifies  "covering."  The  circumstance  that  this 
covering  was  not  to  be  made  of  wood  and  gold,  but  of  pure  gold  alone,  seems  to 
indicate  that  it  was  designed  to  serve  another  purpose  than  simply  to  be  a  lid 
for  the  Ark.  That  God  was  to  commune  with  His  people  from  off  this  capporeth 
appears  to  point  in  the  direction  of  a  spiritual  rather  than  a  material  covering ; 
and  the  Peil  form  of  the  verb  ~)D3  from  which  the  word  is  derived,  according  to 
Gesenius  and  others,  alvays  means  to  cover  sin.  Then  the  fact  that  on  the 
great  day  of  atonement  the  blood  of  the  holiest  sin-offering  was  sprinkled  upon 
it,  shows  that  it  was  designed  to  be  a  lAaarri^iov  or  propitiatormui.  Whence  we 
conclude  that  the  Mercy-Seat  was  a  covering  not  for  the  Ark,  nor  for  the  tal)les 
of  testimony,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  That  is  to  say,  it  was  the  place 
where  they  were  covered  up  by  the  blood  of  expiation  from  the  eye  of  God. 
Cf.  Kurtz— "  Sacrificial  Worship." 

III.  The  cherubim,  vers.  7-9.  Cf.  xxv.  18-22.  These  mystical  figures  were 
to  be  constructed  out  of  the  one  sheet  of  gold  of  which  the  Mercy-Seat  was  made. 
What  these  figures  were  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion.  They  are  first 
mentioned  in  Gen.  iii.  24  as  guarding  the  Tree  of  Life.  Probably  it  was 
representations  of  these  same  figures  which  Solomon  introduced  into  the  Temple, 
aiid  which  Ezekiel  has  described  m  his  visions,  though  it  is  doubtful  if  the  terms 
"  cherub  "  and  "  cherubim  "  did  not  apply  to  a  variety  of  figures.  The  composite 
beings  which  Ezekiel  saw  (i.  5)  had  a  human  figure  with  four  faces ;  the 
cherubims  of  the  Ark  had  only  one  face  each.  As  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
symbol,  it  is  probable  "  that  no  single  explanation  can  be  accepted  as  adequate, 
but  that  the  best  of  the  various  explanations  contain  elements  of  truth."  Kitto, 
art.  "Cherubim."  For  a  statement  of  opinions  on  this  subject  see  articles  in 
Bible  Dictionaries,  "  Fairbairn's  Typology,"  &c.  "  The  prevailing  opinion  now 
is,"  says  Dr.  Jamieson  in  the  Portable  Commentary,  "that  those  splendid  figures 
were  symbolical  not  of  angelic,  but  of  earthly  and  human  beings — the  members 
of  the  Church  of  God  interested  in  the  dispensation  of  grace,  the  redeemed  in 
every  age,  and  that  these  hieroglyphic  forms  symbolised  the  qualities  of  the  true 
people  of  God — courage,  practice,  intelligence,  and  activity."  More  correctly, 
however,  we  think,  that,  combining  with  the  human  figure,  as  they  did,  the 
highest  attributes  of  animal  life,  they  were  designed  :  (1)  to  be  symbols  of  the 
most  ])erfect  creature  life,  and  thus  to  indicate  that  only  Avith  the  perfect  could 
Jehovah  dwell ;  and  (2)  to  be  ideal  representations  of  humanity,  and  of  the  near- 
ness to  God  which  fallen  man  will  enjoy  when  he  is  perfect. 

Thus  the  three  things  suggested  by  the  furniture  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  were, 
the  holiness  of  God,  the  possibility  of  pardon,  the  hope  of  perfection. 

B.— The  Holy  Place. 

"And  he  made  the  table  of  shittim-wood  :  two  cubits  was  the  length  thereof, 
and  a  cubit  and  a  half  the  breadth  thereof,  and  a  cubit  and  a  half  the  height 
thereof,"  xxxvii.  ver.  10-29. 

I.  The  table  of  shew-bread,  vers.  10-16,  was  made  of  acacia-wood,  covered 
with  a  plate  of  gold.  Its  dimensions  were  two  cubits  long,  one  broad,  and  one 
and  a-half  high,  the  cubit  being  18  inches.  It  was  ornamented  with  a  golden 
wreath  or  border  round  the  table  leaf  "The  frame  of  the  table  immediately 
below  the  leaf  was  encircled  with  a  piece  of  wood  of  about  four  inches  in  breadth, 
around  the  edge  of  which  was  a  vine  or  border  similar  to  that  around  the  leaf.  A 
little  lower  down,  but  at  equal  distance  from  the  top  of  the  table,  there  were  four 
rings  ol  <:old  fastened  to  the  legs,  through  which  staves  covered  with  gold  were 
5J4 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxvu. 

inserted  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it."  Vessels  of  pure  gold  stood  upon  the 
table,  large  deep  plates  in  wlii<h  the  shew-bread  was  not  only  brought  to  the 
table  but  placed  upon  it,  saoiificial  spoons  to  make  the  libations  with,  and 
goblets,  some  larger  and  some  smaller,  into  which  the  wine  was  poured  and 
placed  upon  the  table. 

II.  The  candlestick,  vers.  17-24.  "  The  structure  of  the  candelabrum  con- 
sisted of  a  base ;  of  a  shaft  rising  out  of  it ;  of  six  arms,  which  came  out  by 
threes  from  two  opposite  sides  of  the  shaft;  of  seven  lamps,  which  were  supported 
on  the  summits  of  the  central  shaft,  and  the  six  arms,  and  of  the  different  kinds 
of  ornaments  belonging  to  the  shaft  and  arms.  These  ornaments  are  called  by 
names  which  mean  cups  (bowls),  globes  (knops),  and  blossoms  (flowers).  The 
cups  (bowls)  are  described  as  almond-shaped,  it  being  uncertain  whether  the  re- 
semblance was  to  the  fruit  or  the  flowers.  Three  such  cups  were  allotted  to  every 
arm ;  but  four  to  the  shaft,  two  and  twenty  in  all.  The  name  of  the  second 
ornament  occurs  only  in  two  places  in  the  Old  Testament  in  which  it  appears  to 
mean  the  capital  of  a  column ;  in  the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate  it  is  rendered 
apaipurijoig  and  sphernese,  Avhence  it  may  be  understood  as  meaning  bodies  of  a 
spherical  shape.  The  third  ornament  means  blossom,  bud,  flower.  All  these 
different  articles,  along  with  the  necessary  appendages  of  snuffers  and  snufF- 
dishes,  were  ma<]e  of  pure  gold,  wrought  with  the  liammer  (beaten  work)  in- 
stead of  being  cast  by  fusion.  The  quantity  of  gold  expended  in  its  construc- 
tion was  one  talent,  about  94  lbs. — See  Kitto's  "Cycloi'iij  lia,"  art.  'Candlestick.' 

III.  The  altar  of  incense  (ver.  25)  was  a  square  box,  two  cubits  high,  one 
cubit  long,  and  one  broad,  made  of  acacia-wood,  and  having  four  liorns  (]'^p)  or 
wooden  projections,  one  at  each  corner.  Its  top  and  sides  were  overlaid  witli 
gold  ;  and  round  the  flat  surface  was  a  crown  or  border  of  gold,  underneath 
which  were  the  rings  for  the  gold-covered  staves.  In  connection  with  this, 
Bezaleel,  or  his  artificers  acting  under  his  directions,  made  the  holy  oil  or  oint- 
ment for  anointing  all  the  vessels  of  the  Holy  Place  and  the  officiating  priests  ; 
and  the  pure  incense  of  sweet  spices,  according  to  the  work  of  the  apothecary, 
for  burning  on  the  altar.  The  composition  of  both  of  these  articles  is  described 
in  Exod.  xxx.  25-34. 

If  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  the  peculiar  dwelling-place  of  God,  the  Holy  Place 
was  the  temple  of  the  priesthood,  hence  symbolic  of  the  Christian  Church.  For 
the  symbolism  of  the  Tabernacle,  as  a  whole,  see  chap.  xl.  Meantime  the  present 
section  is  suggestive  of  four  ideas  which  should  ever  be  associated  with  the 
Christian  Church,  with  its  edifices,  and  its  worship — 

1.  Fidelity.  All  the  above-mentioned  articles  of  furniture  were  made  exactly 
according  to  the  specifications.  In  not  a  single  point,  however  minute,  was 
there  the  slightest  deviation  from  the  original  pattern.  Possibly  Bezaleel,  or 
some  of  his  clever  artisans  and  cunning  workmen,  had  their  own  thought  of  the 
different  designs.  Just  as  likely  as  not  they  believed  they  could  have  originated 
better  articles  had  their  fashioning  been  left  entirely  to  them.  Perhaps,  too, 
the  reason  of  some  of  the  instructions,  as,  e.g.,  why  the  gold  of  the  candlestick 
should  be  beaten  and  not  cast,  did  not  quite  appear  to  them.  Still  in  this  matter 
there  was  no  room  for  either  their  inventive  genius  or  their  critical  faculties. 
Their  business  was  simply  to  carry  out  the  orders  of  the  Great  Architect  and 
Chief  Designer  to  whom  the  Tabernacle,  with  all  its  furniture,  belonged.  So 
within  the  Christian  Church  in  the  elaboration  of  her  creeds,  in  the  regula- 
tion of  her  worship,  in  the  administration  of  her  government,  there  is  place  for 
neither  original  discovery  nor  rationalising  criticism.  Doubtless,  many  think 
they  could  have  sketched  a  better  plan  of  a  New  Testament  Church  than  Christ 
has  done,  instituted  a  superior  ritual,  enunciated  truer  and  more  valuable  doc- 
trines, and  appointed  a  more  beneficent  adminisirdion  ;  only,  in  that  case, 

665 


OBAF.  xxxrn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


the  Cluircli  would  not  have  been  Christ's,  but  theirs ;  and  since  it  is  His  and 
not  tlieirs,  their  business  is  not  to  go  beyond,  nor  below,  nor  against  what  is 
written,  but  to  ask,  Wliat  saith  the  Scripture  ?  "  To  the  Law  and  to  the  TcsLi- 
mony."  Calvin's  principle,  with  a  little  modificatiun,  was  unquestionably  riglit, 
viz.,  that  nothing  is  to  be  introduced  into  the  creed,  worship,  or  govennnent  of 
the  Christian  Church  that  is  not  either  expressly  commanded  in  Scripture  or 
deduciblft  therefrom  by  necessary  inference. 

2.  Liberality.  As  the  articles  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  were  made  of  the  most 
costly  materials,  the  finest  wood,  and  the  purest  gold,  so  were  those  in  the 
Holy  Place,  which  may  remind  us  that  in  all  matters  connected  with  the  Chris- 
tian Church  the  utmost  liberality  should  be  displayed.  In  fact,  no  part  of  the 
Church's  service  should  be  anything  but  the  absolute  best,  i.e.,  in  the  circum- 
stances. The  spiritual  food,  which  she  dispenses  should  be  the  richest  possible, 
the  intellectual  and  religious  light  which  she  diffuses  the  clearest  and  the 
sweetest  possible,  the  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  praise  which  she  presents  the 
purest  and  the  noblest  possible.  All  her  undertakings  and  schemes  should  be 
supported  with  the  most  bountiful  munificence.  Nothing  mean,  shabby,  illiberal, 
ungenerous,  should  have  a  place  within  the  house  of  God,  This  principle  too 
however,  has  a  qualification  which  must  be  noted. 

3.  Beauty.  The  table,  the  candlestick,  and  the  altar  were  all  ornamented  ; 
and  though  some  minds  imagine  that  all  taste  and  beauty  should  be  eschewed 
in  connection  with  Divine  worship,  this,  obviously,  was  not  God's  ojjinion  ; 
and,  indeed,  why  should  it,  when  God  has  made  His  woi'ld  so  fair,  ornamented 
and  decorated  every  part  of  it  ?  But  sin  is  always  vulgar  and  unsesthetic  ;  and 
as  the  only  unbeautiful  sights  to  be  witnessed  on  earth  are  to  be  found  in  con- 
nection with  the  works  of  man,  so  in  God's  service  even  some  are  never  happy 
unless  everything  is  as  little  beautiful  and  tasteful  as  possible.  Magnificent 
churches  are  an  offence,  elevating  music  is  pronounced  to  be  out  of  place,  de- 
corous and  seemly  behaviour  is  an  affectation.  Contrary  to  this,  liowever, 
though  again  with  limitations  which  must  be  specified,  it  should  be  the  aim  of 
devout  souls  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Lord,  and  make  everything  con- 
nected with  His  house  beautiful  in  its  place. 

4.  Sanctity.  The  methods  adopted  to  impress  the  Hebrew  mind  with  this 
conception  of  the  holiness  of  God,  and  of  all  connected  with  His  house  and 
worship,  were  many.  One  of  these  M'as  the  injunction  that  all  the  articles  of 
the  dwelling  should  be  overlaid  with  gold,  and  should  not  be  immediately 
handled,  but  borne  by  means  of  gold-covered  staves.  Another  was  the  sprink- 
ling of  everything  within  the  Holy  Place  with  holy  oil.  An  idea  this  which 
should  never  be  absent  from  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Christian.  The  Christian 
Church  and  all  its  exercises  are  hallowed  by  the  perpetual  Presence  of  Him 
who  is  the  Holy  One.  Hence  the  lowliest  reverence  should  be  exliibited  before 
Him,  the  purest  feelings  should  be  cherished  in  His  service,  and  a  sense  of 
personal  consecration  should  be  sought  before  engaging  in  His  worship.  This 
also  has  a  caveat  which  must  be  mentioned. 

(L)  The  first  qualification,  "Fidelity,"  must  be  balanced  with  "Freedom" — 
not,  however,  the  '"freedom  "  of  choosing  differently  from  God,  but  that  highest 
of  all  freedom  which  is  synruiymous  with  "  cheerful  obedience,"  or  the  free 
election  of  God's  ways,  and  thoughts,  and  purposes,  and  plans,  because  they  are 
best  (2.)  The  second,  "Liberality,"  must  l)e  modified  by  the  Divine  command, 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  woild."  Wiiile  Christ's  people  are  to  generously  and  liand- 
somely  support  His  cause  at  home,  their  liberality  to  homo  operations  must  not 
infringe  upon  their  ability  to  extend  His  cause  abroad.  The  best  should  be 
done  at  home  that  is  consistent  with  the  greatest  possible  munificence  to  Christ's 
cause  abroad.  (3.)  The  third,  "Beauty,"  requires  to  be  supplemented  with 
"  Si)iritMality."    While  Christian  churches  may  be  beautiful,  and  Christian  wor- 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXVIL 


ship  tasteful,  &c.,  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  "  God  is  a  Spirit,"  &c.  (4.) 
The  fourth,  "  Sanctity,"  must  be  guarded  against  degenerating  into  "  Supersti- 
tion." The  holiness  suggested  to  the  Hebrew  mind  was  not  the  holiness  of  the 
table,  tkc,  but  of  the  God  to  whom  the  table  belonged.  And  so  must  Chris- 
tians be  careful  not  to  transfer  to  these  things  what  in  reality  is  an  attribute  of 
God. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 


Labour !  Yer.  1,  &c.  (1.)  Idleness  en- 
ervates! It  has  been  said  that  scruples  are 
weeds  which  luxuriate  in  the  soil  of  monasti- 
cism.  That  soil  is  full  of  the  elements  winch 
minister  to  their  growth  ;  and  the  chief  of 
these  is  idleness.  The  same  element  is  pro- 
ductive of  serious  results  in  all  departments  of 
human  life.  Whether  civilised  or  savage,  the 
idle  man  deteriorates  ;  and  at  last  actively 
develops  into  a  mischievous  animal,  either 
towards  himself  or  towards  his  fellow- 
creatures.  (2.)  Industry  elevates!  It  is,  as 
MacCulloch  says,  the  talisman  that  has 
raised  him  from  the  condition  of  the  savage. 
It  has  changed  the  desert  and  the  forest  into 
cultivated  fields — has  covered  the  earth  with 
cities,  and  the  ocean  with  ships — and  has 
given  plenty,  comfort,  and  luxury,  instead  of 
want,  misery,  and  barbarism.  What,  then, 
shall  be  said  of  its  mental  and  moral  results, 
if  those  of  the  material  are  so  great?  No 
greater  contrast  could  be  found  amongst 
ancient  nations,  perhaps,  than  Rome  in  its 
infancy  of  hardihood  and  Rome  in  its  impo- 
tency  of  luxury  and  idleness.  Persia  furnishes 
a  parallel  contrast. 

*•  What  heart  can  think,  or  tongue  express, 
The  harm  that  groweth  of  idleness  ?  " 

— Heywood. 

**  But  sober  industry,  illustrious  power  ! 
Bids   the   bleak  hill  with    vernal    verdure 
bloom."  — Bruce. 

Holy  of  Holies  I  Ver.  1.  (1.)  Its  cubical 
form  —  the  decade  in-' its  dimensions — its 
tolours  of  holiness,  heavenliness,  kingliness, 
and  life — its  undeeaying  wood,  and  glorious 
gold — all  unite  in  predicting  that,  when  the 
kingdom  of  God  reaches  its  final  develop- 
ment, the  outward  state  and  surroundings  of 
the  redeemed  will  correspond  in  excellence 
with  their  high  class  as  the  household  of  God. 
This  seems  to  harmonise  with  the  Apocalyp- 
tic seer's  vision.  (2.)  In  Rev.  xxi.  the 
Evangelist  is  represented  as  standing  like 
another  Noah  at  the  heights  of  Ararat,  gazing 
on  a  renovated  world.  After  passing  throuirh 
the  crucible  of  its  own  latent  fires,  it  has  come 
forth — phoenix-like— from  their  ashes  in  new 
resurrection  life.  Vast  as  are  its  dimensions 
—a  gigaatic  cube,  lying  foursquare,  with  gates 


in    every   quarter    wide    open — it    must    be 

noticed  as  having  streets  of  pure  gold — i.e., 
within  it  there  entereth  nothing  that  de- 
fileth.  All  are  pure  in  heart  there  who  see 
God. 

'*  0  heaven  !  when  storm  and  cloud 
Debar  the  mortal  vision  of  the  eye 
From  wandering  o'er  thy  threshold,  more 

and  more 
I  love  thee,  thinking  on  the  perfect  calm 
•Which    bounds   the   deadly  fever  ot    these 

days — 
The  higher,  holier,  spiritual  heaven." 

— Bailey. 

Ark  -  Symbolism  !  Vers.  4,  5.  Dr.  Kitto 
mentions  the  fact  of  Captain  Cook  having 
seen  iu  tiie  Island  of  Huahine  a  curious 
analogy  to  the  ark.  Hawksvvorth  describes  it 
as  a  kind  of  ark  or  chest,  the  lid  of  which  was 
nicely  sewed  on,  and  thatched  very  neatly 
with  palm-nut  leaves.  It  was  fixed  upon  two 
poles,  in  order  to  remove  it  from  place  to 
place  in  the  manner  of  a  sedan  chair.  In  one 
end  of  it  was  a  square  hole,  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  a  ring  toucliing  the  sides,  and 
leaving  the  angles  open,  so  as  to  form  a  round 
hole  within,  and  a  square  one  without.  Sir 
Joseph  Banks,  who  saw  this  curious  coffer, 
considered  its  general  resemblance  to  the 
Mosaic  ark  as  remarkable.  Still  more  re- 
markable is  it,  that  the  natives  called  it  "The 
house  of  God." 

"  Therefore,  this  little  room  doth  seem 
To  me  a  holy  place, 
And  in  the  world  around  I  deem 
A  Betliel  I  can  trace." 

— Gerok. 

Ark-Disclosiare !  Ver.  5.  Stone  says  that 
the  aik  of  the  covenant  is  observed  by  St. 
John  (Rev.  xi.)  more  plainly  than  ever  re- 
vealed ;  because  now,  as  the  series  of  visions 
draw  towards  the  great  consummation,  the 
purposes  of  God  in  Redemption  become  more 
manifestly  developed  to  His  worshipping 
children  and  prophesying  servants.  Clearer 
views  are  obtained  in  a  spiritual  and  prophetic 
sense  towards  the  close  of  the  Gospel  dispen- 
sation. Tliese  come  from  the  course  of  events, 
or  otherwise  by  the  light  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 

567 


OBAF.  XXXVII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


from  the  increased  and  devout  study  of  unful- 
filled prophecy,  and  the  general  agieement  on 
the  subject  of  the  glory  of  Christ ;  when 

"  The  seventh  trumpet's  wondrous  sound 
Sliall  throu-^h  the  rending  tomhs  resound, 
And  wake  the  sleepers  underground  !  " 

Mercy-Seat  !  Ver.  6,  &c.  This  was  the 
throne  of  Jehovah,  where  He  dwelt  between 
the  cherubs,  wliicli  stood  one  n  eitlier  end  of 
tlie  cover  of  the  ark.  Al>nva  .his  luercy-seat, 
and  between  tlie  c'lerubs,  was  the  place  where 
the  Ood  of  the  Hebrews  localised  Himself  in 
the  niiil.st  of  the  people  wiiom  He  liad  chosen 
that  tiiev  tijioulil  lie  luoy.  His  tlirone  was 
tliiis  esiabli.-lud  on  tiie  testimony,  or  cove- 
nant, as  a  loundatioM.  Tiiere  can  be  little 
liouijt  that  the  I'saliaist  refers  to  this  when 
he  says,  "Justice  and  judgment  are  the 
foundation  of  Thy  throne."  And  again, 
"  Hi'^hteousiic^s  and  judgment  are  the 
foundation  ot  His  throne."  Over  the  testi- 
mony, as  the  basis  of  the  covenant,  was  the 
place  where  Jehovah  dwelt  among  His  people 
as  their  God  and  King. 

"0   beauteous   God  I    uncircumscribed   trea- 
sure 
Of  an  eternal  pleasure  ! 
Thy  throne  is  seated  far 
Above  the  highest  star, 
Yet  Thou  dost  make  a  glorious  place, 
Within  the  brightness  of  thy  face. 
For  every  spirit  to  inherit 
Who  builds  his  hopes  upon  Thy  merit." 
— Taylor. 

Cherubic-Form,  &c. !  Ver.  7.  (1.)  Form  ! 
Meyer  says  that  these  had  no  fixed  form. 
B&lir  says  tliat  the  cherubim  on  the  tapestry 
work  could  not  have  been  conceived  like  those 
on  the  ark,  because  the  latter  were  statues, 
the  former  paintings.  This,  however,  is  hard 
to  see.  Indeed,  it  would  seem,  as  Ladd  says, 
thai  the  Mosaic  cherubim  was  a  fixed  form. 
Gesenius  in  his  Thesaurus  says  that  they  were 
in  great  part  human  forms.  This  seems  to 
be  inferred  from  verse  ti.  (2.)  Face  J  They 
had  only  one.  Their  faces  (verse  9)  looked 
towards  one  another — towards  the  mercy-seal 
were  the  faces  of  the  cherubim.  Spencei 
Bays  that  the  face  of  the  ciierubim  was  that 
of  an  ox;  for  which  there  is  no  evidence. 
Indeed,  as  Winer  remarks,  tlie  complete  de- 
lineation of  the  Mosaic  ciierubim  must  be  for 
ever  renounced.  (3.)  Pir/uratinn/  Herder 
thinks  tliat  they  symbolised  gxuirdlanship ; 
while  Bahr  regards  ihcm  as  (inuring  beings 
of  abounding  life.  Ladd  says  lliat  their 
watchful  posture — with  wings  overshading — 
seem  to  indicate  the  guardian  ;  and  GeseniuB 
views  their  figuration — with  their  faces  to- 
wards the  mercy-seat,  wherein  were  the  two 
Tables — that  of  simple  custodians  or  pro- 
tectors. (4.)  Foundation/  Some  tlimk  that 
the  imagination  of  the  constructor  iiad  much 
to  do  with  the  source  whence  these  forms 
558 


came :  and  that  Moses  drew  on  his  familiarity 
witli  such  fiirures  in  Egyptian  temples.  Heng- 
Btenberg  distinctly  sayg  this  was  tlie  sphinx  of 
Egypt — a  familiar  oliject  lo  Moses.  But  the 
question  .-irises: — "Was  not  the  foundation 
in  the  Divine  Ideal?"  Was  not  Moses  in- 
structed  as  to  the  form,  face,  and  figuration? 
Was  Bezaleel  under  the  Divine- Alosaic  direc« 
tion?'- 

"  So  if  His  Word  once  teach  us,  shoot  n  ray 
Throii^li  all  the  mind's  dark  cliambers,  and 

reveal 
Truths  undiscern'd  but  by  that  holy  light. 
Then  all  is  piain."  — Cowper. 

Cherubims!  Vers.  7,  8.  The  cherub  has 
been  lepresented  as  a  symbol  of  redeemed 
and  perfected  humanity,  and  the  Hoiy  of 
Holies  of  the  king>lom  of  God  in  its  perfected 
condition.  If  so,  we  are  summoned  to  glance 
backward  at  the  Edenic  paradise,  where  God 
and  man  walked  together;  atid  forward  to 
the  ethereal  paradise,  where  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect  commune  with  God. 
The  garden  of  Eden  was  no  sooner  vacated  by 
man  than  it  was  placed  under  the  care  of 
cherubs,  to  be  kept  by  them  till  the  original 
heir  should  be  restored  to  his  inheritance.  A 
tableau  of  cherubs  around  the  throne  of 
Jehovah  is,  tiierefore,  says  Atwater,  a  predic- 
tion and  a  promise  to  men  of  restoration  to 
such  fellowship  with  God  as  Adam  enjoyed 
before  the  earth  ceased  to  be  a  paradise. 

*'  When,  face  to  face,  our  ravish'd  ear  shall 

hear 
God's  voice — that  glorious  One  in  Three, 
And  Three  in  One — and  hearing  Him,  shall 

bless  Him, 
And  blessing,  love  Him — and  in  love  posses* 

Him."  — (luarla. 

Oherubic- Attitude !    Ver.  9.     It  has  been 

suggested  that  the  attitude  of  the  cherubs 
harmonises  with  the  symbolic  idea  of  the 
cafjjoreth,  oi  mercy-seat.  It  is  so  called  be- 
cause It  was  the  place  from  which  the  covering 
of  sin  was  authoritatively  announced.  And 
with  this  idea  their  attitude  well  accords. 
They  stooa  with  their  faces  towards  it,  as  if 
what  it  signified  was  specially  attractive, 
wonderful,  and  agreeable.  Tlie  posture  of 
these  symbols  of  redeemed  humanity  expresses 
the  gratitude  for  expiation,  which  the  vision 
ot  the  Apocalypse  represents  them  as  uttering 
in  song. 

'•  To  think  how  poorly  eloquence  of  words 
Translates  the  poetry  of  hearts  like  ours." 

— Lylter, 

Cherubim-Significance  I  Vers.  7-9.  Kd. 
wards  maintains  that  ihey  represetited  the 
mini.-try  of  angels,  or  tlie  principalities  and 
powers  in  heavenly  places.  It  was,  doubtless, 
the  Divine  design  that  the  holy  angels  should 
be    brought  into   close   friendship    with    the 


BOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


onxp.  xxxvn. 


human  family  for  mutual  advantage.  It  is 
certain  that,  from  the  hour  of  creation,  they 
have  always  taken  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  earth.  Earth  is  the  planet  of  their 
choicest  excursions — the  realm  of  their  noblest 
employments — the  sphere  of  their  sublimest 
pleasures.  The  Chuich  on  earth  is  to  them 
the  garden  of  the  Lard,  enriched  with  the 
bloom,  and  fragrant  with  the  odour  of  the 
fairest  flowers  in  creation's  empire.  Redemp- 
tion is  to  them  the  most  stupendous  fact  in 
the  moral  universe.  Like  the  fixed  gaze  of 
the  cherubim  within  the  vail,  all  their  burn- 
ing ardour  is  absorbed  in  its  mysteries,  and 
will  be  absorbed  even  through  eternity  itself, 
A  living  poet  represents  these  angels  at  the 
*'  Bridal  of  the  Lamb''  as 

*'  Eetiring  till  their  robes,  and  wings,  and 

crowns 
Appeared  as    hangings   woven    of    richest 

iye; 
Star-spangled,    like    the    temple   curtains, 

twined 
With  purple,  crimson,   blue,  and  gleaning 

forms, 
Cherubic,  curiously  traced  in  gold. " 

— Bickersteth. 

Candlestick !  Ver.  17,  &c.  1.  Goldl  More 
common  material  would  have  served  the  pur- 
pose of  lighting ;  but  gold  was  an  emblem 
of  (1)  the  Light-giving  Word,  whose  truths 
are  more  precious  than  gold,  yea,  than  much 
fine  gold;  and  (2)  the  Light-giving  worker, 
who  holds  forth  the  Word  of  Life ;  for  the 
entrance  of  the  Word  giveth  light.  2. 
Graven  I  A  more  simple  form  might  have 
Bufficed ;  but  the  rich  ornamentat'on  was 
symbolic  of  (1)  the  beauty  of  the  Bible,  being 
richly  adorned  with  flowers  of  poetry,  &c.  ; 
and  (2)  the  beauty  of  ministers,  whose  life 
and  testimony  should  be  adornetl  with  the  true 
beauty  of  zeal,  faith,  and  love.  3.  Gil'ted! 
M'Ewen,  however,  says  that  the  candlestick 
was  a  figure  of  the  Church,  whose  use  is  to 
receive  the  light,  and  then  diffuse  it  abroad. 
The  Church  receives  the  truth,  and  then  holds 
it  forth  by  purity  of  doctrine  and  sanctity  of 
life.  Stone  says  that  it  symbolises  a  true 
Church,  having  the  sevenfold  gifts  and  graces 
of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  And  these  prepare  man  for  the  sight 

Of  Majesty  above ; 
The  sons  of  ignorance  and  might 
Can  stand  in  the  Eternal  Light 

Of  Th'  Eternal  Love."        — Binney. 

Candlestick  -  Symbolism  !  Vers.  18-23. 
(1.)  The  figure  of  this  Light-giver  is  repre- 
sented on  the  famous  arch  of  'i'itus  at  Rome. 
The  Light-giver  with  seven  brandies  stood  in 
the  inner  sanctuary — not  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
Its  rays  thus  threw  light  upon  the  incense 
altar  and  table  of  shew-bread.  Its  jets  of  light 
bore  witness  for  centuries,  says  Plumptre, 
that  Ood  was  Light,  and  that  that  Light  re- 


vealed itself  in  manifold  variety,  crowing  out 
of  a  central  unity.  (2.)  The  form  of  this 
Light-giver  api>ear8  in  Zech.  iv.  2  ;  where 
the  symbol  is  completed  by  a  vision  of  two 
olive-trees  feeding  from  their  branches, 
through  two  golden  pipes,  the  bowl  through 
which  the  lamps  were  kept  burniuL'.  The 
prophet  learnt  that  the  trees  were  the  two 
anointed  ones — i.e.,  Joshua  and  Zerrubabel, 
types  of  priestly  and  civil  authority,  'i'his 
typical  symbolism  may,  iiowever,  be  capable 
of  large  expansion.  (3  )  The  Patmos  seer 
beholds  seven  distinct  lamps — showing  that 
the  lamp  was  the  emblem  not  merely  of  un- 
created light,  but  of  the  Church — as  the 
channel  through  which  that  light  was  to  be 
diffused  through  the  world.  This  is  in 
harmony  with  the  lampshaft  or  pedestal  in 
Matt.  V.  15.  These  passages  bring  out  the 
perfect  unity  of  the  Bible.  Infinite  diversity 
there  may  be  ;  but  immaculate  unity  there  is, 

**  Here  hills  and  vales,  the  woodland  and  the 

plain, 
Here  earth  and  water  seem  to  strive  again  ; 
Not     chaos-like     together     crushed     and 

bruised, 
But,  as  the  world,  harmoniously  confused. 
Where  order  in  variety  we  see, 
And   where,   though   all   things  differ,  all 

agree."  — Pope. 

Incense-Altar-Symbolism!    Ver.    25.     (1.) 

Construction  !  Wood  overlaid  with  gold  tell  ua 
that  they  speak  of  Christ,  as  fellow  to  man  in 
humanity's  low  estate,  and  as  equal  to  God 
in  Godhead's  ureatness.  Its  fourfold  shape — 
like  the  altar  of  burnt-offering — speaks  of  the 
stability  of  Christ;  its  crown  of  the  kingly 
dignity  of  Christ ;  its  horns  of  the  mightiness 
of  His  salvation  ;  and  its  staves  of  the  ever- 
ready  spirit  of  Christ  to  be  borne  to  the  utter, 
most  parts  of  the  earth.  (2)  Constitution t 
On  this  altar  a  censer  full  of  incense  poured 
forth  its  fragrant  clouds  every  morning  and 
evening.  Without  smoking  censer,  the  high 
priest  was  forbidden,  on  pain  of  death,  to 
enter  into  the  awful  shrine  of  Jehovah.  This 
is  a  graphic  image  of  Jesus,  from  the  altar  of 
whose  soul — once  on  earth,  and  now  in  heaven 
— continually  rises  the  fragrance  of  increasing 
prayer  and  intercession  for  His  people.  "  He 
ever  lives,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  to  make  interces- 
sion for  us."  (3.)  Consideration  I  The  prayers 
of  the  saints  are  here ;  and  from  it  we  learn 
of  the  preparation  of  the  heart  for  prayer. 
The  golden  altar  was  of  given  form,  and  size, 
and  material.  The  praying  heart  should  be 
equally  balanced  and  lying  towards  all  quarters 
of  truth  in  affection,  sympathy,  faith,  and 
earnestness.  It  should  be  pure  in  thought 
and  desire,  says  Gray,  and  be  framed  by  the 
direction  of  the  Spirit.  It  should  accompany 
the  believer  everywhere. 

"  Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath. 
The  Christian's  native  air  ; 
His  watchword  in  the  gates  of  death- 
He  enters  heaven  with  prayer. 

5S9 


OHAF.  xxxvn. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


Praise-Incense  !  Vers.  25-28.  "  The  for- 
malist," Bridges  rem;irk8,  "considering 
'seven  times  a  day  *  to  be  an  infringement  of 
the  sacred  canon,  '  Be  not  righteous  over- 
much,' p:iy8  his  customary  duty  twice  a  dav. 
He  says  liis  j^rayera  and  lie  says  liis  praises 
too,  and  his  conscience  Hlumhers  again.  And 
it  is  sad  to  tliink  tliat  tlicre  should  he 
times  of  slumber  with  the  Christian,  when 
he  little  differs  from  him.  Oh!  let  us  be 
alarmed  at  every  symptom  of  such  a  state, 
and  '  find  no  rest  to  our  spirit'  until  we  have 
regained  something  of  tiie  frame  of  hearty 
and  overflowing  praise.  If  there  be  a  heavenly 
nature,  there  must  be  a  heavenly  heart. 
Tongue  and  heart  sliould  he  set  (m  fire  by 
love.  But  the  Christian  sometimes  feels  that 
he  must  not  praise.  He  has  not  sensible  tokens 
of  love  to  call  him  forth,  and  therefore  his 
harp  is  suffered  to  'hang  upon  the  willows,' 
and  he  cares  not  to  take  it  down,  even  to 
'sing  one  of  the  Lord's  songs  in  this  strange 
land.'  But  how  little  does  he  remember  tliat 
this  service  of  praise  is  the  most  successful 
means  of  resistance  to  the  despondency  of 
unbelief.  Many  have  found  with  Bunyan, 
'  When  I  believe  and  sing,  my  doublings 
cease.' " 

"  Two  fountains  from  one  source, 
Or  which  from  two  such  neighbouring  sources 

run, 
That  aye  for  him  who  shall  unseal  the  one, 
The  other  flows  perforce. 
And  both  are  sweet  and  calm. 
Fair  flowers  upon  the  banks  of  either  blow  ; 
Both  fertilise  the  soul,  and  where  they  flow 
Shed  round  them  holy  balm." 

— Trench. 

Incense-Chariot  I  Ver.  27.  Gray  mentions 
an  incense-chariot  found  in  a  tomb  at  Cervetri, 
in  Etruria,  unquestionably  belonging  to  a  very 
remote  date.  It  was  used  in  the  ritual  services 
of  the  ancients  for  burning  incense.  The 
perfume  was  placed  in  the  concave  part,  and 
the  fact  that  the  whole  was  mounted  upon 
four  wheels  proves  that  it  was  intended  to  be 
moved  about.  The  borders  are  adorned  by  a 
row  of  flower-shaped  ornaments,  the  principal 
forms  of  which  are  fully  appreciated  from  a 
side-view.  The  elegance  and  highly  refined 
taste  displayed  in  the  form  and  figure  of  this 
chariot  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  it  belonged 
to  some  royal  personage.  Thus  even  amongst 
heathen  peoples  incense  had  its  symbolic 
speech  ;  fragrant  flowers  blooming  sweetly  amid 
a  thousand  noocious  weeds. 

"  And  nature's  God,  to  whom  alone 
The  secret  of  the  heart  is  known. 
The  hidden  language  traced  thereon." 
—  Whittitr. 

Heavenly  Incense  -  Altar !     Vers.    25-29. 

The  Apocalypse  is  composed  of  three  parallel 

visions.      In  one  of  these  (chap.  viii.)we  have 

a  vision  of  the  angel  at  the  golden  altar.    The 

660 


apostle  hears  a  voice,  "Come  up  hither."  The 
dull,  commonplace  scenery  of  his  rocky  home, 
writes  Macduff,  once  more  fades  from  view  ; 
and  in  a  revived  heavenly  ecstacy  he  waits 
his  Saviour's  summons.  As  previous  to  the 
breaking  of  the  seals,  there  was  a  sublime 
opLMiing  vision  of  Christ  as  the  Mediator  of 
His  Church  ;  so  now,  at  the  souufiiiiir  of  the 
seven  trumpets,  it  is  the  same  Divine  Being — 
only  symbolised  as  an  .\ngel-Priest  in  the 
performance  of  a  great  iniereeasory  work. 
The  Lord  Jesus  stands  hy  the  golden  aliar  of 
incense  in  the  Heavenly  Temple — offering, 
in  the  golden  censer  filled  with  much  incense, 
the  prayers  of  all  the  saints — i.e.,  the  multi- 
tude of  the  redeemed  on  earth.  Perfuming 
them  with  the  incense  of  His  adorable  merits, 
the  grateful  cloud  ascends.  Poor  and  utterly 
unworthy  as  these  prayers  may  be,  they  are 
perfumed  by  the  fragrant  merits  of  the 
Covenant-Intercessor.  The  glowing  coals  in 
His  censer  are  feeble  emblems  of  the  burning 
love  which  glows  in  His  heart.  Without  this 
all  is  vain ! 

"  In  vain  shall  waves  of  incense  drift 
The  vaulted  nave  around  ; 
In  vain  the  minster  turret  lift 
Its  brazen  weights  of  sound." 

Mountain  of  Spices  1     Ver.  29.     (1.)  When 

the  high  priest  passed  within  the  vail,  it  was 
with  feverish  anxiety  that  the  crowds  outside 
looked  for  the  circling  eddies  of  tiie  odorous 
incense  to  arise.  When  they  saw  the  ediiying 
cloud  floating  upwards  into  the  clear  sunny 
sky,  they  knew  that  the  Aaronic  intercession 
had  prevailed.  Anxiety  gave  place  to  expec- 
tancy. They  longed  to  see  him  c  me  forth 
with  the  glory  yet  lingering  on  his  l)row — 
arrayed  in  splendid  robes — the  breastplate 
glittering  with  the  consecrated  8\  mbol  of  the 
tribes,  that,  with  uplifted  hands,  he  might 
dispense  his  benediction.  (2.)  The  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  tells  us  that  all  this  was  a  splendid 
mirror  of  Christ's  sacerdotal  grandeur,  and 
which  continuethever.  Hence,  in  Canticles  viiL, 
14,  we  have  the  redeemed  Hebrew  and  Gentile 
Churches  expressing  the  intense  fervency  of 
desire  that  He,  who  is  the  great  High  Priest 
and  King,  would  come  forth  from  the 
Heavenly  Temple,  where  He  lives  to  make 
continual  intercession.  The  mountain  of 
spices  is  the  holy,  heavenly  hill  where  the 
Kingly  Priest  offers  up  incense  with  the 
prayers  of  the  saints.  These  are  represented 
(as  in  Rev.  xxii.)  as  calling  with  their  hearts 
upon  Jesus  to  come  forth  to  bless  them.  So 
eager  is  the  Church  to  receive  tliis  everlasting 
benediction  that  she  would  have  Jesus  he  like 
a  young  hart,  whose  feet  are  beauiful  in  theii 
swiftness. 

"  The  minutes  seem  to  move  too  slow, 
0  Jesus,  quickly  come." 

—  Watti. 

Tabernacle-Significance!     Ver.  29.     It  is 
an  inquiry  of   considerable  importance  how 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  CHxr.  xxvna. 


far  the   Israelites   comprehended  the  signi-  of  mind  which  he  possesses ;  so  doubtless  was 

ficance  of  the  Tabernacle.    'Hie  general  answer  it  with  the  believing  Israelite.     A  Caleb  and 

to  be  given  to  this  inquiry  is,  tliat  they  were  a  Joshua  would  see  far  more  in  the  tabernacle 

as   pompetent  to    understand    its    symbolic  appurtenances  than  a  Nadab  or  Abihu  ;  even 

signitieance  as  men  ot  the  present  day  are  to  as  an   EUicot  and  a  Luther  perceive  more  in 

apprehend  the   meaning  of   the   Bible.     The  the  Scripture  expressions  than  a  Voltaire  or 

devout,  Hebrew  had  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  a   Comte.     All    the   E-jyptians   were    able    to 

in  his  pious  desire  to    understand  the    ordi-  read    their    hieroglyphic    language  ;    tliough, 

nances  of  tlie  law,  as  the  devout  Christian  has  doubtless,  their  apprehension  and  knowledge 

in  his  earnest  wish  to  comprehend  the  ordi-  of   its  significations   were   very   uneaual    and 

nances  of  the  Gospel.      And  just  as  the  Cliris-  varied.     To  see  alike? 
tiaii's  knowledge  of  the  Bilde  indirectly  and 

largely  depends  upon  his  mental  character —  "  Impossible  !  unless  minds  were  alike 

on  the  degree  of  attention  and  study  which  In  all,  which  ditier  now  like  human  faces." 

he  gives  to  the  subject — and  on  the  spirituality  — Bowe, 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


Critical  Notes. — Of  the  looking-glasses  of  the  women].  The  contribution  of  the  looking- 
glasses  for  making  the  laverniust  have  been  a  greater  act  of  sacrifice  to  thos  •  female  donors  than 
at  first  sight  appears.  Looking-glasses  were  articles  <if  difficult  manufacture,  and  rare,  and 
hiijhly  prized  even  above  golden  ornaments.  The  motive,  tiierefore,  must  liave  been  a  very 
powerful  one  that  prompted  them  to  the  self-denial.  Probai)ly  it  was  from  a  sense  of  sorrow 
over  the  sin  for  having  contributed  even  their  earrings  to  the  golden  calf,  or  perhaps  too,  to 
give  expression  to  their  disapproval  of  another  Kgpytian  practice,  which  was  that  of  women 
visiting  the  heathen  temples  with  mirrors  in  their  left  hands. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.— Versts  1-20. 

C.—The  Court. 

"And  he  made  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  of  shittim-wood :  five  cubits  was 
the  length  thereof,  and  five  cubits  the  breadth  thereof:  it  was  four  square  j  and 
three  cubits  the  height  thereof,"  xxxviii.  ver.  1. 

I  The  altar  of  burnt-offering,  vers.  1-7.     This  was  a  hollow  square,  three 

cubits  high,  and  five  in  length  and  breadth,  made  of  shittim-wood,  and  overlaid 
with  pearls  of  brass,  having  horns,  hke  the  altar  of  incense,  at  its  four  corners, 
each  one  covered  with  brass  (copper).  According  to  Jewish  writers,  the  hollow 
square  was  filled  with  earth  or  stones.  A  sort  of  terrace,  or  projecting  board, 
halfway  up  the  altar,  compassed  it  about,  and  was  supported  by  a  brass 
grating.  The  various  vessels  used  in  connection  with  the  altar  were  all  made 
of  brass.  Tliese  vessels  were — (1)  The  pans,  to  cleanse  it  of  the  ashes  that 
arose  from  burning  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  upon  the  altar;  (2)  The  shovels 
for  cleaning  the  altar  ;  (3)  The  basins  for  receiving  the  blood,  and  sprinkling 
it  upon  the  altar  ;  (4)  The  flesh  hooks,  or  large  forks,  to  turn  the  piece  of  flesh 
or  to  take  them  from  the  altar;  and  (5)  The  fire  pans,  or  coal  scoops.  As  with 
all  the  other  articles,  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings  was  carried  by  staves,  which 
passed  through  rings  at  the  corners  :  only  the  rings  were  of  brass,  and  the  staves 
were  covered  with  brass. 

II.  The  laver,  ver.  8,  was  a  round  caldron-shaped  basin,  made  of  brass.  The 
brass,  it  is  stated  here,  was  taken  from  "  the  mirrors  of  the  women  assembling, 
who  assembled  at  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle  of  the  congregation  ;  i.e.,  of  the 
women  who  served,  assembling  by  troops  (served  by  turns).  "  Though  not 
washerwomen,  tliese  were  women  who  dedicated  their  lives  to  the  service  of 
Jehovah,  and  spent  them  in  religious  exercises  in  fasting  and  in  prayer,  like 
2s  661 


OHAK  xxxviiu  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Anna,  the  daugliter  of  Phannel,  mentioned  in  Luke  ii.  37." — Delitzch.  Their 
mirrors,  wliicli  liad  been  hitlieito  used  for  purposes  of  personal  adornment,  they 
cheerfully  renounced  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary.  The  brass  laver  was 
constructed  from  them.  The  use  of  this  laver  was  for  the  washing  of  the 
priest's  liands  and  feet  when  they  touclied  the  holy  things,  or  trod  the  holy 
ground.  "  As  no  mention  is  made  of  a  vessel  whereat  to  wash  the  parts  of  the 
victims  offered  in  sacrifice,  it  is  presumed  that  the  laver  served  this  purpose 
also." — Kitto's  "Cyclopaedia,"  art.  'Laver.' 

III.  The  outside  hangings,  vers.  9-20,  consisted  of  spun  byssus,  or  *'  fine 
twined  linen,"  and  were  su[)ported  on  pillars  with  brass  sockets  and  silvered 
capitals,  with  hooks  and  fastenings  for  the  pillars  of  silver.  On  the  southern 
and  northern  sides  were  twenty  pillars ;  on  the  western  side  ten  ;  and  on  the 
eastern  side  six  pillars,  three  on  each  side  of  the  gate.  The  length  of  the 
northern  and  southern  sides  was  one  hundred  cubits  ;  of  the  western  and  eastern 
sides  fifty  cubits.  The  hangings  on  each  side  of  the  gate  were  fifteen  cubits : 
thus  leaving  twenty  for  the  gate,  whicli  consisted  of  four  pillars  in  sockets  of 
brass  with  hooks,  fillets,  and  capitals  of  silver,  supporting  a  curtain  or  hanging 
of  blue  and  purple  and  scarlet.  It  is  noted  that  all  the  pins  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Tabernacle  and  the  court  were  of  brass. 

In  perusing  this  account  of  the  construction  of  the  court  and  its  different 
articles  of  furniture,  we  are  reminded  of  several  things  which  are  prominently 
present  in  the  Christian  Church : — 

1.  Variation  in  construction.  Not  merely  were  the  articles  in  the  court  differ- 
ent from  those  in  the  Holy  Place,  but  in  part  the  materials  employed  in  their 
construction.  Instead  of  the  pure  gold  of  the  table  and  the  candlestick  and  the 
incense  altar,  there  are  now  the  brass  and  silver  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offering, 
the  laver,  and  the  court  pillars ;  from  which  it  may  be  gathered  that  there  are 
degrees  of  importance  in  things  connected  with  the  Christian  Church,  as  Paul 
reminds  us  in  1  Cor.  xii.  4  ;  yet,  of  course,  parts  which  are  less  important  are 
not  the  less  parts  of  the  one  mreat  body. 

2.  Self-abnegation  among  its  inmates — a  lesson  frequently  enforced  on  the 
attention,  it  is  here  again  suggested  by  the  generous  conduct  of  the  pious 
women  in  parting  with  tlieir  mirrors :  a  lesson  on  the  consecration  of  property 
to  God.  Not  a  little  remarkable  that  it  was  in  connection  with  the  making  of 
the  laver  that  these  pious  women  parted  with  their  mirrors.  These  mirrors 
were  employed  for  purposes  of  personal  adornment;  and  the  laver  was  a 
symbol  of  the  bath  of  regeneration  which  purifies  and  adorns  the  inner  man, 
and  which,  wlierever  it  is  enjoyed,  enables  one  to  dispense  with  that  adorn- 
ment which  is  merely  outward  (cf  1  Pet.  iii.  3-6).  Noticeable,  too,  that  this 
very  special  act  of  self-renunciation  was  in  connection  with  one  of  the  less 
important  parts  of  the  Tabernacle  furniture ;  which,  however,  only  made  it  all 
the  greater.  Perhaps,  too,  this  was  the  reason  why  it  has  received  special 
mention. 

3.  Seclusion  from  the  world.  The  dwelling  and  its  furniture  were  shut  off  from 
the  gaze  of  men  by  the  court  hangings ;  and  so  is  the  Church  of  Christ 
separated  from  the  world,  like  "a  garden  enclosed,  a  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain 
sealed"  (cf.  Joim  xv.  19;  2  Cor.  vi.  17).  Three  points  emerge  here  that  cannot 
be  sufficiently  insisted  on,  viz.,  (1)  2'hat  the  Church  and  the  world  are  not  the  same 
societies,  but  essentially  different,  the  first  being  founded  on  tlie  covenant,  and 
created  by  the  hand,  of  grace  ;  the  second  remaining  on  the  platform  of  creation, 
and  in  the  sjthere  of  natuie.  (2)  That  the  Church  ought  to  keep  herself  distinct 
from  the  world.  God  having  separated  her  from  the  world,  she  sliould  not 
obliterate  the  lines  of  demarcation  which  He  has  fixed  ;  and  (3)  That  the  true 
nature  of  the  Church  cannot  be  app'ehended  by  the  world,  as  the  inti'i  nal  aspect  of 

562 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY :  EXODVS.  c»ap.  xxxvin. 


the  court  and  Tabernacle  were  not  visible  to  those  who  were  without  (cf.  1  Cor. 

a.  9-u). 

Summation  of  the  Metal  used. 

"  This  is  the  sum  of  the  Tabernacle,  even  of  the  Tabernacle  of  the  testimony, 
as  it  was  counted,  according  to  the  commandment  of  Moses" — xxxviii.  21-31. 

I.  The  quantity  of  metal  used.  Of  gold  there  were  29  talents,  730  shekels  ; 
of  silver,  100  talents,  1775  shekels;  of  brass,  70  talents,  2400  shekels.  Difficult 
now  to  ascertain  with  accuracy  the  exact  sum  represented  by  these  figures. 
*'  The  original  meaning  of  the  term  '  talent '  is  a  circuit ;  hence  it  came  to  be 
put  for  a  round  cake,  and  for  the  weight  called  a  talent  (perhaps  from  its  having 
been  taken  as  'a  round  number'  or  sum  total).  It  is  impossible  to  decide 
whether  the  Hebrews  had  one  talent  only,  or  several  of  different  weights,  as 
various  other  nations  had."  Art.  '  Weights,'  in  'Fairbairn's  Cyclopaedia.'  The 
same  writer  is  inclined  to  think  that,  in  the  passage  now  under  consideration, 
the  talent  of  gold,  silver,  and  brass  was  a  talent  of  the  same  weight.  From 
ver.  26,  it  may  be  gathered  that  1  talent  =3000  shekels.  The  exact  sum 
employed  may  be  thus  represented,  reckoning  the  talent  at  93  lbs.  12  oz.  avoir- 
dupois weight,  and  the  price  of  gold  and  silver  at  ^1,  10s.  and  2s.  Id.  per 
shekel,  and  taking  the  brass  at  Is,  per  pound. 

Talents.     Shekels.  Weight.  Value. 

Gold    ...     29  730  2741  lbs.  3  oz.      =  £131,595     0     0 

Silver  .     .     .100        1775  9430  lbs.  2|  oz.    =       31,434  18     1 

Brass    ...     70        2400  6637  lbs.  8  oz.      =  331  17     0 


£163,361  15     1 


Of  course,  this  calculation  makes  no  claim  to  accuracy.  Dr.  A.  Clarke  makes 
the  sum  total  to  be  :  Gold,  £198,347,  12s.  6d.  ;  silver,  £45,266,  5s.  Od.  ;  brass, 
£513,  17s.  Od.  =  £244,127,  14s.  6d.  Dr.  Jamieson  calculates  the  gold  as  = 
£150,000  sterling,  and  the  silver  as  =  £35,207.  Each  of  these  assign  a  higher 
value  to  the  shekel.  The  largeness  of  eitlier  of  these  sums  has  been  advanced 
as  an  argument  against  the  historic  credibility  of  the  narrative  ;  but  two  things 
are  overlooked  by  those  who  advocate  it : — 

(1)  That  gold  and  silver  were  in  those  days  remarkably  abundant  among  Eastern 
nations.  (On  this  point  see  Keil  in  loco) ;  and  (2)  That  the  Israelites  are  repre- 
sented as  having  left  Egypt,  not  as  paupers,  but  as  enriched  through  spoiling  the 
Egyptians.  The  offering  of  such  a  large  sum  in  the  circumstances  in  which  they 
were  then  placed  speaks  volumes  for  the  zeal  of  the  offerers.  It  is  doubtful  if 
the  liberality  of  the  British  nation  for  religious  purposes  is  on  the  same  scale 
of  magiiiHcence,  603,550  men,  having  been  numbered  for  taxation,  would  give 
upwards  of  three  millions  of  a  population,  about  equal  to  the  population  of 
Scotland,  which  may  be  reckoned,  Avithout  challenge,  the  most  liberal  portion 
of  the  empire.  In  the  year  1876,  the  three  great  Presbyterian  bodies  of  that 
country  contributed  for  religious  purposes — United  Presbyterian,  £378,268, 
10s.  4d;  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  £565,195,  10s,  4d, ;  Established  Church, 
£384,106,  15s,  2d.  Total,  £1,327,570,  15s,  lOd, ;  which  is  nearly  ten  times 
more,  but  still  not  larger  in  proportion  to  the  wealth  of  the  countries,  and  the 
greater  work  committed  to  the  Church's  care  in  Gospel  times, 

II.  Reasons  for  the  employment  of  so  much  precious  metal.     Dr,  A.  Clarke 

suggests  thiee,  which  are  well  worth  consideration  : — 

I.  "To  impress  the  people's  minds  with  the  glory  and  dignity  of  the  Divine 
563 


CHAP.  xxivnL  BOMTLETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Majesty,  and  the  importance  of  His  service."  2.  "To  take  out  of  their  hands 
the  occasion  of  covetousness  ;  for  as  they  brought  much  spoil  out  of  Egypt,  and 
could  have  little,  if  any,  use  for  gold  and  silver  in  the  wilderness,  where  it  does 
not  a})pear  they  had  much  intercourse  with  any  other  people,  and  were  miracu- 
lously supported,  so  that  they  did  not  need  their  riches,  it  was  right  to  employ 
them  in  tlie  worship  of  God,  which  otherwise  might  have  engendered  that  love 
of  money  which  is  the  root  of  all  evil."  3.  "  To  prevent  pride  and  vain  glory, 
by  leading  them  to  give  up  to  the  Divine  service  even  the  ornaments  of  their 
persons,  which  would  have  had  too  direct  a  tendency  to  divert  their  minds  from 
better  things." 

m.  Reasons  for  its  summation.  These  are  not  stated  in  the  narrative,  and 
can  therefore  only  be  conjectured.  It  does  not  appear  that  Moses  Avas  com- 
manded by  God  to  sum  up  the  people's  contributions,  but  that  he  did  so  of  his 
own  accord.  While,  therefore,  we  have  not  here  a  Divine  command  to  be 
obeyed,  we  have  at  least  an  excellent  example  to  be  copied.  The  summation 
of  the  metal  used  was — (1.)  A  justification  to  Moses,  vindicating,  as  it  were,  his 
integrity  by  showing  that  none  ot  it  had  been  embezzled  for  private  uses — an 
example  that  might  be  copied  with  advantage  by  all  wh">  have  charge  of  monies, 
and  especially  of  church  or  charitable  society  monies.  All  matters  of  finance 
in  connection  with  the  Church  of  Christ  should  be  conducted  Avith  scrupulous 
exactness.  Religion  will  thiive  none  the  less  for  noting  its  receipts  and  dis- 
bursements with  business  regularity  and  minuteness.  Were  this  rule  always 
followed,  many  scandals  would  be  avoided.  (2.)  An  encouragement  to  the  people, 
giving  them  some  idea  of  the  vastness  of  the  work  in  which  they  had  been 
engaged,  and  of  the  wide-spread  interest  it  had  evoked — from  which  the 
practical  hint  might  be  taken  by  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  management 
of  church  affairs,  that  it  is  not  always  a  disadvantage  to  publish  printed  lists  of 
contributions  for  church  building,  missionary  societies,  and  other  schemes. 
People  as  a  rule  like  to  know  what  they  are  doing  when  they  part  with  their 
money,  and  like  to  see  where  their  money  goes  when  it  leaves  them.  To  this 
rule  Christians  are  no  exception :  nor  is  there  cause  why  they  should  be 
'^'xccptions. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXVIIL 

BY 

REV.   WILLIAM  ADAMSON. 

Old  Testament  Truth!    Vers.  1-38.   Joseph  "  Still  eee,  and  hear,  and  breathe  the  evidence 

Cook  says  that  the  Scriptures  area  rwap  of  tlie  Of  God's   deep   wisdom    in   that   teacher's 

universe,   and   not,  of  Palestine  merely.      We  school."                                     — Willi*. 
are  not  abreast  ot  our  privileges  when  we  live 
in  Judea.       It  we  are  iidl  of  ilic  spirit  of  the 

Scriptures,  tlie  «-(jK/s  (.1  pliilosopliy  will   tire  Sacrificesl    Vers.  1-7.    The  A  azimba  were 

us  only  by  their  lanliiiess  ard  narrow  range  of  the  supposed  aborigines  of  the  central  parts  of 

flight.     He  means  that  the  Old  Testament  was  the  Island  of  Madagascar.    They  neither  made 

not  designed  to  teach  Jews  onlv,  but  likewise  images,    nor    associated    charms   with    their 

Christians.      There   are   many    truths   to   be  religions  rites.     A  plain  stone,  or  a  mound  of 

learned  from  that  ancient  school  mazier— the  stones— often    in   the  midst  of  a  grove— was 

Hebrew  Theocracy.      All  the  Ksson-l.ooks  he  their  temple  and  altar.     Their  worship— the 

employed  may  not  he  of  use  to  the  world  now,  most   esteemed    in    the    country —  combined 

for  Cliristianity  has  suspended  these  themes  homage  and  invocation,  and  was  accompanied 

by  her  heavenly  classics.      But  we  need  not  witii  sacrifices  of   oxen,  sheep,  and  poultry, 

discard- not  even  disresrard— tiie  old  teacher.  the  blood  and  fat  of  uhich  were  offered  on  tfu 

Be  can  still  tell  us  something  about  Divine  altar,  and  the  rest  eaten  by  the  worshtpperx 

wisdom  and  love.     We  may  These   were    the    only  sacrifices    offered    in 
&64 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY ;  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  xxxym. 


Anhova.  Were  these  rites  derived  from  a 
knowledge  of  the  Mosaic  sacritiees,  or  do  tliev 
owe  their  existence  in  Madagabcar  to  some 
more  primitive  and  patriarchal  model,  such 
as  that  of  Abraham  or  Koali,  wiien 


"  Altar  of  thaiiksgivins 
Built  on  Ararat"  ? 


he 
— GeroJc, 


Burnt-Offerings!  Ver,  1.  (1.)  One  of  the 
saddest  features  of  the  modern  ministry  is  the 
disposition  to  eliminate  the  idea  of  "substitu- 
tion," or  "atonement,"  from  the  Mosaic 
Bacrifice ;  and  so  from  that  nobler  Messianic 
Bacrifice  on  which  man  rests  for  admission 
into  God's  presence  here  before  the  incense- 
altar,  and  into  His  immediate  presence  here- 
after before  the  throne  on  high.  We  give  a 
Scotch  Professor's  extraordinary  theory,  fol- 
lowed by  the  holy  utterances  of  an  English 
Dean  : — "  In  the  Passover,  and  in  the  subse- 
quent sacrifices  of  the  law  of  Moses,  the  idea 
predominates  of  salvation  through  sacrifice, 
not  only  the  first  idea  of  Abel,  of  life  being 
owed  to  God,  but  the  further  idea,  which  would 
Boon  grow  out  of  the  first  one,  of  life  fulfilling 
its  true  end,  attaining  to  its  true  position  in 
the  sight  of  God,  doing  its  proper  duty  by 
Him,  through  sacrifice — sacrifice  of  which  the 
offering  of  the  lamb  or  other  victim  was  but 
the  type,  sacrifice  of  self — of  a  life  throughout 
its  wliole  being  and  history  devoted  to  God. 
This  was  the  meaning  of  all  sacrifice  for  sin." 
(2.)  In  every  age,  not  least  in  this,  Satan 
erects  his  many  counterfeits,  and  calls  them 
Christ,  He  decks  them  with  false  show.  He 
slopes  a  flowery  patii  to  the  bewitching  snare. 
He  smooths  with  skilful  hands  the  slippery 
descent.  He  plants  the  altar  of  man's  fancied 
worth.  He  prompts  the  dream  that  rubbish 
dug  from  tiature's  quarry,  and  shaped  by  sin- 
Boiled  hands,  and  worked  by  sin-soiled  tools, 
may  form  a  sufficient  base.  He  bids  men 
offer  Christ  on  this,  and  then  lie  down  con- 
tent. Man's  merit  forms  the  broad  foundation. 
His  tears  of  self-wrought  penitence,  his  long 
array  of  self-denials,  his  train  of  ostentatious 
Bclf-saciifice,  construct  the  fabric.  Such  altars 
Btand  on  ruin's  ground.  Think  what  the 
end  must  be  of  a  creed  thus  emasculating  the 
Bubstitutiou  of  Christ,  and  substituting  Belf 
instead  !     How  miserable  those 

"  Who  strive  to  pull  Christ  Jesus  from  Hie 
Throne, 
And  in  the  place  of  heaven's  Eternal  King, 
Set  up  that  pigmy  "  Self."        — Glynn. 

Altar-Sacrifices!  Ver.  1.  It  is  an  inte- 
resting fact  that  in  the  Island  of  Madairascar 
the  idea  of  blood  having  an  efficacy  to  make 
atonement  for  sin  is  a  marked  feature  in  the 
sacrifices  occasionally  offered  by  the  people ; 
and  also  that  the  inner  fat  of  the  victim  was 
regarded,  as  in  the  Jewish  ritual,  as  the  most 
appropriate  portion  to  be  offered,  together 
with  the  blood.  In  crossing  many  of  the 
smaller  streams,  certain  rocks  in  the  midst  of 


the  current  are  often  seen  timeared  with  fat, 
as  a  propitiatory  offering  to  the  guardian- 
genius  or  deity  of  the  river.  The  upright 
stones  fixed  at  the  head  of  srravesare  anointed 
with  blood  and  fat,  as  an  oflforingto  the  spirits 
of  the  ancestors  of  the  family. 

"  Thus  the  idolaters  with  fear  approach 
Their  reverend  shriues,  and  there  for  mercy 

sue. 
And,  trembling  too,  they  wash  the  hallow'd 

earth. 
And  groan  to  be  forgiven."  — Lee. 

Altar-Horns!  Ver.  2.  (1.)  Flandin  mentions 
two  fire-altars,  upon  which  the  sacred  fire  (A 
the  Persians  was  kept  perpetually  burning,  as 
being  still  in  existence  at  Nacht-i-Roustan. 
Upon  a  rock,  whicli  elevates  itself  to  a  moderate 
altitude  from  the  plain,  stand  two  altars 
sculptured  out  of  the  solid  mass,  and  so  exactly 
alike  as  to  present  the  aspect  of  twins.  The 
four  corners  are  admmed  with  small  pilasters 
cornered  out  in  relief  from  the  same  block.  These 
are  in  reality  "horns."  Heathen  altars  were 
not  only  placed  in  groves,  but  on  the  summits 
of  hills,  as  being  nearer  the  gods  to  whom 
they  were  dedicated.  (2.)  In  Psalm  cxviii.  28 
we  have  the  sacrifice  spoken  of  as  bound  with 
cords  to  the  horn  altars.  This  Psalm  breathes 
a  spirit  of  jubilant  trust  in  the  Lord.  Its 
trumpet  tones  made  it  one  of  Luther's  hymns. 
Of  it  he  says,  "  I  would  not  give  it  in  exchange 
for  the  honour,  wealth,  and  power  of  all  the 
world.  Pope,  Turk,  or  Emperor."  In  the 
midsummer  of  1530,  when  Melancthon  was 
deputed  to  present  the  Confession  of  the  Pro- 
testant Churches  of  Germany  to  the  Diet  at 
Augsburg,  Luther  was  advised  to  abstain  from 
any  public  appearance.  In  this  "Desert,"  as 
he  calls  it,  he  was  able  *'  to  bind  the  sacrifice 
of  thanksgiving  with  cords,  yea,  even  unto  the 
'  horns  of  the  altar.' " 

"  For  truth  shall  flourish  in  immortal  youth, 
Unhurt  amidst  the  war  of  elements. 
The  wreck  of  matter,  and  the  crush  of  worlds." 

— Addison. 

Horn-Hints!  Ver.  2.  (1.)  Strength!  Law 
regards  these  as  speaking  of  all-subduing 
might.  The  horned  tribes  move  as  the  terror 
of  the  forest.  When  they  assail  their  foes, 
whether  man  or  beast,  they  prevail.  Christ  is 
thus  armed  for  conquest.  This  thought  is 
precious.  Self  is  a  broken  arm,  a  pointless 
dart,  a  crumbling  staff;  and  yet  the  soul  has 
strong  assaults  to  repel,  strong  corruptions  to 
tread  down,  strong  temptations  to  baffle,  and 
heavy  trials  to  bear.  But  Christ  is  strength. 
"  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ."  He  is 
the  horn  of  our  salvation.  (2.)  Shelter ! 
Thomson  says  that  the  expression  "  horn  of 
salvation"  was  probably  derived  from  ancient 
altars,  the  raised  corners  of  which  were  so- 
called.  Temples,  and  especially  the  altara 
within  them,  were  regarded  as  sanctuaries,  and 
the  greatest  criminal,  if  he  could  but  reach  tik« 

565 


OBAP.   XXXVIII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


temple,  ami  lay  hold  of  tlie  altar,  was  for  the 
time  safe.  These  corners  of  tiie  altar  were 
indeed  horns  of  salvation  on  this  account,  as 
many  striking  ex;ini}ik's  in  Biblical  History 
show.  (3.)  Salvation.'  To  the  devout  11  elirew 
Jehovah  wns  the  only  reliable  sanctuary,  and 
these  material  objects  were  but  significant 
symbols  of  Him.  Christ  is  the  horn  of  our 
salvation.  Let  nothing  part  you  from  your 
hold  on  Him.  As  Satan  cannot  seize  Christ, 
and  drag  11  im  from  His  Throne  ;  so  he  cannot 
plii'-k  you  from  Christ  if  you  hold  fast  by 
Him. 

'•  What  comfort  to  the  saints  to  know 
That  He  controls  their  every  foe." 

— Hopkint, 

Altar-Fire-Coals  !  Ver.  4.  (1.)  In  Ezekiel  x. 
we  have  the  vision  of  the  man  clothed  in  linen 
with  the  inkhorn  at  his  side.  He  seals  the 
faithful  few  who,  when  terrific  judgments  were 
about  to  burst  on  Jerusalem,  had  a  mark  set  on 
their  foreheads.  He  is  commanded  to  go  in 
between  the  wheels  under  the  cherub,  and  fill 
his  hand  with  coals  of  fire  from  between  the 
cherubim,  and  scatter  them  over  the  city.  (2.) 
In  Rev.  viii.  there  is  the  beautiful  vision  of 
the  Angel-Intercessor  standing  by  the  golden 
altar  of  incense.  Immediately  subsequent  to 
the  reception  of  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  the 
same  Angel-Priest  took  the  censer,  and  filled 
it  with  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  it  on  the  earth ; 
and  there  were  voices,  and  thunderinsis,  and 
lightnings,  and  an  earthquake.  In  both  books 
then  we  have  the  symbols  of  judgment.  (3.) 
The  hot  ashes,  says  Macduff,  thrown  by  the  very 
hand  that  had  just  been  revealed  as  strong  to 
save,  indicate  that  to  the  wicked  His  arm  is 
strong  to  smite.  These  glowing  coals,  if  they 
mingle  not  with  the  prayer-ofiFering  of  the 
saints,  will  be  cast  forth  amidst  despisers  and 
Bcorners.  The  fire  which  does  not  purify  will, 
as  in  the  case  of  Nadab  and  Abihu,  consume 
and  destroy. 

"  The  Angel  in  his  golden  censer  took 
Fire  blazing  from  that  altar-hearth,  and  cast 
Earthward  the  flaming  coals,  which  as  they  fell 
Kindled  the  tempest,  charged  electric  air." 
— Bickersteth. 

Propitiation!  Vers.  4-7.  The  wild  people 
of  the  Khond  district  in  India  believed  that 
the  only  way  to  make  their  crops  grow  was  to 
capture  a  hum;:n  victim  —  ofler  him  up  in 
sacrifice — and  then  sow  bits  of  his  body  over 
the  field  with  the  seed-corn.  This  supersti- 
tion cost  hundreds  of  lives  a  year,  and  so 
Immovably  rooted  was  it,  tliat  when  the 
practice  was  interdicted  the  Khonds  rebelled. 
It  became  necessary  to  watch  the  Khonds.  and 
to  rescue  all  prisoners  retained  for  slaughter. 
The  result  was  that  in  ten  years  more  than 
1300  lives  were  rescued  ;  and  the  practice 
was  stamped  out.  Hut  was  the  evil  heart  of 
nnlielief  exiracted  by  this  measure?  No. 
Pnly  the  Gospel  brought  to   bear  upon  the 

566 


Khonds  could  eradicate  the  root  of  bitterness. 
Then  they  could  understand  the  One  Great 
Sacrifice  that  roots  and  fruits  mit;ht  al'ound 
over  the  field  of  humanity. 

"  Thou  art  the  One  !     Yea,  Lord,  I  now  con- 
fess 
Great  is  my  sin  to  Thee  ; 
Oh  !  in  Tiiy  pitying  love  and  gentlenes* 
Have  mercy  upon  me  !  " 

Divine-Purposes!  Vers.  8-20.  (1.)  During 
the  atre  of  ferns,  the  conditions  of  the  earth 
were  unsuitable  for  flowers.  Flowers  can  only 
breathe  oxygen — their  bright  colours  being 
due  to  rapid  oxidation  ;  whereas  the  atmo- 
sphere of  the  early  geological  epochs  was 
densely  charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas.  (2.) 
So  during  the  earlier  epochs  of  humanity, 
the  moral  atmosphere  was  unsuitable  for  the 
flowers  of  New  Testament  truih.  Only  the 
fern-truths  of  blood  of  bulls  and  goats,  of 
material  fabrics,  and  of  ritual  observances 
were  adopted  to  that  early  human  atmosphere. 
(3.)  Dark  and  gloomj',  however,  as  was  the 
sight  of  the  eye  of  ferns,  there  were  not 
wanting  faint  rays  of  an  approaching  floral 
dawn.  In  those  ferns  were  hints  and  predic- 
tions, typical  speech,  and  silent  prophecy  of 
flower  vegetation  destined  to  appear  above 
the  horizon  of  human  life.  (4.)  So  those 
crimson  tints  on  the  fern-rites  of  blood  and 
incense  and  brazen  lustrations  were  in  reality 
prefigurations  of  nobler  truth-life  yet  to 
appear.  Like  the  Baptist,  they  heralded 
greater  yet  to  be  manifested.  Like  Wicklifife, 
they  announced  a  brighter  yet  to  arise.  They 
prefigured  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  fragrant 
intercession  of  the  Mediator,  and  the  purify- 
ing graces  of  the  Spirit. 

"  And  down  the  long  and  branching  porticoes, 
On  every  flower-sculptured  capital, 
Glitters    the     brilliance    of    the    Gospel's 
beams."  — Milman. 

Brazen-Laver  !  Ver.  8.  (1.)  Eternal  love 
devised  the  plan — eternal  wisdom  drew  the 
model — eternal  grace  came  down  to  build  it. 
Observe  the  choice  material.  It  is  the  strong- 
est metal — brass — to  shadow  forth  the  strength 
of  Christ.  He  came  to  do  the  mightiest  of 
mighty  works ;  therefore  He  brought  omni- 
potence in  His  hands.  But  l>y  whom  can  it 
he  filled  ?  Jesus  Himself  pours  in  the  stream. 
He  brings  the  rich  supply  ;  then  with  a  voice 
loud  as  the  sound  of  many  waters,  sweet  as 
the  melody  of  heaven.  He  cries,  "  Wash  and 
be  clean."  The  waters  symbolised  the  rege- 
nerating influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence 
we  have  St.  Paul  speaking  of  the  "laver  of 
regeneration,"  which  is  the  renewing  "grace 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  wliifh  God  hath  shed  on 
us  abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ."     Then 

"  Bathe  thy  wounds — His  stream  of  mercy 
Ever  runneth  o'er ; 
But  when  thou  art  healed  and  pardoned, 
Go  and  sin  no  more." 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXVIII. 


Mirror-Symbolism  !  Ver.  8.  (1.)  Law  says 
faith  seeks,  nor  seeks  in  vain,  to  gain  instruc- 
tion here.  Women  give  aid  to  form  this  Gos- 
pel-type. Here  seems  to  be  a  bud  of  truth. 
The  virgin-mother  liolds  the  full-blown  flower. 
The  gift  of  ^ifts  comes  in  through  female 
means.  (2.)  New  feelings  bear  new  fruits. 
'J'hese  mirrors  were  recently  prized  as  im- 
plements of  vanity — as  handmaids  of  self- 
love.  But  now  the  eyes  are  opened  to  far 
nobler  views.  Self  has  no  charms  when  one 
glimpse  of  things  divine  is  caught.  (3.)  The 
offering  was  not  scorned.  That  which  was 
framed  to  cast  back  poor  nature's  image,  is 
accepted  to  form  semblances  of  grace.  We 
see  to  what  use  our  worldly  vanities  may  rise 
when  placed  on  the  altar  of  Christian  self-sacri- 
fice. 

"These  things  are  our  examples,  given 
Till  He,  Whom  type  and  lav  foretold 
In  mystic  signs  and  songs  of  old, 
Shall  lead  us  o'er  life's  dreary  wold, 
Safe  to  our  happy  home  in  heaven." 

— Holy  Seaaont. 

Looking-glasses!  Ver.  8. — Various  metals 
were  used  in  their  composition.  The  Arabs  at 
the  present  day  use  polish  ;d  steel.  Mirrors 
were  never  hung  upon  walls,  as  with  us,  but 
fixed  to  a  handle,  sometimes  curiously,  some- 
times hideously  carved  ;  and  were  carried  in 
the  hand,  or  fastened  to  a  girdle  round  the 
waist.  The  mirrors  given  l)y  the  devout  Is- 
raelitish  women  were  evidently  of  brass.  The 
metallic  composition  of  ancient  mirrorn  illus- 
trates Job  xxxvii.  18,  "A  molten  looking- 
glass."  In  such  mirrors  as  these  the  objects 
reflected  would  be  but  dimly  and  defectively 
seen.    See  1  Cor.  xiii,  12. 

'•And  yet,  as  angels  in  some  brighter  dreams 
Call  to  the  soul  when  man  doth  sleep, 
So   some   strange   thoughts   transcend    our 
wonted  themes, 
And  into  glory  peep."  — Vaughan. 


perishable  curtains  and  draperies,  gave  place 
to  the  more  stable  foundations  of  Zion-rock, 
with  its  lordly  temple-pile  of  less  decaying 
materials  ;  while  these  in  turn  were  succeeded 
by  that  to  whose  advent  they  silently  testified 
in  type,  viz.,  the  Rock  of  Ages,  with  the  up- 
rising structure  of  living  stones — the  house 
eternal  in  the  heavens. 

"And  then  were  new  discoveries  soon  made 
Of  God's   unbounded   wisdom,   power,    and 

love, 
Which  gave  the  understanding  larger  room 
To  swell  its  hvmn  of  ever-growing  praise." 

—Pollok. 


Tabernacle-Typism  !  Vers.  21-31.  (1.)  It 
is  interesting  to  notice  in  the  earliest  natural 
productions  of  our  earth  the  same  laws  and 
processes  which  we  observe  in  the  latest  and 
most  highly-developed  flowers  and  trees.  'J'he 
earlier  forms  of  plant-life  are  but  the  types  of 
those  of  later  creation.  The  later  complex 
forms  of  vegetation  are  but  developments  of 
rudimentary  parts  existing  in  the  more  sim- 
ple. (2.)  God's  dealings  with  mankind,  as 
revealed  in  Scripture,  are  precisely  analogous. 
The  earlier  events  and  persons  were  types  of 
those  of  later  date ;  and  spoke  of  coming 
greater  ones.  Christianity  itself  is  but  the 
development  of  the  types  and  shadows  and 
beggarly  elements  of  the  Jewish  dispensation 
which  preceded  it.  (3.)  Even  the  Mosaic 
enumeration  of  the  costliness  and  self-sacrifice 
connected  with  the  tabernacle  were  an  em- 
blem of  the  great  treasures  required,  and  the 
great  self-sacrifice  demanded  tor  the  construc- 
tion of  that  more  glorious  fabric — built,  not 
on  the  shifting  sands  of  time,  but  on  the 
"Cleft  Rock,"  which  endureth  unto  eternal 
life,  for  Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed. 

"  So  teach  us  on  Thy  shrine  to  lay 
Our  hearts,  and  let  tliem  day  by  day 
Intenser  blaze,  and  higher." — Keble. 


Kevelation-Growth  !  Vers.  9-20.  (1.)  How 
instructive  it  is  to  notice  the  elevation  of  the 
part  that  bears  our  human  food  during  the 
geological  epochs,  from  flat  lichens  creeping 
over  rocks,  and  loots  of  ferns  to  the  summits 
of  annual  plants  and  the  boughs  of  trees — from 
roots  to  fruits — from  the  first  and  lowest  stage 
of  growth  to  the  last  and  highest  development 
of  the  plant — from  the  humblest  and  least 
organised  to  the  noblest  and  most  perfectly 
organised  plants.  (2.)  More  instructive  still 
is  it  to  observe  the  gradual  development  of 
the  mystery  of  God  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
from  the  "seed  "  in  the  garden  of  Eden  to  the 
"stem  "  of  Abraham,  and  from  the  "plant" 
of  Moses  to  the  "flower"  of  Isaiah,  until  the 
fruit-growth  is  attained  in  the  New  Testament. 
Thus  even  nature's  progressive  developing 
growth  was,  like  the  ritual  of  the  tabernacle, 
a  type  of  "better  things  to  come."  (3.)  The 
wilderness  tent,  with  its  sandy  foundation,  its 


Tabernacle -Cost -Hints!  Vers.  24-31. 
(].)  Gray  says  that  the  cost  of  the  tabernacle 
reminds  us  tiiat,  however  great,  it  may  be 
defrayed  by  the  7)iany — that,  however  small, 
it  will  help  to  make  up  the  (/reat  whole — and 
that  nothing  is  impossible  to  diligent  minds, 
industrious  hands,  and  earnest  hearts.  (2.) 
It  is  the  many  blades  of  grass,  liristling  like 
speurs  in  the  sunlight,  or  sparkling  at  the 
dawntide  with  jewels  of  dew,  that  unitedly 
make  the  verdant  carpet  of  nature  which  we 
admire  so  much.  A  drop  of  water  is  but  a 
little,  yet  if  it  were  not  for  the  drops  where 
would  the  vastiiess  be?  What  wonderful  re- 
sults spring  from  those  tiny  coral  builders  in 
the  Southern  Sens,  or  from  the  industrious 
bee  of  our  own  land.  (3.)  The  various  mis- 
sionary societies  have  the  larger  portion  of 
their  enormous  incomes  made  up  of  these 
many,  many  littles.  There  is  ;i  .ei(ir>  told  of 
a  magnificent  church  being   en  eted  by  th« 

567 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  HO  M I  LET  I C  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


united  efforts  of  a  whole  community — each  of  orb  of  day,  the  imaere  of  the  star  or  sun  starta 

whom  iiroughi  a  stone,  or  a  beam  of  wood,  or  up  in   tlie  chamber  of  the  instrument.     (2.) 

a  pane  of  glass.  Is  it  not  so  with  tlie  Wonl-firmument  ?     Tha 

soul  must  direct  tlie  telescope  of  tlie  human 

«  Despise  not  then  the  pence,  j^jn^i  slrai-lit  at  some  iriith-orb,  or  type-star  ; 

Tliey  help  to  make  the  pound  ;  ^nd  the  lium.in  min.i  must  be  rightly  adjusted 

And  each  may  help  to  spread  abroad  ^^  the  focus  of  faith  to  enable  us  to  see  that 

The  Gospels  joyful  sound.  p^b  of  truth  which  ti«  hand  of  the  Invisible 

has  placed  in  the  Old  Testament  sky.  The 
Mosaic- Typology  !  Vers.  1-31.  (1.)  Turn  mind  is  the  glass — the  faiih  of  Christ  is  the 
upon  the  sky  your  unarranged  telescope  at  focus — the  soul  is  under  the  iruidance  of  the 
random,  and  you  see  nothing.  Direct  it  pro-  Spirit,  the  directing  and  a'ljusting  power, 
perly,  but  fail  to  arrange  its  lenses,  and  every- 
thing visible  through  the  tube  is  blurred.  "  Then  shall  this  scheme,  which  now  to  human 
But  arrange  tlie  lenses,  and  bring  the  tele-  sight 

scope   exactly    upon    the   star,   or   upon    the  Seems  eo  unworthy  Wisdom  Infinite, 

rising  sun,   and  the  instant  there  is  perfect  A  system  of  consummate  skill  appear, 

accord  between  the  line  of  the  axis  of  the  tube  And,  every  cloud  dispersed,  be  beautiful  and 

and  the  line  of  the  ray  from  the  star,  or  the  clear."  — Jenynt, 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


Cbitioal  Notes. — 9.  Doubled  =  kafal].  This  word  is  repeated  again  at  the  close  of  the 
verse  to  show  that  the  length  of  the  breastplate  was  one  span  after  it  was  doubb-d,  so  that  its 
actual  length  was  two  spans,  and  because  this  was  not  expressed  with  sufficient  distinctueea  in 
chapter  xxxiii.  16. 

MAIN  HOMILETICS  OP  TEE  PARAORAPB.— Verses  1-81. 

Preparation  of  the  Priest's  Clothes. 

"  And  of  the  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  they  made  cloths  of  service,  to  do 
service  in  the  holy  place,  and  made  the  holy  garments  for  Aaron ;  as  the  Lord 
commanded  Moses  " — xxxix.  1. 

I.  The  holy  place :  so  called  because  it  enshrined  the  Holy  of  Holies,  which 
was  the  immediate  dwelling-place  of  God.  It  is  God's  presence  alone  that  makes  a 
holy  place.  In  this  sense  the  entire  world  is  a  holy  place  :  "  Do  not  I  fill  heaven 
and  earth]  saith  the  Lord."  Hence  when  He  revealed  Himself  to  Moses  at  the 
burning  bush,  He  said,  "  The  ground  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 
Hence  the  Christian  Church  is  a  holy  place :  "  Where  two  or  three  are  met 
together  in  My  Name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  Hence  heaven  is  by 
pre-eminence  "  the  Holy  Place."  It  is  called  the  Habitation  of  His  Holiness. 
"  His  presence  tills  each  heart  with  joy,"  &c 

II.  The  holy  service.  Holy  places  are  for  holy  services.  In  this  case  the 
peculiar  service,  which  consisted  of  three  parts,  the  lighting  of  the  golden 
candlestick,  the  burning  of  incense  on  the  altar,  and  the  laying  out,  removing, 
and  renewing  of  the  shew-breud,  all  of  which  had  a  symbolic  character  to  be 
afterwards  described,  was  holy,  as  being  a  service  done  unto  the  Lord.  And 
this  is  the  essential  idea  in  holy  service,  whether  rendered  in  the  temple  ot 
Nature,  or  the  temple  of  the  Church,  or  the  temple  of  Heaven,  it  is  service 
rendered  to  the  High  and  Holy  One  whose  presence  fills  them  all.  Clearly  this 
was  Paul's  idea  when  he  said :  '*  Whether  therefore  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatso- 
ever ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God." 

III.  The  holy  minister.  This  was  Aaron,  the  high  priest,  and  his  sons,  wbc 
ministf^red  in  the  priest's  office.     Holy  services  can  only  be  per/armed  by  holy  per 

568 


HO  MILE  TIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxix. 


sorts.  It  is  so  in  heaven,  and  so  it  must  be  on  earth.  This  was  symboh'sed  by 
the  consecration  of  Aaron  and  his  sons  with  the  holy  oil  at  their  first  appoint- 
ment, and  every  time  they  went  to  minister  before  the  Lord.  Of  course,  it  is 
not  the  outward  consecration  that  makes  holy,  but  the  inward,  of  which  the 
outward  is  but  a  symbol.  With  the  inward  consecration  of  the  nature  l)y  tlie 
Holy  Ghost  the  person  is  holy,  even  though  no  anointing  oil  should  ever  have 
been  poured  upon  his  head  ;  while  with  the  outward  one  remains  unholy  still, 
unless  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  have  also  given  him  "  another  heart."  In  short, 
only  a  new-born  child  of  God  can  either  find  a  holy  place  or  perform  a  holy 
service. 

IV.  The  holy  clothes.  Holy  persons  require  to  he  arrayed  in  holy  garments.  So 
God  commanded  with  reference  to  Aaron  and  his  sons.  The  different  items  of 
the  priest's  dress  had  a  special  symbolic  significance,  for  which  see  below  ;  irj 
the  meantime,  it  may  be  noted  that  they  served  the  purpose  of  certifying  to  the 
nation  their  consecration  to  the  priestly  office.  And  so  does  God  command  that 
they  who  shall  minister,  or  do  holy  service  to  Him  in  the  holy  place  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  shall  array  themselves  in  the  beautiful  apparel  of  holiness 
(cf.  Matt.  xxii.  11,  12;  Eom.  xiii.  13,  14 ;  Eph.  iv.  24). 


1.  TheEphod. 

"  And  he  made  the  Ephod  of  gold,  and  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine 
twined  linen" — xxxix.  2-7. 

Cf.  xxviii.  6-14.  The  ephod,  Septuagint  liruij.li,  Vulgate  superhumerale, 
which  was  par  excellence  the  official  dress  of  the  priest,  was  a  short  cloak  cover- 
ing the  shoulders  and  breast.  It  was  made  of  the  same  materials  as  the  inner 
drapery  and  curtain  of  the  tabernacle,  "  blue,  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine 
twined  linen,"  interwoven  with  gold  threads,  or  wires,  which  were  cut  from  thin 
plates  of  gold.  Pliny  says  the  ancient  Egyptians  understood  the  art  of  weaving 
fabrics  with  gold;-  and  Egyptian  monuments  show  coloured  costumes  which 
were  probably  woven  with  gold  thread.  Ver.  4  seems  to  indicate  that  it  was  made 
in  two  parts,  joined  together  at  the  shoulders  by  what  are  called  "shoulder- 
pieces."  It  was  tied  round  the  waist  by  an  embroidered  ("curious")  girdle 
woven  of  the  same  material.  Upon  each  shoulderpiece  was  an  onyx  stone  set 
in  gold,  graven  as  a  signet  is  graven  with  the  names  of  six  of  the  sons  of  Israel, 
"  according  to  their  births,"  which  is  explained  by  Josephus  to  mean  that  the 
names  of  the  six  elder  sons  were  engraven  on  the  precious  stone  upon  the  ri^'dit 
shoulder,  and  the  names  of  the  six  younger  sons  on  the  precious  stone  upon  the 
left.  The  two  stones  were  designed  to  be  memorial  stones  for  the  children  of 
Israel.  All  this  was  in  accordance  with  Divine  command,  which  shows  that  it 
was  meant  to  have  some  special  significance.  What  then  was  that  significance  1 
Well- 

I.  The  ephod,  being  made  of  the  same  material  as  the  drapery  of  the  tabernacle, 
indicated  that  the  high  priest  was  designed  for  the  special  service  of  the 
sanctuary.  It  was  an  article  of  dress  which  was  only  worn  when  engaged  in 
the  sacrificial  worship  of  the  tabernacle.  So  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  represented 
(Rev.  i.  13)  as  wearing  a  girdle,  and  probably  an  ephod,  to  mark  Him  out  as  the 
High  Priest  of  the  better  sanctuary. 

II.  The  ephod,  as  resting  on  the  shoulders  of  the  priest,  indicated  that  on  him 
exclusively  lay  the  burden  of  the  sanctuary  service.  So  of  Christ  it  is  said, 
"The  government  shall  be  upon  His  shoulder."     He  is  the  one  only  High  Priest 

669 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


In  the  Christian  Church,  to  whom  has  been  assigned  the  work  of  offering  sacrifios 
and  making  intercession  tor  the  sins  of  the  people. — Heb.  v.  10. 

III.  The  ephod,  as  hearing  on  its  slwulders  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel,  in- 
dicated the  nature  of  the  high  priestly  service,  which  was  to  represent  the 
nation  betore  God.  So  Christ  is  the  great  Representative  of  His  people  before 
the  throne ;  the  special  work  in  winch  He  is  now  engaged  being  that  of 
"appearing  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us." — Heb.  ix.  24. 

IV.  The  ephod,  as  being  made  of  him,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  linen  inter- 
woven with  gold,  indicated  the  beauty  and  the  glory  of  the  high  priestly  service. 

*'  Thou  shalt  make  holy  garments  for  Aaron  thy  brother  for  glory  and  for 
beauty,"  said  Jehovah.  What  was  true  of  all  the  different  parts  of  the  official 
dress  was  specially  true  of  the  ephod.  It  was  designed  to  leave  upon  the  mind 
an  impression  of  the  honourable  and  glorious  character  of  the  high  priestly 
office.  And  surely  there  is  no  office  that,  in  respect  of  "glory  and  beauty,"  can 
compare  with  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  High  Priest  of  our  profession.  "  Ka/' 
6  X»/(irif  ou;^  iaxjTov  ib')t,ct.ai  yivridri\)ai  up-^is^ia"  (Heb.  v.  5),  which  clearly  implies, 
however,  that  there  was  a  "gloiy  "  in  being  a  "  High  Priest;"  and  so  we  read 
in  Heb.  ii.  9  :  "  ^Kiirofnv  'I;jtoDv  .  .  .  6ogjj  xa/  r//xJ7  lanpavu/Mivov,  o'xwj  ^af""'  6iOU 
'wrep  'Travrhi  yiijarirai  davdrov."  Even  the  service  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
though  not  that  of  a  priesthood,  acquires  a  "  beauty  and  a  glory  "  from 
being  subservient  to  that  of  Christ's.  Whence  thinks  Dr.  A  Clarke  their 
official  garments  should  be  "  for  beauty,  for  glory "  also,  in  some  degree 
expressive  of  the  dignity  and  grandeur  of  their  calling.  Certainly  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Christian  life,  which  is  that  of  a  priestliood,  though  not  exactly 
of  the  same  character  as  Christ's,  is  beautiful  and  glorious ;  and  the  gar- 
ments of  the  Christian — if  not  his  literal  clothes,  at  least  the  clothing  of  his 
spirit,  his  walk  and  conversation — should  be  for  beauty  and  for  glory. — Eccles. 
Lx.  7,  8;  Rom.  xiii.  14. 

2.  The  Breastplate, 

"  And  he  made  the  breastplate  of  cunning  work,  like  the  work  of  the  ephod, 
of  gold,  blue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  fine  twined  linen.  It  was  four  square  " 
— xxxix.  8-21.     See  also  xxviii.  15-30. 

I.  Its  formation.  The  breastplate  was  fashioned  of  the  same  material  as  the 
ephod.  It  was  about  ten  inches  square,  and  made  double  with  a  front  and 
lining,  so  as  to  answer  for  a  pouch  or  bag.  It  was  adorned  with  twelve  precious 
stones,  arranged  in  three  rows  of  four  each.  The  order  of  the  stones  as  given 
in  the  authorised  version  is  different  from  that  of  the  old  versions,  which  is 
stated  by  Keil  as  follows  (reading  from  right  to  left) : — 

Emerald  :  Zebulon                      Topaz  :  Judah  Sard! us  :  Tssachar. 

(of  a  brilliant  green).                  (golJeu  tinged).  {i.e.,  our  cornelian,  or  blood- 
red  colour). 

Diamond  :  Asher                    Sapphire  :  Simeon  Carbuncle  :  Reuben 

(transparent  or  reddish                      (sky-blue).  (the  ruby — fine  coloured). 

yellow). 

Amethyst :  Benjamin                Agate  ;  Manaiseh  Ligure  :  Ephraim 

(violet- blue).                    (transparent — of  divers  (transparent — orange). 

colours). 

Jasper  :  Gad                        Beryl  :  Naphtali  Chrysolith  :  Dan 

(dark  red).                                  (sea-green).  (golden  coloured). 

On  each  of  these  stones  was  engraved  a  name  of  one  of  the  sons  of  Israel  as 
above.     The  two  upper  corners  were  fastened  to  the  ephod  by  blue  ribanda 
670 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxix. 

passing  through  gold  rings,  two  on  each  side,  one  attached  to  the  ephod  and 
another  to  the  breastplate.  In  the  bag  or  pouch  between  the  front  and  back 
were  put  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  which  are  mentioned  in  chap,  xxviii.  30,  as  if 
they  were  already  known.  Now,  however,  they  are  unknown.  No  description 
is  given  of  them.  Nor  can  their  meaning  be  traced  with  any  certainty  from  their 
etymology.  The  words  mean  "lights  and  perfections."  Whether  they  denote 
some  material  objects  which  were  deposited  in  the  pocket  of  the  breastplate,  or 
whether  they  were  only  intended  to  signify  that  Divine  manifestations  were  to 
be  given  through  the  breastplate,  has  been  much  disputed.  "  Perhaps  the  Urim 
and  Thummim  are  only  a  spiritual  description  of  the  sacred  gems  in  the  High 
Priest's  breastplate." — Eadie.  "The  Urim  and  Thummim  did  not  represent 
the  illumination  and  right  of  Israel,  but  were  merely  a  promise  of  these,  a  pledge 
that  the  Lord  would  maintain  the  rights  of  His  people,  and  give  them  through 
the  high  priest  the  illumination  requisite  for  their  protection." — Keil. 

n.  Its  designation.  "The  breastplate  of  judgment,"  and  the  "memorial," 
— xxviii.  29.  Doubtless  the  two  names  were  deiived  from  its  use.  It  was  pro- 
bably styled  by  the  first  to  indicate  that  the  high  priest  should  wear  it  when 
either  asking  counsel  or  judgment  from  the  Lord,  or  administering  justice 
and  judgment  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  These  were  two  given  functions 
of  the  Hebrew  high  priest;  and  in  discharging  them  he  was  typically  fore- 
shadowing the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  both  the  fountain  of  Divine  wisdom 
and  the  administrator  of  Divine  justice  in  the  Christian  Church.  The  second 
name  was  equally  suggestive  of  its  use.  It  was  designed  as  a  remembrancer  of 
the  people  when  the  iiigh  priest  ministered  before  the  Lord.  It  reminded  the 
high  priest  of  his  representative  character,  in  which  again  he  foreshadowed 
Christ  who  is  His  people's  representative  before  God  and  within  the  veil. 

III.  Its  situation.  This  is  indicated  in  the  name.  It  lay  upon  the  breast. 
"  The  heart,  according  to  the  Biblical  view,  is  the  centre  of  the  spiritual  life, 
not  merely  of  the  willing,  desiring,  thinking  life,  but  of  the  emotional  life,  as 
the  seat  of  the  feelings  and  affections.  Hence  to  bear  upon  the  heart  does  not 
merely  mean  to  bear  it  in  mind,  but  denotes  that  personal  intertwining  with  the 
life  of  another,  by  virtue  of  which  the  high  priest  was,  as  Philo  expresses  it,  to3 
cv/iitavrog  "E^vtus  avyysvrn  Kai  ayxiSTiVf  Konoc,  and  SO  stood  in  the  deepest 
sympathy  with  those  for  whom  he  interceded." — Keil  and  Delitsch.  In  short,  its 
lying  on  the  breast  indicated — 

L  Nearness.  So  the  names  of  Christ's  people  are  on  His  breast,  and  their 
persons  are  always  near.  Isaiah  represents  Israel  as  graven  on  the  palms  of 
Jehovah's  hands  :  here  they  are  pictured  as  graven  on  Christ's  heart. 

2.  Remembrance.  Having  the  names  of  Israel  upon  his  heart,  the  Jewish 
high  priest  could  not  forget  them  ;  and  neither  can  Christ  ever  forget  those  for 
whom  He  has  already  shed  His  blood,  and  now  presents  it  within  the  veil 

3.  Affection.  So  the  people  of  Christ  are  near  His  heart  in  the  sense  of  being 
always  the  object  of  His  tender  love  (Jer.  xxxi.  3),  "  1  have  loved  thee  with  an 
everlasting  love"  {John  xiii.  1)  ;  "  Having  loved  His  own  ..." 

4.  Representation.  The  names  of  the  sons  of  Israel  were  on  the  high  priest's 
breast  that  he  might  represent  them  within  the  veil :  so  are  Christ's  people 
always  on  His  breast  in  the  sense  that  He  is  interceding  for  them  (Heb.  vii.  25 ; 
ix.  24). 

6.  Communication.  Being  on  the  high  priest's  breast,  the  people  shared  his 
fortunes.  When  He  was  accepted,  so  were  they.  When  blessing  was  bestowed 
on  him,  it  was  that  through  him  it  might  come  down  to  them.  And  so  it  is 
with  Christ.  All  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwells  in  Him  for  us,  that  out  of 
His  fulness  we  might  receive. 

671 


CBAP.  XXXIX,  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS 


3.  The  Robe. 

"  And  he  made  the  robe  of  the  ephod  of  woven  work,  all  of  blue  .  .  .  ** 
— xxxix.  22-26. 

The  robe  (T'^i'/'D),  from  7J/D,  to  cover,  was  an  upper  garment  of  dark  blue 
purple,  closely  titling  to  the  person,  and  reaching  to  the  knees,  made  of  one 
piece,  with  an  opening  for  the  head  to  pass  tlirough,  and,  according  to  Josephus 
and  the  Kabbins,  witli  armholes,  but  with  no  sleeves.  The  opening  for  the 
head  was  buund  with  a  hem,  so  tliat  it  siiould  not  rend ;  and  the  skirt  was 
bordered  with  a  fringe,  ornamented  with  artificial  pomegranates  of  blue,  and 
purple,  and  scarlet,  and  little  golden  bells  between  them  round  about,  a  bell 
and  a  pomegranate  occurring  alternately  all  round.  The  robe  was  not  intended 
as  a  covering  for  the  ephod,  as  then  the  breastplate  must  have  been  concealed. 
Lange  thinks  it  was  a  very  short  garment,  covering  only  the  shoulders  of  the 
ephod.  This,  however,  is  obviously  a  mistake.  The  articles  of  the  priest's 
dress  are  clearly  mentioned  in  the  reverse  order  to  that  in  which  they  were 
put  on.  Beginning  with  the  outside,  there  is  first  the  ephod  with  its  breast- 
plate, then  the  robe,  after  that  the  long  frocL:  or  coat,  then  the  head-dress,  and 
finally  the  breeches.     The  robe  was  a  covering  for  the  coat. 

Great  diversity  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  symbolic  import  of  this  particular 
article  of  dress.  The  following  may  be  considered  along  with  other  suggestions 
on  the  subject : — 

L  The  robe  of  blue  being  an  article  of  dress  which  specially  belonged  to  the 
high  priest,  and  requiring  to  be  worn  over  and  above  the  linen  coats  which  were 
common  to  the  entire  priestly  order,  pointed  to  the  need  of  special  qualification 
for  the  high  priestly  office.  Authority  to  exercise  the  office  and  fitness  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  the  office,  seem  to  be  the  two  ideas  involved  in  the  clothing 
of  a  priest  with  an  official  dress ;  and  that  these  two  qualifications  belonged  to 
Aaron  was  signified  by  his  official  robe,  in  addition  to  the  linen  coat,  which  he 
wore  in  common  with  the  ordinary  priests.  The  first  of  these  ideas  may  have 
been  pointed  to  in  the  ''dark  blue  colour  of  the  robe,"  which  "indicated,"  says 
Keil,  "  the  heavenly  origin  and  character  of  the  office  with  which  it  w-as  asso- 
ciated." Being  heavenly  in  its  origin  and  character,  no  man  could  take  it  upon 
himself  except  he  was  "called  of  God  as  Aaron  was"  (Heb.  v.  4).  "So  also 
Christ  glorified  not  Himself  to  be  made  an  high  priest ;  but  He  that  said  unto 
Him,  Thou  art  My  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten  Thee,"  glorified  Him  by  invest- 
ing Him  with  high  priestly  authority  (Heb.  v.  5).  The  second  was  ])o^sibly 
indicated  by  its  forms,  which,  being  woven  in  one  piece,  "  set  forth  the  idea  of 
spiritual  wholeness  or  integrity." — Keil.  A  qualification  which  was  never 
possessed  in  completeness  except  by  Him  who  wore  "  the  seamless  robe,"  and 
who  is  now  the  great  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  possessed  of  all  the  quali- 
ties which  are  necessary  to  the  efficient  discharge  of  His  priestly  office.  For  a 
statement  of  those  qualities,  see  Heb.  iv.  15  ;  v.  2. 

IL  The  pomegranate  fringe,  among  otlier  things,  and  chiefly,  was  intended 
to  remind  the  wearer  of  the  necessity  of  attending  to  the  Divine  regulations  in 
discharging  his  high  priestly  office.  According  to  Num.  xv.  38,  39,  every  Israelite 
was  directed  to  make  a  fringe  in  the  border  of  his  garment  of  dark  blue,  in 
order  that  every  time  lie  looked  upon  it,  he  might  "  remember  all  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord,  and  do  them."  It  Avas  thus  a  symbolic  injunction  to 
order  his  daily  walk  in  accordance  with  Divine  precept ;  and  doubtless  the 
fringe  upon  the  robe  of  Aaron  signified  that  he,  too,  in  discharging  the  duties 
of  his  liigh  priestly  office,  was  not  to  follow  courses  of  his  own,  but  confine  him- 
self exactly  and  minutely  to  the  regulations  and  prescriptions  which  God  had 
372 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xxxix. 


given.  So  Christ  came  not  to  do  His  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  had 
sent  Him  (John  vi.  38).  The  duties  of  Christ's  high  priestly  office  were  not 
left  for  Him  to  invent  when  He  entered  on  the  office — they  were  all  defined  for 
Him  in  the  "  Volume  of  the  Book  "  (Ps.  xl.  7).  Accordingly  in  all  He  did  He 
kept  His  eye  upon  His  Father's  writing  in  the  Scripture.  (See  Matt.  xxvi.  54  ; 
Mark  xiv.  21  ;  Luke  xxiv.  46  ;  John  xix.  24 ;  1  Cor,  xv.  3.)  If  the  artificial 
pomegranates  were  intended  to  symbolise  anything,  perhaps  it  was  the  "  frag- 
rance "  and  "  fruitfulness "  of  such  high  priestly  service  when  performed  in 
accordance  with  the  will  of  God. 

m.  The  golden  bells,  ever  tinkling  as  the  high  priest  went  about  his  duties 
within  the  veil,  intimated  that  he  had  found  favour  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
was  yet  alive,  although  looking  on  the  glorious  Presence  of  Jehovah,  and  so 
virtually  proclaimed  the  efficacious  intercession  of  his  high  priestly  office.  The 
common  notions,  as,  e.g.,  that  the  ringing  of  the  bells  was  to  take  the  place  of 
knocking. at  the  door  of  Jehovah's  palace  (Abraham  ben  David)  ;  that  it  was 
meant  to  call  the  people  without  to  accompany  the  high  priest  with  their 
thoughts  (son  of  Sirach,  in  Eccles.  xlv.  9) ;  that  it  was  designed  as  a  reverential 
greeting  and  a  musical  ascription  of  praise  (Knobel) ;  that  it  symbolised  the 
sounding  forth  of  the  word  of  God  (Keil)  ;  that  the  alternation  of  pomegranates 
and  bells  was  designed  to  indicate  the  connection  of  nature  and  grace  (Lange) 
may  all  have  some  elements  of  truth  in  them,  although  for  the  most  part  they 
are  fanciful.  The  true  interpretation  of  the  tinkling  bells,  we  feel  persuaded, 
is  to  be  found  in  Heb.  vii.  25,  which  speaks  of  the  Everliving  High  Priest,  who 
even  now,  within  the  veil,  is  making  intercession  for  us.  The  testimony  of  the 
angels  (Acts  i.  11),  the  phenomena  of  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.),  the  continuous 
existence  of  the  Church,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  through  the  Word,  are  the 
evidences  to  the  Christian  Church  that  Christ  lives  ;  the  evidence  to  the  Hebrew 
congregation  that  its  high  priest  within  the  veil  was  living  was  the  tinkling  of 
the  bells  upon  his  garment.  This  is  hinted  at  in  Ex.  xxviii.  35.  The  robe 
with  its  pomegranates  and  bells  was  to  be  upon  Aaron  when  he  went  to  minister 
before  the  Lord,  *'  that  he  die  not; "  or,  "and  he  shall  not  die."  Entering  with- 
out his  official  "  robe  "  he  was  sure  to  die  :  entering  with  it  he  would  live  ;  and 
that  would  be  announced  to  the  people  by  the  sounding  bells.  If  the  bells 
ceased  to  sound  it  would  be  an  intimation  that  the  high  priest  was  dead. 

Thus,  special  qualification,  Divine  regulation,  and  efficacious  intercession, 
were  the  three  ideas  suggested  by  the  robe,  the  fringe,  and  the  bells, 

4.  The  Mitre. 

**  And  they  made  coats  of  fine  linen,  of  woven  work,  for  Aaron,  and  for  his 
sons.  And  a  mitre  of  fine  linen,  and  goodly  bonnets  of  fine  linen,  ..." 
— xxxix.  27-31. 

The  linen  coats,  bonnets,  and  breeches,  which  are  here  referred  to,  were 
articles  of  dress  which  Aaron  wore  in  common  with  the  priestly  order  in  general. 
They  do  not  call  for  any  special  note.  The  head-dress  of  the  high  ])riest,  in 
addition  to  the  "goodly  bonnet,"  or  linen  turban,  consisted  of  a  mitre,  or 
superior  turban,  made  of  fine  linen,  and  bearing  upon  its  front  a  gold  plate,  tied 
to  the  mitre  by  a  blue  riband,  on  which  was  inscribed,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord." 
According  to  chap,  xxviii.  38,  this  plate  was  to  be  upon  Aaron's  forehead,  that 
he  might  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  holy  things  which  the  children  of  Israel  shall 
hallow  in  all  their  holy  gifts  ;  and  it  shall  be  always  upon  his  forehead  that  they 
may  be  accepted  before  the  Lord." 

L  Personal  consecration  was  the  first  thing  symbolised  by  the  golden  mitre. 
**  Through  the  golden  plate,  with  its  inscription,  •  Holiness  to  the  Lord,*  which 

673 


«HAP.  XXXIX.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


was  fastened  upon  his  head-dress  of  brilliant  white,  tlie  earthly  reflection  of 
holiness,  he  was  crowned  as  the  sanctified  of  the  Lord." — Keil.  II.  Represen- 
tative propitiation  was  the  second  thing  intended  by  the  golden  mitre. 
Wearing  the  "  crown  of  holiness,"  Aaron  \ras  the  representative  of  the  entire 
congregation.  In  this  capacity  his  business  was  to  bear  the  iniquity  of  the 
holy  offerings  of  the  children  of  Israel.  The  stains  of  sin  which  clung  to  all 
the  expiatory  offerings  of  the  people  required  to  be  further  cleansed  away  ;  and 
in  and  through  him  acting  as  their  representative  that  expiation  was  effected. 
III.  Congregational  acceptance  was  a  third  idea  included  in  the  golden  mitre. 
When  Aaron  appeared  before  God  wearing  the  holy  crown,  the  peoj)le  were 
accepted.  Thus,  again,  we  have  a  threefold  symbol :  of  tlie  Personal  qualification 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  the  high  priestly  office — Holiness ;  of  tlie  character 
of  His  official  work — Expiation ;  and  of  the  blessed  result  which  He  secures  for  Hia 
people — Acceptance  with  God. 

The  Delivery  of  the  Work  to  Moses. 

"  Thus  was  all  the  work  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  tent  of  the  congregation 
finished ;  and  the  children  of  Israel  did  according  to  all  that  the  Lord  com- 
manded Moses,  so  did  they.  And  they  brought  the  tabernacle  unto  Moses," 
&c. — xxxix.  32-43. 

I.  The  presentation  of  tlie  work  :  "  They  brought  the  tabernacle  unto 
Moses."  It  seems  that  after  all  the  different  articles  were  finished,  they  were 
solemnly  brought  and  presented  to  Moses,  the  chief  builder  of  the  hou^e.  So, 
whatever  work  or  service  is  done  in  connection  with  the  Christian  Church 
should  be  solemnly  presented  to  Christ,  who  is  the  Chief  Builder  of  the  Chris- 
tian temple. — II.  The  inspection  of  the  work  :  "  Moses  did  look  upon  all  the 
work  ; "  and  so  does  Cluist  inspect  every  offering  that  is  brought  to  Him, 
whether  of  work  or  of  gifts,  to  see  if  it  be  according  to  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord.  Paul  tells  us  in  1  Cor.  iii.  13,  that  a  day  is  coming  in  which  every  man's 
work  will  be  tried  of  what  sort  it  is — tried  by  fire — tried  with  the  most  terrible 
exactness.  Yet  even  now  a  process  of  inspection  is  going  on  in  wliich  every- 
thing a  person  does — and  especially  does  for  Christ — is  subjected  to  minute 
investigation.  III.  The  approbation  of  the  work  :  "  Behold,  they  had  done  it 
as  the  Lord  had  commanded."  So  in  Christian  service  nothing  can  be  accepted 
that  is  not  minutely  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  specification.  This  will  be 
the  standard  at  the  last  day  as  it  is  now.  "As  the  Lord  had  commanded,"  is 
the  one  qualification  wliich  must  attach  to  all  our  labours  and  gifts  to  make 
them  good,  IV.  The  remuneration  of  the  work  :  "  And  Moses  blessed  them." 
So  is  all  faithful  service  done  to  Christ  rewarded  even  here  with  spiritual  bless- 
ing. So  will  it  be  in  the  end  (1  Cor.  iii.  14).  Lessons: — (1.)  The  dignity  oi 
Christian  work  as  presented  to  Christ;  (2.)  the  dnty  of  fidelity  in  Christian 
work,  considering  it  must  be  inspected  by  Christ;  (3.)  the  grand  aim  in  Chris 
tian  work,  to  be  accepted  by  Christ.  Cf.  2  Cor.  v.  9 ;  (4.)  the  high  stimulus  io 
Christian  work,  the  certainty  of  being  rewarded  by  Clirist. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

BY 

REV.  WILIJAM  ADAMSON. 

Scripture-Symbolism  !      Vers.    1-43.       1.  have   t^iken    them,   simply   because   He  saw 

When  GkiI  uses  iiatmal  objects  in  His  Won),  them   to  be  apt    illustrations  of   the  suliject, 

notes     Hrown,     as    ilhistratioiis    of    8[)intual  but  that  He  had  an  eye  to  their  use  for  this 

*rutli,  He  did  not  take  them,  as  we  sliould  purpose  when  He  made  them.     U«  did  uot^ 

674 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


CHAP.  X^XXX. 


hi  fact,  use  them  because  they  were  apt  illus- 
trations of  the  truths  inculcated,  but  He 
made  them  in  order  that,  among  oth-r  pur- 
poses, they  might  be  such.  Tiie  sun  was  not 
employed  by  God  to  embletuatise  the  Lord 
Jesus,  because  He  recognised  in  it  a  fit  em- 
blem, but  God  made  the  sun  with  the  very 
object  of  being  such,  amongst  other  objects. 
2.  So  with  all  the  tabernacle  and  its  adjuncts, 
God  enjoined  their  manufacture  and  con- 
struction, not  because  they  were,  but  because 
He  would  have  them  to  be  striking  symbols 
— silent,  symbolic  sermons.  The  poet  speaks 
of  sermons  in  stones  and  in  the  running 
brooks.  In  the  tabernacle  accessories  are 
such  sermons — designedly  arranged  for  Is- 
rael's instruction  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  As  such,  we  should  recog- 
nise them.  They  are  expressly  appointed  by 
God  to  be  earthly  shadows  of  heavenly  reali- 

**  The  key  that  opens  to  all  mysteries, 

The  Word  in  character,  God  in  the  voice. 
Each  page  of  Tiiine  hath  true  life  in't. 
And  God's  bright  mind  express'd  in  print." 
—  Vaitghan. 

Holiness-Hints  I  Ver.  1,  &c.  Who  can 
ever  forget  the  vision  of  the  apocalyptic  seer, 
known  as  that  of  the  "white-robed  and 
palm-bearing  multitude"?  (Rev.  vii.)  The 
Patmos  exile  had  just  been  witnessing  scenes 
of  judgment  and  terror.  How  grateful  and 
soothing,  then,  to  him,  must  have  been  this  lull 
in  the  storm — this  bright  though  momentary 
glimpse  through  the  midst  of  the  tempestuous 
clouds.  The  words  must  have  fallen  on  his 
ear  with  serenest  music.  But  what  signify 
the  array  of  "white  robes"?  1.  Such  was 
the  scene  in  the  fourth  century,  iu  the  age  of 
Constantino,  and  the  general  conversion  of 
the  empire  from  Paganism  to  Christianity. 
Not,  however,  in  the  visible  Church,  though 
it  ha<l  the  seal  of  baptism,  enrolled  its  mem- 
bers in  church  registers,  and  enrobed  them  in 
white,  with  crowns  and  palms.  No,  the  allu- 
sion is  to  the  invisible  Church  of  that  era.  It 
had  in  the  spirit  impressing  the  image  of  Jesus 
a  more  enduring  seal — in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life  a  more  enduring  registration — and  in  the 
divine  holiness  of  heart  and  life  a  more  lus- 
trous purity.  2.  Such  will  be  the  scene  in  the 
latter  days,  before  the  millennial  dawn.  The 
passage,  it  has  been  said,  is  like  a  mirror  set 
in  eternity,  in  which  the  believer  sees  reflected 
his  future  character  and  condition.  We  all, 
beholding  as  in  a  glass  our  heavenly  glory,  are 
encouraged  to  look  forward  to  the  time  when 
we  shall  have  "white  robes,"  i.e.,  when  the 
holy  services  of  the  heavenly  temple  shall  be 
performed  by  us  as  holy  servants  of  God  (Rev. 
vii.  15). 

•*  Palm-bearing,  white-robed  multitudes  who 
sing 
Salvation,  honour,  praise,  and  glory  to  their 
Lord  the  King." 


Gold-Wire,  &c.  Ver.  3.  (1.)  Some  of  the 
mummy  cloths  which  are  preserved  are  of 
beautii'id  texture,  and  bespeak  a  high  degree 
of  excellence  for  tiio«e  who  manufactured 
them.  The  finest  kind  resemble  muslin,  and 
are  very  thin  and  transparent.  Some  of  them 
are  fringed  like  silk  shawls  ;  others  have 
strong  salvages,  with  stripes  of  blue,  the  dye 
of  which  lias  been  determined  to  be  indigo. 
One  specimen  is  covered  with  hieroglyphics, 
drawn  with  exceeding  fineness.  Gold  and 
silver  wire  was  used  at  a  very  early  date  in 
Egypt  in  weaving  and  embroidery.  (2.)  If  gold 
is  s\  mbolic  of  the  divine  excellence,  does  it  not 
teach  us  that  in  all  the  hangings  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  i.e.,  in  all  the  word-veils  and  cur- 
tains, the  elements  of  divine  excellence  is  dis- 
cernible? May  it  not  also  teach  us  that  all  our 
works  for  God,  all  our  efforts  of  service  for 
Him,  should  have  the  element  of  divine  excel- 
lence interwoven  with  them  ?  Not,  however, 
that  this  is  to  be  done  as  rendering  our  works 
works  of  merit,  but  because  their  beauty  is 
thus  enhanced,  and  as  an  acknowledgment 
that  they  are  for  His  glory. 

"  Take  my  life,  and  .'et  it  be 
Consecrated,  Lord,  to  Thee  : 
Take  myself,  and  I  will  be 
Ever  only  ALL  for  Thee." 

Breastplate  •  Stones  !  Vers.  10-14.  The 
minute  account  in  Exodus  and  Revelation  of 
the  jewels  that  adorned  the  sacerdotal  apparel 
and  the  walls  of  the  heavenly  city,  indicate, 
says  Macmillan,  the  symbolic  reverence  at- 
tached to  their  use  by  the  Jews.  And  this 
belief  in  tbeir  mystic  qualities  passed  from 
India  and  Persia  to  Greece  and  Rome.  After 
playing  a  considerable  part  in  the  Gnostic 
systems  of  Alexandria,  this  belief  was  finally 
transferred  to  the  Christian  Church,  as  we  find 
Bishop  Marbceuf  of  Rennes,  in  the  eleventh 
century,  versifying  their  talismanic  influences 
in  his  curious  "  Lapidarium."  This  is  an 
illustration  of  the  sure  darkening  of  Scripture 
truth  during  the  dark  ages.  No  such  influ- 
ences are  ascribed  to  these  precious  stones  in 
the  Word  of  God  ;  though,  doubtless,  they 
symbolise  moral  and  spiritual  perfections  in 
the  Christians.  "  They  shall  be  Mine,  Eaith 
the  Lord,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  My 
JEWELS."     Then 

"  Christ  alone  beareth  me 
Where  Thou  dost  shine  ; 
Joint-heir  He  maketh  me 

Of  the  Divine  ; 
In  Christ  my  soul  shall  be 
Nearest,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearest  to  Thee." 

Little  Things !     Ver.  20.     One  of  the  moat 

astonishing  results  of  the  scientific  expedition 
lately  undertaken  to  dredge  the  bottom  of  the 
Atlantic  was  the  di.-covery  of  ori;anisms — 
delicate  as  hoarfrost — living  at  a  depth  of  four 
or  five  thousand  feet.    All  that  enormous  mass 

676 


0KAP.  XXXIX. 


EOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS, 


of  water  rested  above  them,  and  yet  they 
were  aa  safe  and  uninjured  as  the  tender 
blossom  that  unfolds  in  the  sumnier  air.  Still 
more  wonderful,  remarks  Macmillan,  is  the 
discovery  whicli  the  geologist  is  constantly 
making  of  microscopic  shells  and  other  forms 
of  life,  of  most  delicate  organisation,  in  rocks 
that  have  been  subjected  to  the  most  tremen- 
dous pressure.  An  infant's  touch  could  crush 
them  to  atoms,  and  yet  they  have  shared  un- 
injured in  movements  which  have  displaced 
continents,  upheaved  huge  mountain  chains, 
and  shaken  the  earth  to  its  veiy  centre.  All 
tiiese,  like  the  pins  and  taches  of  the  taber- 
nacle, have  their  place  and  functions  in  nature. 
And  so  all  parts  of  Scripture  have  each  their 
place  and  function  in  the  mystery  of  God. 
The  verses  in  this  chapter,  little  and  unim- 
portant as  they  seem,  are  essential  to  the 
Bible  unity.  As  such,  God  has  preserved 
tliem  amid  the  upheavings  of  the  Jewish 
nation  and  the  Gentile  world.  They  are  part 
of  our  heritage  to-day.     They  are 

•'  Marked  with  the  seal  of  high  divinity. 
Their  every  thought  bedewed  with  drops  of 

love 
Divine,  and  with  the  eternal  heraldry 
And  signature  of  God  Almighty  stampt." 

—PoUolc 

Testimony-Tabernacle !  Ver.  21.  As  the 
Word  of  God  is  the  light  to  direct  us,  and  to 
detect  errors,  so  it  is  also  the  standard  and 
beam  to  try  the  weights  of  truth  and  false- 
hood. Therefore  our  Lord,  knowing,  says 
Bishop  Jewell,  that  there  should  be  such 
confusion  of  things  in  the  latter  days,  comman- 
deth  that  Christians,  who  live  in  the  profession 
of  Christian  faith,  and  are  desirous  to  settle 
themselves  upon  a  sure  ground  of  faith,  should 
go  to  no  other  thing  but  to  the  Scriptures. 
Otherwise,  if  they  had  regard  to  other  things, 
they  should  be  offended  and  perish,  and  not 
understand  which  is  the  true  Church.  The 
master  of  a  ship,  when  he  is  on  the  main  sea, 
casts  his  eye  always  upon  the  lode-star,  and 
80  directs  and  guides  his  waj's.  Even  so 
must  we,  who  are  passengers  and  strangers  in 
this  world,  ever  settle  our  eyes  to  behold  the 
Word  of  God  ;  so  shall  no  tempest  overblow 
us  ;  so  shall  we  be  guided  without  danger  ;  so 
shall  we  arrive  safely  in  the  liaven  of  our  rest. 
This  is  the  rule  of  our  faith.  .  .  .  Therefore, 
Christ  saith,  "Search  the  Scriptures;  they 
are  tiiey  that  testify  of  Me." 

*'  0  child  of  sorrow,  be  it  thine  to  know 
That  Scripture  only  is  the  cure  of  woe  ; 
That  field  of  promise — how  it  flings  abioad 
Its   perfume    o'er   the    Christian's    thorny 

road. 
The  soul,  reposing  in  assured  belief. 
Feels  herself  happy  amidst  all  her  grief; 
Forgets  her  labour  as  she  toils  along. 
Weeps  tears  of  joy,  and  bursts  into  a  song." 

Scripture-SecretB !    Vers.  22-30.    1.  Many 
VMiri  affo    RajMam^  the  famous  explorer  and 
570 


orientalist,  searched  the  ruins  in  Assyria  to 
no  purpose  for  ancient  remains.  Within  the 
last  two  years,  lie  has  again  gone  forth  to 
examine  the  very  same  ruins,  under  the  firm 
conviction  that  treasures  are  there,  though  he 
had  failed  to  discover  them.  I'liis  time  he 
has  been  eminently  successful ;  and  very  soon 
the  literary  world  will  have  rare  j^ems  of  his- 
tory set  before  them  for  study  and  instruction. 
2.  Long  years  ago,  we  searched  these  Mosaic 
mininds,  but  failed  to  discover  truth-treasures 
hidden  within.  But  subsequent  and  more 
recent  investigation  has  proved  successful. 
We  have  found  Messianic-treasures — tablets  of 
Gospel  truth  among  the  tabernacle-articles  of 
Moses.  They  were  there  before,  but  we 
failed  to  discover  them.  Now  we  rejoice  in 
them.  3.  Is  it  not  so  with  all  the  Scriptures! 
Bunyan,  in  his  "  Grace  Abounding,"  says 
tliat  while  he  was  shut  up  in  Bedford  Jail  he 
never  had  in  all  his  life  so  great  an  inlet  into 
the  Word  of  God.  "Those  Scriptures  that  I 
saw  nothing  in  before  are  made  in  this  place 
and  state  to  shine  upon  one."  And  this  ex- 
perience has  been  the  experience  of  others 
also,  especially  when  suflFering  for  the  truth'i 
sake. 

"  There  is  a  Lamp,  whose  steady  light 
Guides  the  poor  traveller  in  the  night : 
'Tis  God's  own  Word  !     Its  beaming  ray 
Can  turn  a  midnight  into  day." — Beltt. 

Bells  !  Ver.  25.  Who  invented  bells  we 
know  not.  Probably  they  were  devised, [at  a 
very  early  period  of  the  world's  history,  by 
the  musical  genius  of  Jubal,  who  is  called  in 
Gen.  iv.  the  father  of  all  such  as  handle  the 
harp  and  organ.  But  this  and  ZecLiariah  are 
the  only  two  books  in  which  we  have  direct 
reference  to  bells.  Maurice  mentions  that 
one  indispensable  ceremony  in  the  Indian 
Poojah  is  the  ringing  of  a  small  bell  by  the 
officiating  Brahmiuic  priest.  The  women  of 
the  idol,  or  dancing  girls  of  the  pagoda,  have 
little  golden  bells  fastened  to  their  feet — the 
soft  harmonious  tinkling  of  which  vibrates  in 
unison  with  the  exquisite  melody  of  their 
voices.  Calmet  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  ancient  kings  of  Persia,  who  in  fact 
united  in  tlieir  own  persons  the  regal  and 
sacerdotal  office,  were  accustomed  to  ha'e 
the  fringes  of  their  robes  adorned  with  pom-}* 
gran ates  and  golden  bells.  The  Arabian  prin- 
cesses wore  rings,  to  whicli  tiny  golden  bella 
were  suspended.  But  no  bells  ever  sounded 
so  sweet  and  melodious  as  those  on  the  Great 
High  Priest's  robes.  Tlie  ministers  of  Christ, 
when  preaching  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation, 
are  those  liells  ;  and  it  is  Jesus  who  enables 
them  to  send  fortli  sweet  strains. 

"  Ye  monarchs  from  the  eastern  land. 
Ye  heathen  from  far  island  strand. 
Come  up,  come  up,  ye  people  all, 
His  voice  the  whole  wide  world  doth  call  ; 
The  Saviour  preaches  from  the  mount" 

Mitre-Material!     Ver  28.    Q.t  In  Cbroa 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:   EXODUS. 


CHAP.  XXXIX. 


sxsix.  6,  this  ornament  is  called  "  nezer"  from 
a  verb  signifying  to  separate  ;  and  hence  de- 
noting a  crown  as  a  mark  of  separation  or  dis- 
tinction. The  same  word  is  applied  to  the 
diadem  of  kings.  Indeed,  such  turbans  of 
fine  linen,  with  an  encircling  or  front  orna- 
ment of  gold  or  precious  stones,  seem  to  have 
been  the  usual  diadems  of  ancient  kings. 
Justin  says  that  Alexander  the  Great  took  his 
diadem  from  his  head  to  bind  up  the  wounds 
of  Lysimachus.  This  shows  clearly  that  it 
was  of  linen.  Probably,  it  had  some  distin- 
guishing ornament  like  that  of  the  high  priest 
here.  2.  Jahn  saj's  curiously  enough  that,  in 
the  time  of  Josephus,  the  shape  of  the  mitre 
had  become  somewhat  altered.  It  was  cir- 
cular, was  covered  with  a  piece  of  fine  linen, 
and  sat  so  closely  on  the  upper  part  of  the 
head  that  it  would  not  fall  off  when  the  body 
was  bent  down  ;  apparently  it  did  not  cover 
the  whole  of  the  head.  It  may  be  that  there 
is  mystical  reference  to  the  crown  of  gold 
worn  by  each  of  those  who  exulted  before 
God  in  the  acknowledgment  that  He  had  made 
them  prince- priests  unto  Himself.  Each  cast 
his  mitre-coronet  down  before  Him,  who  8at 
npon  the  throne,  singing — 

"  I  bless  Thee,  gracious  Father,  for  Thy  plea- 
sant gift  to  me, 
And  earnestly  I  ask  Thee,  that  it  may  always 

be 
In  perfect  consecration  laid  at  Thy  glorious 

feet, 
ToucUed  with  Thine  altar-fire,  and  made  an 
offering  pure  and  sweet." 

— Havergai, 


Laboatr-Lessons  !     Ver.   32,  &c.      1.  Duty 

and  desire!  (xxxix.  43.)  (1.)  That  it  is  the 
duly  and  should  be  the  desire  of  the  workmen 
to  submit  their  work  to  the  builder  or  sur- 
veyor. This  applies  to  Scripture  readers, 
teachers,  and  pastors.  (2.)  That  it  is  the  duty 
and  should  be  the  desire  of  the  builder  or 
surveyor  to  scrutinise  the  work  on  its  com- 
pletion. This  applies  to  chief  pastors,  the 
Church,  and  the  Christ  of  God.  2.  Destiny 
and  delight !  (xxxix.  43.)  (1.)  That  it  is  the 
destiny  and  should  be  the  delight  of  the  sur- 
veyor to  record  his  approval  of  work  well  done. 
This  is  true  of  chief  pastors,  the  Church,  and 
the  Christ.  (2.)  That  it  is  the  destiny  and 
should  be  the  delight  of  the  workmen  to  re- 
ceive the  approval  of  the  surveyor  of  the  work 
when  complete.  This  is  true  of  Scripture 
readers,  teachers,  and  pastors.  3.  Dignity 
and  design !  (xl.  34.)  (1.)  That  it  is  the 
dignity  and  should  be  the  design  of  the  pro- 
prietor to  recognise  the  completion  of  his 
house.  This  may  refer  to  the  Church,  the 
Christ,  or  God.  (2.)  That  it  is  the  dignity 
and  should  be  the  design  of  the  builder  and 
workmen  to  rejoice  in  the  proprietor's  recog- 
nition of  their  handiwork.  See  our  Lord's 
parables,  Paul's  epistles,  and  John's  apoca- 
lypse for  admirable  illustrations  of  the  above. 
2  T 


"  Glory  waits  the  faithful  workmen 
Who  perform  their  Master's  will; 
Then,  U  Christians,  will  ye  weary 
Of  this  work  of  building  still  ? " 

— Allii. 

Church-Building!  Ver.  32.  1.  "Peep  of 
Day"  furnishes  a  very  different  account  of 
the  erection  of  the  first  church  in  Tahiti.  In 
the  year  1800,  tlie  missionaries  determined  to 
build  a  place  of  prayer.  Hitherto  they  had 
only  met  together  in  a  room  in  their  own 
house,  just  as  Israel  probably  had  held  their 
services  at  the  tent  of  Moses  or  Aaron,  King 
Pomare  seemed  pleased  with  the  plan,  and 
promised  to  set  his  people  to  work.  The 
brethren,  however,  found  this  assistance  of 
little  use.  Pomare's  servants  set  about  the 
work  eagerly,  but  soon  grew  weary  of  it,  as  they 
did  of  all  their  undertakings,  unless  encou- 
raged by  continual  feastings.  They  also  did 
the  work  so  ill,  that  they  gave  the  missionaries 
more  trouble  than  they  did  them  service.  In 
March,  the  first  wooden  pillars  were  reared  to 
form  the  walls  ;  and,  as  the  workmen  pro- 
ceeded, they  jeered  at  Christ,  and  scoflSngly 
marked  each  pillar  with  His  name.  But  the 
missionaries  earnejtly  hoped  that  those  pillars 
would  hereafter  be  witnesses  to  the  conversion 
of  the  heathen. 

"  To  give  them  songs  for  sighing, 
Their  darkness  turn  to  light, 
Whose  souls,  condemned  and  dying, 
Were  precious  in  His  sight." 

— Montgomery. 

Well-doing!  Ver.  32.  It  is  recorded  of 
these  Israelites  that  they  did  not  weary  in  the 
work  appointed.  All  that  the  Lord  com- 
manded Moses,  that  they  did  accordingly. 
Alas  !  how  many,  whether  in  the  uprearing  of 
the  tabernacle  of  a  holy  life,  or  in  the  erection 
of  a  house  to  His  name,  become  weary.  How 
readily  does  it  creep  over  the  most  vigilant 
man  !  Of  how  many  has  it  to  be  said,  "This 
man  began  to  build  and  was  notable  to  finish"! 
Not  able,  because  not  willing, — not  able,  be- 
cause inconstant, — not  able,  because  weary 
in  well-doing.  How,  under  the  dread  spell 
of  inconstancy,  exclaims  Punshon,  have  fair 
plants  been  withered,  generous  youth  launched 
into  premature  age,  and  the  edifice  of  Chris- 
tian graces  stayed  in  its  erection !  Un- 
like Israel,  they  have  not  continued  stead- 
fast  and  immovable,  always  abounding  in 
the  work  of  the  Lord.  Forgetting  that  they 
have  the  Divine  assurance  that  their  work 
shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord,  when  He 
says  "  Well  done,"  they  have  become  like  the 
stream 

**  Which,  smiling,  left  the  mountain's  brow. 
As  if  its  waters  none  could  sever  ; 
Yet,  when  it  reach'd  the  plain  below. 
In  the  sand-desert  sank  for  ever." 

Ark  of  Testimony !  Ver.  35.  The  apoca- 
lyptic seer  tells  us  in  Bev.  xi.  19.  that  h« 

577 


ohap.  xxxix. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  EX  OD  US. 


gaw  the  temple  of  Qod  opened  in  heaven. 
The  impenetrable  veil,  which  screens  from 
mortal  sight  the  mysteries  of  tiiat  true  "  Holy 
of  Holies,"  was  for  a  moment  drawn  aside. 
And  what  was  the  disclosure  made  to  the  eye 
of  the  apostle  ?  "  The  ark  of  His  testimony  I " 
What  a  glorious  and  eomfortin<;  vision  where- 
with to  terminate  all  tiie  previous  terrific 
trumpet  soundings — those  symbols  of  wrath 
and  judgment,  more  awful  and  awe-inspiring 
than  the  Siiiaitic  peals  and  flashes  !  He  gazes 
on  the  familiar  emblem,  so  often  and  so  long 
associated  with  the  fortunes  and  the  history 
of  the  Hebrew  people — the  palladium  of  their 
liberties — the  rallying-poini  in  every  hour  of 
disaster — the  true  Covknant  Ark.  In  it  he 
recognises  a  figure  of  the  Great  Propitiatory — 
the  true  mercy-seat;  in  the  glories  of  whose 
Divine  person,  and  the  fulness  of  whose  media- 
torial work,  is  the  pledge  and  guarantee  of 
eternal  safety  and  peace, 

••  0  Master,  at  Thy  feet 

I  bow  in  rapture  sweet! 
Brfore  me,  as  in  darkening  glass, 

Some  glorious  outlines  pass, 
Of  love,  and  truth,  and  holiness,  and  power; 
1  own  them  Thine,  0  Christ,  and  bless  Thee 
for  this  hour,"  — Uavergal. 

Candlestick  1  Ver.  37.  The  Church,  it  has 
been  said,  is  a  golden  light-bearer,  and  there- 
fore at  once  precious  and  luminous.  Zion 
is  God's  peculiar  heritage ;  its  members  are 
His  jewels,  acquired  by  an  immeasurable 
ransom,  and  therefore  properly  symbolised  by 
an  article  made  of  solid  gold.  One  of  the 
chief  functions  of  the  Church  has  ever  been  to 
give  light.  All  the  true  light  enjoyed  by  the 
ancient  world  streamed  out  from  the  candle- 
stick which  Qod  set  up  in  His  chosen  people, 
and  still  more  largely  was  this  the  case  in  the 
new  economy.  It  was  intended  to  be  diffusive 
and  propagandist ;  but  only  by  the  force  of 
light — the  manifestation  of  the  truth. 

••  Where'er  I  go,  where'er  I  stand. 
In  valley  dark,  or  mountainland, 
At  noon,  or  'neath  the  midnight  drear, 
That  Golden  Light  still  shines  most  clear." 

— Oerot. 

Golden- Altar  !  Ver.  38.  Solemn  and  im- 
posing, says  Macduff,  must  have  been  the 
scene  on  the  Great  Day  of  Atonement,  when 
the  Jewish  high  priest,  divested  of  his 
wonted  gorgeous  robes,  and  habited  in  a  pure 
white  vestment,  stood  before  the  great  brazen 
altar.  After  the  preliminary  sin-offerings, 
&c.,  burning  coals  were  taken  by  him  from 
the  altar  and  deposited  in  a  golden  censer. 
Carrying  with  him  a  handful  of  sweet  incense, 
he  proceeded  within  the  curtain  into  the 
Holiest  of  all.  As  he  stood  in  this  august 
presence-chamber  of  Jehovah,  he  took  a  por- 
tion of  it  beaten  small,  and  cast  it  among  the 
burning  embers.  The  cloud  enveloped  the 
mercy-seat,  the  fumes  filling  the  moat  holy 
578 


place  with  grateful  odours.     Hence  Rev.  viii. 

3,  "Another  angel  came  and  stood  at  the 
altar,  having  a  golden  censer,"  &c.  Tliis  is 
Jesus,  the  great  antitypical  High  I'riest,  stand- 
ing in  the  heavenly  temple.  Therefore  we 
need  not  fear:  He  will  undertake. 

"  Give  to  the  winds  thy  'ears  ; 
Hope  and  be  undismayed; 
God  hears  thy  sighs,  and  counts  thy  tears, 
God  shall  lift  up  tliy  head." 


Incense -Materi als !  Ver.  38.  1.  Stacte  ! 
Some  say  the  distilled  myrrh  or  gum  ;  but 
RoscnmuUer  points  out  that  it  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  species  of  stoiax  irum,  transparent 
like  a  tear,  and  reseml)ling  myrrh.  This 
tree  is  found  in  Syria.  2.  Onycha  !  Kalisch 
says  that  it  is  found  in  the  waters  of  Arabia, 
that  it  is  the  crustaceous  covering  of  the 
shells  of  certain  fish,  that  it  is  frequently 
used  in  the  present  day  for  incense,  and 
that,  though  by  no  means  fragrant,  yet  it 
enhances  the  fragrance  of  other  ingredients. 

3.  Galbanum!  Pliny  says  that  it  was  em- 
ployed as  an  ingredient  in  perfumes,  and 
that  it  was  so  used  to  make  the  odoura 
more  lasting.  It  has  always  been  used  in 
medicine ;  but,  though  so  long  known, 
the  plant  itself  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute. 

4,  Frankincense/  This  well-known  odorife- 
rous resin  is  obtained  from  a  large  tree  which 
grows  in  the  mountainous  parts  of  India.  It 
is  exiremely  fragrant,  and  exudes  naturally 
from  the  bark.  An  inferior  kind  was  found 
in  Arabia.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
these  have  each  their  spiritual  signifi- 
cance. But  since  it  is  now  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish their  origin,  &c.,  we  are  without  a 
clue,  except  so  far  as  the  New  Testament  tells 
us,  what  are  the  genuine  ingredients  of  true 
and  acceptable  prayer. 

'•  Prayer  is  the  burden  of  a  sigh, 
The  falling  of  a  tear. 
The  upward  glancing  of  an  eye 
When  none  but  God  is  near." 

— Montgomery. 


Atonement-Day  Incense.  Ver.  38.  Mac- 
millan  observes  that  on  the  golden  altar  a 
censer  full  of  incense  poured  forth  its  frag- 
rant clouds  every  morning  and  evening. 
Yearly,  as  the  day  of  atonement  came  round, 
when  the  high  priest  entered  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  he  filled  a  censer  with  live  coals  from 
the  sacred  fire  on  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings, 
and  bore  it  into  the  sanctuary,  where  he  threw 
upon  the  burning  coals  the  "sweet  incense." 
Without  this  smoking  censer,  he  was  for- 
bidden, on  pain  of  death,  to  enter  into  the 
awful  'shrine  of  Jehovah.  Notwithstanding 
the  washing  of  his  flush,  an<l  the  linen  gar- 
ments with  which  he  was  clothed,  he  dare  not 
enter  the  Holiest  of  all  with  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment unless  he  could  personally  shelter  him- 
self under  a  cloud  of  incens*. 


no  MI  LET  W  (JOJlfMBNTART:  EXODUS. 


CBAP.  XXX  tX. 


*'  I  need  Thee,  precious  Jesua  ! 
For  I  am  full  of  siti  ; 
My  soul  is  dark  and  guilty, 
My  heart  is  dead  within." 

—  WhUfieU. 

Tabernacle -Life!  Ver.  42.  1.  When 
King  Poniare  began  to  build  tiie  first  Cliris- 
tiau  chapel  in  Tahiti  some  sixty  years  ago, 
he  iiad  not  observed  that  a  stream  of  water 
ran  in  a  slanting  direction  through  it.  The 
builders  might  have  tried  to  turn  the  course 
of  this  stream,  which  flowed  from  the  moun- 
tains into  tlie  sea,  but  they  decided  to  allow 
it  to  pass  through  the  sanctuary.  We  think 
those  who  sat  near  it  must  have  been  re- 
minded, by  the  sight  of  this  living  stream,  of 
the  living  water  that  Jesus  gives  to  those  who 
ask  Him,  and  of  that  crystal  river  that  makes 
glad  the  city  of  God.  2.  Israel  did  not,  pro- 
bably, when  they  at  first  began  to  construct 
the  tabernacle,  perceive  that  from  the  hills  of 
eternal  truth  a  river  flowed  onwards  and 
downwards  through  it  to  the  eternal  sea. 
Afterwards,  they  did  see  that  there  was  such 
a  symbolic  stream  making  glad  the  holy  place 
of  the  tabernacle  of  the  Most  High.  Many 
persons  connected  with  the  uprearing  of  the 
superstructure  of  temple-grace  see  not  the 
Gospel-stream,  —  tlie  river  of  life, — flowing 
through  the  fabric  of  tlie  visible  church- 
tabernacle  in  this  desert  of  sin. 

•'  This  beautiful  stream  is  the  river  of  life^ 
It  flows  for  all  nations  free ; 
A  balm  for  each  wound 
In  its  waters  is  found  ; 

0  sinner,  it  flows  for  thee  !" 

Duty  Done!  Ver.  42.  1.  On  one  occasion, 
at  a  crowded  dinner-table,  Webster  was  asked 
what  his  greatest  thougiit  was.  Looking 
about  on  the  company,  he  inquired  whether  all 
were  his  friends.  On  receiving  an  affirmative 
assurance,  he  said,  "  The  greatest  thought 
that  ever  entered  my  mind  was  that  of  my 
personal  responsibility  '  to  a  personal  God.'" 
He  expanded  that  idea  in  conversation  for 
ten  minutes  and  then  left  the  room.  2.  The 
same  man  on  another  occasion  said,  "  There 
is  no  evil  that  we  cannot  either  face  or  flee 
from,  but  tlie  consciousness  of  duty  dis- 
regarded. A  sense  of  duty  pursues  us  ever. 
It  is  omnipresent  like  the  Deity."  Where- 
ever  we  go,  whatever  we  are  busied  about, 
duty  performed,  or  duty  violated,  is  still  with 
us  for  our  happiness  or  misery.  We  cannot 
escape  the  power,  nor  fly  from  the  presence  of 
duty.  3.  What  must,  then,  have  been  the 
emotions  of  Moses  and  Israel  when  their  duty 
was  done?  Conscious  of  their  work's  comple- 
tion, how  heartfelt  was  their  sense  of  happi- 
ness. If  we  neglect  our  duty,  we  cannot 
escape  from  the  consciousness  of  pain  in  its 
violation  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  do 
as  tlie  Lord  commands  us,  there  is  the  con- 
solation awaiting  our  completed  work,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 


"  When,  when  shall  that  groat  day  appear. 
In  wiiich  ail  His  that  voice  shall  hear, 
Eiicli  knee  bow  down  in  ruvuri  nee  deep. 
All  flesh  before  Him  sikiice  keep? 

'  Servant  of  God,  well  done  1  well  done.' 


Finished  Beauty!  Ver.  43.  1.  If  any 
one  had  looked  in  upon  Raphael,  while  in  his 
studio  working  out  the  first  rough  draught  of 
his  immortal  "  Transfiguration,"  he  niiglit 
have  seen  nothing  that  was  attractive.  As 
Cuyler  says,  vague  outlines  or  coarse  blotches 
of  paint  were  all  that  the  canvass  could  yet 
show  of  the  world's  master-piece  of  art.  The 
artist  himself  could  say  to  the  visitor,  "Wait 
until  the  |>icture  is  done  ;  it  will  be  beautiful 
in  its  time."  2.  So  with  the  tabernacle. 
Hobab  and  the  Egyptian  camp-followers  may 
have  commented  on  the  confined  labours  of 
the  tabernacle-toilers.  But,  as  the  time  to 
see  Raphael's  picture  was  when  it  was  hung 
in  its  matchless  loveliness  above  the  dead 
master's  coffin  at  Rome  ;  so  the  time  to  see 
the  "  beauty  of  the  tent  of  God"  was  when — 
upreared  under  the  shadow  of  Sinai — it  stood 
in  all  its  exquisitely  simple  grace.  3.  And 
so  with  the  temple  of  God.  His  workers  are 
men  busily  employed  in  its  erection.  The 
world  remarks  on  the  apparent  roughness  and 
confusion  on  all  sides  ;  yet  how  beautiful  will 
that  workmanship  be  in  its  time  ?  Then  the 
scaffoldings  and  seatings  will  all  be  swept 
away,  Messiah  will  look  upon  the  work  and 
exclaim,  "It  is  finished,"  while  all  His  co- 
workers will  see  on  every  column  and  frieze 
and  architrave,  "the  beauty  of  our  God" 
(Rev.  xxi.  23). 

"  Oh  none  can  tell  Thy  bulwarks, 

How  gloriously  they  rise  ; 
Oh  none  can  tell  Thy  capitals 

Of  beautiful  device  I 
Pure  mansion  of  pure  people. 

Whom  God's  own  love  and  light 
Promote,  increase,  make  holy, 

Identify,  unite."  — Bernard. 

Scripture  -  Scenery !      Ver.   43.      1.   John 

Bunyan  in  his  immortal  allegory  says,  "By 
this  time  the  Pilgrims  had  a  desire  to  go  for- 
ward, and  the  shepherds  a  desire  they  should; 
so  they  walked  together  towards  the  end  of 
the  mountains.  Then  said  the  shepherds  one 
to  another,  '  Let  us  here  show  the  pilgrims 
the  gates  to  tiie  celestial  city,  if  they  have 
skill  to  look  through  our  perspective  glass.'  The 
pilgrims  then  lovingly  accepted  the  motion ; 
so  they  had  them  to  the  top  of  a  high  hill 
called  Cleab,  and  gave  them  the  glass  to 
look."  But  their  hands  shook  so,  that  they 
could  not  look  steadily  through  the  glass  ; 
yet  they  saw  some  of  the  glory  of  the  place. 
2.  The  ministers  of  God  earnestly  desire  that 
their  flock  should,  through  the  glass  of  faith, 
behold  the  Messianic  glory  around  and  within 
the  gates  to  the  Pentateuch  and  its  tabernacle. 
The  writer  has  himself  brought  his  readers 

579 


CHAP.  XL.  nOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


towardt  the  end  of  the  Exodus  mountains,  up  to  predetermined  not  to  witness  Messiah's  loTe- 

the  luttv  sunioiit  called  Clear  ;  uiul  .ill  that  Imess  there. 

he  can  -lo  is  to  bid  them  take  the  perspective  ..  Qh  mav  these  heavenly  pages  be 

glass  an.    behold  Cl.r.sts  glory  in  ti.ese  chap-  j^j^.  ^^.^^  j^^,.  j^ii  jf^ ; 

ters.     Alas  !  how  many  are  there  who   take  And'still  new  beauties  may  I  seeu 

the  glass,  and  gaze  through  upon  the  gates,  ^,^j  ^^-^^  increasing  light." 


CHAPTER   XL. 


Critical  Notes. — 34.  The  glory  of  the  Lord.]  This  was  a  sensnoua  manifestation  by 
which  the  presence  of  Jehovah  in  the  tabernacle  was  made  known  to  the  people  of  Israel,  but 
this  manifestation  was  not  of  the  character  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah  as  Moses  desired  to  have  it 
shown  to  him.  (See  Crit.  Note  on  xxxiii.  18.)  3d.  Not  able  =  I o-yachol],  i.e.,  he  at!em|ited 
to  enter  but  could  not  effect  an  entrance,  at  the  time,  into  the  tabernacle:  tins  fact  goes  to 
show  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  Jehovah  to  impress  upon  the  Israelites  that  He  was  Lord  over 
His  own  house.  In  the  worship  of  the  tabernacle  they  were  to  regard  Him  who  was  the  Lord 
over  it,  and  not  Moses  the  servant  in  it. 

MAIN  EOMILETICS  OP  THE  PARAGRAPH. 

The  Erection  of  the  Tabernacle. 

A.  Tlie  Order  for  Erection. 

**  And  Jehovah  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  On  the  first  day  of  the  first  month 
shalt  thou  set  up  the  tabernacle.  .  .  .  " — xl.  1-16. 

The  manufacture  of  the  different  parts  of  the  Tabernacle  having  been  com- 
pleted, and  everything  necessary  for  the  tabernacle  service  having  been  provided, 
instructions  were  at  length  issued  for  the  erection  of  the  building.  Observe  : — 
I.  The  completeness  of  those  instructions.  1.  The  time  was  specified  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  work.  "  On  the  first  day  of  the  first  month  (of  the  second  year) 
shall  thou  set  up  the  Tabernacle  of  the  tent  of  meeting."  "To  everything 
there  is  a  season,"  says  the  Royal  Preacher,  "  and  a  time  to  every  purpose 
under  heaven  :  a  time  to  plant  and  a  time  to  pluck  up  that  which  is  })lanted  ; 
...  a  time  to  break  down  and  a  time  to  build  up."  Whether  there  was  an}''- 
thing  specially  significant  in  the  selection  of  the  first  day  of  the  first  month  of 
the  second  year,  cannot  be  determined.  If,  as  is  probable,  the  date  of  their 
arrival  at  Sinai  was  the  first  day  of  the  third  month  of  the  first  year,  counting 
from  the  day  of  the  Exodus,  a  period  of  nine  months  must  have  elapsed  since 
their  entering  into  covenant  with  God,  during  six  ot  which  they  had  been 
actively  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  the  dwelling-place  of  God.  But  what- 
ever was  the  reason  for  the  selection  of  this  date,  it  was  the  right  date,  as  we 
know  that  God's  time  is  always  the  best  time,  and  in  particular  that  the  time 
of  the  setting  u])  of  the  Tabernacle  of  Christ's  body,  was  "  The  Fulness  of  the 
Times."  Everything  in  the  lower  kingdom  of  Nature  has  its  appropriate  season, 
and  so  has  eveiything  in  the  higher  kingdom  of  Grace.  Also,  for  every  separate 
movement  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  God,  and  for  every  onward  step  in 
the  religious  life  of  the  individual  Christian,  there  is  a  "right"  time,  which  it  is 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  wait  for,  and  to  discern  when  it  comes.  On  the  circum- 
stance that  the  time  selected  was  the  first  day  of  the  year,  M.  Henry  lias  the 
following  remarks  : — "  It  is  good  to  begin  the  year  with  some  good  work.  Let 
Him  that  is  the  first  have  the  first ;  and  let  the  things  of  His  kingdom  be  first 
gought.  .  .  .  When  a  new  year  begins,  we  should  think  of  serving  God  more  and 
580 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xt. 


better  than  we  did  before."  2.  The  wder  was  appointed  in  which  the  work  should 
be  done.  First  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  to  be  constructed  and  its  furniture 
arranged.  Then  the  Holy  Place  and  its  furniture.  After  that  the  outer  court 
and  its  furniture.  Next  the  whole  building,  with  its  vessels,  was  to  be  conse- 
crated by  anointing  with  the  holy  oil.  And,  finally,  Aaron  and  his  sons  were 
to  be  brought  to  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  there  washed,  sanctified  with 
oil,  and  clothed.  As  there  is  a  proper  time  for  God's  work,  so  likewise  is  there 
a  proper  order,  and  that  (.rder  mostly  is  from  the  more  important  to  the  less 
important.  3.  Nothing  was  omitted  that  was  needful  for  the  successful  execution 
of  the  work.  There  is  not  here  the  same  minuteness  that  there  was  in  ordering 
the  manufacture  of  the  diff"erent  articles  and  items  of  which  the  tabernacle  was 
composed,  because  that  was  now  unnecessary ;  but  there  is  as  much  minuteness 
as  is  sufficient.  Every  separate  article  is  mentioned,  its  situation  described,  and 
what  is  to  be  done  with  it  stated.  So  in  the  instructions  which  God  has  given 
in  the  Bible  for  the  erecting  of  the  Tabernacle  of  His  Church,  and  for  the  build- 
ing up  of  the  religious  character  of  the  individual  saint,  nothing  is  omitted  that 
is  needful  for  the  efficient  discharge  of  both  of  these  tasks.  "  All  Scripture  is 
given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine  .  .  ."  (2  Tim.  iii  16). 
God  hath  set  in  the  Church  "some  pastors  and  teachers  for  the  perfecting  of 
the  saints,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ,"  &c.  (Eph.  iv.  11-13).  II. 
The  fulfilment  of  those  instructions:  "Thus  did  Moses:  according  to  all  that 
Jehovah  commanded  him,  so  did  he."  1.  The  exact  time  was  kept :  "  it  came  to  pass 
in  the  first  month  of  the  second  year,  on  the  first  day  of  the  month,  that  the 
Tabernacle  was  reared  up."  As  Moses  would  not  take  a  step  towards  the 
erection  of  the  Tabernacle  till  he  was  enjoined  by  God,  so  neither  when  he 
was  enjoined  would  he  deviate  a  single  iota  from  his  instructions.  In  the 
matter  of  time  he  felt  it  was  not  open  to  him  either  to  anticipate  or  delay 
the  hour  which  God  had  fixed.  And  so  should  we  feel.  "It  is  not  for 
you  to  know  the  times  and  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His 
own  power,"  said  Christ  to  His  disciples  before  ascending ;  see  Acts  i.  7.  His 
meaning  was,  that  not  only  all  the  great  eras  of  Church  history,  but  likewise 
all  the  little  moments  of  Christian  experience,  were  to  be  prearranged  by  the 
Father ;  and  that  the  duty  of  both  Church  and  individual  saint  was  to  wait  till 
God  in  His  providence  should  show  that  the  hour  for  movement  had  struck, 
and  then  to  move.  2.  The  appointed  order  was  observed:  see  next  section.  As 
God's  time,  so  God's  order,  is  ever  the  best.  And  as  God  allows  no  room  for 
the  Church's  or  the  individual's  originality  in  the  matter  of  determining  the 
times  and  seasons,  so  neither  does  He  afford  scope  for  the  talent  of  either  the 
one  or  the  other  in  improving  the  arrangement  which  He  fixes  for  the  greater 
movements  of  Church  history  or  the  lesser  movements  of  individual  experience. 
The  proper  business  of  both  Church  and  saint  is  to  carry  out  what  He  origi- 
nates, remembering  that  "  God  is  a  God  of  order  and  not  of  confusion,"  and 
believing  that  what  Supreme  Wisdom  has  arranged  is  little  likely  to  be  improved 
by  the  suggestions  of  iiinorance.  3.  Nothing  was  omitted  from  the  -programme, 
unless  it  be  what  is  stated  in  vers.  9-15,  about  the  anointing  of  the  lioly  places 
and  things,  and  of  Aaron  and  his  sons.  Lev.  viii.  1-13  contains  a  minute 
account  of  what  took  place  at  the  consecration  of  Aaion  and  his  sons.  It  is  not 
absolutely  certain,  however,  that  the  transaction  recorded  in  Lev.  viii.  did  not 
actually  take  place  on  the  day  of  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle,  although  not 
recorded  till  after  a  statement  has  been  given  of  the  sacrificial  laws.  If  it  was 
delayed,  it  must  have  been  because  of  the  impossibility  of  carrying  it  out  on 
that  day  with  befitting  solemnity ;  which  reminds  us  that  God's  instructions 
are  not  always  to  be  interpreted  with  literal  exactness,  but  sometimes  with  an 
enlightened  spiritual  freedom.  Literal  exactness  was  the  sin  of  the  Pliarisees 
of  a  later  day.     Let  us  learn  to  imitate  Moses,  "  who  was  faithful  to  God  in  all 

681 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS 


His  house ; "  or,  better  still,  "  Him  who  was  faithful  to  Him  that  appointed 
Him,  as  also  Moses  was  "  (Heb.  iii.  2). 


W. 


S. 


N. 


B.   The  Erection  of  the  Building. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  first  month  in  the  second  year,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  month,  thai  the  Tabernacle  was  reared  up." — xl,  17-33. 

I.  A  brief  survey  of  the  finished  structure.  When  finished,  the  Tabernacle 
had  the  appearance  of  a  wooden  box  or  chest,  30  cubits  long,  10  cubits  broad, 
and  10  cubits  high,  protecteii  by  four  rich  coverings,  of  which  the  innermost 
was  of  fine  linen  or  cotton,  the  second  of 
goats'  hair  or  cashmere,  the  third  of  rams' 
skins  dyed  red  or  morocco,  and  the  outer- 
most, or  weather  covering  of  badgers',  or  rather 
of  seals'  skins,  and  standing  in  the  middle  of 
an  open  court,  100  cubits  long  and  50  cubits 
broad,  which  was  enclosed  by  curtains.  The 
exact  position  of  the  wooden  box  or  Taber- 
nacle proper  is  not  stated,  although  the  sug- 
gestion of  Kurtz  is  as  probable  as  any  that 
it  stood  at  equal  distances  from  the  N.  W.  and 
S.  sides,  thus  leaving  an  open  space  of  50 
cubits  square  in  front  between  the  dwelling 
and  the  eastern  curtain  of  the  court.  The 
disposition  of  the  four  curtains  has  likewise 
been  omitted  to  be  stated  with  such  precision 
as  to  prevent  discussion.  For  opinions  as  to 
their  adjustment,  Kitto's  "  Cyclopaedia,"  art. 
*  Tabernacle,'  and  Lange  on  Exod.  xxvi.  1-30, 
may  be  consulted.  The  dwelling  was  divided 
into  two  parts,  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  the 
Holy  Place.  Each  part,  along  with  the  sur- 
rounding court,  had  its  appropriate  furniture. 
Entering  tlie  couit  from  the  east,  the  first 
object  that  met  the  gaze  was  the  Altar  of 
Burnt-off'ering,  standing  near  the  door :  be- 
hind that  and  before  the  dwelling,  probably 
a  httle  to  the  side,  was  the  Laver.     Passing 

Place,  on  the  right  hand  towards  the  north,  stood  the  table  of  shew-bread, 
with  its  two  rows  of  loaves ;  and  on  the  left  hand,  towards  the  south,  the 
candlestick,  with  its  rich  mellow  light ;  while  in  front  of  the  second  or  inner 
Vail  (Vj)  was  the  Altar  of  Incense  (I),  with  its  fragrant  smoke  rising  up  before 
the  Holy  of  Holies.  In  the  Holy  of  Holies,  concealed  behind  the  second  Vail, 
was  set  the  Ark,  containing  the  two  tables  of  stone,  with  its  golden  mercy- 
seat  and  overshadowing  cherubim.  Into  the  outer  court  alone  were  the  people 
allowed  to  come  with  their  oflferings :  into  the  Holy  Place  only  the  priests  of 
the  nation  were  admitted ;  while  the  Holy  of  Holies  could  be  entered  by  the 
high  priest  alone,  and  that  only  once  a  year  on  the  great  day  of  Atonement :  all 
which  was  significant,  as  will  appear. 

II.  The  meaning  of  the  names  applied  to  the  Tabernacle.  (1.)  The  Sanctuary 
(Ex.  XXV.  8).  The  word  V1\^U  (Mikdash),  denotes  something  consecrated  to 
God,  and  was  applied  to  the  Tabernacle  to  signify  that  the  entire  structure  was 
Bet  apart  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  and  was  accordingly  to  be 

682 


50 
10 

A 

V2. 

o 

8 

I. 

C.     T. 

L. 
A.ofB. 

E. 


in  through  the  Vail  to  the  Holy 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap,  xi^ 

regarded  as  a  holy  place.  (2.)  The  Dwelling  place  (\irtil2)  {Ex.  xxv.  9,  xl.  21\ 
80  called  to  indicate  that  God's  presence  was  to  dwell  within  that  Holy  Place, 
and,  dwelling  there,  was  to  dwell  amongst  them  as  a  people.  (3.)  The  Tent  of 
Meeting  (TJ^D  '?^T^<)  (xL  22).  The  import  of  this  name  is  given  in  Ex.  xxv.  22, 
"  And  there  will  I  meet  with  thee  and  commune  with  thee  .  .  ."  (Cf.  xxix. 
42-46).  Of  course,  it  was  included  in  this  idea  that  the  Tabernacle  was  the 
meeting-place  for  the  congregation  of  Israel  in  all  their  united  acts  of  worship 
(see  Lev,  viii.  3).  When  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  consecrated,  "  tlie  assembly 
Avas  gathered  together"  bv  Divine  command  "  unto  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle 
of  the  congregation."  4.  'The  Tent  of  JVitness  (mi^/ri  bnj^)  (Num.  xvii.  7,  8). 
Used  in  connection  with  the  blossoming  of  Aaron's  rod,  when  it  and  all  the 
other  rods  were  laid  up  in  the  Tabernacle  before  the  Lord,  by  which  God 
showed  that  He  had  chosen  the  house  of  Levi,  with  Aaron  as  its  head,  to  be  His 
priests  to  minister  before  Him,  just  as  He  had  previously  testified  by  the  terrible 
judgment  on  Korah  and  his  children  that  He  had  not  chosen  them.  It  was  the 
tent  where  God  bore  witness  to  Himself,  to  the  gracious  character  of  His  cove- 
nant, and  the  qualifications  that  were  required  of  those  who  would  serve  Him. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  every  one  of  these  names  and  titles  applies 
with  even  greater  force  to  the  True  Tabernacle  of  the  Human  Nature  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  likewise  indirectly  to  the  Christian  Church. 

III.  The  interpretation  of  its  symbolical  significance.  Without  entering  too 
minutely  into  this  department,  the  following  statements,  it  is  hoped,  will  give 
at  once  a  concise  and  comprehensive  exhibition  of  the  teaching  of  the  Tabernacle 
as  a  whole.  Generally  viewed,  it  was  meant  to  embody  in  a  materialistic  form 
the  spiritual  transaction  which  had  taken  place  between  God  and  Israel  at 
Sinai — to  be,  as  it  were,  an  illuminated  text-book  from  which  Israel  might  be 
able  to  read  and  understand  the  sublime  spiritual  ideas  which  were  contained 
in  the  covenant  of  Sinai.  Then,  as  that  covenant  was  itself  designed  to  be  a 
pictorial  exhibition  of  the  grand  scheme  of  grace,  which  now  lies  unfolded  in 
the  Gospel — was,  in  fact,  intended  to  be  a  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  them  in 
the  only  way  perhaps  in  which  they  could  understand  it — the  Tabernacle,  with 
its  Holy  Places  and  sacred  vessels,  was  a  material  and  visible  presentation  of 
the  Gospel.  Observe,  the  main  facts  which  took  place  at  Sinai  were  these: — 
(1.)  God,  in  the  sovereignty  of  His  grace,  elected  Israel  to  be  His  people,  and 
solemnly  covenanted  with  them  to  be  their  God,  bestowing  upon  them  the  right 
to  come  near  to  Him  and  serve  Him,  or,  in  other  words,  salvation,  ami  promis- 
ing, in  token  of  His  favour  and  reconciliation  towards  them,  to  dwell  amongst 
them.  (2.)  When  God  proposed  to  come  down  and  talk  with  them  on  Sinai, 
they  felt  themselves  unable,  through  a  consciousness  of  sin,  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  priestly  privilege  conferred  upon  them,  and  so  entreated  Moses  to  act  as 
mediator.  In  due  coarse,  the  duties  of  mediation  were  transferred  to  Aaron 
and  his  sons.  (3.)  A  system  of  sacrifice  was  appointed,  through  which  the 
sinful  nation  could  still  realise  their  priestly  character,  if  not  immediately  in 
their  own  proper  persons,  at  least  mediately  in  the  persons  of  the  priests. 
Hence  the  main  ideas  that  required  to  be  presented  before  the  minds  of  the 
people  were  these : — 

1.  The  fact  that  God  was  graciously  pleased  to  dwell  among  them,  and  take 
them  into  covenant  with  Himself.  This  was  done  by  the  setting  up  amongst 
them  of  a  Tabernacle  in  which  His  symbolic  presence  might  continually 
reside. 

2.  The  fact  that  they  through  sin  were  U7ifit  to  appear  in  God's  presence  and  enjoy 
His  favour.     This  was  T.oue  by  concealing  God's  presence  within  the  second  veil, 

583 


CBAT.  XU  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 

and  shutting  off  the  entire  congregation  from  any  access  to  the  dwelling  except 
through  the  medium  of  the  priestliood. 

3.  The  fact  tliat  before  any  approach  to  God  could  he  made,  the  guilt  of  sin  must  be 
expiated,  and  the  pollution  of  sin  removed.  This  was  done  by  the  presence  of  the 
altar  of  burnt  oii\;riiig  and  the  laver  in  the  outer  court. 

4.  Tlie  fact  that  when  sin  has  been  expiated  and  cleansed,  a  sinful  being  passes  into 
a  state  of  acceptance  with  God,  in  whicli  He  enjoys  certain  privileges  of  enliglitenment 
and  sustenance  (both  spiritual),  and  is  enabled  to  perform  certain  duties.  This 
was  taught  by  the  entrance  of  the  priest  as  the  representative  of  the  pardoned 
and  renewed  worshipper  into  the  Holy  Place,  where  he  walked  in  the  light  of  the 
golden  candlestick,  and  partook  of  the  shew-bread,  and  offered  up  incense  upon 
the  altar. 

5.  The  fact  that  a  distance  still  intervened  between  the  enjoyment  of  the  Divine 
favour  and  serving  in  the  immediate  presence  of  God.  This  was  signified  by  exclud- 
ing even  the  common  priestliood  from  the  Holy  of  Holies. 

6.  The  fact  that  Gods  continued  presence  in  the  midst  of  them  depended  on  the  great 
atoning  sacrifice  of  the  everliving  high  priest.  This  was  pointed  at  by  the  entrance 
once  a  year  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the  high  priest  with  his  ofiicial  robes  and 
the  blood  of  sprinkling  wherewith  to  sprinkle  the  Mercy-Seat.  Now  these  are 
the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  Gospel  scheme ;  so  that  pi*actically  the  Hebrew 
worshipper  had  a  Gospel  sermon  preached  to  him  every  time  that  he  approached 
the  Tabernacle.  (1.)  Being  shut  out  from  the  Tabernacle,  he  was  practically  told 
that  he  was  a  sinner,  and  that  God  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,  and 
that  evil  shall  not  dwell  with  Him.  (2.)  Seeing  the  Tabernacle  before  him,  he  was 
visibly  reminded  that,  sinful  though  he  was, God  was  yet  "waiting  to  be  gracious." 
(3.)  Approaching  the  Tabernacle,  and  finding  that  he  could  not  advance  a  step  without  the 
service  of  a  priest,  he  was  as  good  as  informed  that  no  man  can  come  to  God 
without  a  mediator,  a  truth  of  which  Christ  reminds  us  when  He  says,  "  No 
man  can  come  unto  the  Father  but  by  Me."  (4.)  Beholding  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offering  immediately  he  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  court,  the  altar  said  to  him, 
"  Without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission."  (5.)  Advancing  towards  the 
laver,  he  was  directed  to  the  truths  that,  "  except  a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot 
see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  "  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." 
(6.)  Entering  the  holy  place,  in  the  person  of  his  representative,  he  learnt  that  they 
whose  sins  are  forgiven,  and  whose  hearts  are  renewed,  enjoy  a  twofold  privilege, 
viz.,  of  spiritual  enlightenment  and  spiritual  provision,  and  have  one  all  embrac- 
ing duty  to  perform,  that  of  transforming  their  whole  lives  into  "  a  savour  of  a 
sweet  smell  unto  God."  (7.)  Gazing  on  the  solemn  ceremony  of  the  great  day  of 
atonement,  when  the  high  priest  passed  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  to  sprinkle  the 
warm  blood  of  the  slain  victim  on  the  Mercy-Seat,  he  was  taught  that  the  salva- 
tion of  God's  people  depended  on  the  services  of  One  who,  with  His  own  blood, 
should  enter  into  God's  immediate  presence,  there  to  make  intercession  for  them. 
Tlius  themain  elements  of  gospel  truth  were  exhibited  before  them,  and  were  doubt- 
less in  some  feeble  measure  apprehended  at  least  by  the  spiritually-minded 
among  the  community.  With  the  advantage  possessed  by  us  of  studying  the 
symbolism  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  light  of  the  gospel,  many  things  are  clear  to 
us  which  were  comparatively  dark  to  them.  We  can  see,  for  instance,  tliat  the 
outer  court  was  a  type  of  the  Israelitish.  theocracy,  in  which  the  worshipper  was 
not  able  personally  to  enter  upon  the  functions  of  his  priesthood,  but  could  only 
perform  them  by  deputy,  that  the  holy  place  was  a  type  of  the  Christian  Churcli, 
in  which  every  worshipper  is  a  priest  unto  God,  offering  up  the  incense  of  prayer 
and  praise,  enjoying  spiritual  illumination,  and  nourishing  his  soul  upon  the 
Bread  of  Life  ;  and  that  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  a  a  type  of  heaven,  in  wliich  all 
God's  people  will  ultimately  attain  to  the  immediate  vision  of  God. — See  Kurtz's 
"Sacrilicial  Worship." 

584 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS.  chap.  xl. 


C.  The  Consecration  of  the  Building. 

"Then  a  cloud  covered  the  tent  of  the  congregation,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  filled  the  Tabernacle."  .  .  .  xl.  34-38. 

"  To  consecrate  the  sanctuary,  which  had  been  finished  and  erected  as  His 
dwelling,  and  to  give  to  the  people  a  visible  proof  that  He  had  cliosen  it  for  His 
dwelling,  Jehovah  filled  the  dwelling  in  both  its  parts  with  the  cloud  which 
shadowed  forth  His  presence,  so  that  Moses  was  unable  to  enter  it.  This  cloud 
afterwards  drew  back  into  the  Most  Holy  Place,  to  dwell  there,  above  the  out- 
spread wings  of  the  Cherubim  of  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant ;  so  that  Moses  and 
(at  a  later  period)  the  priests  were  able  to  enter  the  Holy  Place,  and  per- 
form the  required  service  there,  without  seeing  the  sign  of  the  gracious  presence 
of  God,  which  was  hidden  by  the  curtain  of  the  Most  Holy  Place.  So  long  as 
the  Israelites  were  on  their  journey  to  Canaan,  the  presence  of  Jehovah  was 
manifested  outwardly  and  visibly  by  the  cloud,  which  settled  upon  the  Ark 
when  they  came  to  a  halt,  and  rose  up  from  it  when  they  were  to  travel  onward." 
— Keil.  A  distinction  appears  to  be  drawn  between  the  glory  of  the  Lord  which 
filled  the  Tabernacle,  and  the  cloud  which  rested  on  the  tent  of  the  congregation. 
Turning,  liowever,  to  Leviticus  xvi.  2,  we  find  that  above  the  Mercy-Seat,  within 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  was  revealed  in  a  cloud  ;  and  looking 
to  ver.  38  in  this  section,  we  see  that  in  the  pillar  of  cloud  there  was  a  fire  oi 
glory  which  flashed  forth  by  night  above  the  tent  of  Israel.  The  probability  is, 
therefore,  that  we  have  here  a  double  sided  emblem  of  the  Divine  presence,  with 
a  twofold  manifestation,  one  within  the  Tabernacle,  in  which  the  bright  side  pre- 
dominated, and  the  other  without  the  Tabernacle,  in  which  the  dark  or  obscure 
side  predominated. 

I.  The  double-sided  symbol  of  Jehovah's  presence.  "  No  man  hath  seen  God 
at  any  time."  His  glorious  presence,  therefore,  has  always  been  manifested 
mediately — latterly  through  Jesus  Christ ;  under  the  Old  Testament  economy 
through  material  symbols.  Here  there  are  two  terms  used — pj?  a  cloud,  and 
li23  glory,  translated  by  the  LXX.  56^a,  which  two  things  were  almost  invari- 
ably united  in  manifestations  of  the  Divine  presence.  To  Abraham  the  Divine 
presence  appeared  as  "a smoking  furnace  and  a  burning  lamp"  (Gen.  xv.  17). 
Here  were  the  fire  and  cloud.  At  the  Red  Sea  the  pillar  which  stood  between 
Israel  and  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh  was  double-sided,  light  towards  Israel,  dark  to- 
wards their  foes  (Ex.  xiii.  21 ;  xiv.  19,  20).  On  Sinai,  when  God  came  down 
to  talk  with  Israel,  there  were  again  the  gloom  of  cloud  and  the  light  of  fire 
shining  through  it  (Ex.  xix.  16-18).  Similarly  when  Isaiah  beholds  Jehovah's 
presence  there  are  the  glory  and  cloud  (Is.  vi.  4  compared  with  John  xii.  41). 
Ezekiel's  vision  had  the  like  characteristics,  "  a  great  cloud  and  a  fire  infolding 
itself"  (i.  4).  Putting  these  and  other  Scripture  notices  together,  we  can  gather 
that  the  material  symbol  of  God's  presence  was  a  cloud  infolding  a  fire  which, 
when  the  fire  predominated,  and  as  it  were  etherealised  the  cloud,  shone  forth 
as  a  brilliant  light  called  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  but  which,  when  the  cloud  pre- 
dominated, deepened  down  into  a  dark,  dull,  burning  red  fire,  which  symbolised 
the  devouring  wrath  of  God.  There  was  thus  taught  the  three  well-known  New 
Testament  ideas,  that  God  is  invisible  to  mortal  eye,  that  God  is  light,  and  that 
God  is  a  consuming  fire  ;  that  is  to  say,  while  this  all-glorious  essence  is  to  us 
enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  darkness,  in  Himself  He  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  dark- 
ness at  all — which  light,  however,  may  be  either  the  liglit  of  love  or  the  fire  of 
wrath.  So  in  Christ — the  latest  manifestation  of  the  Divine  presence — there  was 
the  cloud  of  His  material  body  concealing  the  glory  of  His  Godhead  within ; 
which  at  times  shone  out  in  a  brilliant  light  of  love  and  truth  upon  His  believing 

685 


OHAP.  Xt.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  EXODUS. 


people — "  I  am  the  light  of  tlie  world  ;  "  but  at  other  times,  as  upon  the  Pharisees* 
gleamed  forth  in  terrible  denunciations  of  wrath — "  I  am  come  to  seud  fire  upon 
the  earth." 

II.  The  twofold  manifestation  of  the  Divine  presence. 

1.  Within  the  dwelling  as  a  glory.  The  dwelliuj^  having  been  designed  as  a  sym- 
bol of  heaven,  where  the  glory  of  God  shines  forth  undimmed  and  unobscured,  the 
cloud  was,  so  to  speak,  eiherealised,  licked  up,  and  the  pure  light  shone  forth  be- 
tween the  Clierubim,  which  were  emblems  of  Perfected  Humanity.  It  is  probable, 
although  this  is  only  a  conjecture,  that  the  glory  paled  its  lustre  when  the  high 
priest  entered,  so  that  to  him  it  always  seemed  encircled  with  a  thin  white  cloud, 
for  the  reason  that,  though  he  was  symbolically  holy,  he  was  not  in  reality  so. 
But  to  all  intents  and  purposes  it  was  a  cloudless  light  which  burned  between 
the  Cherubim,  which  seemed  to  symbolise  the  two  truths  with  which  we  are  so 
familiar;  (1)  that  "God  is  light,"  all  spirituality,  purity,  intelligence,  in  His 
essence ;  and  (2)  that  heaven  is  a  region  in  which  the  pardoned  soul  shall 
walk  in  the  clear  light  of  God's  love  and  truth  (Rev.  xxL  23,  24). 

2.  Without  the  dwelling  as  a  cloud.  Outside  the  dwelling  was  not  God's  imme- 
diate presence.  Hence  outside  His  glory  was  vailed.  So  it  was  when  Christ 
came  to  earth.  So  it  is  in  the  Church  and  the  world.  Still  the  two  things 
were  there — the  cloud  and  the  glory  ;  and  the  vailed  presence  of  the  all-glorious 
Jehovah  is  still  Avith  His  Church,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world,"  and  with  them  for  the  same  purposes,  (1)  to  guide,  which  the  pillar 
did  to  Israel,  the  cloud  shutting  in  the  fire  by  day,  and  the  fire  piercing  through 
the  cloud  by  night ;  (2)  to  protect,  which  again  the  pillar  did  to  Israel.  Doubt- 
less during  night  the  light  which  shone  upon  the  tents  of  Israel  was  soft  and 
mellow,  while  that  which  gleamed  forth  through  the  darkness  upon  all  the  out- 
lying world  was  fierce  and  dark.  All  which  Ciirist  is  to  His  Church  :  a  guide, 
going  before  her  and  ever  saying  "  Follow  Me"  (Luke  ix.  59):  a  protector, 
saying,  "  I  also  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temptation,  which  shall  come 
upon  all  the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  "  (Rev.  iii.  10).  As 
Israel  followed  the  cloud,  so  ought  the  Church,  both  collectively  and  individu- 
ally, to  follow  Christ  :  not  advancing  in  any  line  of  action  till  Christ,  by  His 
Word  and  Providence,  clearly  and  emphatically  points  the  way;  but  the 
moment  such  indication  is  given,  advancing  promptly,  courageously,  continu- 
ously, till  Christ  again  indicates  that  the  time  has  come  to  rest.  So,  following 
her  Divine  Guide,  the  Church  of  Christ,  like  Israel,  will  enjoy  the  help  of  her 
Divine  Protector  :  and  this  protection  will  be  like  that  vouchsafed  to  Israel : 
(1)  efficacious — "upon  the  tabernacle"  sat  the  cloud  and  fire,  conveying  the 
idea  of  complete  security  :  (2)  seasonable — "  by  day  the  cloud :  by  night  the 
fire,"  suggesting  the  idea  that  the  succour  will  be  always  suited  to  the  Church's 
need  : "  (3)  visible — '*  in  the  sight  of  all  the  house  of  Israel."  When  Christ 
interposes  to  protect  the  Church,  the  Church  shall  be  conscious  of  it,  and  the 
world  shall  see  it:  (4)  perpetual — "  throughout  all  their  journeys."  So  Christ 
says  to  His  people,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  CHAPTER  XL. 

BT 

REV.  WM.  ADAMSON. 

Bible-Firmament.      Vers.   1-33.      1.    The  towards  the  sky.      Brown  well  says,  If  that 

grandeur  and  majestic  beauty  of    the   starry  man  presently  looks  througli  a  telescope,  his 

heavens  appeal  to  the  senses  of  a  blind  man  quickened  sight  would  pierce  still  furiher  into 

in  vain.     But  if  his  eycH  are  opened,  the  full  the  depths  of  8pace,and  myriads  of  bright  stars, 

glory  of  that  dazzling  sight  would  burst  upon  till  then  unsuspected  and  unknown,  would  be- 

bi«  astonished  gaze,  when  bJ8  face  was  turned  come  visible  to  him.  And  returning  night  after 
6b6 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


night  to  the  contemplation  of  this  entrancing 
eight,  the  astronomer,  penetrating  still  further 
into  its  heavenly  depths,  and  pondering  deeply 
over  the  pleasing  discoveries,  begins  in  a  mea- 
Bure  to  apprehend  the  order  and  arrangement 
of  its  parts.  2.  Even  so  with  the  Bible 
firmament.  The  natural  man  is  blind — he 
cannot  see  the  revolving  worlds  of  truth-light. 
But  when  the  Holy  Spirit  opens  his  eyes  to 
behold  the  wondrous  star-beauties  in  the  love 
of  God,  then  he  is  filled  with  awe  and  rapture. 
With  the  glass  of  faith,  he  daily  surveys  this 
firmament  of  truth.  Its  glories  become 
visible  to  him.  Its  general  beauties  are  dis- 
cernible by  him.  Each  survey  adds  to  his 
store  of  knowledge,  as  well  as  his  source  of 
happiness.  He  begins  to  see  exquisite  ar- 
rangement, order,  and  system.  Portions  of  a 
gigantic  plan  begin  to  unfold  themselves  be- 
fore his  entranced  and  admiring  gaze.  He 
catches  glimpses  of  beauteous  and  harmonious 
systems,  all  exquisitely  balanced,  and  all 
revolving  in  wondrous  unity  and  sublimity  of 
purpose — drawing  forth  the  exultant  sym- 
phony— 

"  When  all  Thy  wonders,  0  my  God, 
My  rising  soul  surveys, 
Transported  with  the  view,  I'm  lost 
In  wonder,  love,  and  praise." 

Tabernacle  versus  Churclies !  Ver.  1. 
There  was  but  one  place  of  worship  for  the 
Jew ;  there  are  many  for  the  Christian. 
Farrar  says,  it  is  one  of  the  great  blessings  of 
our  country  that  there  is  not  a  town  or 
village  which  is  left  without  its  house  of  God. 
In  most  places,  these  places  of  worship  are 
the  chief  centres  of  reverence  and  interest, 
and  have  stood  unchanged  amid  a  thousand 
changes  iov  immemorial  years.  Generations 
have  gone  to  rest  under  the  shadow  of  their 
elms ;  and  their  spire,  whose  silent  finger 
points  to  heaven,  has  been  the  last  sight  that 
the  village  boy  has  seen.  A  thousand  memo- 
ries make  them  dear  to  us.  It  is  there  that 
we  have  learned  to  regard  ourselves  as 
children  of  our  Heavenly  Father.  It  is  there 
that  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing, has  fallen  like  the  dew  of  Hermon. 
It  is  there  that  we  have  heard  "  the  still 
small  voice,"  whose  calmness  is  louder  than 
the  thunders  of  Sinai. 

"  And  'tis  for  this  they  stand, 
The  old  gray  churches  of  our  native  land  J 

To  keep  our  spirits  lowly, 
To  set  within  our  hearts  sweet  thoughts  and 
holy  ! "  — Landon. 

Church-Consecration !  Ver.  2.  The  first 
memorial  church  at  Ambatonakanga  !  Pati- 
ence and  hope  had  to  be  exercised.  The 
workmen  were  dull,  but,  dull  as  they  were, 
to  save  a  little  trouble,  they  would  scamp  the 
work,  and  put  in  rubbish-material  with  an 
ingenuity  that  only  constant  inspection  could 
detect.     Moses  had   no   such   difficulties    to 


contend  with.  But,  at  the  end  of  three  years, 
it  was  "finished."  The  day  of  opening  (22d 
January  1867)  was  made  an  occasion  of  great 
rejoicing  by  the  Christian  part  of  the  com- 
munity, and  numbers  even  of  the  heathen 
inhabitants  pressed  into  the  building  at  the 
dedicatory  services.  Doubtless  many  of  the 
Egyptian  and  Amalekite  camp  followers 
stood  around  Israel's  host  on  the  first  day  of 
the  first  month.  Dr.  Ellis  remarks  it  is 
difficult  to  describe  the  varied  emotions  of 
those  who  joined  in  the  services  of  that  glad 
day.  It  was  impossible  not  to  feel — "what 
hath  God  wrou;j;ht."  It  was  impossible  not 
to  exclaim,  "  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it 
is  marvellous  in  our  eyes." 

"  Oh  then,  with  hymns  of  praise 
These  hallow'd  courts  shall  ring ; 
Our  voices  we  will  raise 
The  Three  in  One  to  sing." 

— Chandler, 

Tabernacle  -  Unity !  Vers.  3-33.  The 
saintly  Leighton  says.  Be  not  sudden.  Take 
God's  work  together,  and  do  not  judge  of  it  by 
parcels.  There  are  the  ark  and  the  table, 
the  altar  and  the  laver,  the  lamp  and  the 
curtains,  &c. ;  and  each  of  them  is  wisdom 
and  righteousness.  But  we  shall  best  discern 
the  beauty  of  it  when  we  look  on  it  in  the 
frame,  when  it  shall  be  fully  finished,  and  our 
eyes  are  enlightened  to  take  a  clearer  view  of 
it  than  we  can  have  here.  What  endless 
wondering  will  it  then  command  !  All  the 
parts  of  the  "  tabernacle  of  God,"  of  the 
mystery  of  redemption,  will  then  present  one 
harmonious  whole.  And  as,  when  looking  on 
a  far-stretching  landscape  of  surpassing  unity 
of  loveliness,  the  spectator  exclaims,  "  It 
wants  but  the  glory  of  the  sun  to  lighten  it," 
BO,  when  surveying  the  outspread,  upreared 
structure  of  grace,  your  soul  will  be  ready  to 
exclaim,  "  It  wants  but  the  glory  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness."  And  even  as  you  cry, 
lo  !  the  Sun  will  arise  and  shine,  and  a  voice 
will  sound,  "Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is 
come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon 
thee." 

"  O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness. 
Look  my  soul,  be  still  and  gaze  ; 
All  the  promises  do  travail 
With  a  glorious  day  of  grace. 

Blessed  jubilee  1 
Let  thy  glorious  morning  dawn  !" 
—  Williamt, 

Olive-Tree!  Ver.  9.  When  the  Jews 
entered  the  Holy  Land,  they  would  find  abun- 
dant supplies  of  oil  in  the  extensive  and 
fertile  oliveyards,  which  had  been  well  tilled 
by  the  aboriginal  inhabitants.  Bernard  says 
that  almost  every  village  in  Palestine  baa  its 
olive-grove  at  this  day.  There  are  health  and 
vigour  in  the  fresh  look  of  a  flourishing  olive- 
tree,  but  especially  when  a  grove  of  them  is 
seen  together,  and  the  sun  shininsr  on  their 

587 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


glossy  leaves.  The  foliage  ia  of  a  deep  and 
peculiar  green  ;  and,  under  a  passing  breeze, 
the  uppermost  leaves  twine  round  ami  siiow  a 
fine  silvery  line,  M'Cheyne  asks,  "  Where 
could  we  find  a  better  emblem  of  the  Church  in 
a  tlourishint:  condition  than  just  sucli  a  grove 
of  olives,  with  the  peaceful  notes  of  tlie  turtle 
poured  forth  in  the  midst,  and  tiie  sun's 
living  light  over  all,  like  the  Sun  of  Kighte- 
ousness  shining  over  His  peaceful  Church  ? " 
As  the  sun 

"  Doth  spread  his  radiance  through  the  fields 
of  air, 
And  kindle  in  revolving  stars  his  blaze. 
He  pours  upon  His  Church  the  brightness 
of  His  rays."  — Upham. 

Exodus  -  Emblems  1  Vers.  16-23.  Juda- 
ism was,  so  to  speak,  a  pictorial  Bible.  How 
often  in  families,  on  Sunday  afternoons,  has 
the  pious  father  or  motlier  opened  tlie  volume 
before  the  children.  They  have  not  been  able 
to  understand  clearly  the  reading,  but  when 
the  picture  has  been  set  clear  before  their 
eyes,  wliat  an  insight  is  thus  furnished  to  the 
little  students !  And  the  written  law  and 
visible  types  formed  such  a  pictorial  Bible. 
They  had  the  written  word  in  the  parchment 
rolls  wliich  the  scribes  and  scholars  could  read; 
and  they  had  another  blazing  on  Aaron's 
breastplate,  curling  up  in  the  smoke  of  the 
altar  and  hovering  over  the  mercy-seat.  This 
was  a  Bible  which  the  runner  could  read,  and 
which  tiie  unlettered  peasant  and  untutored 
infant  could  spell.  If  he  read  about  Jeho- 
vah's majesty,  or  sin-excluding  sanctity,  that 
God  was  greatly  to  be  feared  in  the  assembly 
of  the  saints,  "  Who  shall  abide  in  Thy  taber- 
nacle?" most  likely  only  a  faint  impression 
would  be  made.  But  when  he  saw  the  picture, 
i.e.,  when  he  went  up  to  the  house  of  God, 
descried  afar  oflf  the  mystic  curtain,  and 
remembered  that  within  that  was  the  Shekinah, 
his  spirit  would  be  subdued  to  reverence. 
This  explains  the  anxiety  of  Moses  to  paint 
the  pictures  exactly  as  God  commanded  him. 

"  What  hast  Ihou  here  ?    A  book  ;  but  what 
a  book  1 
Another  such,  nor  hath  been,  nor  shall  be  ; 
Of  universal  love  th'  epitome  : 

The  oracles  the  Jiverlasting  spoke." 

Ark-Testimony !  Ver.  20.  Atwater  says 
the  fact  that  the  ark  was  designed  for  the  sale 
keeping  of  the  two  tablets  on  which  the  deca- 
logue was  written,  is  one  of  many  indications 
that  these  tablets  were  regarded  as  very  pre- 
cious. If  one  observes  that  the  ten  words 
were  inscribed  on  stone  for  the  sake  of  perma- 
nence, that  this  durable  record  was  preserved 
in  a  chest  specially  constructed  for  the  pur- 
pose— that  this  depository  of  the  inscription 
was  the  sole  furniture  of  tliat  department  in 
the  tabernacle,  which  is  not  merely  the  holiest 
of  all,  but  accessible  only  through  the  outer 
chamber  and  the  court— that  the  tabernacle 
588 


itself  was  the  centre  of  the  encampment,  he 
must  conclude  that,  as  its  kernel  is  the  most 
valuable  part  of  the  nut,  or  as  the  soul  is  the 
most  precious  j)arl  of  man,  so  the  words  in- 
scribed on  the  tablets  of  testimony  were  more 
important  than  tiie  successive  shells  and 
caskets  by  which  they  were  protected  and  pre* 
served. 

"  0  Father !  hath  it  such  undying  force 
When  unrevealed,  and  left  without  attest 
Of  miracle  from  Thee,  and  unconquered 
By  man  ;  and  shall  not  Thine  own  WoN) 

go  forth. 
In  all  its  fulness,  through  these  times  un- 

blest  ?  — Oranch. 

Christ  and  the  Law  !  Vers.  20,  21.  There 
was,  says  Sibree,  a  certain  officer,  a  rich  man, 
in  a  distant  part  of  the  country  of  Madagascar, 
who,  when  dying,  ordered  his  friends  to  ob- 
serve the  following  ceremonies  after  his  death. 
His  coffin  was  to  be  filled  with  money,  to  be 
surrounded  with  soldiers  and  by  his  family, 
and  to  hold  his  body  with  outstretched  open 
hand.  All  this  was  done,  and  while  some 
wondered,  others  said,  "See,  the  man  wishes 
to  show  us  that  all  his  money  cannot  purchase 
life,  that  all  his  soldiers  cannot  protect  him 
from  death,  and  tliat  all  his  weeping  relatives 
cannot  prolong  his  existence.  See,  he  stretches 
out  his  hand,  and  asks  for  something  more 
now."  Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  out  her 
hands  unto  God,  and  so  shall  the  dead  Jewish 
nation.  There  it  lies,  like  the  army  of  bones 
in  Ezekiel's  Valley  of  Vision.  All  its  wealth 
of  privileges  have  not  satisfied  ;  all  its  sen- 
tinel host  of  laws  and  ceremonies  have  not 
preserved  it  from  national  decay  ;  and  all  its 
weeping  descendants  around  the  "stones  of 
the  Place  of  Wailing"  have  no  life-giving 
virtue.  Israel,  as  a  nation,  rests  to-day  in 
its  coffin  with  empty  open  hand  ;  but  soon 
another  hand  shall  grasp  it,  as  it  did  the  hand 
of  the  maid,  or  of  the  widow's  son  :  "I  give 
unto  them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never 
perish.     I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life." 

"  The  veil  of  darkness  rend  in  twain. 

Which  hides  their  Shiloh's  glorious  light; 
The  sever'd  olive  brancli  again 

To  its  own  parent  stock  unite." — Joyce, 


Lamp- Light  !  Ver.  25.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  Cnurch,  like  the  moon,  shines  only 
with  a  borrowed  light.  She  has  no  resources 
of  her  own.  All  depends  upon  the  central 
Sun  of  Ikighteousiiess,  not  only  for  illumina- 
tion, but  for  every  other  kind  or  degree  of  in- 
fluence. 1.  God  uses  human  instruments,  and 
rarely,  if  ever,  works  independently  of  them, 
but  when  they  efl'ect  their  aim,  the  power 
comes  from  above.  A  sailing  vessel,  perfectly 
appointed  and  manned,  cannot  move  in  a  calm. 
The  apostles  were  held  last  in  Jerusalem  until 
the  Spirit  lit  their  lamp.  2.  Whether  in  the 
conversion  of  the  individual,  or  in  mighty 
movements  am  >ng  races   and    nations,    the 


WjMILETIC  commentary  :  EXODUS. 


OHAF.  XL. 


effect  is  due  to  a  supernatural  cause.  In  the 
great  lieformation  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
that  brilliant  lamp,  Luther,  had  no  light  in 
himself ;  he  was  non-liglit-giving,  until  tlie 
Mediator  lit  the  flame  of  grace  in  his  soul. 
3.  The  lamp  of  the  Spirit  lightens  this  Gospel 
dispensation, — this  outer  court,  or  vestibule  of 
heaven,  where  are  the  table  of  shewbread  and 
incense  altar.  But  there  was  no  light  in  the 
"  Holiest,"  until  the  pillar-cloud  slowly  swept 
in  majesty  Divine  from  the  summit  of  Sinai ; 
for  "  the  Lord  God  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
LiQHT  thereof." 

"  From  what  pure  well 
Of  milky  light,  whose  soft,  o'erflowing  nrn. 
Are  all  these  lamps  so  filled  ?  these  friendly 

lamps. 
For  ever  streaming  o'er  life's  troubled  deep. 
To  point  our  path,  and  light  us  to  our  home." 
— Barbauld. 

Altar  and  Incense.  Ver.  27.  This  was  the 
daily  offerinir  ot  the  incense  by  the  ministering 
priest,  morning  and  evening.  Standing  by 
the  great  brazen  altar,  and  placing,  by  means 
of  a  silver  shovel,  some  live  coals  in  his  censer, 
carrying  at  the  same  time  a  handful  of  frank- 
incense, he  advanced  to  the  golden  altar  in 
front  of  the  veil  which  separated  the  Holy 
Place  from  the  Holy  of  Holies.  The  whole  of 
the  congregation  during  these  solemn  moments 
preserved  a  profound  silence.  They  remained 
outside  engaged  in  devout  prayer  (Luke  i.  10); 
while  the  priest,  at  an  appointed  signal,  after 
laying  the  censer  on  the  golden  altar,  cast  the 
incense  on  the  fire,  and  the  fragrant  cloud 
ascended.  Here  we  have  a  figure  of  the 
continual  intercession,  day  by  day,  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  heaven. 

"  With  boldness,  therefore,  at  the  throne, 
Let  us  make  all  our  sorrows  known  ; 
And  ask  the  aids  of  heavenly  power 
To  help  us  in  the  evil  hour."     — Bruce. 

Incense-Fire  1  Ver.  27.  1.  Law  says  that 
the  Spirit  has  selected  incense  as  a  type  of 
prayer  in  Ps.  cxli.  2,  and  we  have  here  a 
graphic  image  of  the  prayer  of  prayers, — the 
intercession  of  the  Eang-priest  Jesus.  Mark 
whence  the  kindly  fire  was  brought.  It  came 
not  from  a  human  hearth.  Tlie  outer  altar 
gave  the  supply.  It  was  the  very  fire  from 
heaven.  It  was  the  very  fire  which  consumed 
each  ofifering.  2.  Thus  the  victim-altar  feeds 
the  incense-altar.  The  prayer  of  Christ  re- 
ceives its  life,  its  power,  its  vigour  from  His 
blood-stained  cross.  The  argument  which 
prevails  is  drawn  from  justice  satisfied — pay- 
ment made,  wrath  appeased,  law  fulfilled, 
curse  endured,  covenant  discharged.  Christ's 
intercession  rests  upon  His  death. 

*'  See,  He  lifts  His  hands  above  ; 
See,  He  shows  the  prints  of  love  ; 
Hark  !   His  gracious  lips  bestow 
Blessings  on  His  Church  below  ; 
Still  for  us  His  death  He  pleads  ; — 
Prevalent  He  intercedes."  — Wesley. 


House  of  Prayer  !  Ver.  29.  1.  It  is  true 
that  the  sincere  worshipper  may  anywhere 
worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth, — 
may  everywhere  and  in  every  place  lift  up 
holy  hands,  witliout  wrath  or  doubting, — in 
the  home  or  by  the  roadside,  in  the  secret 
chamber  as  in  the  crowded  street.  Yet,  un- 
doubtedly, the  associations  of  worship  do  tend 
to  hallow  and  solemnise  our  souls.  Doubt- 
less this  was  one  of  the  many  objects  which 
Jehovah  had  in  view  when  He  originated  the 
one  tabernacle  and  its  services.  These,  Farrar 
well  says,  tend  to  exclude  dreams  of  self- 
interest  and  images  of  sin.  They  inspire,  by 
imperceptible  influence,  the  vast  conceptions 
of  death,  judgment,  and  eternity.  2.  And  so 
with  the  many  Christian  houses  of  prayer.  It 
is  a  happy  and  beautiful  thing  in  such  struc- 
tures for  worship,  as  are  the  splendid  legacy 
to  ages  of  faithfulness  from  an  age  of  faith,  in 
the  many-coloured  light  that  streams  from 
painted  windows,  and  under  the  cool,  fretted 
aisles,  among  silent  and  scattered  worshippers, 
to  kneel  down — the  happy  to  thank  God  and 
make  melody  in  their  hearts,  the  unhappy  to 
implore  Him,  "  Make  haste,  0  Lord,  to 
deliver  me." 

"  How  beautiful  they  stand, 
Those  ancient  altars  of  our  native  land  I 
Amid  the  pasture-fields  and  dark  green  woods. 
Amid  the  mountain's  cloudy  solitudes." 

— Landon. 

Israel-Initiation  I  Vers.  34-38.  Kalisch 
has  admirably  remarked  that,  at  the  beginning 
of  Exodus,  we  found  the  descendants  of  Jacob 
a  multitude  of  ill-treated  and  idolatrous  slaves. 
At  its  end,  we  leave  them  a  free  nation,  the 
guardians  of  eternal  truth,  the  witnesses  of 
overwhelming  miracles.  Released  from  the 
vain  and  busy  worldliness  of  Egypt,  they  en- 
camp in  the  silent  desert, — in  isolated  and 
solemn  solitude, — holding  converse  only  with 
their  thoughts  and  with  their  God.  Before 
them  stood  the  visible  habitation  of  Him 
whom  they  acknowledged  and  adored  as  their 
rescuer  from  Egyptian  thraldom.  The  mys- 
terious structure  disclosed  to  them  many  pro- 
found ideas  of  their  new  religion.  They 
respected  the  priests  as  their  representatives 
and  mediators.  Between  God  and  His  people 
communion  was  opened  ;  life  bad  its  aim,  and 
virtue  its  guide. 

"  'Is  this  the  way,  my  Father?'     "Tis,  my 
child  ; 
Thou  must  pass  through  this  mazy,  dreary 

wild. 
If    thou   would'st   reach   the   Canaan   un- 
defiled, — 

The  happy  land  above."' 

Divine  -  Dwelling  !  Vers.  34,  35.  The 
tabernacle  was  a  peripatetic  shrine,  a  cathedral 
that  could  be  carried  about,  a  temple  of 
canvass  and  tapestry  which  accompanied 
Israel  in  their  wanderings.  It  sufiBced,  says 
Hamilton,  as  a  visible  centre  of  worship,  till 

689 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  EXODUS. 


Buch  time  as  the  waving  tapestry  solidified 
into  carvings  of  cedar,  and  the  badger  skins 
were  replaced  by  tall  arcades  of  maible,  and 
the  teut  had  grown  to  a  temple.  And  that 
New  Year's  day,  when  Aaron  and  his  sons  came 
forth  in  the  gorgeous  garments  which  they 
now  for  the  fiist  time  put  on,  and  when  over 
the  dedicated  shrine  the  cloud  descended,  and 
such  a  glory  filled  the  tabernacle  that  Moses 
and  the  attendant  ministers  were  forced  to 
withdraw,  devotion  must  have  felt  somewhat 
like  what,  on  a  similar  occasion,  Solomon  ex- 
pressed, "  Will  God  in  very  deed  dwell  with 
man  upon  earth  ?" 

"  But  will,  indeed,  Jehovah  deign 

Here  to  abide,  no  transient  guest? 
Here  will  the  world's  Redeemer  reign? 
And  here  the  Holy  Spirit  rest?" 

— Montgomery. 

Tabernacle  -  Truth  !  Ver.  34.  Thomson 
says  that  the  tabernacle  was  intended  mainly  to 
furnish  the  machinery  for  the  regular  ongoing 
and  visible  outworking  of  the  Mosaic  institu- 
tions, and  was,  therefore,  the  natural  centre 
of  the  Old  Testament  economy.  It  may  have 
been  designedly  so  arranged  as  to  admit  of 
more  than  one  interpretation  ;  but  the  main 
end  and  aim  was  to  localise  the  Divine  Pre- 
sence. Such  is  man's  nature,  that  what  is  far 
off  and  out  of  sight  produces  but  a  feeble 
impression.  It  was,  therefore,  necessary  to 
give  a  local  habitation  to  this  awful  presence. 
Going  up  to  the  tabernacle,  the  pious  Hebrews 
came  consciously  before  the  heart-searching 
God,  who  could  not  be  deceived.  This  felt 
presence  gave  tone,  solemnity,  and  intensity 
to  the  verbal  formulas  of  public  worship. 
Indeed,  the  whole  costume  of  the  devotional 
and  poetic  portions  of  the  Bible  has  been 
coloured  by  this  vivid  consciousness  of  God's 
presence.     In  the  least, 

•*  As  well  as  in  the  greatest  of  His  words, 
Is  ever  manifest  a  present  God, 
As  in  the  systems  of  revolving  suns. 
Through    time    revolving     in     unbounded 
space. "  —  Wilcox. 

Mosaic-Revelation !  Ver.  34.  When  Noah, 
the  world's  second  father,  received  the  truth 
from  God,  it  was  all  in  heaven's  own  currency, 
full  weight  and  without  a  flaw.  But  as  soon  as 
it  began  to  circulate,  it  began  to  deteriorate. 
Consigned  to  no  written  record,  when  en- 
trusted to  the  memory  of  man,  with  all  his 
prejudices  and  bad  propensities,  they  were 
like  shillings  dropped  into  the  tide.  When 
next  you  see  them,  you  can  hardly  recognise 
them,  crusted  over  with  such  uncouth  or 
monstrous  additions,  and  changed  into  a  sub- 
stance so  remote  from  the  bright  originaL 
To  obviate  this  difiiculty  to  some  extent,  a 
written  revelation  in  the  tables  of  stone,  as 
well  as  a  symbolic  revelation  m  the  tabernacle 
of  witness,  were  furnished  to  Israel.  And  to 
complete  the  revelation — to  let  Israel  under* 

590 


stand  that  it  was  more  than  earthly  in  ita 
origin,  object,  and  ostensible  culmination — a 
cloud  covered  the  tent  of  the  congregation. 
Yet  not  a  cloud  of  nature's  forming,  but  the 
cloud  of  God. 

*'  Whence  but  from  Heaven  could  men,  un« 
skilled  in  arts, 
In  several  ages  born,  in  several  parts. 
Weave  such  agreeing  truths  ?" — Dryden. 


Glory  Glimpses !     Vers.  34,   35.      1.    The 

natural  eye  is  too  weak  to  contemplate  un- 
varied, dazzling  whiteness  for  any  lengthened 
period  without  suflering.  And  in  the  8n#wy 
regions  of  Tartary  and  Thibet,  travellers  have 
to  provide  themselves  with  hair  spectacles,  to 
protect  their  eyes  from  the  dazzling  whiteness 
of  the  snow.  Hue,  a  Roman  missionary,  in 
his  "  Travels,"  says  that  in  traversing  the 
plateau  of  Wa-ho,  throughout  the  day  the  sky 
was  pure  and  serene,  with  not  the  faintest 
film  of  vapours  flecking  its  brilliant  azure-blue. 
But  this  excess  of  fine  weather  was  a  source 
of  suffering.  The  glare  of  the  sun  was  so 
intensely  dazzling  that  his  hair  spectacles  were 
of  little  use  in  averting  inflammation.  2.  So 
brilliant  was  the  effulgent  glory  of  God,  that 
Moses,  who  beheld  the  cloud-glories  of  God 
on  Sinai,  could  not  endure  the  ineffable 
brightness  of  the  Shekinah,  and  had  to  with- 
draw. Yet  is  there  a  time  coming  when  the 
saints  shall  see  the  face  of  God  and  live ;  when 
the  tabernacle  of  God  shall  be  with  men,  and 
God  shall  dwell  with  them,  and  when  from 
His  glory  the  redeemed  shall  draw  a  ceaseless 
fount  of  light  and  gladness,  for  "  light  is  sown 
for  the  righteous,  and  joy  for  the  upright  in 
heart." 

"  The  Sun  shall  then  he  face  to  face  behold 
In  all  His  robes,  with  all  His  glory  on, 
Seated  sublime  on  His  eternal  throne." 

— Prior. 


Tabernacle-Teaching !  Vers.  33-3.5.  We 
are  all  more  or  less  familiar  with  "Object- 
Lessons."  Any  one  entering  a  school  must 
have  observed,  and  probably  may  have  heard, 
teachers  giving  instruction  to  the  children 
from  objects  before  them.  The  tabernacle 
was  designed  to  give  such  an  object-lesson. 
It  was  the  planetarium,  which  astronomers 
use  in  their  class-rooms  to  explain  to  students 
heavenly  things.  In  Heb.  ix.  23,  St.  Paul, 
speaking  by  the  Spirit,  says  that  it  was  a 
pattern  of  things  in  the  heavens.  Its  respec- 
tive parts  were  symbols — "object-lessons 
to  Jewish  childhood" — of  the  deep  things  of 
God,  —  those  heavenly  mysteries  eternal  in 
the  heavens. 

"  Friendly   their   Teacher    stood,   the    bright 
Angel  of  Light  there  among  them. 
And  to  His  children  explained  He  the  holy, 

the  highest  in  type-words, — 
Striking,  yet  simple  and  clear,  for  sublimity 
always  is  simple."  — Longfellow. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


OHAP.  XI,. 


Cloud-Pillar  !  Vers.  36^8.  1.  Sujter- 
natural!  Because  it  was  always  (1)  upright;  see 
Heb.  ix.  12;  and  (2)  unique.  Oniinary  clouds 
are  seen  in  all  kinds  of  form,  and  change  every 
moment.  It  was  always  distinctly  recog- 
nisable from  every  other  cloud.  2.  Sacra- 
mental/ This  significance  is  brought  out  in 
1  Cur.  X.  1.  (1.)  Redving:  Paul's  language 
justifies  the  impression  that  it  was  surcharged 
with  a  grateful  moisture,  which  it  shed  upon 
the  people.  (2.)  Refreshing  :  as  a  baptism  of 
refreshment  amid  the  desert  sun  glare.  3. 
Symbolical  /  The  typical  signification  of  the 
cloud  appears  in  Is.  iv.  5 — the  presence  of 
God  with  His  Church.  (1.)  Guidance:  most 
(a)  certain,  and  most  (6)  constant.  (2.) 
Governance:  {a)  shrouding  from  foes,  and  (6) 
sheltering  from  fierce  heat.  He  who  knows 
the  voice  of  Christ  will  not  follow  any  other 
voice ;  and  he  who  depends  on  the  Divine 
protection  need  fear  no  evil. 

'*  Jesus,  still  lead  on, 
'Till  our  rest  be  won  ; 
And,  although  the  way  be  cheerless, 
We  will  f(jIlow,  calm  and  fearless. 
Guide  us  by  Thy  hand 
To  our  fatherland." — Zinzendorf. 

Jew-Journeyings  !  Ver.  36.  The  cloud 
gave  theui  a  light,  by  which  night-journeys 
became  as  safe  and  easy  as  those  in  the  daj'- 
time  could  be.  1.  Doubtless  the  night  was 
often  chosen  by  God  as  the  season  of  His 
people's  travel,  as  it  is  still  chosen  by  the 
caravans  which  have  to  cross  the  Arabian 
deserts.  After  the  sun  has  set,  a  cool  breeze 
is  wont  to  blow, — the  air  becomes  less  stifling, 
and  the  sandy  soil  less  hot,  so  that  wayfarers 
are  able  to  accomplisli  twice  the  distance  by 
night  that  they  would  travel  with  great  difiB- 
culty  during  the  day.  2.  In  such  night- 
journeys  modern  caravans  are  commonly  pre- 
ceded by  a  large  fire  signal  borne  aloft  upon  a 
pole, — an  iron  basketful  of  blazing  pitch  and 
resinous  woods  and  rags  steeped  in  oil.  By 
keeping  his  eye  fixed  upon  that  beacon-light, 
a  pilgrim  can  save  himself  from  being  lost 
even  in  the  darkness.  But  how  much  better 
was  the  light  by  night  for  Israel !  And  how 
true  an  emblem  of  the  light  of  truth,  which 
the  spirit  of  Jesus  sheds  upon  our  way  ! 

"  Lead,    kindly    Light,    amid    the    encircling 
gloom  ; 

I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The   distant  way  ;    one    step's  enough  for 
me." 

Cloud- Covering!  Ver.  37.  1.  A  company 
of  Covenanters  had  been  pursued  by  their 
persecutors  until  their  strength  was  ex- 
hausted. Their  leader  stopped  in  his  flight, 
and  called  upon  them  to  join  in  prayer.  As 
he  lifted  up  his  voice  in  supplication  that 
*'  Jehovah  would  wrap  His  cloak  around 
them,"  a  mist  rose  up  about  the  hill,  and 
shrouded  them  from  the  pursuers,  who  failed 


to  discover  their  refuge.  "  The  eflfectual  fer- 
vent prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much." 
2.  When  the  brave  Arnaud  and  his  little  band 
of  Vaudois  peasants  were  in  despair  of  escap- 
ing unseen  from  the  ruined  entrenchments  of 
Balsille  to  the  ridge  of  Quigenevert,  a  cloud 
of  mist  came  rolling  down  the  valley,  so  that, 
enveloped  in  its  sable  curtain,  they  were 
able  to  descend  undiscovered  by  the  foe,  who, 
at  dawn  of  day,  when  the  fogs  rolled  ofi",  were 
astonished  to  see  their  prey  perched  like  the 
eagle  beyond  their  reach.  3.  When  pursued 
by  Pharaoh,  the  cloud-covering  hid  them  from 
their  enemies,  and  also  prevented  them  from 
perceiving  the  terrors  which  menaced  them. 
Who  shall  say  how  often  the  host  of  Israel 
was  thus  shielded  from  wild,  marauding  hordes, 
during  the  up  and  down  wanderings  in  silence 
for  forty  years  ?  Such  an  ample  protection, 
too,  has  the  believer  in  the  presence  of  God, 
not  only  from  the  enemy  who  thirsts  to  regain 
him  as  his  prey,  but  also  from  all  enemies 
whatsoever. 

"  Thou  whisperest  some  loving  word, 
I  catch  the  much-loved  tone  ; 
I  feel  Thee  near,  my  gracious  Lord ! 
I  know  Thou  keepest  watch  and  ward, 
So  all  my  fears  are  gone." 

Cloud-Canopy !  Ver.  38.  As  Rooke  re- 
marks, it  was  really  a  pillar  of  fire,  i.e.,  a  lofty 
column  of  fiery  light  surrounded  by  a  fleecy 
cloud,  which  in  the  daytime  prevented  the 
cloud  being  seen,  just  as  any  artificial  light 
of  our  own  can  easily  be  hidden  when  the  sun 
is  shining,  if  we  cover  it  round  with  a  screen  of 
muslin  or  of  gauze-like  paper.  So  in  the  day- 
time Israel  saw  the  symbol  of  Jehovah's 
presence  in  the  semblance  of  a  white  cloud, 
add  nothing  more.  But  at  night,  when  dark- 
ness had  succeeded  to  the  glare  of  sunlight, 
the  fiery  core  of  the  pillar  shone  out  through 
the  mist-like  veil,  and  shed  a  moony  radiance 
over  all  the  wilderness, — a  clear,  yet  soft  and 
mellowed  light,  which  did  not,  like  the  moon, 
wax  and  wane,  but  continued  always  the  same. 
Image  of  Him  in  whom  dwells  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead,  softened  and  subdued  by  the 
veil  of  His  stainless  humanity. 

"  A  thin,  pure  veil  of  filmy  mist  and  vapour. 
Scarcely  less  subtle  than  the  luminous  hair 
Dishevell'd,  streaming  from  a  comet's  brow, 
Through  which  the  faintest  star  shines  un- 
dim'd." 

Finis!  Vers.  33-38.  "Behold,  I  make 
all  things  new!  "  How  that  voice  rolled  me- 
lodiously over  the  sunset  crimson  waves  of 
the  iEgean  Sea.  And  as  the  Patmos  seer 
looked,  he  saw  not  the  clouds  piled  up 
and  around  the  western  sun  as  confused 
cumuli  ;  but  the  holy  city,  the  heavenly 
temple,  the  Divine  tabernacle.  The  city  and 
house  of  God  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens,  was  bathed  in  a  flocd  of  ever- 
iastiug  brij;htness.    All  the  costliest  materials 

591 


OHAP.  XL. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  EXODUS. 


gold  and  crystal,  and  every  stone  of  priceless 
value,  from  the  jasper  to  the  amethyst,  were 
employed  to  symbolise  a  glory  which  cannot 
otherwise  be  translated  into  human  language. 
As  the  Evangelist  gazes,  his  ears  catch  other 
strains,  "It  is  finished,"  He  knows  the 
voice,  though  it  rolls  sublimely  far  and  wide. 
It  is  the  "oice  of  Him  who  on  the  cross 
cried,  "  It  is  finished  ; "  who  in  the  ban- 
quet hall  said,  "  I  have  finished  the  work 
which  Thou  gavest  Me  to  do."  "  Behold  " 
(Rev.  xxi.)  "the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 
men."  Twice  over  in  one  verse  it  is  said, 
"He  will  dwell  wHh  them."     The  last  stone 

599 


has  been  placed, — the  last  jewel  has  been 
clustered  in  the  magnificent  structure  of 
ransomed  humanity,  by  the  Divine  Mediator 
and  Builder,  and  on  that  imperishable  pile 
rests  the  glory  of  the  Divine  presence. 

"  His  foundation  is  in  the  holy  mountains  I 
The  Lord  loveth  the  gates  of  Zion 
More  than  all  the  dwellings  of  Jacob. 
Glowing  things  are  spoken   of    thee,   thou 
House  of  God  ! 
When  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion 
He  shall  appear  in  His  glory  ! " 

—P».  Ixxxvii.  1 ;  oil.  16. 


Date  Due 

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